2000
#142,819
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 107
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Wartes
A German surname derived from "Wart" meaning watchman or guard.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 126 Americans carry the last name Wartes. 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 Wartes 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 Wartes 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 Wartes, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.6%. The next largest groups are Black (4.5%) and Two or More Races (1.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Wartes
The surname "WARTES" is believed to have originated in Germany during the medieval period. It is likely derived from the Old High German word "wart" or "warte," meaning "a guard" or "a watchman." This suggests that the name may have been initially given to someone who held the occupation of a guard or watchman, perhaps at a castle or fortified town.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name "WARTES" can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus Saxoniae Regiae, a collection of medieval documents from the region of Saxony, Germany, dating back to the 12th century. In this codex, a certain "Theodoricus Wartes" is mentioned as a witness to a land transaction in the year 1185.
During the 13th century, the name "WARTES" appeared in various records from the region of Franconia, in present-day Bavaria, Germany. One notable example is a certain "Henricus Wartes," who is mentioned in the Annales Herbipolenses, a chronicle of the city of Würzburg, as a member of the city council in 1279.
In the 14th century, the name "WARTES" can be found in records from the Rhineland region of Germany. For instance, the Necrologium Monasterii S. Matthiae Treverensis, a necrology (obituary record) from the monastery of St. Matthias in Trier, mentions a "Johannes Wartes" who passed away in 1367.
One of the earliest known individuals with the surname "WARTES" was Konrad Wartes, a German merchant and burgher who lived in the city of Mainz in the late 14th century. He is mentioned in the city's records as a member of the merchant guild and a respected citizen.
Another notable figure with the surname "WARTES" was Hieronymus Wartes, a German scholar and humanist who lived in the 16th century (c. 1510-1580). He was a professor of rhetoric and poetry at the University of Ingolstadt and authored several works on classical literature and rhetoric.
In the 17th century, the name "WARTES" appeared in records from the region of Silesia, which was at that time part of the Kingdom of Bohemia (now part of Poland and Germany). One example is Johann Wartes, a Protestant clergyman and author who lived in the city of Breslau (now Wrocław, Poland) in the mid-17th century.
During the 18th century, the surname "WARTES" can be found in records from various regions of Germany, including Bavaria, Saxony, and the Rhineland. One notable individual from this period was Johann Georg Wartes (1712-1789), a German jurist and legal scholar who served as a judge and professor of law at the University of Leipzig.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Wartes
Among Census respondents with the surname Wartes, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.6%. The next largest groups are Black (4.5%) and Two or More Races (1.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Wartes 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 Wartes surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.6% · 103
- Black or African American4.5% · 5
- Two or more races1.8% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Wartes
Wartes 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
#157,234
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 103
-4 bearers (-3.7%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Down 14,415 places
2020
#149,446
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 110
+7 bearers (+6.8%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 7,788 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #142,819 | 107 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #157,234 | 103 | 0.03 | -4 bearers (-3.7%) | Down 14,415 places |
| 2020 | #149,446 | 110 | 0.04 | +7 bearers (+6.8%) | Up 7,788 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 Wartes 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 | #157,234 | #149,446 | 5.0% |
| Count | 103 | 110 | 6.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.03 | 0.04 | 22.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Wartes bearers went from 103 to 110 (+6.8% change). The surname moved up 7,788 positions in the national ranking, going from #157,234 to #149,446.
FAQ
Wartes surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Wartes?
Name Census estimates that about 126 living Americans carry the surname Wartes. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,720,273 residents.
How common is Wartes?
Wartes 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 Wartes. 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 Wartes.
Has Wartes become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Wartes went from 103 recorded bearers to 110. That is an increase of 7 (+6.8%). In the national ranking it rose from #157,234 to #149,446.
What does the Census say about the background of Wartes?
Among Census respondents with the surname Wartes, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.6%. The next largest groups are Black (4.5%) and Two or More Races (1.8%). 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 Wartes in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.6% (103 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Wartes appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.6%), Black (4.5%), Two or More Races (1.8%). 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 Wartes (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 Wartes mean?
A German surname derived from "Wart" meaning watchman or guard. 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 Wartes (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 Wartes?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.