2010
#143,149
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 116
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Wamback
A surname deriving from an occupation involving horse grooming or stable management.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 126 Americans carry the last name Wamback. That puts it at #149,446 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,720,273 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Wamback 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
126
1 in 2,720,273
Census rank
#149,446
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
110
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 110 bearers of the surname Wamback in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 149446th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Wamback, the largest self-reported group is White at 82.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.4%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (3.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Wamback
The surname WAMBACK is believed to have originated in Germany sometime during the late medieval period. It is thought to be derived from the Old German words "wam" meaning belly or stomach, and "bach" meaning stream or creek. This suggests that the name may have initially referred to a person who lived near a small waterway in a low-lying or belly-shaped area.
While the name's exact origins are unclear, some of the earliest recorded instances can be found in various German municipal records from the 15th and 16th centuries. For example, a Hans Wamback is listed as a resident of Nuremberg in 1492. Another early reference is to a Greta Wamback, who was born in the town of Rottweil in 1508.
By the 17th century, variations of the name had spread across parts of central Europe. In 1627, a man named Johann Wambeck is recorded as having been a merchant in the city of Essen. Around the same time, a Peter Wambachen is noted as a landowner in the Swiss village of Zug in 1632.
As the name dispersed over the following centuries, it underwent various spellings and localized corruptions. Some of these included Wambeck, Wambacher, and Wampach. A notable bearer was the German theologian Johann Balthasar Wambach, who lived from 1679 to 1751 and authored several religious texts.
In the 19th century, the industrialist and philanthropist Franz Wambach, born in 1828, established several factories and social welfare institutions in his hometown of Mühlhausen, Germany. Another individual of some renown was the Bavarian chess master Theodor Wambach, who competed in international tournaments from 1881 until his death in 1917.
While predominantly found in Germany and neighboring regions, the name sporadically appears in records from other parts of Europe as well. An early example is a Flemish poet named Jan van Wambacke, who wrote satirical works in the mid-1400s lampooning the aristocracy.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Wamback
Among Census respondents with the surname Wamback, the largest self-reported group is White at 82.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.4%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (3.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Wamback 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 Wamback surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White82.7% · 91
- Hispanic or Latino6.4% · 7
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.6% · 4
- Two or more races3.6% · 4
- Black or African American1.8% · 2
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.8% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Wamback
Wamback appears in 2 published Census surname files: 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2020
#149,446
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 110
-6 bearers (-5.2%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 6,297 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #143,149 | 116 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #149,446 | 110 | 0.04 | -6 bearers (-5.2%) | Down 6,297 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 Wamback 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 | #143,149 | #149,446 | -4.4% |
| Count | 116 | 110 | -5.2% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -8.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Wamback bearers went from 116 to 110 (-5.2% change). The surname moved down 6,297 positions in the national ranking, going from #143,149 to #149,446.
FAQ
Wamback surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Wamback?
Name Census estimates that about 126 living Americans carry the surname Wamback. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,720,273 residents.
How common is Wamback?
Wamback ranks #149,446 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 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 110 people with the surname Wamback. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (126), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 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 Wamback.
Has Wamback become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Wamback went from 116 recorded bearers to 110. That is a decrease of 6 (-5.2%). In the national ranking it fell from #143,149 to #149,446.
What does the Census say about the background of Wamback?
Among Census respondents with the surname Wamback, the largest self-reported group is White at 82.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.4%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (3.6%). 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 Wamback in the 2020 Census, accounting for 82.7% (91 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Wamback appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (82.7%), Hispanic (6.4%), Asian/Pacific Islander (3.6%). 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 Wamback (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 Wamback mean?
A surname deriving from an occupation involving horse grooming or stable management. 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 Wamback (0.04 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 Americans have the surname Wamback?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.