2010
#157,234
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 103
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.03
Very Rare Last name
Werschky
A Polish surname derived from a place name, possibly referring to someone from the village of Werschen.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 131 Americans carry the last name Werschky. 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 Werschky 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 Werschky 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 Werschky, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.6%) and Hispanic (0.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Werschky
The surname WERSCHKY is of German origin, tracing its roots back to the late 15th century in the region of Prussia. It is believed to have derived from the Old Prussian word "wersch," meaning "willow tree." This suggests that the name may have initially referred to someone who lived near a willow grove or worked with willow trees.
Early records indicate that the name was initially spelled "Werschen" or "Werschin" in the Prussian dialect. One of the earliest documented instances of the name appears in a 1492 tax record from the town of Königsberg, which lists a "Hans Werschin" as a landowner.
By the 16th century, variations of the name began to emerge, such as "Werschke" and "Werschky." These forms likely arose due to regional dialectal differences or scribal errors in transcribing the name.
One notable bearer of the name was Johann Werschky (1587-1643), a Lutheran pastor and theologian from Danzig (now Gdańsk, Poland). He was a prominent figure in the Protestant Reformation movement in Prussia and authored several religious texts.
In the 17th century, the name Werschky appears in records from the village of Krangen, near modern-day Kaliningrad. A 1652 church register lists the marriage of "Peter Werschky" and "Anna Margaretha Schultz."
Another early bearer of the name was Friedrich Wilhelm Werschky (1701-1773), a Prussian military officer who served in the Seven Years' War. He rose to the rank of Major General and was awarded the Pour le Mérite, a prestigious Prussian military order.
During the 19th century, the name Werschky spread beyond Prussia as families migrated to other parts of Germany and neighboring regions. In 1842, a "Johann Werschky" from Danzig is recorded as having settled in the city of Bremen.
One of the most notable individuals with the surname Werschky was Karl Werschky (1853-1924), a German architect and urban planner. He was responsible for designing several prominent buildings in Berlin, including the Reichsbank and the Prussian House of Representatives.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Werschky
Among Census respondents with the surname Werschky, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.6%) and Hispanic (0.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Werschky 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 Werschky surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White95.6% · 109
- Two or more races2.6% · 3
- Hispanic or Latino0.9% · 1
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Werschky
Werschky appears in 2 published Census surname files: 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2020
#146,495
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 114
+11 bearers (+10.7%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 10,739 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #157,234 | 103 | 0.03 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #146,495 | 114 | 0.04 | +11 bearers (+10.7%) | Up 10,739 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 Werschky 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 | #157,234 | #146,495 | 6.8% |
| Count | 103 | 114 | 10.7% |
| Per 100K | 0.03 | 0.04 | 27.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Werschky bearers went from 103 to 114 (+10.7% change). The surname moved up 10,739 positions in the national ranking, going from #157,234 to #146,495.
FAQ
Werschky surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Werschky?
Name Census estimates that about 131 living Americans carry the surname Werschky. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,616,445 residents.
How common is Werschky?
Werschky 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 Werschky. 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 Werschky.
Has Werschky become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Werschky went from 103 recorded bearers to 114. That is an increase of 11 (+10.7%). In the national ranking it rose from #157,234 to #146,495.
What does the Census say about the background of Werschky?
Among Census respondents with the surname Werschky, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.6%) and Hispanic (0.9%). 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 Werschky in the 2020 Census, accounting for 95.6% (109 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Werschky appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (95.6%), Two or More Races (2.6%), Hispanic (0.9%). 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 Werschky (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 Werschky mean?
A Polish surname derived from a place name, possibly referring to someone from the village of Werschen. 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 Werschky (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 Americans have the surname Werschky?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.