2000
#134,929
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 115
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Werbel
A German occupational surname derived from the German word for "drum" or "to drum".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 132 Americans carry the last name Werbel. That puts it at #145,757 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,596,624 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Werbel 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
132
1 in 2,596,624
Census rank
#145,757
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
115
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 115 bearers of the surname Werbel in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 145757th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Werbel, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (6.1%) and Hispanic (3.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Werbel
The surname WERBEL has its origins in Poland and the surrounding regions of Eastern Europe. It is believed to have derived from the Polish word "werbel," which refers to a kettledrum or a small drum used in military bands. This suggests that the name may have originally been an occupational surname, given to drummers or those involved in military music.
The earliest recorded instances of the WERBEL surname can be traced back to the 16th century in various Polish records and documents. One notable early bearer of the name was Jan WERBEL, a drummer in the Polish army during the reign of King Sigismund III Vasa in the early 1600s.
In the 17th century, the WERBEL name appeared in various regions of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, including present-day Belarus and Ukraine. During this time, the name was sometimes spelled as "Werbil" or "Werbel," reflecting regional variations in pronunciation and orthography.
As the centuries progressed, the WERBEL surname spread across Eastern Europe, with bearers of the name found in various records and historical documents. In the 19th century, for instance, a notable figure was Józef WERBEL, a Polish painter and artist born in 1821 in the town of Kraków.
Another notable individual with the WERBEL surname was Michał WERBEL, a Polish writer and journalist who lived from 1858 to 1932. He was known for his literary works and contributions to the Polish cultural scene during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
In the 20th century, the WERBEL surname continued to be present in various regions of Eastern Europe, particularly in Poland, Ukraine, and Belarus. One prominent figure was Stanisław WERBEL, a Polish composer and conductor who lived from 1889 to 1973 and was known for his contributions to the Polish music scene.
While the WERBEL surname has its roots in Eastern Europe, it has since spread to other parts of the world due to migration and diaspora communities. However, the name's origins can be traced back to its likely occupational beginnings in Poland and the surrounding regions, where it was closely associated with the art of drumming and military music.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Werbel
Among Census respondents with the surname Werbel, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (6.1%) and Hispanic (3.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Werbel 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 Werbel surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White87.0% · 100
- Two or more races6.1% · 7
- Hispanic or Latino3.5% · 4
- Black or African American1.7% · 2
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.7% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Werbel
Werbel 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
#137,327
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 122
+7 bearers (+6.1%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 2,398 places
2020
#145,757
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 115
-7 bearers (-5.7%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 8,430 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #134,929 | 115 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #137,327 | 122 | 0.04 | +7 bearers (+6.1%) | Down 2,398 places |
| 2020 | #145,757 | 115 | 0.04 | -7 bearers (-5.7%) | Down 8,430 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 Werbel 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 | #137,327 | #145,757 | -6.1% |
| Count | 122 | 115 | -5.7% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -3.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Werbel bearers went from 122 to 115 (-5.7% change). The surname moved down 8,430 positions in the national ranking, going from #137,327 to #145,757.
FAQ
Werbel surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Werbel?
Name Census estimates that about 132 living Americans carry the surname Werbel. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,596,624 residents.
How common is Werbel?
Werbel ranks #145,757 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 115 people with the surname Werbel. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (132), 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 Werbel.
Has Werbel become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Werbel went from 122 recorded bearers to 115. That is a decrease of 7 (-5.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #137,327 to #145,757.
What does the Census say about the background of Werbel?
Among Census respondents with the surname Werbel, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (6.1%) and Hispanic (3.5%). 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 Werbel in the 2020 Census, accounting for 87.0% (100 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Werbel appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (87.0%), Two or More Races (6.1%), Hispanic (3.5%). 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 Werbel (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 Werbel mean?
A German occupational surname derived from the German word for "drum" or "to drum". 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 Werbel (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 common is the surname Werbel?
If you just want to know how common the surname Werbel is, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.