2000
#134,929
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 115
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Wanhala
A surname indicating someone from the town of Vanhala in Finland.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 126 Americans carry the last name Wanhala. 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 Wanhala 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 Wanhala 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 Wanhala, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (1.8%) and Hispanic (0.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Wanhala
The surname Wanhala originated in Finland, emerging in the 16th century. It is derived from the Finnish word "vanha," meaning "old," and "hala," meaning "hall" or "homestead." This suggests the name may have been associated with an older or established homestead or farmstead in the region.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Wanhala can be found in the parish records of Tammela, a municipality in southwestern Finland, dating back to the late 1500s. The name was particularly prevalent in the regions of Häme, Satakunta, and Uusimaa, where it likely originated.
In the 17th century, a notable bearer of the name was Yrjö Wanhala, a Finnish farmer and landowner who lived in the village of Renko, near Hämeenlinna. He was born around 1620 and is mentioned in several land ownership records from that period.
During the 18th century, the Wanhala surname appeared in the military records of the Swedish Empire, which at the time included present-day Finland. One such individual was Juho Wanhala, a Finnish soldier who fought in the Great Northern War against Russia between 1700 and 1721.
In the 19th century, the name gained further recognition with the birth of Aleksanteri Wanhala, a Finnish painter and artist who lived from 1811 to 1892. He is known for his landscapes and depictions of rural life in Finland.
Another notable bearer of the Wanhala surname was Kaarlo Wanhala, a Finnish politician and member of the Finnish Diet (parliament) in the late 19th century. He was born in 1848 and played a prominent role in the country's political landscape during the era of Russian rule.
As the 20th century dawned, the name continued to be found across Finland, with individuals like Eero Wanhala, a Finnish farmer and landowner from the region of Satakunta, who lived from 1875 to 1949.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Wanhala
Among Census respondents with the surname Wanhala, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (1.8%) and Hispanic (0.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Wanhala 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 Wanhala surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White95.5% · 105
- Two or more races1.8% · 2
- Hispanic or Latino0.9% · 1
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 1
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Wanhala
Wanhala 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
#143,149
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 116
+1 bearers (+0.9%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 8,220 places
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #134,929 | 115 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #143,149 | 116 | 0.04 | +1 bearers (+0.9%) | Down 8,220 places |
| 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 Wanhala 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 Wanhala 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
Wanhala surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Wanhala?
Name Census estimates that about 126 living Americans carry the surname Wanhala. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,720,273 residents.
How common is Wanhala?
Wanhala 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 Wanhala. 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 Wanhala.
Has Wanhala become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Wanhala 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 Wanhala?
Among Census respondents with the surname Wanhala, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (1.8%) and Hispanic (0.9%). 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 Wanhala in the 2020 Census, accounting for 95.5% (105 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Wanhala appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (95.5%), Two or More Races (1.8%), Hispanic (0.9%). 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 Wanhala (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 Wanhala mean?
A surname indicating someone from the town of Vanhala in Finland. 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 Wanhala (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 people have the surname Wanhala?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.