Find out how popular the last name Wendorff is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Wendorff.
From a village in Germany with the meaning "dweller by a winding path".
Wendorff, 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 Wendorff surname is from the 2010 census data.
Wendorff is the 39352nd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.
The Wendorff surname appeared 559 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Wendorff.
We can also compare 2010 data for Wendorff 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.
| 2010 | 2000 | Change (%) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | 39352 | 38141 | 3.13% |
| Count | 559 | 546 | 2.35% |
| Proportion per 100k | 0.19 | 0.20 | -5.13% |
The surname Wendorff is of German origin, originating in the region of Lower Saxony. It is believed to have derived from the Old German words "wend," meaning "to turn" or "to change," and "horf," referring to a small village or hamlet. The name likely originated as a place name, describing a settlement where a road or path turned or changed direction.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Wendorff can be found in the Bremisches Urkundenbuch, a collection of historical documents from the city of Bremen, dating back to the 13th century. In this document, a person named Hermannus de Wendorpe is mentioned, referring to an individual from the village of Wendorff.
During the 16th century, the name Wendorff appears in various records from the region of Lower Saxony, particularly in the area around the city of Hanover. One notable bearer of the name was Johann Wendorff, a merchant and landowner who lived in the town of Celle in the late 1500s.
In the 17th century, the Wendorff family spread to other parts of Germany, including the regions of Mecklenburg and Pomerania. A prominent figure from this time was Friedrich Wendorff, a Lutheran pastor and theologian who served in the city of Stralsund from 1632 to 1671.
The 18th century saw the Wendorff name appear in various genealogical records and church registers across northern Germany. One notable individual was Christoph Wendorff, a renowned clockmaker from the town of Lüneburg, who lived from 1711 to 1789.
In the 19th century, the name Wendorff became more widespread, with several notable bearers, including Heinrich Wendorff, a German painter and illustrator born in 1824, and Wilhelm Wendorff, a German historian and author who lived from 1856 to 1921.
Throughout history, the Wendorff name has been associated with various professionals and accomplished individuals, including academics, artists, clergy, and businesspeople. While the name has its roots in the small villages of Lower Saxony, it has since spread to other parts of Germany and beyond, leaving a lasting legacy in the annals of German history and culture.
We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Wendorff.
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:
For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Wendorff was:
| Race/Ethnicity | Percentage | Total Occurrences |
|---|---|---|
| Non-Hispanic White Only | 92.67% | 518 |
| Non-Hispanic Black Only | (S)% | (S) |
| Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only | 0.89% | 5 |
| Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native | (S)% | (S) |
| Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races | (S)% | (S) |
| Hispanic Origin | 5.19% | 29 |
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 Wendorff has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.
| 2010 | 2000 | Change (%) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| White | 92.67% | 93.04% | -0.40% |
| Black | (S)% | (S)% | (S)% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 0.89% | 1.10% | -21.11% |
| American Indian and Alaskan Native | (S)% | (S)% | (S)% |
| Two or More Races | (S)% | (S)% | (S)% |
| Hispanic | 5.19% | 4.40% | 16.48% |
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 Wendorff was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.
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