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

Wendland, 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 Wendland surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Wendland in America

Wendland is the 11529th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Wendland surname appeared 2,728 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Wendland.

We can also compare 2010 data for Wendland 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 Wendland

The surname Wendland is of German origin, derived from the region of Wendland in Lower Saxony, Germany. This region was historically inhabited by the Slavic Wends, and the name likely refers to someone who hailed from this area or had some association with it.

The earliest recorded instances of the name can be traced back to the 13th century, with references found in various medieval documents and records. One notable example is the mention of a Henricus de Wendlande in a land registry from the year 1289.

During the late Middle Ages, the Wendland region was part of the Duchy of Saxe-Lauenburg, and the name Wendland appeared in several chronicles and annals from this period, often associated with individuals who held positions of authority or influence within the local nobility or clergy.

In the 16th century, the name Wendland can be found in the records of the Hanseatic League, a powerful commercial and defensive confederation of merchant guilds and market towns in Northern Europe. Several merchants and traders with the surname Wendland were involved in the lucrative trade routes of the Hanseatic League.

One of the earliest documented individuals with the surname Wendland was Johann Wendland (c. 1490-1559), a Lutheran theologian and reformer who played a significant role in the establishment of Protestantism in the Duchy of Saxe-Lauenburg.

Another notable figure was Caspar Wendland (1584-1638), a German jurist and legal scholar who served as a professor of law at the University of Helmstedt and authored several influential works on legal theory and practice.

In the 18th century, Johann Christoph Wendland (1755-1828) was a renowned German botanist and horticulturist who made significant contributions to the study of plants and their classification. He served as the director of the Herrenhausen Gardens in Hanover and published numerous works on botany.

In more recent history, Heinz Wendland (1914-1998) was a German politician and member of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD). He served as the Minister-President of Lower Saxony from 1976 to 1986.

Throughout its history, the surname Wendland has also been associated with various places and geographical features in the Wendland region, such as the town of Lüchow-Wendland and the Wendland Nature Park, further reinforcing its origins and connection to this area of Lower Saxony.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Wendland

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

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

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

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