2000
#47,939
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 415
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.15
Very Rare Last name
Walth
A surname of German origin, derived from the root "wald" meaning "forest".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 477 Americans carry the last name Walth. That puts it at #53,634 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.14 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 718,563 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Walth surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
Bearers in the US
477
1 in 718,563
Census rank
#53,634
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
416
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 416 bearers of the surname Walth in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.14 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 53634th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Walth, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.8%) and Two or More Races (3.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Walth
The surname WALTH originated in Germany, with its earliest known records dating back to the 13th century. It is believed to have derived from the Old German word "walt," meaning "forest" or "woods," suggesting that the name's bearers may have lived near wooded areas or worked as foresters or woodsmen.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name WALTH can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus Anhaltinus, a collection of medieval documents from the Anhalt region of Germany, where a certain "Waltherus de Walth" is mentioned in a document dated 1271.
In the 14th century, the name appears in various records from the Rhineland region, such as the Codex Laureshamensis, which contains mentions of individuals with the surname WALTH from the town of Worms.
The WALTH surname also has connections to place names, as evidenced by the village of Walth in the German state of Bavaria, which may have been named after an early settler or landowner with the same surname.
Among notable individuals bearing the surname WALTH throughout history, one can mention Johann WALTH (1568-1631), a German theologian and author from Nuremberg, who wrote several religious texts and served as a pastor in various churches.
Another prominent figure was Karl WALTH (1805-1876), a German artist and engraver from Munich, known for his intricate copper engravings and illustrations for books and magazines.
In the 19th century, Gustav WALTH (1829-1897) was a German lawyer and politician from Württemberg, who served as a member of the Reichstag (Imperial Parliament) for several terms.
Moving into the 20th century, Hans WALTH (1904-1989) was a German architect and urban planner, responsible for the design of several notable buildings and urban renewal projects in Berlin and other German cities.
Lastly, Erich WALTH (1920-2003) was a German athlete and Olympic medalist, who won a silver medal in the pole vault event at the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Walth
Among Census respondents with the surname Walth, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.8%) and Two or More Races (3.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Walth bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Walth surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.1% · 375
- Hispanic or Latino3.8% · 16
- Two or more races3.4% · 14
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.2% · 5
- Black or African American0.7% · 3
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 3
Timeline
Historical Census data for Walth
Walth appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#53,913
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 383
-32 bearers (-7.7%)
Per 100,000 0.13
Rank movement Down 5,974 places
2020
#53,634
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 416
+33 bearers (+8.6%)
Per 100,000 0.14
Rank movement Up 279 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #47,939 | 415 | 0.15 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #53,913 | 383 | 0.13 | -32 bearers (-7.7%) | Down 5,974 places |
| 2020 | #53,634 | 416 | 0.14 | +33 bearers (+8.6%) | Up 279 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Walth surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #53,913 | #53,634 | 0.5% |
| Count | 383 | 416 | 8.6% |
| Per 100K | 0.13 | 0.14 | 7.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Walth bearers went from 383 to 416 (+8.6% change). The surname moved up 279 positions in the national ranking, going from #53,913 to #53,634.
FAQ
Walth surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Walth?
Name Census estimates that about 477 living Americans carry the surname Walth. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 718,563 residents.
How common is Walth?
Walth ranks #53,634 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.14 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 416 people with the surname Walth. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (477), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.14 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.14 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Walth.
Has Walth become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Walth went from 383 recorded bearers to 416. That is an increase of 33 (+8.6%). In the national ranking it rose from #53,913 to #53,634.
What does the Census say about the background of Walth?
Among Census respondents with the surname Walth, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.8%) and Two or More Races (3.4%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Walth in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.1% (375 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Walth appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (90.1%), Hispanic (3.8%), Two or More Races (3.4%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Walth (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Walth mean?
A surname of German origin, derived from the root "wald" meaning "forest". The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Walth (0.14 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people have the surname Walth?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.