2000
#37,640
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 556
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.21
Very Rare Last name
Wassmer
A German surname derived from the Middle High German word "wassære" meaning someone who lives near water.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 592 Americans carry the last name Wassmer. That puts it at #44,751 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.17 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 578,977 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Wassmer 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
592
1 in 578,977
Census rank
#44,751
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
516
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 516 bearers of the surname Wassmer in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.17 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 44751st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Wassmer, the largest self-reported group is White at 85.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.2%) and Two or More Races (4.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Wassmer
The surname Wassmer is of German origin, with its roots traced back to the Middle Ages. The name is believed to have originated in the region of Bavaria, potentially derived from the Old German word "wasser," meaning water or a body of water. This suggests that the earliest bearers of the surname may have lived near a river, lake, or other significant water source.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the Wassmer surname can be found in the historic town of Augsburg, located in the Bavarian region of Germany. An entry from the town's chronicles, dated around the 14th century, mentions a certain "Hans Wassmer," who was a respected citizen and craftsman.
In the 15th century, records indicate that a family by the name of Wassmer resided in the village of Weilheim, situated near the picturesque Lake Starnberg in Upper Bavaria. This area was known for its abundance of lakes and rivers, further supporting the theory of the name's connection to water.
Moving forward to the 16th century, the Wassmer surname appears in various historical documents, including church records and guild registers. One notable individual from this period was Johann Wassmer, a skilled blacksmith born in 1543 in the town of Landshut, Bavaria. His craftsmanship and metalwork were highly regarded throughout the region.
In the 17th century, the Wassmer name gained prominence in the city of Nuremberg, a center of trade and commerce in the Holy Roman Empire. A merchant family by the name of Wassmer was known for their successful textile business, which extended across Europe.
The 18th century saw the rise of Friedrich Wassmer, a renowned scholar and philosopher born in 1712 in the city of Munich. His works on ethics and morality garnered respect among academics of his time, and he is considered one of the most influential thinkers of the Enlightenment period in Bavaria.
As the centuries progressed, the Wassmer surname spread across Germany and beyond, with individuals bearing this name making significant contributions in various fields. Some notable figures include the 19th-century German painter Gustav Wassmer (1833-1892), whose landscapes captured the beauty of the Bavarian countryside, and the 20th-century Swiss architect Hans Wassmer (1901-1981), known for his innovative designs and buildings throughout Switzerland.
Despite its German roots, the Wassmer surname can now be found in many parts of the world, a testament to the migration and diaspora of families over time. However, its origins remain firmly rooted in the historic regions of Bavaria and the surrounding areas, where the name first emerged and gained prominence.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Wassmer
Among Census respondents with the surname Wassmer, the largest self-reported group is White at 85.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.2%) and Two or More Races (4.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Wassmer 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 Wassmer surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White85.3% · 440
- Hispanic or Latino6.2% · 32
- Two or more races4.8% · 25
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.3% · 12
- Black or African American1.0% · 5
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Wassmer
Wassmer 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
#37,792
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 588
+32 bearers (+5.8%)
Per 100,000 0.20
Rank movement Down 152 places
2020
#44,751
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 516
-72 bearers (-12.2%)
Per 100,000 0.17
Rank movement Down 6,959 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #37,640 | 556 | 0.21 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #37,792 | 588 | 0.20 | +32 bearers (+5.8%) | Down 152 places |
| 2020 | #44,751 | 516 | 0.17 | -72 bearers (-12.2%) | Down 6,959 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 Wassmer 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 | #37,792 | #44,751 | -18.4% |
| Count | 588 | 516 | -12.2% |
| Per 100K | 0.20 | 0.17 | -13.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Wassmer bearers went from 588 to 516 (-12.2% change). The surname moved down 6,959 positions in the national ranking, going from #37,792 to #44,751.
FAQ
Wassmer surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Wassmer?
Name Census estimates that about 592 living Americans carry the surname Wassmer. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 578,977 residents.
How common is Wassmer?
Wassmer ranks #44,751 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.17 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 516 people with the surname Wassmer. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (592), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.17 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.17 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 Wassmer.
Has Wassmer become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Wassmer went from 588 recorded bearers to 516. That is a decrease of 72 (-12.2%). In the national ranking it fell from #37,792 to #44,751.
What does the Census say about the background of Wassmer?
Among Census respondents with the surname Wassmer, the largest self-reported group is White at 85.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.2%) and Two or More Races (4.8%). 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 Wassmer in the 2020 Census, accounting for 85.3% (440 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Wassmer appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (85.3%), Hispanic (6.2%), Two or More Races (4.8%). 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 Wassmer (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 Wassmer mean?
A German surname derived from the Middle High German word "wassære" meaning someone who lives near water. 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 Wassmer (0.17 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 share the surname Wassmer?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.