2000
#5,990
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,293
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.96
Rare Last name
Wendel
A German occupational surname derived from the Middle High German word "wandeler," meaning a wanderer, traveler, or peddler.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 6,036 Americans carry the last name Wendel. That puts it at #6,231 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.76 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 56,785 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Wendel 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
6.0K
1 in 56,785
Census rank
#6,231
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
5.3K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 5,264 bearers of the surname Wendel in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.76 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 6231st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Wendel, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.8%) and Hispanic (2.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Wendel
The surname Wendel is of German origin, derived from the Old German personal name "Wendel" or "Wendelin." This name is a diminutive form of the Germanic name "Wendo," which means "Wend" or "Slav." The Wends were a Slavic people who inhabited parts of eastern Germany during the Middle Ages.
The earliest recorded instances of the surname Wendel date back to the 13th century in various regions of Germany, particularly in the areas around the Rhine River and the Alsace region. It was initially spelled as "Wendelin" or "Wendel," and later variations included "Wendel," "Wendell," and "Wendler."
One of the earliest known bearers of the name was Wendel Hipler, a German poet and playwright who lived in the 15th century. Another notable figure was Wendel Dietrich, a German theologian and reformer who was born in 1495 and played a significant role in the Protestant Reformation.
In the 16th century, the surname Wendel was recorded in several German towns and villages, including Wendelsheim and Wendelstein, which may have influenced the name's development. These place names likely derived from the personal name Wendel or Wendelin.
During the 17th and 18th centuries, the surname spread to other parts of Europe, particularly to the Netherlands and England, where it was sometimes anglicized to "Wendell." One prominent bearer of the name was the Dutch poet and playwright Joost van den Vondel (1587-1679), who is considered one of the greatest Dutch literary figures of the Golden Age.
Another notable individual with the surname Wendel was Johann Wendel (1619-1685), a German composer and organist who served at the court of the Elector of Saxony. In the 19th century, the name was associated with the Wendel family, a prominent steel manufacturing dynasty in France, with members such as François de Wendel (1774-1825) and Henri de Wendel (1805-1858).
Throughout its history, the surname Wendel has been borne by various individuals across different fields, including artists, writers, musicians, and industrialists, reflecting its Germanic roots and its spread across Europe over the centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Wendel
Among Census respondents with the surname Wendel, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.8%) and Hispanic (2.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Wendel 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 Wendel surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.7% · 4,934
- Two or more races2.8% · 149
- Hispanic or Latino2.3% · 119
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 34
- Black or African American0.3% · 15
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 13
Timeline
Historical Census data for Wendel
Wendel 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
#6,149
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,572
+279 bearers (+5.3%)
Per 100,000 1.89
Rank movement Down 159 places
2020
#6,231
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,264
-308 bearers (-5.5%)
Per 100,000 1.76
Rank movement Down 82 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #5,990 | 5,293 | 1.96 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #6,149 | 5,572 | 1.89 | +279 bearers (+5.3%) | Down 159 places |
| 2020 | #6,231 | 5,264 | 1.76 | -308 bearers (-5.5%) | Down 82 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 Wendel 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 | #6,149 | #6,231 | -1.3% |
| Count | 5,572 | 5,264 | -5.5% |
| Per 100K | 1.89 | 1.76 | -6.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Wendel bearers went from 5,572 to 5,264 (-5.5% change). The surname moved down 82 positions in the national ranking, going from #6,149 to #6,231.
FAQ
Wendel surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Wendel?
Name Census estimates that about 6,036 living Americans carry the surname Wendel. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 56,785 residents.
How common is Wendel?
Wendel ranks #6,231 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.76 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 5,264 people with the surname Wendel. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (6,036), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.76 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.76 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Wendel.
Has Wendel become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Wendel went from 5,572 recorded bearers to 5,264. That is a decrease of 308 (-5.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #6,149 to #6,231.
What does the Census say about the background of Wendel?
Among Census respondents with the surname Wendel, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.8%) and Hispanic (2.3%). 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 Wendel in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.7% (4,934 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Wendel appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.7%), Two or More Races (2.8%), Hispanic (2.3%). 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 Wendel (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 Wendel mean?
A German occupational surname derived from the Middle High German word "wandeler," meaning a wanderer, traveler, or peddler. 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 Wendel (1.76 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 Wendel?
See how common the surname Wendel is on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.