Find out how popular the last name Wassenberg is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Wassenberg.

Wassenberg, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Wassenberg surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Wassenberg in America

Wassenberg is the 63218th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Wassenberg surname appeared 316 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Wassenberg.

We can also compare 2010 data for Wassenberg to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Wassenberg

The surname Wassenberg has its origins in Germany, dating back to the Middle Ages. It is derived from the German place name "Wassenberg," which is a town located in the district of Heinsberg, North Rhine-Westphalia. The name Wassenberg is thought to be composed of the Old German words "wasser" meaning water and "berg" meaning mountain, likely referring to a location near a water source or a stream on a hill.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Wassenberg can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus Quedlinburgensis, a collection of medieval charters and documents from the Quedlinburg Abbey, dating back to the 11th century. This suggests that the surname was already in use during this period.

In the 13th century, a nobleman named Gerhard von Wassenberg was mentioned in the records of the Archdiocese of Cologne. He was a knight and a vassal of the Archbishop of Cologne, indicating that the Wassenberg family held a prominent position in the region.

Another notable figure was Johann Wassenberg, a German theologian and philosopher who lived from 1472 to 1551. He served as a professor at the University of Cologne and was known for his work in the field of scholastic philosophy.

During the 16th century, a family by the name of Wassenberg was recorded as owning land and property in the town of Wassenberg itself. This suggests that the surname may have originated from this particular location and was adopted by those who resided there or held ties to the area.

In the 17th century, a German poet and satirist named Johann Balthasar Wassenberg (1609-1680) gained recognition for his works, which often criticized the social and political conditions of his time.

As the surname Wassenberg spread beyond its original region, it also underwent variations in spelling, such as Wassemberg, Wassenborg, and Wassenberger. These variations reflect the influence of local dialects and regional pronunciations on the name's written form.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Wassenberg

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Wassenberg.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Wassenberg was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Wassenberg has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Wassenberg was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Wassenberg, please contact us.

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