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

Werkmeister, 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 Werkmeister surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Werkmeister in America

Werkmeister is the 27818th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Werkmeister surname appeared 863 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Werkmeister.

We can also compare 2010 data for Werkmeister 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 Werkmeister

The surname Werkmeister is of German origin, derived from the words "werk" meaning "work" and "meister" meaning "master" or "skilled worker". It likely emerged in the late medieval period, around the 13th or 14th century, when surnames were becoming more common in German-speaking regions.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Werkmeister can be found in the records of the city of Nuremberg from the 15th century, where it referred to a skilled craftsman or overseer of construction projects. The name may have initially been an occupational surname, indicating the trade or profession of the bearer.

In the 16th century, a notable figure named Andreas Werkmeister (c. 1459-1501) was a German organist and music theorist who wrote influential works on tuning systems for keyboard instruments. His contributions to the development of musical theory and practice were significant during the Renaissance period.

Another prominent individual with the surname was Johann Werkmeister (1645-1706), a German organist, music theorist, and composer. He is best known for his work on well-temperament, a tuning system that allowed for greater modulation between keys in keyboard music. His treatises, such as "Musicalische Temperatur" (1691), were highly influential in the development of tuning theory.

In the 18th century, Johann Matthäus Werkmeister (1663-1747), a German painter and engraver, gained recognition for his portraiture and religious works. His paintings can be found in various churches and collections throughout Germany.

During the 19th century, Carl Werkmeister (1822-1899) was a German architect and urban planner who contributed to the development of cities such as Berlin and Potsdam. He designed several notable buildings, including the Reichstag building in Berlin, which underwent extensive renovations in the late 20th century.

The name Werkmeister has also been associated with various locations in Germany, such as the town of Werkmeisters Dorf in Bavaria, which likely derived its name from an individual or family bearing the surname.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Werkmeister

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

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

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

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!