2000
#95,091
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 178
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.07
Very Rare Last name
Weltzien
A German surname referring to a person from the town of Weltzien.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 177 Americans carry the last name Weltzien. That puts it at #119,015 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.05 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 1,936,465 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Weltzien 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
177
1 in 1,936,465
Census rank
#119,015
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
154
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 154 bearers of the surname Weltzien in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.05 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 119015th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Weltzien, the largest self-reported group is White at 97.4%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (1.3%) and Black (0.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Weltzien
The surname Weltzien has its origins in the German language and is believed to have originated in the northern regions of Germany, particularly in the areas around the cities of Hamburg and Lübeck. The name is thought to be derived from the Old German word "walt," which means "forest," and the suffix "-zien," which likely refers to a location or place of residence.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Weltzien can be found in the Lübeck city records from the 14th century, where a person named Hans Weltzien is mentioned as a resident of the city in the year 1376. This suggests that the name had already been established in the region by that time.
In the 16th century, there are records of a family named Weltzien residing in the town of Itzehoe, located in the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein. During this period, the name was sometimes spelled as "Weltzen" or "Weltzin," reflecting the variations in spelling that were common in those times.
One notable figure bearing the Weltzien surname was Johann Weltzien, a German cartographer and surveyor who lived in the 17th century. He was born in 1643 and is known for his detailed maps of the regions around Hamburg and the Baltic Sea coastline.
Another historical figure associated with this surname was Karl Weltzien, a German jurist and legal scholar who lived in the 18th century. He was born in 1727 in the city of Lübeck and gained recognition for his contributions to the field of German law.
In the 19th century, the Weltzien family had a presence in the city of Berlin, where a merchant named Friedrich Weltzien (1812-1879) established a successful trading business. His son, Wilhelm Weltzien (1848-1934), continued the family's commercial endeavors and became a prominent figure in the city's business community.
Other notable individuals with the Weltzien surname include the 20th century German painter and artist, Erich Weltzien (1897-1975), who was known for his expressionist works, and the contemporary German writer and journalist, Katrin Weltzien (born 1962), who has published several novels and non-fiction books.
While the Weltzien name has its roots in northern Germany, it has since spread to other parts of the country and beyond, with people bearing this surname living in various regions of Europe and other parts of the world.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Weltzien
Among Census respondents with the surname Weltzien, the largest self-reported group is White at 97.4%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (1.3%) and Black (0.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Weltzien 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 Weltzien surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White97.4% · 150
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.3% · 2
- Black or African American0.6% · 1
- Two or more races0.6% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Weltzien
Weltzien 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
#109,758
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 161
-17 bearers (-9.6%)
Per 100,000 0.05
Rank movement Down 14,667 places
2020
#119,015
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 154
-7 bearers (-4.3%)
Per 100,000 0.05
Rank movement Down 9,257 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #95,091 | 178 | 0.07 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #109,758 | 161 | 0.05 | -17 bearers (-9.6%) | Down 14,667 places |
| 2020 | #119,015 | 154 | 0.05 | -7 bearers (-4.3%) | Down 9,257 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 Weltzien 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 | #109,758 | #119,015 | -8.4% |
| Count | 161 | 154 | -4.3% |
| Per 100K | 0.05 | 0.05 | 3.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Weltzien bearers went from 161 to 154 (-4.3% change). The surname moved down 9,257 positions in the national ranking, going from #109,758 to #119,015.
FAQ
Weltzien surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Weltzien?
Name Census estimates that about 177 living Americans carry the surname Weltzien. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 1,936,465 residents.
How common is Weltzien?
Weltzien ranks #119,015 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.05 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 154 people with the surname Weltzien. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (177), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.05 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.05 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Weltzien.
Has Weltzien become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Weltzien went from 161 recorded bearers to 154. That is a decrease of 7 (-4.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #109,758 to #119,015.
What does the Census say about the background of Weltzien?
Among Census respondents with the surname Weltzien, the largest self-reported group is White at 97.4%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (1.3%) and Black (0.6%). 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 Weltzien in the 2020 Census, accounting for 97.4% (150 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Weltzien appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (97.4%), Asian/Pacific Islander (1.3%), Black (0.6%). 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 Weltzien (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 Weltzien mean?
A German surname referring to a person from the town of Weltzien. 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 Weltzien (0.05 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 Weltzien?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.