2000
#8,058
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,793
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.41
Rare Last name
Weigand
A German occupational surname referring to a person who weighed goods or worked as a public weigher.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,914 Americans carry the last name Weigand. That puts it at #9,178 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.14 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 87,571 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Weigand 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
3.9K
1 in 87,571
Census rank
#9,178
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.4K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,413 bearers of the surname Weigand in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.14 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 9178th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Weigand, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.8%) and Two or More Races (2.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Weigand
The surname Weigand originated in Germany and can be traced back to the 12th century. It is derived from the Old German words "wih" meaning "consecrated" or "holy" and "gant" meaning "region" or "area". The name likely referred to someone who lived near a sacred or hallowed place.
Weigand was initially a first name that later became a surname in the German-speaking regions of Europe. Some of the earliest records of the name can be found in medieval manuscripts and chronicles from the 12th and 13th centuries.
One of the earliest known people with the surname Weigand was Johannes Weigand, a German monk and chronicler who lived in the late 13th century. He wrote a chronicle of the city of Erfurt, which provides valuable insights into the history of that region.
In the 15th century, a notable figure named Hans Weigand was a prominent businessman and merchant in the city of Nuremberg. He was involved in the lucrative trade of spices and other goods from the Middle East and Asia.
During the 16th century, Johann Weigand was a renowned German theologian and Lutheran reformer. He was a close associate of Martin Luther and played a significant role in the Protestant Reformation.
In the 17th century, Erhard Weigand was a German mathematician and astronomer who made important contributions to the field of mathematics and celestial calculations.
Another notable person with the surname Weigand was Johann August Weigand, a 19th-century German linguist and philologist. He was renowned for his work on the German language and its dialects, as well as his contributions to the study of other European languages.
The name Weigand has also been associated with various place names in Germany, such as Weigandshain, Weigandsfelden, and Weigandsthal, suggesting that the surname may have originated from or been influenced by these locations.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Weigand
Among Census respondents with the surname Weigand, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.8%) and Two or More Races (2.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Weigand 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 Weigand surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.9% · 3,169
- Hispanic or Latino3.8% · 131
- Two or more races2.3% · 79
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 23
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 9
- Black or African American0.1% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Weigand
Weigand 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
#8,928
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,666
-127 bearers (-3.3%)
Per 100,000 1.24
Rank movement Down 870 places
2020
#9,178
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,413
-253 bearers (-6.9%)
Per 100,000 1.14
Rank movement Down 250 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #8,058 | 3,793 | 1.41 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #8,928 | 3,666 | 1.24 | -127 bearers (-3.3%) | Down 870 places |
| 2020 | #9,178 | 3,413 | 1.14 | -253 bearers (-6.9%) | Down 250 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 Weigand 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 | #8,928 | #9,178 | -2.8% |
| Count | 3,666 | 3,413 | -6.9% |
| Per 100K | 1.24 | 1.14 | -7.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Weigand bearers went from 3,666 to 3,413 (-6.9% change). The surname moved down 250 positions in the national ranking, going from #8,928 to #9,178.
FAQ
Weigand surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Weigand?
Name Census estimates that about 3,914 living Americans carry the surname Weigand. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 87,571 residents.
How common is Weigand?
Weigand ranks #9,178 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.14 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 3,413 people with the surname Weigand. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,914), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.14 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.14 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 Weigand.
Has Weigand become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Weigand went from 3,666 recorded bearers to 3,413. That is a decrease of 253 (-6.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #8,928 to #9,178.
What does the Census say about the background of Weigand?
Among Census respondents with the surname Weigand, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.8%) and Two or More Races (2.3%). 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 Weigand in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.9% (3,169 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Weigand appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.9%), Hispanic (3.8%), Two or More Races (2.3%). 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 Weigand (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 Weigand mean?
A German occupational surname referring to a person who weighed goods or worked as a public weigher. 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 Weigand (1.14 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 common is the surname Weigand?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many Americans have the surname Weigand at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.