2000
#137,816
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 112
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Weiffenbach
A German surname indicating someone who lived near a willow stream.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 124 Americans carry the last name Weiffenbach. 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 Weiffenbach 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 Weiffenbach 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 Weiffenbach, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (8.3%) and Hispanic (2.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Weiffenbach
The surname Weiffenbach originates from Germany, with its earliest known usage dating back to the 16th century. The name is believed to have originated from a place name, possibly a town or village called Weiffenbach, which translates to "White Stream" or "White Brook" from the German words "weiss" meaning white and "bach" meaning stream or brook.
The earliest recorded instance of the surname Weiffenbach can be found in historical records from the region of Bavaria, where the name was documented in various municipal and church archives from the 1500s. It is likely that the name was initially borne by individuals who hailed from or lived near the eponymous location, Weiffenbach.
During the 17th and 18th centuries, the Weiffenbach name began to spread across other parts of Germany, as well as neighboring regions such as Austria and Switzerland. This was a period of significant migration and population movement within Central Europe, which contributed to the dispersal of many surnames.
One notable figure bearing the Weiffenbach name was Johann Weiffenbach (1547-1619), a German jurist and legal scholar who served as a professor of law at the University of Ingolstadt. His treatises on Roman law and legal philosophy were highly influential during the Renaissance.
Another individual of historical significance was Katharina Weiffenbach (1628-1697), a German Benedictine nun and abbess of the Frauenchiemsee Abbey in Bavaria. She played a pivotal role in the reconstruction and expansion of the abbey's buildings and grounds during her tenure as abbess.
In the 19th century, the Weiffenbach surname was documented in various German-speaking regions, including the Kingdom of Prussia, the Duchy of Baden, and the Austro-Hungarian Empire. One notable bearer of the name during this period was Friedrich Weiffenbach (1810-1887), a German architect and urban planner who contributed to the design of several prominent buildings in Berlin and other cities.
Other individuals with the Weiffenbach surname include Hans Weiffenbach (1678-1741), a German painter and engraver known for his religious and allegorical works, and Elise Weiffenbach (1837-1903), a German novelist and playwright whose works explored themes of social inequality and women's rights.
While the Weiffenbach name may have originated from a specific place in Germany, it has since become widely dispersed across various regions and countries, with families bearing this surname contributing to various fields and endeavors throughout history.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Weiffenbach
Among Census respondents with the surname Weiffenbach, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (8.3%) and Hispanic (2.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Weiffenbach 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 Weiffenbach surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White86.1% · 93
- Two or more races8.3% · 9
- Hispanic or Latino2.8% · 3
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.8% · 3
Timeline
Historical Census data for Weiffenbach
Weiffenbach 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
#146,201
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 113
+1 bearers (+0.9%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 8,385 places
2020
#150,935
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 108
-5 bearers (-4.4%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 4,734 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #137,816 | 112 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #146,201 | 113 | 0.04 | +1 bearers (+0.9%) | Down 8,385 places |
| 2020 | #150,935 | 108 | 0.04 | -5 bearers (-4.4%) | Down 4,734 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 Weiffenbach 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 | #146,201 | #150,935 | -3.2% |
| Count | 113 | 108 | -4.4% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -9.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Weiffenbach bearers went from 113 to 108 (-4.4% change). The surname moved down 4,734 positions in the national ranking, going from #146,201 to #150,935.
FAQ
Weiffenbach surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Weiffenbach?
Name Census estimates that about 124 living Americans carry the surname Weiffenbach. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,764,148 residents.
How common is Weiffenbach?
Weiffenbach 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 Weiffenbach. 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 Weiffenbach.
Has Weiffenbach become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Weiffenbach went from 113 recorded bearers to 108. That is a decrease of 5 (-4.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #146,201 to #150,935.
What does the Census say about the background of Weiffenbach?
Among Census respondents with the surname Weiffenbach, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (8.3%) and Hispanic (2.8%). 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 Weiffenbach in the 2020 Census, accounting for 86.1% (93 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Weiffenbach appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (86.1%), Two or More Races (8.3%), Hispanic (2.8%). 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 Weiffenbach (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 Weiffenbach mean?
A German surname indicating someone who lived near a willow stream. 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 Weiffenbach (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 share the surname Weiffenbach?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.