2000
#15,835
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,688
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.63
Rare Last name
Weishaar
A German surname derived from a place name meaning "white hair".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,118 Americans carry the last name Weishaar. That puts it at #15,296 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.62 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 161,829 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Weishaar 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
2.1K
1 in 161,829
Census rank
#15,296
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.8K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,847 bearers of the surname Weishaar in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.62 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 15296th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Weishaar, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (1.9%) and Hispanic (1.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Weishaar
The surname Weishaar has its origins in Germany, with the earliest records dating back to the 16th century. It is believed to have derived from the German words "weiss," meaning white, and "haar," meaning hair, likely referring to someone with light-colored or blonde hair.
One of the earliest recorded mentions of the Weishaar name can be found in the church records of the small town of Weisenheim am Berg in the Rhineland-Palatinate region of Germany. In 1583, a man named Hans Weishaar was listed as a resident of the town.
As the name gained prominence, variations in spelling began to emerge, including Weisshar, Weisshaar, and Weisshair. These variations likely arose due to regional dialects and the inconsistencies in record-keeping at the time.
In the 17th century, the Weishaar family spread across various regions of Germany, with members settling in areas such as Bavaria, Saxony, and Württemberg. One notable figure from this period was Johannes Weishaar (1608-1679), a Lutheran pastor and theologian who served in the town of Öhringen, Württemberg.
As Germany experienced periods of political and religious turmoil, some members of the Weishaar family sought refuge in other parts of Europe and beyond. In the late 18th century, a branch of the family migrated to the United States, with records showing a Johann Weishaar settling in Pennsylvania in 1786.
Other notable individuals with the Weishaar surname include:
1. Friedrich Weishaar (1781-1856), a German philosopher and educator who taught at the University of Göttingen.
2. Wilhelm Weishaar (1844-1919), a German-American businessman and philanthropist who founded the Weishaar Brewing Company in Chicago.
3. Gustav Weishaar (1892-1962), a German architect and urban planner known for his work in Dresden and Berlin.
4. Theodor Weishaar (1910-1985), a German-American scientist and inventor who made significant contributions to the development of radar technology during World War II.
5. Konrad Weishaar (1934-2018), a German painter and sculptor whose works explored themes of nature and the human condition.
While the Weishaar name has spread across various parts of the world, its roots can be traced back to the rural villages and towns of Germany, where it originated as a descriptive surname reflecting physical characteristics.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Weishaar
Among Census respondents with the surname Weishaar, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (1.9%) and Hispanic (1.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Weishaar 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 Weishaar surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White95.0% · 1,754
- Two or more races1.9% · 35
- Hispanic or Latino1.6% · 29
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 15
- Black or African American0.4% · 7
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 7
Timeline
Historical Census data for Weishaar
Weishaar 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
#15,931
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,824
+136 bearers (+8.1%)
Per 100,000 0.62
Rank movement Down 96 places
2020
#15,296
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,847
+23 bearers (+1.3%)
Per 100,000 0.62
Rank movement Up 635 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #15,835 | 1,688 | 0.63 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #15,931 | 1,824 | 0.62 | +136 bearers (+8.1%) | Down 96 places |
| 2020 | #15,296 | 1,847 | 0.62 | +23 bearers (+1.3%) | Up 635 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 Weishaar 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 | #15,931 | #15,296 | 4.0% |
| Count | 1,824 | 1,847 | 1.3% |
| Per 100K | 0.62 | 0.62 | -0.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Weishaar bearers went from 1,824 to 1,847 (+1.3% change). The surname moved up 635 positions in the national ranking, going from #15,931 to #15,296.
FAQ
Weishaar surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Weishaar?
Name Census estimates that about 2,118 living Americans carry the surname Weishaar. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 161,829 residents.
How common is Weishaar?
Weishaar ranks #15,296 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.62 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 1,847 people with the surname Weishaar. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,118), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.62 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.62 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 Weishaar.
Has Weishaar become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Weishaar went from 1,824 recorded bearers to 1,847. That is an increase of 23 (+1.3%). In the national ranking it rose from #15,931 to #15,296.
What does the Census say about the background of Weishaar?
Among Census respondents with the surname Weishaar, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (1.9%) and Hispanic (1.6%). 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 Weishaar in the 2020 Census, accounting for 95.0% (1,754 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Weishaar appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (95.0%), Two or More Races (1.9%), Hispanic (1.6%). 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 Weishaar (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 Weishaar mean?
A German surname derived from a place name meaning "white hair". 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 Weishaar (0.62 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 have the surname Weishaar?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.