2000
#5,980
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,301
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.97
Rare Last name
Weiser
An occupational surname referring to someone who showed others the way or guided travelers.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 5,770 Americans carry the last name Weiser. That puts it at #6,483 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.68 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 59,403 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Weiser 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
5.8K
1 in 59,403
Census rank
#6,483
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
5.0K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 5,032 bearers of the surname Weiser in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.68 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 6483rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Weiser, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.8%) and Two or More Races (2.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Weiser
The surname Weiser is of German origin, derived from the Middle High German word "wise" meaning "wise" or "clever." It first emerged in the 13th century in the region of Bavaria, southern Germany.
In the early 1300s, records show the name Weiser appearing in the town of Nürnberg, where a man named Cunrad der Weiser was listed as a landowner. This is one of the earliest documented instances of the surname.
During the 15th century, the name Weiser was found in various manuscripts and records across Bavaria and parts of Austria, suggesting the family had spread to neighboring regions. In 1487, a man named Hans Weiser was registered as a member of the prestigious Meistersinger guild in Nürnberg.
By the 16th century, the Weiser name had become more widespread, with several notable individuals bearing the surname. In 1520, a Lutheran reformer named Kaspar Weiser was born in Nürnberg and played a role in the Protestant Reformation.
In the late 1600s, the surname appeared in various spellings such as Weißer, Weisser, and Weyser in parts of Switzerland and southern Germany. This was likely due to regional dialect variations.
One of the most famous individuals with the Weiser surname was Conrad Weiser, born in 1696 in Württemberg, Germany. He later emigrated to Pennsylvania and became a prominent diplomat and interpreter between the British colonies and Native American tribes.
Another notable person was Johann Nikolaus Weislinger (1691-1770), a German philosopher and author who wrote extensively on ethics and natural law. His surname was originally spelled Weiser before being changed.
In the 19th century, the Weiser surname was found in various parts of Europe, including Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. One prominent figure was Friedrich Weiser (1801-1866), a German politician and member of the Frankfurt Parliament during the Revolutions of 1848.
Throughout history, the name Weiser has been associated with various professions, including scholars, tradesmen, and public figures, reflecting the original meaning of "wise" or "clever."
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Weiser
Among Census respondents with the surname Weiser, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.8%) and Two or More Races (2.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Weiser 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 Weiser surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.9% · 4,674
- Hispanic or Latino2.8% · 141
- Two or more races2.2% · 109
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.1% · 57
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 37
- Black or African American0.3% · 14
Timeline
Historical Census data for Weiser
Weiser 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
#6,302
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,421
+120 bearers (+2.3%)
Per 100,000 1.84
Rank movement Down 322 places
2020
#6,483
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,032
-389 bearers (-7.2%)
Per 100,000 1.68
Rank movement Down 181 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #5,980 | 5,301 | 1.97 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #6,302 | 5,421 | 1.84 | +120 bearers (+2.3%) | Down 322 places |
| 2020 | #6,483 | 5,032 | 1.68 | -389 bearers (-7.2%) | Down 181 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 Weiser 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 | #6,302 | #6,483 | -2.9% |
| Count | 5,421 | 5,032 | -7.2% |
| Per 100K | 1.84 | 1.68 | -8.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Weiser bearers went from 5,421 to 5,032 (-7.2% change). The surname moved down 181 positions in the national ranking, going from #6,302 to #6,483.
FAQ
Weiser surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Weiser?
Name Census estimates that about 5,770 living Americans carry the surname Weiser. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 59,403 residents.
How common is Weiser?
Weiser ranks #6,483 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.68 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 5,032 people with the surname Weiser. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (5,770), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.68 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.68 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Weiser.
Has Weiser become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Weiser went from 5,421 recorded bearers to 5,032. That is a decrease of 389 (-7.2%). In the national ranking it fell from #6,302 to #6,483.
What does the Census say about the background of Weiser?
Among Census respondents with the surname Weiser, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.8%) and Two or More Races (2.2%). 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 Weiser in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.9% (4,674 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Weiser appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.9%), Hispanic (2.8%), Two or More Races (2.2%). 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 Weiser (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 Weiser mean?
An occupational surname referring to someone who showed others the way or guided travelers. 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 Weiser (1.68 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 Weiser?
Find out how many Americans have the surname Weiser on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.