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

Wedel, 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 Wedel surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Wedel in America

Wedel is the 11174th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Wedel surname appeared 2,830 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Wedel.

We can also compare 2010 data for Wedel 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 Wedel

The surname Wedel originated in Germany, with the earliest records dating back to the 12th century. It is derived from the Old German word "wedel," which means "feather" or "fan." This suggests that the name may have been initially given as an occupational surname for someone who worked with feathers or fans, such as a fan-maker or a feather-dealer.

The Wedel name is particularly associated with the town of Wedel, located in the German state of Schleswig-Holstein, near Hamburg. This town's name is believed to be derived from the same Old German root word, possibly referring to a feather-like shape or pattern in the landscape or a nearby river.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the Wedel name can be found in the Codex Traditionum Westfalicarum, a medieval cartulary from the 12th century that includes references to individuals with the surname Wedel in the region of Westphalia.

In the 14th century, the Wedel family gained prominence as noblemen and landowners in the area around the town of Wedel. Notable members from this period include Hartwig Wedel (c. 1320-1390), a nobleman and landowner, and his son, Johann Wedel (c. 1360-1425), who served as a councilor to the Duke of Schleswig-Holstein.

During the 16th and 17th centuries, the Wedel surname spread to other parts of Germany, as well as to the Netherlands and Scandinavia. One famous bearer of the name was Georg Wolfgang Wedel (1645-1721), a German physician and botanist who made significant contributions to the study of medicinal plants.

In the 18th century, Johann Adolf Wedel (1705-1770) was a German jurist and legal scholar who served as a professor of law at the University of Göttingen. He published several influential works on Roman law and legal theory.

Another notable figure with the Wedel surname was Philipp Ludwig Wedel (1757-1840), a German military officer who served in the Prussian army during the Napoleonic Wars. He played a crucial role in the Battle of Waterloo and was later appointed as the Governor of the city of Berlin.

As the Wedel name spread across Europe, it also found its way to other parts of the world, including North America and Australia, through immigration in the 19th and 20th centuries. However, the majority of historical records and notable figures associated with this surname can be traced back to its German origins and the areas around the town of Wedel.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Wedel

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

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 Wedel 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 Wedel 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 Wedel was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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