2000
#58,553
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 324
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.12
Very Rare Last name
Wermers
A surname derived from the German word "Wehrmer," meaning a maker of coat of arms.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 414 Americans carry the last name Wermers. That puts it at #60,295 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.12 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 827,909 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Wermers 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
414
1 in 827,909
Census rank
#60,295
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
361
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 361 bearers of the surname Wermers in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.12 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 60295th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Wermers, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.8%) and Hispanic (2.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Wermers
The surname Wermers is of German origin, derived from the Old German word 'wurm' which translates to 'worm' or 'serpent'. It is believed to have originated as an occupational name for a person who worked with worms, perhaps in the silk or dye industry, or as a nickname for someone who resembled a worm in some way.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Wermers can be found in the Schwäbisches Wörterbuch, a Middle High German dictionary published in 1831, where it is listed as a variant of the surname Wurm. The name is also mentioned in the Deutsches Familiennamen-Lexikon, a comprehensive dictionary of German family names, published in 1989.
The Wermers name can be traced back to the 14th century in various regions of Germany, particularly in the states of Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg. The town of Wermers in the district of Günzburg, Bavaria, is believed to have been named after a person with this surname.
Historically, the name Wermers has been associated with several notable individuals. Johann Wermers (1580-1651), a German theologian and author, was a prominent figure in the early 17th century. His work, "Theologia Polemica", published in 1625, was highly influential in religious debates of the time.
Another famous bearer of the name was Heinrich Wermers (1812-1884), a German politician and lawyer who served as a member of the Prussian House of Representatives in the mid-19th century. He was a vocal advocate for civil rights and legal reforms.
In the arts, the name Wermers is associated with the German painter and printmaker, Karl Wermers (1876-1945), whose works were influenced by the Expressionist movement. His paintings and etchings often depicted scenes of rural life and landscapes.
The Wermers family also has a notable presence in the United States, with records showing the name appearing as early as the 18th century. One of the earliest documented individuals with this surname was Johann Wermers, who immigrated to Pennsylvania from Germany in the 1760s.
Another notable American with the Wermers surname was Frederick Wermers (1873-1952), a prominent businessman and philanthropist from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He founded the Wermers Beverage Company and was actively involved in various charitable organizations.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Wermers
Among Census respondents with the surname Wermers, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.8%) and Hispanic (2.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Wermers 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 Wermers surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White94.2% · 340
- Two or more races2.8% · 10
- Hispanic or Latino2.5% · 9
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.3% · 1
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Wermers
Wermers 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
#56,588
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 361
+37 bearers (+11.4%)
Per 100,000 0.12
Rank movement Up 1,965 places
2020
#60,295
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 361
+0 bearers (+0.0%)
Per 100,000 0.12
Rank movement Down 3,707 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #58,553 | 324 | 0.12 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #56,588 | 361 | 0.12 | +37 bearers (+11.4%) | Up 1,965 places |
| 2020 | #60,295 | 361 | 0.12 | +0 bearers (+0.0%) | Down 3,707 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 Wermers 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 | #56,588 | #60,295 | -6.6% |
| Count | 361 | 361 | 0.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.12 | 0.12 | 0.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Wermers bearers went from 361 to 361 (+0.0% change). The surname moved down 3,707 positions in the national ranking, going from #56,588 to #60,295.
FAQ
Wermers surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Wermers?
Name Census estimates that about 414 living Americans carry the surname Wermers. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 827,909 residents.
How common is Wermers?
Wermers ranks #60,295 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.12 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 361 people with the surname Wermers. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (414), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.12 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.12 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 Wermers.
Has Wermers become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Wermers went from 361 recorded bearers to 361. That is an increase of 0 (+0.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #56,588 to #60,295.
What does the Census say about the background of Wermers?
Among Census respondents with the surname Wermers, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.8%) and Hispanic (2.5%). 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 Wermers in the 2020 Census, accounting for 94.2% (340 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Wermers appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (94.2%), Two or More Races (2.8%), Hispanic (2.5%). 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 Wermers (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 Wermers mean?
A surname derived from the German word "Wehrmer," meaning a maker of coat of arms. 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 Wermers (0.12 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 Wermers?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people are called Wermers at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.