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

Widner, 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 Widner surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Widner in America

Widner is the 8299th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Widner surname appeared 3,992 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 Widner.

We can also compare 2010 data for Widner 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 Widner

The surname Widner is of German origin, originating in the regions of Bavaria and Switzerland during the late medieval period. It is derived from the Old High German word "witin," meaning "willow," and the suffix "-er," indicating a person associated with a particular object or location.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Widner can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus Saxoniae Regiae, a collection of historical documents from the 13th century. This document mentions a certain "Heinricus Widner" from the town of Augsburg, Bavaria, in the year 1259.

Another notable early reference to the name Widner appears in the Chronik der Stadt Bamberg, a chronicle of the city of Bamberg, Germany. This work, written in the 15th century, mentions a "Johannes Widner" who served as a city councilor in Bamberg in the year 1423.

The name Widner has been associated with several notable individuals throughout history. One such individual was Johann Widner (1528-1598), a German theologian and reformer who played a significant role in the Protestant Reformation in the region of Bavaria.

Another notable bearer of the name was Friedrich Widner (1768-1842), a German composer and organist who served as the court organist in Weimar and composed numerous works for the organ and other instruments.

In the 19th century, the name Widner gained prominence in the United States through the achievements of Peter Widner (1834-1915), a successful industrialist and philanthropist. Widner made his fortune in the steel industry and later founded the Widener Memorial Library at Harvard University in memory of his son, who tragically died in the sinking of the RMS Titanic.

The name Widner has also been associated with several notable places. For instance, the town of Widnersee in Austria is believed to have derived its name from an individual named Widner who lived in the area during the Middle Ages.

Throughout its history, the surname Widner has undergone various spellings, including Widener, Widtner, and Wittner. These variations often reflected regional differences in dialect and pronunciation.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Widner

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

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 Widner 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 Widner 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 Widner was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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