2000
#138,741
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 111
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Wederski
A Polish occupational surname referring to a maker or seller of walking sticks or canes.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 124 Americans carry the last name Wederski. That puts it at #150,935 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,764,148 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Wederski 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
124
1 in 2,764,148
Census rank
#150,935
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
108
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 108 bearers of the surname Wederski in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 150935th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Wederski, the largest self-reported group is White at 82.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (10.2%) and Two or More Races (6.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Wederski
The surname Wederski originates from Poland, with its roots dating back to the 12th century. The name is derived from the Polish word "weder," which means "wanderer" or "traveler." This suggests that the earliest bearers of this name were likely people who led a nomadic lifestyle or frequently traveled from one place to another.
The name Wederski first appeared in historical records in the region of Greater Poland, particularly in the areas around the cities of Poznan and Gniezno. These regions were significant centers of Polish culture and history during the medieval period.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Wederski can be found in the Liber Beneficiorum, a medieval document compiled in the 15th century that listed landowners and their properties. The entry mentions a certain "Jan Wederski" who owned land near the village of Biezdrowo in the year 1437.
The Wederski name also appeared in the Metryka Koronna, a collection of official documents from the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, which spanned the 16th to 18th centuries. One notable mention is of a "Marcin Wederski," a nobleman who served as a courtier to King Sigismund III Vasa in the early 17th century.
In the 19th century, a prominent figure bearing the Wederski name was Józef Wederski (1800-1878), a Polish writer, poet, and translator. He was known for his translations of works by Lord Byron and other English poets into Polish.
Another notable individual with the Wederski surname was Stanisław Wederski (1872-1945), a Polish architect and civil engineer. He was responsible for designing several notable buildings in Krakow, including the Potocki Palace and the Church of St. Michael the Archangel.
The name Wederski can also be found in various place names throughout Poland, such as the village of Wederskawola in the Łódź Voivodeship and the Wederski Park in the city of Wrocław.
Throughout its history, the Wederski surname has undergone various spellings and variations, including Wedersky, Vedersski, and Vederski, reflecting the changing linguistic and orthographic conventions of the Polish language over time.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Wederski
Among Census respondents with the surname Wederski, the largest self-reported group is White at 82.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (10.2%) and Two or More Races (6.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Wederski 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 Wederski surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White82.4% · 89
- Hispanic or Latino10.2% · 11
- Two or more races6.5% · 7
- Black or African American0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Wederski
Wederski 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
#134,712
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 125
+14 bearers (+12.6%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 4,029 places
2020
#150,935
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 108
-17 bearers (-13.6%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 16,223 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #138,741 | 111 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #134,712 | 125 | 0.04 | +14 bearers (+12.6%) | Up 4,029 places |
| 2020 | #150,935 | 108 | 0.04 | -17 bearers (-13.6%) | Down 16,223 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 Wederski 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 | #134,712 | #150,935 | -12.0% |
| Count | 125 | 108 | -13.6% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -9.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Wederski bearers went from 125 to 108 (-13.6% change). The surname moved down 16,223 positions in the national ranking, going from #134,712 to #150,935.
FAQ
Wederski surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Wederski?
Name Census estimates that about 124 living Americans carry the surname Wederski. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,764,148 residents.
How common is Wederski?
Wederski ranks #150,935 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 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 108 people with the surname Wederski. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (124), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 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 Wederski.
Has Wederski become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Wederski went from 125 recorded bearers to 108. That is a decrease of 17 (-13.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #134,712 to #150,935.
What does the Census say about the background of Wederski?
Among Census respondents with the surname Wederski, the largest self-reported group is White at 82.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (10.2%) and Two or More Races (6.5%). 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 Wederski in the 2020 Census, accounting for 82.4% (89 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Wederski appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (82.4%), Hispanic (10.2%), Two or More Races (6.5%). 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 Wederski (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 Wederski mean?
A Polish occupational surname referring to a maker or seller of walking sticks or canes. 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 Wederski (0.04 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 have the surname Wederski?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.