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

Wedemeyer, 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 Wedemeyer surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Wedemeyer in America

Wedemeyer is the 24075th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Wedemeyer surname appeared 1,046 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 Wedemeyer.

We can also compare 2010 data for Wedemeyer 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 Wedemeyer

The surname Wedemeyer originated in Germany and is derived from the Low German words "Wede" meaning meadow or pasture, and "meyer" meaning an overseer or bailiff. This combination suggests that the name was likely given to someone who was in charge of a meadow or pasture land.

The earliest recorded instances of the name can be traced back to the 16th century in various regions of northern Germany, particularly in areas around Lower Saxony and Westphalia. The name was sometimes spelled as Wedemeier or Wedemeir in its early forms.

In the 17th century, the name Wedemeyer appeared in several historical records, including church registers and land ownership documents. One notable mention was in the Westphalian city of Osnabrück, where a Jacob Wedemeyer was listed as a landowner in the year 1632.

The name Wedemeyer has also been associated with several notable individuals throughout history. One of the earliest was Johann Wedemeyer, a German theologian and author who lived from 1615 to 1671. He published several works on religious and philosophical topics during his lifetime.

Another prominent figure was Albert Wedemeyer, a German-American general who served in World War II. Born in 1897, he played a significant role in the planning and execution of military operations during the war and later served as a diplomat after his retirement from the army.

In the realm of academia, Karl Wedemeyer, a German-American educator and psychologist, made significant contributions to the field of distance education. Born in 1888, he founded the Articulated Instructional Media Project, which pioneered the use of multimedia materials in distance learning.

The name Wedemeyer has also been associated with several place names and geographic locations in Germany. For instance, there is a village called Wedemeyer in the district of Schaumburg in Lower Saxony, which likely derived its name from the surname itself.

Another notable individual was Otto Wedemeyer, a German-American businessman and philanthropist born in 1886. He founded the Wedemeyer Corporation, a successful manufacturing company, and was actively involved in various charitable organizations throughout his life.

While the surname Wedemeyer is predominantly found in Germany and among German-American communities, it has also been documented in other countries due to migration and immigration patterns over the centuries.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Wedemeyer

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

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

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

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!