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

Wenzel, 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 Wenzel surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Wenzel in America

Wenzel is the 3159th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Wenzel surname appeared 11,432 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 Wenzel.

We can also compare 2010 data for Wenzel 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 Wenzel

The surname Wenzel is of German origin, derived from the medieval personal name Wenzel, which is itself a German form of the Slavic name Václav. The name Václav is believed to have its roots in the Old Czech word "vladyka," meaning "prince" or "ruler."

Wenzel is thought to have emerged as a surname in the 12th or 13th century in the regions of modern-day Germany and the Czech Republic. It was initially used as a distinguishing name, denoting a person's relationship to someone named Václav or Wenzel.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Wenzel can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus Saxoniae Regiae, a collection of medieval documents from the German state of Saxony, dating back to the 13th century.

In the 14th century, a notable figure bearing the name Wenzel was Wenzel I, Duke of Saxe-Wittenberg (c. 1337-1388). He was a member of the House of Ascania and played a significant role in the political landscape of the Holy Roman Empire during his reign.

Another historical figure with the surname Wenzel was Wenzel von Olmütz (c. 1330-1388), a Bohemian theologian and prelate who served as the Bishop of Olmütz (now Olomouc, Czech Republic) from 1364 until his death.

In the 16th century, the German painter and engraver Wenzel Hollar (1607-1677) gained recognition for his intricate etchings and engravings, which documented cities, landscapes, and historical events across Europe.

During the 18th century, the Bohemian composer Jan Václav Antonín Stamic (1717-1757), also known as Johann Wenzel Anton Stamitz, made significant contributions to the development of the classical symphonic form.

In the 19th century, the German physicist and inventor Johann Philipp Wenzel (1786-1853) is noted for his work on surface tension and the formulation of Wenzel's law, which describes the behavior of liquids on rough surfaces.

The surname Wenzel has also been associated with various place names throughout Central Europe, such as Wenzelsberg in Germany and Václavice in the Czech Republic, further reflecting its geographical origins and historical significance.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Wenzel

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

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

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

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