2000
#259
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 105,804
First available Census row
Per 100,000 39.22
Common Last name
Welch
Derived from the Old English word meaning "foreigner," referring to someone of Celtic origin, particularly from Wales.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 119,148 Americans carry the last name Welch. That puts it at #296 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 34.76 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,877 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Welch 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 Welch with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
119K
1 in 2,877
Census rank
#296
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
34.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
104K
common in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 103,903 bearers of the surname Welch in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 34.76 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 296th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Welch, the largest self-reported group is White at 80.3%. The next largest groups are Black (10.3%) and Two or More Races (4.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Welch
The surname Welch is of Anglo-Saxon origin, deriving from the Old English word "Wilisc" or "Wielisc," which referred to someone of Welsh or Celtic descent or a person from Wales. It is believed to have emerged in England during the early medieval period.
In the Domesday Book, a survey of England conducted in 1086, the name is recorded as "Waleis," a variant spelling of the surname. This suggests that individuals with this name were present in England at the time of the Norman Conquest in 1066.
One of the earliest known bearers of the surname was Roger le Waleys, who was mentioned in the Pipe Rolls of Gloucestershire in 1196. Another notable figure from history was Sir Robert le Waleys, a Welsh military leader who played a significant role in the Welsh Wars of Independence against the English in the late 13th century.
The surname has also been associated with various place names in England and Wales, such as Welshpool in Powys, Wales, and Welsh Bicknor in Herefordshire, England. These place names likely influenced the spelling variations of the surname over time.
Among the notable individuals with the surname Welch throughout history are:
1. John Welch (1570-1622), a Scottish Presbyterian minister and one of the founders of the Reformed Presbyterian Church.
2. Rose O'Neill Gwynne Welch (1851-1944), an American cartoonist and illustrator, best known for creating the Kewpie characters.
3. Raquel Welch (born 1940), an American actress and model, known for her roles in films like "One Million Years B.C." and "The Three Musketeers."
4. Jack Welch (1935-2020), an American business executive and author, who served as the CEO of General Electric from 1981 to 2001.
5. Vincent Welch (1923-2015), an American character actor who appeared in numerous films and television shows throughout his career.
The surname Welch has a rich history dating back to the early medieval period in England and Wales, reflecting the interactions between Anglo-Saxon and Celtic populations. Its variations and associations with place names provide insights into the geographical distribution and evolution of the name over centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Welch
Among Census respondents with the surname Welch, the largest self-reported group is White at 80.3%. The next largest groups are Black (10.3%) and Two or More Races (4.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Welch 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 Welch surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White80.3% · 83,386
- Black or African American10.3% · 10,753
- Two or more races4.2% · 4,364
- Hispanic or Latino3.5% · 3,605
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.1% · 1,098
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 697
Timeline
Historical Census data for Welch
Welch 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
#284
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 108,987
+3,183 bearers (+3.0%)
Per 100,000 36.95
Rank movement Down 25 places
2020
#296
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 103,903
-5,084 bearers (-4.7%)
Per 100,000 34.76
Rank movement Down 12 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #259 | 105,804 | 39.22 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #284 | 108,987 | 36.95 | +3,183 bearers (+3.0%) | Down 25 places |
| 2020 | #296 | 103,903 | 34.76 | -5,084 bearers (-4.7%) | Down 12 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 Welch 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 | #284 | #296 | -4.2% |
| Count | 108,987 | 103,903 | -4.7% |
| Per 100K | 36.95 | 34.76 | -5.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Welch bearers went from 108,987 to 103,903 (-4.7% change). The surname moved down 12 positions in the national ranking, going from #284 to #296.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Welch
FAQ
Welch surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Welch?
Name Census estimates that about 119,148 living Americans carry the surname Welch. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,877 residents.
How common is Welch?
Welch ranks #296 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Common." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 34.76 per 100,000 residents, which is about 35 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 103,903 people with the surname Welch. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (119,148), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 34.76 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 34.76 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 35 of them to have the surname Welch.
Has Welch become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Welch went from 108,987 recorded bearers to 103,903. That is a decrease of 5,084 (-4.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #284 to #296.
What does the Census say about the background of Welch?
Among Census respondents with the surname Welch, the largest self-reported group is White at 80.3%. The next largest groups are Black (10.3%) and Two or More Races (4.2%). 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 Welch in the 2020 Census, accounting for 80.3% (83,386 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Welch appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (80.3%), Black (10.3%), Two or More Races (4.2%). 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 Welch (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 Welch mean?
Derived from the Old English word meaning "foreigner," referring to someone of Celtic origin, particularly from Wales. 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 Welch (34.76 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 Welch?
If you just want to know how many Americans have the surname Welch, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.