2000
#10,583
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,781
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.03
Rare Last name
Welsch
Derived from the German word meaning "foreigner," particularly referring to Romance-speaking peoples.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,214 Americans carry the last name Welsch. That puts it at #10,856 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.94 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 106,644 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Welsch 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
3.2K
1 in 106,644
Census rank
#10,856
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.8K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,803 bearers of the surname Welsch in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.94 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 10856th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Welsch, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.7%) and Two or More Races (3.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Welsch
The surname WELSCH is of German origin and dates back to the 12th century. It is derived from the old German word "Walh," which referred to a person of Italic or Romanic descent, particularly those from France, Italy, or other regions south of the Germanic areas. The name was likely given as a descriptive nickname to distinguish individuals with these southern European roots.
In its earliest recorded forms, the name appeared as "Walche," "Walch," or "Welche" in various medieval documents and records. One of the earliest references can be found in the Codex Traditionum Corbeiensium, a 12th-century cartulary from the Benedictine abbey of Corvey in present-day North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.
The name is also believed to have ties to certain place names, such as Welschbillig, a municipality in the Trier-Saarburg district of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. The name "Welschbillig" is derived from the old German words "walh" (foreigner) and "billig" (settlement or village), suggesting a settlement of people of Romance or Celtic descent.
Among the earliest recorded individuals with the surname WELSCH was Johannes Welsch, a German theologian and writer who lived from around 1450 to 1522. Another notable figure was Christoph Welsch, a German astronomer and mathematician born in 1619 and known for his contributions to the study of comets.
In the 16th century, the WELSCH surname appeared in the records of the Electorate of Saxony, where a family of that name held noble status. One prominent member was Hans Christoph von Welsch, a Saxon nobleman and military commander who lived from 1595 to 1659.
The name also gained recognition in the artistic and literary circles of the 17th and 18th centuries. Marcus Welsch, a German painter and engraver born in 1666, was known for his portraits and biblical scenes. Johann Christoph Welsch, born in 1738, was a German philologist and author who wrote extensively on the history and culture of ancient Greece and Rome.
As the name spread across Europe, it took on various spellings and regional variations, such as Welsche, Welshi, and Welscher. However, the core meaning and origin remained rooted in the old German word "Walh," reflecting the diverse cultural influences that have shaped the history of this surname.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Welsch
Among Census respondents with the surname Welsch, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.7%) and Two or More Races (3.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Welsch 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 Welsch surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.9% · 2,548
- Hispanic or Latino3.7% · 104
- Two or more races3.0% · 84
- Black or African American1.1% · 32
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 25
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 10
Timeline
Historical Census data for Welsch
Welsch 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
#11,104
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,857
+76 bearers (+2.7%)
Per 100,000 0.97
Rank movement Down 521 places
2020
#10,856
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,803
-54 bearers (-1.9%)
Per 100,000 0.94
Rank movement Up 248 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #10,583 | 2,781 | 1.03 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #11,104 | 2,857 | 0.97 | +76 bearers (+2.7%) | Down 521 places |
| 2020 | #10,856 | 2,803 | 0.94 | -54 bearers (-1.9%) | Up 248 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 Welsch 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 | #11,104 | #10,856 | 2.2% |
| Count | 2,857 | 2,803 | -1.9% |
| Per 100K | 0.97 | 0.94 | -3.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Welsch bearers went from 2,857 to 2,803 (-1.9% change). The surname moved up 248 positions in the national ranking, going from #11,104 to #10,856.
FAQ
Welsch surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Welsch?
Name Census estimates that about 3,214 living Americans carry the surname Welsch. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 106,644 residents.
How common is Welsch?
Welsch ranks #10,856 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.94 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 2,803 people with the surname Welsch. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,214), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.94 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.94 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 Welsch.
Has Welsch become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Welsch went from 2,857 recorded bearers to 2,803. That is a decrease of 54 (-1.9%). In the national ranking it rose from #11,104 to #10,856.
What does the Census say about the background of Welsch?
Among Census respondents with the surname Welsch, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.7%) and Two or More Races (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 Welsch in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.9% (2,548 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Welsch appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (90.9%), Hispanic (3.7%), Two or More Races (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 Welsch (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 Welsch mean?
Derived from the German word meaning "foreigner," particularly referring to Romance-speaking peoples. 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 Welsch (0.94 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 share the surname Welsch?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.