2000
#23,037
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,036
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.38
Rare Last name
Weidler
A surname derived from a German occupational name for a woodcutter.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 1,103 Americans carry the last name Weidler. That puts it at #26,682 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.32 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 310,747 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Weidler 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
1.1K
1 in 310,747
Census rank
#26,682
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.3
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
962
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 962 bearers of the surname Weidler in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.32 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 26682nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Weidler, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.4%) and Two or More Races (2.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Weidler
The surname WEIDLER originated in Germany. It is derived from the German word "Weide," meaning "willow tree" or "meadow," and the suffix "-ler," which indicates a person or occupation associated with the root word. This suggests that the name may have initially referred to someone who lived near a willow tree or a meadow.
The earliest recorded instances of the name WEIDLER can be traced back to the 13th century in various regions of Germany, including Bavaria and Saxony. In medieval times, the name was often spelled with variations such as "Weideler," "Weydler," or "Weydeler."
One of the earliest known bearers of the name was Johannes Weidler, a German cleric who lived in the 14th century and served as a canon in the city of Regensburg. Another notable figure was Hans Weidler, a 16th-century Protestant reformer from Nuremberg, who played a role in the spread of Lutheranism in southern Germany.
In the 17th century, a prominent person with the surname WEIDLER was Johann Friedrich Weidler, a German mathematician and astronomer born in 1691. He made significant contributions to the fields of celestial mechanics and cartography.
During the 18th century, Johann Christian Weidler, born in 1717, was a renowned German theologian and philosopher who taught at the University of Leipzig and published several influential works on ethics and natural law.
Another distinguished bearer of the name was Carl Friedrich Weidler, a 19th-century German painter and engraver who specialized in landscapes and architectural depictions. He was born in 1805 and spent much of his career in Dresden, where he became a member of the prestigious Dresden Academy of Fine Arts.
While the name WEIDLER is primarily associated with Germany, it has also spread to other parts of Europe and the world through migration and immigration. However, its origins and historical roots can be firmly traced back to the German-speaking regions of central Europe.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Weidler
Among Census respondents with the surname Weidler, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.4%) and Two or More Races (2.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Weidler 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 Weidler surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White94.1% · 905
- Hispanic or Latino2.4% · 23
- Two or more races2.1% · 20
- Black or African American0.7% · 7
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 5
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Weidler
Weidler 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
#23,238
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,097
+61 bearers (+5.9%)
Per 100,000 0.37
Rank movement Down 201 places
2020
#26,682
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 962
-135 bearers (-12.3%)
Per 100,000 0.32
Rank movement Down 3,444 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #23,037 | 1,036 | 0.38 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #23,238 | 1,097 | 0.37 | +61 bearers (+5.9%) | Down 201 places |
| 2020 | #26,682 | 962 | 0.32 | -135 bearers (-12.3%) | Down 3,444 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 Weidler 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 | #23,238 | #26,682 | -14.8% |
| Count | 1,097 | 962 | -12.3% |
| Per 100K | 0.37 | 0.32 | -13.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Weidler bearers went from 1,097 to 962 (-12.3% change). The surname moved down 3,444 positions in the national ranking, going from #23,238 to #26,682.
FAQ
Weidler surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Weidler?
Name Census estimates that about 1,103 living Americans carry the surname Weidler. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 310,747 residents.
How common is Weidler?
Weidler ranks #26,682 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.32 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 962 people with the surname Weidler. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (1,103), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.32 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.32 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 Weidler.
Has Weidler become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Weidler went from 1,097 recorded bearers to 962. That is a decrease of 135 (-12.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #23,238 to #26,682.
What does the Census say about the background of Weidler?
Among Census respondents with the surname Weidler, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.4%) and Two or More Races (2.1%). 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 Weidler in the 2020 Census, accounting for 94.1% (905 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Weidler appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (94.1%), Hispanic (2.4%), Two or More Races (2.1%). 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 Weidler (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 Weidler mean?
A surname derived from a German occupational name for a woodcutter. 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 Weidler (0.32 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 share the surname Weidler?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.