2000
#134,037
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 116
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Walty
A surname derived from a Germanic personal name meaning "ruler of the people".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 116 Americans carry the last name Walty. That puts it at #155,270 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,954,779 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Walty 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
116
1 in 2,954,779
Census rank
#155,270
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
101
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 101 bearers of the surname Walty in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 155270th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Walty, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.0%) and Black (2.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Walty
The surname Walty has its origins in Germany, with records dating back to the 12th century. It is believed to be derived from the Old German word "walt," which means "forest" or "wooded area." This suggests that the name may have originally referred to someone who lived near or worked in a forested region.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Walty can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus, a collection of medieval manuscripts from the region of Saxony. In this document, dated around 1150, a person named "Waltherius de Waltuyde" is mentioned, which translates to "Walter from the Wooded Area."
During the Middle Ages, variations of the name such as "Waltie," "Waltye," and "Walthey" were common in various parts of Germany, particularly in the regions of Saxony and Bavaria. These spellings likely evolved from the original Old German root word "walt."
In the 14th century, a notable figure named Johannes Walty (1310-1378) was a prominent scholar and theologian at the University of Prague. He is known for his work on the interpretation of biblical texts and his contributions to the intellectual discourse of the time.
Another historical figure with the surname Walty was Hans Walty (1480-1542), a German artist and woodcarver from Nuremberg. His intricate wooden sculptures and carvings adorned many churches and public buildings in the city, and he was highly regarded for his craftsmanship.
In the 16th century, the name Walty appeared in several town records and land registers in the region of Saxony. One such record from 1587 mentions a "Christoph Walty" as a landowner in the town of Meissen.
The name Walty can also be found in some old maps and place names from Germany. For example, there is a small village called "Waltydorf" in the state of Thuringia, which likely derives its name from the surname Walty.
Another notable figure was Friedrich Walty (1670-1732), a German composer and organist from Leipzig. He is best known for his sacred choral works and his contributions to the development of Protestant church music during the Baroque era.
In the 19th century, a prominent German writer and philosopher named Wilhelm Walty (1810-1876) gained recognition for his literary works and philosophical essays on topics such as ethics and metaphysics.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Walty
Among Census respondents with the surname Walty, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.0%) and Black (2.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Walty 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 Walty surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.1% · 92
- Two or more races5.0% · 5
- Black or African American2.0% · 2
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.0% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Walty
Walty 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
#159,712
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 101
-15 bearers (-12.9%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Down 25,675 places
2020
#155,270
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 101
+0 bearers (+0.0%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Up 4,442 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #134,037 | 116 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #159,712 | 101 | 0.03 | -15 bearers (-12.9%) | Down 25,675 places |
| 2020 | #155,270 | 101 | 0.03 | +0 bearers (+0.0%) | Up 4,442 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 Walty 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 | #159,712 | #155,270 | 2.8% |
| Count | 101 | 101 | 0.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.03 | 0.03 | 12.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Walty bearers went from 101 to 101 (+0.0% change). The surname moved up 4,442 positions in the national ranking, going from #159,712 to #155,270.
FAQ
Walty surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Walty?
Name Census estimates that about 116 living Americans carry the surname Walty. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,954,779 residents.
How common is Walty?
Walty ranks #155,270 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.03 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 101 people with the surname Walty. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (116), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.03 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.03 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 Walty.
Has Walty become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Walty went from 101 recorded bearers to 101. That is an increase of 0 (+0.0%). In the national ranking it rose from #159,712 to #155,270.
What does the Census say about the background of Walty?
Among Census respondents with the surname Walty, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.0%) and Black (2.0%). 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 Walty in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.1% (92 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Walty appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.1%), Two or More Races (5.0%), Black (2.0%). 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 Walty (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 Walty mean?
A surname derived from a Germanic personal name meaning "ruler of the people". 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 Walty (0.03 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 last name Walty?
Find out how many Americans have the surname Walty on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.