2000
#13,812
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,009
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.74
Rare Last name
Wehrle
A German occupational surname referring to someone who manufactured military equipment or worked as a guard or watchman.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,202 Americans carry the last name Wehrle. That puts it at #14,821 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.64 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 155,656 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Wehrle 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Wehrle with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
2.2K
1 in 155,656
Census rank
#14,821
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.9K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,920 bearers of the surname Wehrle in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.64 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 14821st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Wehrle, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.2%) and Two or More Races (1.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Wehrle
The surname Wehrle originates from the German-speaking regions of Europe, particularly in areas of modern-day Germany and Switzerland. It likely emerged during the Middle Ages, around the 12th or 13th century.
One theory suggests that the name Wehrle derives from the Old High German word "wer," which means "man" or "warrior." It may have been used as a descriptive surname referring to a person's strength, bravery, or military background. Another possibility is that Wehrle comes from a place name or a location where the family originated.
Some of the earliest recorded instances of the name Wehrle can be found in medieval German records and documents. For example, a person named Cunrad Wehrle is mentioned in a document from the city of Constance (Konstanz) in 1349. This indicates that the name was already established in the region at that time.
In the 16th century, a notable figure named Johann Wehrle (1550-1620) was a German theologian and author who published works on religious subjects. Around the same period, Hans Wehrle (1562-1627) was a German artist and engraver known for his contributions to the Renaissance art scene.
The Wehrle name also appears in records from Switzerland, suggesting that it may have spread to different German-speaking areas over time. In the 18th century, Johann Jakob Wehrle (1719-1786) was a Swiss painter and etcher who gained recognition for his landscape and genre scenes.
Another notable individual with the Wehrle surname was August Friedrich Wehrle (1790-1835), a German lawyer and politician who served as a member of the Frankfurt Parliament during the revolutions of 1848-1849.
As families migrated and settled in different regions, variations of the name may have emerged, such as Werl, Werle, or Werlein. However, the core Wehrle form remained prevalent, particularly in southern Germany and parts of Switzerland.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Wehrle
Among Census respondents with the surname Wehrle, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.2%) and Two or More Races (1.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Wehrle 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 Wehrle surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White94.3% · 1,811
- Hispanic or Latino2.2% · 43
- Two or more races1.8% · 35
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 14
- Black or African American0.5% · 10
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 7
Timeline
Historical Census data for Wehrle
Wehrle 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
#14,706
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,021
+12 bearers (+0.6%)
Per 100,000 0.69
Rank movement Down 894 places
2020
#14,821
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,920
-101 bearers (-5.0%)
Per 100,000 0.64
Rank movement Down 115 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #13,812 | 2,009 | 0.74 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #14,706 | 2,021 | 0.69 | +12 bearers (+0.6%) | Down 894 places |
| 2020 | #14,821 | 1,920 | 0.64 | -101 bearers (-5.0%) | Down 115 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 Wehrle 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 | #14,706 | #14,821 | -0.8% |
| Count | 2,021 | 1,920 | -5.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.69 | 0.64 | -6.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Wehrle bearers went from 2,021 to 1,920 (-5.0% change). The surname moved down 115 positions in the national ranking, going from #14,706 to #14,821.
FAQ
Wehrle surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Wehrle?
Name Census estimates that about 2,202 living Americans carry the surname Wehrle. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 155,656 residents.
How common is Wehrle?
Wehrle ranks #14,821 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.64 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 1,920 people with the surname Wehrle. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,202), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.64 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.64 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 Wehrle.
Has Wehrle become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Wehrle went from 2,021 recorded bearers to 1,920. That is a decrease of 101 (-5.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #14,706 to #14,821.
What does the Census say about the background of Wehrle?
Among Census respondents with the surname Wehrle, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.2%) and Two or More Races (1.8%). 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 Wehrle in the 2020 Census, accounting for 94.3% (1,811 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Wehrle appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (94.3%), Hispanic (2.2%), Two or More Races (1.8%). 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 Wehrle (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 Wehrle mean?
A German occupational surname referring to someone who manufactured military equipment or worked as a guard or watchman. 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 Wehrle (0.64 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 Wehrle?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people have the surname Wehrle at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.