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

Welcher, 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 Welcher surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Welcher in America

Welcher is the 15163rd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Welcher surname appeared 1,944 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Welcher.

We can also compare 2010 data for Welcher 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 Welcher

The surname "Welcher" is of German origin, traced back to the Middle Ages. It is believed to have originated in the regions of modern-day Germany, particularly in the southern areas near the Alps. The name is likely derived from the Old High German word "walah," which means "foreigner" or "stranger."

This surname first appeared in historical records around the 12th century, often referring to individuals who had migrated from other regions or countries. It was initially spelled in various ways, such as "Walcher," "Welker," or "Welker." The earliest known record of the name is found in the Codex Traditionum Monasterii Mellicensis, a medieval manuscript from the Melk Abbey in Austria, dating back to the late 12th century.

One of the earliest recorded individuals with this surname was Johannes Welcher, a prominent merchant from Nuremberg, Germany, who lived in the 14th century. Another notable figure was Heinrich Welcher, a scholar and theologian from Heidelberg, who was born in 1489 and died in 1555.

In the 16th century, the name appeared in several place names across Germany, such as Welcherdorf (now Velchera) in Bavaria and Welcherbach in Rhineland-Palatinate. These place names likely derived from individuals or families with the surname Welcher who had settled in those areas.

During the 17th and 18th centuries, the Welcher surname was associated with several notable figures, including Johann Welcher (1628-1688), a German painter and engraver, and Christoph Welcher (1655-1723), a German composer and organist.

In the 19th century, one of the most famous individuals with the surname Welcher was Friedrich Gottlieb Welcker (1784-1868), a German classical scholar and archaeologist who made significant contributions to the study of ancient Greek art and literature.

Other noteworthy individuals with the Welcher surname throughout history include Johann Welcher (1810-1888), a German-American artist and lithographer, and Maximilian Welcher (1837-1904), a German-born American Civil War veteran and politician who served as the 11th Lieutenant Governor of Wisconsin.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Welcher

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

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 Welcher 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 Welcher 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 Welcher was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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