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

Wenger, 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 Wenger surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Wenger in America

Wenger is the 3369th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Wenger surname appeared 10,596 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 4 people would have the surname Wenger.

We can also compare 2010 data for Wenger 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 Wenger

The surname Wenger is of German origin, and it is believed to have first emerged in the region of Bavaria during the late Middle Ages. The name is derived from the German word "wenge," which means "field" or "meadow." This suggests that the earliest bearers of this name were likely farmers or landowners who lived and worked in rural areas.

The earliest recorded instances of the Wenger surname can be found in various historical documents from the 14th and 15th centuries. For example, there are records of a Wilhelm Wenger who lived in the town of Nuremberg in 1397. Additionally, the name appears in the Codex Diplomaticus, a collection of medieval charters and documents from Bavaria, dating back to the 15th century.

One notable individual with the Wenger surname was Hans Wenger (1508-1558), a German Renaissance painter and engraver who was born in Nuremberg. His works, which included religious paintings and engravings, are now housed in various museums and collections across Europe.

In the 17th century, the Wenger name appears in several records related to the Thirty Years' War (1618-1648), a devastating conflict that ravaged much of central Europe. One such record mentions a Johann Wenger, who served as a soldier in the Imperial Army during the war.

As the Wenger family spread across different regions of Germany and beyond, variations in spelling emerged, such as Wengert, Wenger, and Wengert. Some of these variations were influenced by local dialects and pronunciations.

One of the most famous individuals with the Wenger surname in more recent history was Arsène Wenger (born 1949), a French former professional football player and manager. He is best known for his tenure as the manager of Arsenal Football Club in the English Premier League, where he served from 1996 to 2018.

Other notable individuals with the Wenger surname include Johann Wenger (1823-1890), a Swiss architect who designed several buildings in Basel, and Paul Wenger (1892-1975), a Swiss writer and poet who was known for his works in the Alemannic German dialect.

While the Wenger name has its roots in Germany, it has since spread to other parts of Europe and beyond, with families bearing this surname found in countries such as Switzerland, France, and even as far as the United States.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Wenger

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

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

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

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