2000
#108,734
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 151
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.06
Very Rare Last name
Werren
A variant of the German surname Werner, derived from a Germanic personal name meaning "protector".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 131 Americans carry the last name Werren. That puts it at #146,495 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,616,445 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Werren 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
131
1 in 2,616,445
Census rank
#146,495
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
114
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 114 bearers of the surname Werren in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 146495th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Werren, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (6.1%) and Black (2.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Werren
The surname Werren is believed to have originated in Switzerland, specifically in the canton of Bern, during the 16th century. It is derived from the Old Swiss German word "werre," which means "strife" or "conflict," suggesting that the name may have been given to someone who was involved in some sort of dispute or quarrel.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Werren can be found in the parish records of the village of Wilderswil, near Interlaken, dating back to the late 1500s. The name was also mentioned in the Burgerbuch, a register of citizens, in the city of Bern in the early 1600s.
In the 17th century, the Werren family seemed to have spread beyond the Bernese region. Historical records show a Johann Werren who lived in the town of Zug in the 1670s, and a Hans Werren who was a farmer in the village of Eschenbach, in the canton of St. Gallen, in the late 1600s.
As the Werren family continued to grow and expand throughout Switzerland, some of its members achieved notable positions. For instance, Jakob Werren (1640-1718) was a prominent merchant and city councilor in Bern, while his grandson, Samuel Werren (1685-1756), was a respected theologian and pastor in the nearby town of Thun.
In the 19th century, the name Werren started to appear in other parts of Europe as well. One notable figure was Friedrich Werren (1808-1891), a German-born painter and illustrator who was known for his landscapes and works depicting rural life in the Black Forest region.
Another individual of note was Theodor Werren (1842-1913), a Swiss entrepreneur who made his fortune in the textile industry and was a major philanthropist in his hometown of St. Gallen. His legacy includes the Werren Foundation, which still supports charitable causes in the region today.
While the surname Werren may not be as common as some others, it has a rich history that spans several centuries and various regions of Switzerland and beyond. From its possible origins as a descriptor of a person's temperament to its association with successful individuals in fields ranging from commerce to the arts, the name Werren has left its mark on the cultural and social fabric of the areas where it has taken root.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Werren
Among Census respondents with the surname Werren, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (6.1%) and Black (2.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Werren 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 Werren surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.4% · 103
- Two or more races6.1% · 7
- Black or African American2.6% · 3
- Hispanic or Latino0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Werren
Werren 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
#134,712
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 125
-26 bearers (-17.2%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 25,978 places
2020
#146,495
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 114
-11 bearers (-8.8%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 11,783 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #108,734 | 151 | 0.06 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #134,712 | 125 | 0.04 | -26 bearers (-17.2%) | Down 25,978 places |
| 2020 | #146,495 | 114 | 0.04 | -11 bearers (-8.8%) | Down 11,783 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 Werren 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 | #134,712 | #146,495 | -8.7% |
| Count | 125 | 114 | -8.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -4.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Werren bearers went from 125 to 114 (-8.8% change). The surname moved down 11,783 positions in the national ranking, going from #134,712 to #146,495.
FAQ
Werren surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Werren?
Name Census estimates that about 131 living Americans carry the surname Werren. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,616,445 residents.
How common is Werren?
Werren ranks #146,495 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 114 people with the surname Werren. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (131), 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 Werren.
Has Werren become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Werren went from 125 recorded bearers to 114. That is a decrease of 11 (-8.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #134,712 to #146,495.
What does the Census say about the background of Werren?
Among Census respondents with the surname Werren, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (6.1%) and Black (2.6%). 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 Werren in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.4% (103 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Werren appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (90.4%), Two or More Races (6.1%), Black (2.6%). 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 Werren (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 Werren mean?
A variant of the German surname Werner, derived from a Germanic personal name meaning "protector". 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 Werren (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 are called Werren?
Want to know how many Americans have the surname Werren? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.