2000
#2,407
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 13,809
First available Census row
Per 100,000 5.12
Uncommon Last name
Weinstein
A Jewish occupational surname derived from the German words "wein" (wine) and "stein" (stone), referring to a wine merchant.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 14,662 Americans carry the last name Weinstein. That puts it at #2,747 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 4.28 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 23,377 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Weinstein 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 Weinstein with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
15K
1 in 23,377
Census rank
#2,747
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
4.3
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
13K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 12,786 bearers of the surname Weinstein in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 4.28 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 2747th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Weinstein, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.5%) and Two or More Races (1.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Weinstein
Among Census respondents with the surname Weinstein, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.5%) and Two or More Races (1.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Weinstein 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 Weinstein surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.0% · 11,892
- Hispanic or Latino3.5% · 442
- Two or more races1.9% · 242
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.2% · 152
- Black or African American0.4% · 53
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.0% · 5
Timeline
Historical Census data for Weinstein
Weinstein 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
#2,659
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 13,563
-246 bearers (-1.8%)
Per 100,000 4.60
Rank movement Down 252 places
2020
#2,747
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 12,786
-777 bearers (-5.7%)
Per 100,000 4.28
Rank movement Down 88 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #2,407 | 13,809 | 5.12 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #2,659 | 13,563 | 4.60 | -246 bearers (-1.8%) | Down 252 places |
| 2020 | #2,747 | 12,786 | 4.28 | -777 bearers (-5.7%) | Down 88 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 Weinstein 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 | #2,659 | #2,747 | -3.3% |
| Count | 13,563 | 12,786 | -5.7% |
| Per 100K | 4.60 | 4.28 | -7.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Weinstein bearers went from 13,563 to 12,786 (-5.7% change). The surname moved down 88 positions in the national ranking, going from #2,659 to #2,747.
FAQ
Weinstein surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Weinstein?
Name Census estimates that about 14,662 living Americans carry the surname Weinstein. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 23,377 residents.
How common is Weinstein?
Weinstein ranks #2,747 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 4.28 per 100,000 residents, which is about 4 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 12,786 people with the surname Weinstein. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (14,662), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 4.28 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 4.28 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 4 of them to have the surname Weinstein.
Has Weinstein become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Weinstein went from 13,563 recorded bearers to 12,786. That is a decrease of 777 (-5.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #2,659 to #2,747.
What does the Census say about the background of Weinstein?
Among Census respondents with the surname Weinstein, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.5%) and Two or More Races (1.9%). 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 Weinstein in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.0% (11,892 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Weinstein appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.0%), Hispanic (3.5%), Two or More Races (1.9%). 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 Weinstein (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 Weinstein mean?
A Jewish occupational surname derived from the German words "wein" (wine) and "stein" (stone), referring to a wine merchant. 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 Weinstein (4.28 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 Weinstein?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.