2000
#3,952
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,244
First available Census row
Per 100,000 3.06
Rare Last name
Wertz
A German occupational surname derived from the Middle High German word "wirz," meaning a spice, herb, or root.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 8,785 Americans carry the last name Wertz. That puts it at #4,498 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.56 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 39,016 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Wertz 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
8.8K
1 in 39,016
Census rank
#4,498
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
7.7K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 7,661 bearers of the surname Wertz in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.56 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 4498th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Wertz, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.7%) and Two or More Races (2.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Wertz
The surname Wertz originates from Germany and is believed to have derived from the Middle High German word "werz," which means "root" or "bulb." This suggests that the name may have initially been an occupational surname given to someone who worked with roots or bulbs, such as a gardener or farmer.
Wertz is a variation of the German surname Wurtz, which has similar origins. The earliest recorded instances of the name date back to the 16th century in various regions of Germany, including Bavaria and Saxony.
One of the earliest known individuals with the surname Wertz was Johannes Wertz, a German farmer who lived in the village of Mühlhausen in the late 16th century. Records from the 1580s mention his name in connection with land disputes in the area.
In the 17th century, the Wertz surname appeared in various church records and municipal documents throughout Germany. For instance, Christoph Wertz, a blacksmith from the town of Rothenburg ob der Tauber, was mentioned in a tax record from 1632.
As German immigrants began to arrive in North America in the 18th and 19th centuries, the surname Wertz was carried over to the New World. One notable individual was Johann Michael Wertz, a German immigrant who settled in Pennsylvania in the mid-18th century and became a successful farmer and landowner.
Another notable figure with the surname Wertz was Carl Wertz, a German-American artist born in 1900 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He gained recognition for his illustrations in magazines and books, including works by authors such as Ernest Hemingway and F. Scott Fitzgerald.
In the 20th century, George Wertz, an American baseball player, played for the Philadelphia Athletics and the New York Giants in the 1920s and 1930s. He was known for his defensive skills as an outfielder and his powerful throwing arm.
While the surname Wertz is more commonly found in Germany and the United States, it has also been carried to other parts of the world through immigration and migration. For example, Hans Wertz, a German-born artist and sculptor, lived and worked in Australia in the late 20th century, gaining recognition for his public art installations.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Wertz
Among Census respondents with the surname Wertz, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.7%) and Two or More Races (2.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Wertz 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 Wertz surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.5% · 6,930
- Hispanic or Latino3.7% · 281
- Two or more races2.8% · 215
- Black or African American2.3% · 179
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 40
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 16
Timeline
Historical Census data for Wertz
Wertz 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
#4,331
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,198
-46 bearers (-0.6%)
Per 100,000 2.78
Rank movement Down 379 places
2020
#4,498
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,661
-537 bearers (-6.6%)
Per 100,000 2.56
Rank movement Down 167 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #3,952 | 8,244 | 3.06 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #4,331 | 8,198 | 2.78 | -46 bearers (-0.6%) | Down 379 places |
| 2020 | #4,498 | 7,661 | 2.56 | -537 bearers (-6.6%) | Down 167 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 Wertz 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 | #4,331 | #4,498 | -3.9% |
| Count | 8,198 | 7,661 | -6.6% |
| Per 100K | 2.78 | 2.56 | -7.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Wertz bearers went from 8,198 to 7,661 (-6.6% change). The surname moved down 167 positions in the national ranking, going from #4,331 to #4,498.
FAQ
Wertz surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Wertz?
Name Census estimates that about 8,785 living Americans carry the surname Wertz. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 39,016 residents.
How common is Wertz?
Wertz ranks #4,498 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.56 per 100,000 residents, which is about 3 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 7,661 people with the surname Wertz. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (8,785), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.56 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.56 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 3 of them to have the surname Wertz.
Has Wertz become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Wertz went from 8,198 recorded bearers to 7,661. That is a decrease of 537 (-6.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #4,331 to #4,498.
What does the Census say about the background of Wertz?
Among Census respondents with the surname Wertz, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.7%) and Two or More Races (2.8%). 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 Wertz in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.5% (6,930 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Wertz appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (90.5%), Hispanic (3.7%), Two or More Races (2.8%). 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 Wertz (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 Wertz mean?
A German occupational surname derived from the Middle High German word "wirz," meaning a spice, herb, or root. 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 Wertz (2.56 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 have the surname Wertz?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.