Find out how popular the last name Weinstein is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Weinstein.

Weinstein, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Weinstein surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Weinstein in America

Weinstein is the 2659th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Weinstein surname appeared 13,563 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 5 people would have the surname Weinstein.

We can also compare 2010 data for Weinstein to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Weinstein

The surname Weinstein is of German and Ashkenazi Jewish origin, deriving from the German words "Wein" meaning wine and "Stein" meaning stone. It likely originated as a descriptive name for someone who lived near a vineyard or was involved in the wine trade.

The earliest recorded instances of the name date back to the 16th century in various regions of Germany. One notable early bearer was Moses Weinstein, a respected rabbi who lived in Prague in the late 16th century and authored several important religious texts.

In the 17th and 18th centuries, the name began to spread more widely across Central and Eastern Europe as Ashkenazi Jewish communities migrated eastward. It appears in various records and documents from this time period in areas such as Poland, Ukraine, and Russia.

One of the earliest documented examples of the name in America is that of Jacob Weinstein, who arrived in Philadelphia from Germany in 1754. He later fought in the American Revolutionary War and is recorded as being present at the Battle of Trenton in 1776.

Other notable figures throughout history with the surname Weinstein include:

Berl Weinstein (1882-1942), a Polish-American author and labor leader who co-founded the Jewish Daily Forward newspaper. Max Weinstein (1877-1969), a Russian-born American microbiologist who made significant contributions to the understanding of tuberculosis. Alfred Weinstein (1901-1983), an Austrian-born American businessman and philanthropist who co-founded the retail chain Oakridge Mall. Emma Weinstein (1886-1979), a Russian-born American author and activist who wrote extensively about the experiences of Jewish immigrants in the United States. Louis Weinstein (1914-2000), an American physicist and engineer who played a key role in the development of the first nuclear submarine for the U.S. Navy.

While the name has its roots in Germany and Eastern Europe, it has since become well-established in many parts of the world, reflecting the diverse diaspora of Jewish communities over the centuries.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Weinstein

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Weinstein.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Weinstein was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Weinstein has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Weinstein was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Weinstein, please contact us.

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!