2000
#5,038
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,394
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.37
Rare Last name
Wessel
A German and Dutch occupational surname referring to someone who made wheels or wheeled vehicles.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 6,915 Americans carry the last name Wessel. That puts it at #5,566 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.02 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 49,567 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Wessel 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
6.9K
1 in 49,567
Census rank
#5,566
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
6.0K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 6,030 bearers of the surname Wessel in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.02 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 5566th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Wessel, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.4%) and Hispanic (2.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Wessel
The surname WESSEL is of German origin, with roots dating back to the Middle Ages. It is believed to have originated from the Low German word "wessel," which means "hostage" or "pledge." This name may have been given to someone who was held as a hostage or who served as a pledge in a legal transaction or agreement.
The earliest recorded instances of the WESSEL surname can be traced back to the 13th century in various parts of Germany, particularly in the regions of Lower Saxony and Westphalia. One notable historical reference is found in the Bremisches Urkundenbuch, a collection of medieval documents from the city of Bremen, which mentions a person named "Johannes Wessel" in 1299.
In the 14th century, the WESSEL name appeared in the town of Wesel, located in the Lower Rhine region of Germany. This place name may have influenced the spelling and pronunciation of the surname in that area. Additionally, the spelling variations "Wessell" and "Wessele" were also common during this time period.
One of the most famous individuals bearing the WESSEL surname was Johannes Wessel (c. 1420-1489), a Dutch philosopher, theologian, and humanist scholar. He was a prominent figure in the intellectual and religious circles of his time and is considered a forerunner of the Protestant Reformation.
Other notable figures with the WESSEL surname include:
1. Caspar Wessel (1745-1818), a Norwegian mathematician and cartographer, known for his contributions to the development of vector analysis and the introduction of the complex number plane.
2. Johann Rudolf Wessel (1663-1730), a German composer and organist who served as the court Kapellmeister in Wolfenbüttel and Kassel.
3. Gerd Wessel (1913-1989), a German U-boat commander during World War II, credited with sinking several Allied ships in the Battle of the Atlantic.
4. Theodor Wessel (1776-1856), a German writer and translator, best known for his translations of works by William Shakespeare and Walter Scott.
5. August Ferdinand Wessel (1782-1854), a German jurist and legal scholar, who served as a professor of law at the University of Heidelberg.
While the WESSEL surname has its roots in Germany, it has since spread to other parts of Europe and beyond, carried by individuals and families who migrated or settled in different regions over the centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Wessel
Among Census respondents with the surname Wessel, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.4%) and Hispanic (2.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Wessel 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 Wessel surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.7% · 5,592
- Two or more races3.4% · 208
- Hispanic or Latino2.4% · 143
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 47
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 23
- Black or African American0.3% · 17
Timeline
Historical Census data for Wessel
Wessel 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
#5,262
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,630
+236 bearers (+3.7%)
Per 100,000 2.25
Rank movement Down 224 places
2020
#5,566
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,030
-600 bearers (-9.0%)
Per 100,000 2.02
Rank movement Down 304 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #5,038 | 6,394 | 2.37 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #5,262 | 6,630 | 2.25 | +236 bearers (+3.7%) | Down 224 places |
| 2020 | #5,566 | 6,030 | 2.02 | -600 bearers (-9.0%) | Down 304 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 Wessel 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 | #5,262 | #5,566 | -5.8% |
| Count | 6,630 | 6,030 | -9.0% |
| Per 100K | 2.25 | 2.02 | -10.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Wessel bearers went from 6,630 to 6,030 (-9.0% change). The surname moved down 304 positions in the national ranking, going from #5,262 to #5,566.
FAQ
Wessel surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Wessel?
Name Census estimates that about 6,915 living Americans carry the surname Wessel. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 49,567 residents.
How common is Wessel?
Wessel ranks #5,566 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.02 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 6,030 people with the surname Wessel. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (6,915), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.02 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.02 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Wessel.
Has Wessel become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Wessel went from 6,630 recorded bearers to 6,030. That is a decrease of 600 (-9.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #5,262 to #5,566.
What does the Census say about the background of Wessel?
Among Census respondents with the surname Wessel, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.4%) and Hispanic (2.4%). 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 Wessel in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.7% (5,592 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Wessel appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.7%), Two or More Races (3.4%), Hispanic (2.4%). 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 Wessel (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 Wessel mean?
A German and Dutch occupational surname referring to someone who made wheels or wheeled vehicles. 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 Wessel (2.02 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 Wessel?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how common the surname Wessel is at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.