2000
#5,251
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,108
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.26
Rare Last name
Walther
An occupational surname derived from the German word for "ruler" or "leader," likely referring to a village headman.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 6,781 Americans carry the last name Walther. That puts it at #5,651 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.98 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 50,546 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Walther 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Walther with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
6.8K
1 in 50,546
Census rank
#5,651
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
5.9K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 5,913 bearers of the surname Walther in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.98 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 5651st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Walther, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.0%) and Hispanic (3.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Walther
The surname Walther is of German origin, derived from the Germanic personal name Walther, which means "ruler of the army" or "army commander". It is composed of the elements "waltan" meaning "to rule" and "heri" meaning "army".
The name can be traced back to the 8th century, and it is believed to have originated in the region of southern Germany, particularly in Bavaria and Swabia. The earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in medieval German records, such as the Codex Diplomaticus Saxoniae Regiae.
In the 12th century, a German knight named Walther von der Vogelweide (c. 1170-1230) was one of the most renowned poets and lyricists of the Middle Ages. He is considered one of the greatest poets of the German Middle Ages and his works had a significant influence on the development of German literature.
Another notable figure bearing the Walther surname was Johann Gottfried Walther (1684-1748), a German music theorist, organist, and composer. He is best known for his influential work, "Musicalisches Lexicon," which was one of the earliest comprehensive dictionaries of music.
In the 19th century, the name was associated with the German industrialist and inventor Walther Rathenau (1867-1922), who played a significant role in the economic and political development of Germany during and after World War I.
The Walther surname was also prominent in the field of firearms manufacturing. Carl Walther (1858-1915) founded the famous German firearms company Walther Arms, which is renowned for producing high-quality pistols and other firearms.
Another notable bearer of the Walther name was the German theologian and reformer Johannes Walther (1496-1570), who was a close associate of Martin Luther and played a crucial role in the Protestant Reformation.
From the earliest recorded instances to the present day, the Walther surname has been present in various fields, including literature, music, industry, and theology, reflecting its deep roots and historical significance in German culture and society.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Walther
Among Census respondents with the surname Walther, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.0%) and Hispanic (3.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Walther 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 Walther surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.2% · 5,334
- Two or more races4.0% · 238
- Hispanic or Latino3.8% · 226
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 52
- Black or African American0.7% · 44
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 19
Timeline
Historical Census data for Walther
Walther 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
#5,402
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,444
+336 bearers (+5.5%)
Per 100,000 2.18
Rank movement Down 151 places
2020
#5,651
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,913
-531 bearers (-8.2%)
Per 100,000 1.98
Rank movement Down 249 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #5,251 | 6,108 | 2.26 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #5,402 | 6,444 | 2.18 | +336 bearers (+5.5%) | Down 151 places |
| 2020 | #5,651 | 5,913 | 1.98 | -531 bearers (-8.2%) | Down 249 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 Walther 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 | #5,402 | #5,651 | -4.6% |
| Count | 6,444 | 5,913 | -8.2% |
| Per 100K | 2.18 | 1.98 | -9.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Walther bearers went from 6,444 to 5,913 (-8.2% change). The surname moved down 249 positions in the national ranking, going from #5,402 to #5,651.
FAQ
Walther surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Walther?
Name Census estimates that about 6,781 living Americans carry the surname Walther. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 50,546 residents.
How common is Walther?
Walther ranks #5,651 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.98 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 5,913 people with the surname Walther. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (6,781), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.98 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.98 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Walther.
Has Walther become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Walther went from 6,444 recorded bearers to 5,913. That is a decrease of 531 (-8.2%). In the national ranking it fell from #5,402 to #5,651.
What does the Census say about the background of Walther?
Among Census respondents with the surname Walther, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.0%) and Hispanic (3.8%). 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 Walther in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.2% (5,334 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Walther appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (90.2%), Two or More Races (4.0%), Hispanic (3.8%). 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 Walther (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 Walther mean?
An occupational surname derived from the German word for "ruler" or "leader," likely referring to a village headman. 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 Walther (1.98 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 are called Walther?
See how many people have the last name Walther on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.