Find out how popular the last name Wetter is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Wetter.

Wetter, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Wetter surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Wetter in America

Wetter is the 17980th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Wetter surname appeared 1,553 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Wetter.

We can also compare 2010 data for Wetter to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Wetter

The surname Wetter is believed to have originated in Germany, with the earliest known records dating back to the 13th century. It is thought to be derived from the Middle High German word "weter," which means "weather." This suggests that the name may have been an occupational surname referring to someone involved in weather-related activities or perhaps a nickname for someone who had an affinity for outdoor pursuits.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Codex Balduini, a medieval German manuscript from the 13th century, which mentions a person named "Wetter van Brabant." This suggests that the name was present in the region of Brabant, which is now part of the Netherlands and Belgium.

The Wetter surname also appears in various historical records from Germany, such as the Württembergisches Urkundenbuch, a collection of documents from the region of Württemberg, dating back to the 14th century. These records mention individuals with the surname Wetter, indicating its presence in the area during that time period.

In the 16th century, a notable figure with the surname Wetter was Johann Wetter, a German humanist scholar and theologian born in 1499. He played a significant role in the Protestant Reformation and was known for his writings on theology and education.

Another historical figure was Johann Wetter von der Wetter, a German aristocrat and military leader who lived in the 17th century. He served as a general in the Thirty Years' War and was known for his military exploits during that conflict.

In the 18th century, Johann Friedrich Wetter was a prominent German jurist and legal scholar. He served as a judge and professor of law at the University of Göttingen and published several influential works on legal theory and practice.

The surname Wetter also has connections to various place names in Germany, such as Wetter (Hessen), a town in the state of Hesse, and Wetter (Ruhr), a city in the Ruhr region of North Rhine-Westphalia. These place names may have influenced the development and spread of the surname in those areas.

It is worth noting that the name Wetter has also been documented in other European countries, such as the Netherlands and Switzerland, indicating its presence outside of Germany as well. However, the earliest known records and the majority of historical references seem to point to a German origin for this surname.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Wetter

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Wetter.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Wetter was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Wetter has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Wetter was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Wetter, please contact us.

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