2000
#2,605
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 12,744
First available Census row
Per 100,000 4.72
Uncommon Last name
Wendt
Derived from a Germanic personal name composed of the elements "wand," meaning a Wend or Sorb, and "heri," meaning an army.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 13,960 Americans carry the last name Wendt. That puts it at #2,881 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 4.07 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 24,553 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Wendt 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Wendt with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
14K
1 in 24,553
Census rank
#2,881
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
4.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
12K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 12,174 bearers of the surname Wendt in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 4.07 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 2881st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Wendt, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.9%) and Two or More Races (2.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Wendt
The surname Wendt has its origins in Germany, dating back to the medieval period. It is derived from the Old German word "went," which means a path or a way. This suggests that the name may have originally referred to someone who lived near a particular path or road.
The earliest recorded instances of the name Wendt can be found in various German records and chronicles from the 13th and 14th centuries. For example, a record from the year 1292 mentions a "Johannes Wendt" residing in the town of Lübeck, which was a prominent trading hub in Northern Germany during that time.
In the 15th century, the name appeared in various legal documents and land records in regions such as Bavaria and Saxony. One notable example is a document from 1462 that references a "Hans Wendt," who was a landowner in the village of Elterlein, near the city of Chemnitz.
The name Wendt has also been associated with several notable figures throughout history. One such individual was Johann Wendt, a German theologian and philosopher who lived from 1529 to 1597. He was a prominent figure in the Protestant Reformation and authored several theological works.
Another notable bearer of the name was Georg Wendt, a German painter who lived from 1619 to 1677. He was known for his religious paintings and worked extensively in the cities of Nuremberg and Dresden.
In the 19th century, the name Wendt gained further prominence with the birth of Gustav Wendt, a German-American businessman and philanthropist (1828-1898). He emigrated to the United States in the mid-1800s and became a successful businessman in the brewing industry.
Other notable individuals with the surname Wendt include Alexander Wendt, a German-American philosopher and international relations theorist (born 1958), and the American actor George Wendt, best known for his role as Norm Peterson on the television series "Cheers" (born 1948).
While the name Wendt has its roots in Germany, it has since spread to various other parts of the world, particularly through German emigration in the 19th and early 20th centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Wendt
Among Census respondents with the surname Wendt, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.9%) and Two or More Races (2.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Wendt 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 Wendt surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.6% · 11,276
- Hispanic or Latino2.9% · 357
- Two or more races2.7% · 326
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 118
- Black or African American0.5% · 56
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 41
Timeline
Historical Census data for Wendt
Wendt 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
#2,838
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 12,712
-32 bearers (-0.3%)
Per 100,000 4.31
Rank movement Down 233 places
2020
#2,881
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 12,174
-538 bearers (-4.2%)
Per 100,000 4.07
Rank movement Down 43 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #2,605 | 12,744 | 4.72 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #2,838 | 12,712 | 4.31 | -32 bearers (-0.3%) | Down 233 places |
| 2020 | #2,881 | 12,174 | 4.07 | -538 bearers (-4.2%) | Down 43 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 Wendt 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 | #2,838 | #2,881 | -1.5% |
| Count | 12,712 | 12,174 | -4.2% |
| Per 100K | 4.31 | 4.07 | -5.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Wendt bearers went from 12,712 to 12,174 (-4.2% change). The surname moved down 43 positions in the national ranking, going from #2,838 to #2,881.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Wendt
FAQ
Wendt surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Wendt?
Name Census estimates that about 13,960 living Americans carry the surname Wendt. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 24,553 residents.
How common is Wendt?
Wendt ranks #2,881 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 4.07 per 100,000 residents, which is about 4 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 12,174 people with the surname Wendt. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (13,960), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 4.07 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 4.07 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 4 of them to have the surname Wendt.
Has Wendt become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Wendt went from 12,712 recorded bearers to 12,174. That is a decrease of 538 (-4.2%). In the national ranking it fell from #2,838 to #2,881.
What does the Census say about the background of Wendt?
Among Census respondents with the surname Wendt, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.9%) and Two or More Races (2.7%). 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 Wendt in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.6% (11,276 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Wendt appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.6%), Hispanic (2.9%), Two or More Races (2.7%). 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 Wendt (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 Wendt mean?
Derived from a Germanic personal name composed of the elements "wand," meaning a Wend or Sorb, and "heri," meaning an army. 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 Wendt (4.07 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 have the surname Wendt?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.