2000
#1,951
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 16,916
First available Census row
Per 100,000 6.27
Uncommon Last name
Weller
One who makes, repairs, or sells wells, springs, or watercourses, or one who lives near a well.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 18,059 Americans carry the last name Weller. That puts it at #2,246 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 5.27 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 18,980 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Weller 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 Weller with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
18K
1 in 18,980
Census rank
#2,246
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
5.3
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
16K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 15,748 bearers of the surname Weller in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 5.27 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 2246th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Weller, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.3%) and Hispanic (3.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Weller
The surname Weller originated in Germany and is derived from the Middle High German word "wellær," which means "weller" or "fuller." This occupation referred to someone who treated and thickened cloth, particularly wool, by beating and pressing it. The surname first appeared in records in the late 12th century, and early examples of the name were found in various German states and principalities.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the Weller surname can be found in the Bürgerbucher (Citizen Books) of the city of Nuremberg, which mention a Chunrat der Weller in 1348. Additionally, the surname appears in the tax rolls of the town of Rottenburg am Neckar in 1441, where a Hanns Weller is listed.
The Weller name was also present in the Codex Diplomaticus Saxoniae, a collection of medieval documents from Saxony, which includes references to individuals with the surname in the 14th and 15th centuries. For instance, a Nicol Weller is mentioned in a document from 1389 concerning a property dispute in the town of Zwickau.
In England, the surname Weller is thought to have been introduced by German immigrants in the 16th and 17th centuries. One of the earliest recorded examples is Thomas Weller, who was born in Wantage, Berkshire, in 1566. Another notable bearer of the name was John Weller (1712-1789), an English portraitist and painter who worked in London.
The Weller surname has been associated with several notable individuals throughout history, including:
1. Friedrich Ludwig Weller (1799-1892), a German pastor and theologian.
2. Jacobus Weller (1601-1668), a Dutch Golden Age painter and engraver.
3. Samuel Weller (1776-1854), an English cricketer who played for Surrey and Hampshire.
4. Thomas Weller (1915-2008), an American virologist known for isolating and growing the polio virus in a laboratory setting.
5. Millicent Weller (1907-1993), an American actress who appeared in several films and television shows in the mid-20th century.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Weller
Among Census respondents with the surname Weller, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.3%) and Hispanic (3.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Weller 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 Weller surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.9% · 14,316
- Two or more races3.3% · 512
- Hispanic or Latino3.1% · 492
- Black or African American1.6% · 247
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 122
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 59
Timeline
Historical Census data for Weller
Weller 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
#2,615
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 13,774
-3,142 bearers (-18.6%)
Per 100,000 4.67
Rank movement Down 664 places
2020
#2,246
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 15,748
+1,974 bearers (+14.3%)
Per 100,000 5.27
Rank movement Up 369 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #1,951 | 16,916 | 6.27 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #2,615 | 13,774 | 4.67 | -3,142 bearers (-18.6%) | Down 664 places |
| 2020 | #2,246 | 15,748 | 5.27 | +1,974 bearers (+14.3%) | Up 369 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 Weller 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 | #2,615 | #2,246 | 14.1% |
| Count | 13,774 | 15,748 | 14.3% |
| Per 100K | 4.67 | 5.27 | 12.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Weller bearers went from 13,774 to 15,748 (+14.3% change). The surname moved up 369 positions in the national ranking, going from #2,615 to #2,246.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Weller
FAQ
Weller surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Weller?
Name Census estimates that about 18,059 living Americans carry the surname Weller. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 18,980 residents.
How common is Weller?
Weller ranks #2,246 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 5.27 per 100,000 residents, which is about 5 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 15,748 people with the surname Weller. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (18,059), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 5.27 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 5.27 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 5 of them to have the surname Weller.
Has Weller become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Weller went from 13,774 recorded bearers to 15,748. That is an increase of 1,974 (+14.3%). In the national ranking it rose from #2,615 to #2,246.
What does the Census say about the background of Weller?
Among Census respondents with the surname Weller, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.3%) and Hispanic (3.1%). 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 Weller in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.9% (14,316 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Weller appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (90.9%), Two or More Races (3.3%), Hispanic (3.1%). 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 Weller (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 Weller mean?
One who makes, repairs, or sells wells, springs, or watercourses, or one who lives near a well. 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 Weller (5.27 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 Weller?
Want to know how many people have the last name Weller? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.