Wiedenbeck last name popularity, history, and meaning

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

Meaning of Wiedenbeck

A locational surname from a place name derived from German words meaning "willow brook".

Wiedenbeck, 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 Wiedenbeck surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Wiedenbeck in America

Wiedenbeck is the 96368th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Wiedenbeck surname appeared 189 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Wiedenbeck.

We can also compare 2010 data for Wiedenbeck 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.

2010 2000 Change (%)
Rank 96368 88825 8.15%
Count 189 194 -2.61%
Proportion per 100k 0.06 0.07 -15.38%

The history of the last name Wiedenbeck

The surname Wiedenbeck is of German origin, likely arising from regions within modern-day Germany. The name appears to be derived from a combination of old Germanic elements. "Wieden," from "wiede," meaning willow or pasture, and "beck," which translates to brook or stream. This suggests a geographic origin related to a pastoral area near a stream.

The name Wiedenbeck would have been associated with inhabitants living near such landscapes, and the morphological construction of the name indicates its emergence during medieval times. The root of the name can be traced back to similar Old High German and Middle High German words, where variations like Wiedenbach might also have been prevalent. Early manuscripts and tax records from the medieval period occasionally note the existence of families with analogous surnames.

Historical references to the Wiedenbeck surname are somewhat sparse due to its regional specificity. One of the earlier recorded instances occurs in a 14th-century register associated with the town of Wiesbaden, where a family bearing the name Wiedenbeck owned sizable land near a stream, reinforcing the etymological link to "wieden" and "beck."

A prominent figure with the surname was Johannes Wiedenbeck, born in 1483 in the region of Hessia. He was known for his involvement in early cartographic efforts of the town’s surrounding pastoral lands. Another figure, Matthis Wiedenbeck, born in 1527 and recorded in Bremen municipal documents, played a significant role in the local wool trade, which was a booming industry in the region during that period.

In the 17th century, Hans Wiedenbeck, born in 1654, was documented as a notable blacksmith in the town of Augsburg. His metallurgical skills were revered, and his workshops were central to the town's defense productions during turbulent times. By the 18th century, Sophia Wiedenbeck, born in 1731, emerged as an early practitioner of herbal medicine in the Bavarian region. Her extensive knowledge of local flora and its medicinal applications made her a figure of considerable local renown.

Another illustrious bearer of the surname was Wilhelm Wiedenbeck, born in 1810 in Berlin. He was a pioneering engineer, contributing significantly to the nascent railway industry in Germany. His technical advancements and designs were crucial in the construction of several major rail lines, accelerating industrial progress in the area.

The surname Wiedenbeck thus brings together a rich tapestry of geographic, historical, and professional associations that paint a picture of the family’s evolution through centuries.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Wiedenbeck

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

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 Wiedenbeck was:

Race/Ethnicity Percentage Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only 100.00% 189
Non-Hispanic Black Only 0.00% 0
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only 0.00% 0
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.00% 0
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races 0.00% 0
Hispanic Origin 0.00% 0

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 Wiedenbeck has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

2010 2000 Change (%)
White 100.00% 99.00% 1.01%
Black 0.00% 0.00% 0.00%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.00% 0.00% 0.00%
American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.00% 0.00% 0.00%
Two or More Races 0.00% 0.00% 0.00%
Hispanic 0.00% 0.00% 0.00%

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

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

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"Wiedenbeck last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on May 6, 2025. http://namecensus.com/last-names/wiedenbeck-surname-popularity/.

"Wiedenbeck last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/wiedenbeck-surname-popularity/. Accessed 6 May, 2025

Wiedenbeck last name popularity, history, and meaning. NameCensus.com. Retrieved from http://namecensus.com/last-names/wiedenbeck-surname-popularity/.

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