2000
#150,436
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 100
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Wenstrand
A locational surname denoting someone from a place with fields of grass or meadows.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 135 Americans carry the last name Wenstrand. That puts it at #143,511 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,538,921 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Wenstrand 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
135
1 in 2,538,921
Census rank
#143,511
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
118
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 118 bearers of the surname Wenstrand in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 143511th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Wenstrand, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.1%) and Hispanic (4.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Wenstrand
The surname WENSTRAND is of Swedish origin, originating from the region of Västra Götaland in western Sweden. It is believed to have emerged during the medieval period, likely between the 12th and 14th centuries.
WENSTRAND is a compound name derived from the Old Norse words "ven," meaning "friend" or "neighbor," and "strand," meaning "beach" or "shoreline." This suggests that the name may have originated from a family or individual who lived near or owned property along a beach or shoreline area.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name WENSTRAND appears in the Swedish court records of the late 16th century, where a man named Anders Wenstrand is mentioned as a landowner in the Bohuslän region of Västra Götaland.
The WENSTRAND name can also be found in the parish records of the Tanum municipality in Västra Götaland, dating back to the early 17th century. These records document the births, marriages, and deaths of several WENSTRAND families in the area.
In the 18th century, a notable figure bearing the WENSTRAND name was Carl Magnus Wenstrand, a Swedish military officer and landowner who served in the Swedish-Russian War of 1788-1790. He was born in 1752 and died in 1818.
Another historically significant individual with the WENSTRAND surname was Johan Wenstrand, a Swedish botanist and naturalist who lived from 1792 to 1866. He made significant contributions to the field of botany and is credited with discovering several new plant species in Sweden.
In the 19th century, a prominent WENSTRAND was Axel Wenstrand, a Swedish engineer and industrialist born in 1823. He played a crucial role in the development of the Swedish steel industry and was instrumental in the construction of several major infrastructure projects.
Later, in the early 20th century, Gustaf Wenstrand, born in 1879, gained recognition as a Swedish artist and painter known for his landscape and seascape paintings depicting scenes from the Bohuslän region, where his ancestral roots lay.
While the WENSTRAND name has its origins in Sweden, it can also be found in other Scandinavian countries, particularly Norway and Denmark, likely due to migration and intermarriage between these neighboring regions over the centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Wenstrand
Among Census respondents with the surname Wenstrand, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.1%) and Hispanic (4.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Wenstrand 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 Wenstrand surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White87.3% · 103
- Two or more races5.1% · 6
- Hispanic or Latino4.2% · 5
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.5% · 3
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Wenstrand
Wenstrand 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
#148,347
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 111
+11 bearers (+11.0%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 2,089 places
2020
#143,511
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 118
+7 bearers (+6.3%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 4,836 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #150,436 | 100 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #148,347 | 111 | 0.04 | +11 bearers (+11.0%) | Up 2,089 places |
| 2020 | #143,511 | 118 | 0.04 | +7 bearers (+6.3%) | Up 4,836 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 Wenstrand 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 | #148,347 | #143,511 | 3.3% |
| Count | 111 | 118 | 6.3% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -1.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Wenstrand bearers went from 111 to 118 (+6.3% change). The surname moved up 4,836 positions in the national ranking, going from #148,347 to #143,511.
FAQ
Wenstrand surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Wenstrand?
Name Census estimates that about 135 living Americans carry the surname Wenstrand. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,538,921 residents.
How common is Wenstrand?
Wenstrand ranks #143,511 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 118 people with the surname Wenstrand. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (135), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Wenstrand.
Has Wenstrand become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Wenstrand went from 111 recorded bearers to 118. That is an increase of 7 (+6.3%). In the national ranking it rose from #148,347 to #143,511.
What does the Census say about the background of Wenstrand?
Among Census respondents with the surname Wenstrand, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.1%) and Hispanic (4.2%). 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 Wenstrand in the 2020 Census, accounting for 87.3% (103 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Wenstrand appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (87.3%), Two or More Races (5.1%), Hispanic (4.2%). 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 Wenstrand (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 Wenstrand mean?
A locational surname denoting someone from a place with fields of grass or meadows. 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 Wenstrand (0.04 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 share the surname Wenstrand?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.