2000
#10,708
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,738
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.01
Rare Last name
Wedel
Derived from a place name referring to several settlements in Germany, likely meaning "wood" or "forest."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,001 Americans carry the last name Wedel. That puts it at #11,503 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.88 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 114,213 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Wedel 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
3.0K
1 in 114,213
Census rank
#11,503
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.6K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,617 bearers of the surname Wedel in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.88 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 11503rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Wedel, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.7%) and Two or More Races (2.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Wedel
Among Census respondents with the surname Wedel, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.7%) and Two or More Races (2.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Wedel 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 Wedel surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.4% · 2,418
- Hispanic or Latino3.7% · 97
- Two or more races2.5% · 65
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 17
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 13
- Black or African American0.3% · 7
Timeline
Historical Census data for Wedel
Wedel 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
#11,174
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,830
+92 bearers (+3.4%)
Per 100,000 0.96
Rank movement Down 466 places
2020
#11,503
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,617
-213 bearers (-7.5%)
Per 100,000 0.88
Rank movement Down 329 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #10,708 | 2,738 | 1.01 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #11,174 | 2,830 | 0.96 | +92 bearers (+3.4%) | Down 466 places |
| 2020 | #11,503 | 2,617 | 0.88 | -213 bearers (-7.5%) | Down 329 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 Wedel 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 | #11,174 | #11,503 | -2.9% |
| Count | 2,830 | 2,617 | -7.5% |
| Per 100K | 0.96 | 0.88 | -8.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Wedel bearers went from 2,830 to 2,617 (-7.5% change). The surname moved down 329 positions in the national ranking, going from #11,174 to #11,503.
FAQ
Wedel surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Wedel?
Name Census estimates that about 3,001 living Americans carry the surname Wedel. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 114,213 residents.
How common is Wedel?
Wedel ranks #11,503 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.88 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 2,617 people with the surname Wedel. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,001), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.88 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.88 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Wedel.
Has Wedel become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Wedel went from 2,830 recorded bearers to 2,617. That is a decrease of 213 (-7.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #11,174 to #11,503.
What does the Census say about the background of Wedel?
Among Census respondents with the surname Wedel, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.7%) and Two or More Races (2.5%). 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 Wedel in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.4% (2,418 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Wedel appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.4%), Hispanic (3.7%), Two or More Races (2.5%). 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 Wedel (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 Wedel mean?
Derived from a place name referring to several settlements in Germany, likely meaning "wood" or "forest." 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 Wedel (0.88 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 are called Wedel?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people have the last name Wedel at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.