2000
#3,929
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,306
First available Census row
Per 100,000 3.08
Rare Last name
Welker
Derived from a German nickname meaning "one who walks well" or "a capable walker."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 9,275 Americans carry the last name Welker. That puts it at #4,238 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.71 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 36,955 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Welker 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 Welker with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
9.3K
1 in 36,955
Census rank
#4,238
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
8.1K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 8,088 bearers of the surname Welker in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.71 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 4238th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Welker, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.4%) and Hispanic (3.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Welker
The surname Welker originated in Germany, with the earliest records dating back to the 12th century. It is derived from the Old German word "walken," meaning "to walk" or "to tread." This suggests that the name may have been initially given as an occupational name for a fuller, who trod on cloth to thicken and clean it.
The name was particularly prevalent in the regions of Bavaria and Saxony, where it appeared in various spellings such as Walker, Walcker, and Walker. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Codex Traditionum Westphalensium, a 12th-century manuscript from Westphalia, which mentions a person named Wolkerus.
During the Middle Ages, the name Welker appeared in several historical records, including the Stadtbuch of Nürnberg from the 14th century, which lists individuals with the surname Welker residing in the city. In the 15th century, a man named Hans Welker was mentioned in the records of the city of Augsburg as a member of the local guild of shoemakers.
One notable individual with the surname Welker was Johann Welker, a German Renaissance humanist and scholar who lived from 1486 to 1554. He was a professor of Greek and Latin at the University of Tübingen and contributed significantly to the study of classical literature.
Another famous bearer of the name was Friedrich Gottlieb Welcker, a German classical scholar and archaeologist who lived from 1784 to 1868. He made important contributions to the study of ancient Greek art and literature and is considered a pioneer in the field of classical archaeology.
In the 19th century, Carl Theodor Welcker (1790-1869) was a prominent German jurist and politician who served as the Minister of Justice and Vice President of the Prussian Council of State. He played a significant role in the legal reforms of Prussia during that period.
The name Welker also has a historical presence in other parts of Europe, such as the Netherlands, where it appeared as Welker or Welkers. In the 17th century, a Dutch scholar named Pieter Welker (1618-1688) gained recognition for his work in theology and philology.
Throughout the centuries, the surname Welker has been associated with individuals from various professions, including scholars, politicians, and artisans, reflecting the diverse origins and meanings of this German surname.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Welker
Among Census respondents with the surname Welker, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.4%) and Hispanic (3.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Welker 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 Welker surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.6% · 7,408
- Two or more races3.4% · 273
- Hispanic or Latino3.0% · 241
- Black or African American0.8% · 64
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 54
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 48
Timeline
Historical Census data for Welker
Welker 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
#4,138
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,566
+260 bearers (+3.1%)
Per 100,000 2.90
Rank movement Down 209 places
2020
#4,238
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,088
-478 bearers (-5.6%)
Per 100,000 2.71
Rank movement Down 100 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #3,929 | 8,306 | 3.08 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #4,138 | 8,566 | 2.90 | +260 bearers (+3.1%) | Down 209 places |
| 2020 | #4,238 | 8,088 | 2.71 | -478 bearers (-5.6%) | Down 100 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 Welker 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 | #4,138 | #4,238 | -2.4% |
| Count | 8,566 | 8,088 | -5.6% |
| Per 100K | 2.90 | 2.71 | -6.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Welker bearers went from 8,566 to 8,088 (-5.6% change). The surname moved down 100 positions in the national ranking, going from #4,138 to #4,238.
FAQ
Welker surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Welker?
Name Census estimates that about 9,275 living Americans carry the surname Welker. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 36,955 residents.
How common is Welker?
Welker ranks #4,238 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.71 per 100,000 residents, which is about 3 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 8,088 people with the surname Welker. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (9,275), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.71 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.71 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 3 of them to have the surname Welker.
Has Welker become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Welker went from 8,566 recorded bearers to 8,088. That is a decrease of 478 (-5.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #4,138 to #4,238.
What does the Census say about the background of Welker?
Among Census respondents with the surname Welker, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.4%) and Hispanic (3.0%). 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 Welker in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.6% (7,408 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Welker appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.6%), Two or More Races (3.4%), Hispanic (3.0%). 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 Welker (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 Welker mean?
Derived from a German nickname meaning "one who walks well" or "a capable walker." 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 Welker (2.71 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 Welker?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.