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

Welter, 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 Welter surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Welter in America

Welter is the 7080th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Welter surname appeared 4,729 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 2 people would have the surname Welter.

We can also compare 2010 data for Welter 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 Welter

The surname "WELTER" is of German origin and can be traced back to the Middle Ages. It is believed to have derived from the Old German word "walten," which means "to rule" or "to govern." This suggests that the name may have originally referred to someone who held a position of authority or governance.

One of the earliest recorded references to the name "WELTER" can be found in the German town of Wöltingerode, located in the Harz region of Lower Saxony. This town's name is thought to have influenced the spelling and pronunciation of the surname. Variations of the name, such as "Welterich" and "Welderich," were also common during the medieval period.

In the 13th century, a man named Johann Welter was mentioned in a document from the city of Cologne, which was a prominent center of trade and commerce during that time. This entry provides evidence of the surname's early usage and its association with urban areas.

The name "WELTER" also appears in the Codex Diplomaticus, a collection of historical documents from the former Duchy of Westphalia, dated back to the 14th century. This further solidifies the presence of the surname in the regions of present-day Germany during the Middle Ages.

One notable individual with the surname "WELTER" was Johann Welter (1480-1554), a German theologian and reformer who played a significant role in the Protestant Reformation. He was a close associate of Martin Luther and participated in the Leipzig Debate in 1519, which marked a pivotal moment in the Reformation movement.

Another prominent figure was Heinrich Welter (1591-1668), a German mathematician and astronomer who made important contributions to the field of celestial mechanics. He was also a professor at the University of Giessen and published several works on astronomy and mathematics.

In the 18th century, Johann Philipp Welter (1712-1789) was a renowned German painter and engraver. He was particularly known for his landscapes and architectural paintings, which depicted the cities and landmarks of his time with great detail and accuracy.

During the 19th century, Theodor Welter (1825-1901) was a German businessman and publisher who founded the Welter Verlag publishing house in Berlin. This publishing company became a significant contributor to the dissemination of literature and academic works in Germany and beyond.

Lastly, in the 20th century, Erich Welter (1900-1982) was a German politician who served as a member of the Bundestag, the federal parliament of Germany, from 1957 to 1965. He was a member of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party and played an active role in the post-World War II reconstruction efforts in Germany.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Welter

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

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

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

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