2000
#1,666
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 19,664
First available Census row
Per 100,000 7.29
Uncommon Last name
Wilhelm
Derived from the Germanic elements "wil" meaning "will, desire" and "helm" meaning "helmet, protection," referring to a resolute protector.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 22,015 Americans carry the last name Wilhelm. That puts it at #1,832 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 6.42 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 15,569 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Wilhelm 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Wilhelm with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
22K
1 in 15,569
Census rank
#1,832
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
6.4
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
19K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 19,198 bearers of the surname Wilhelm in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 6.42 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 1832nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Wilhelm, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.4%) and Two or More Races (2.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Wilhelm
The surname WILHELM originated in Germany and can be traced back to the Middle Ages. It is derived from the Germanic words "wil" meaning "will" or "desire" and "helm" meaning "helmet" or "protection." Together, the name WILHELM means "resolute protector" or "strong-willed guardian."
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname WILHELM can be found in the Codex Aureus of St. Emmeram, a medieval manuscript dating back to around 1030 AD. This document mentions a nobleman named Adalbertus Wilhelm.
During the 12th century, the name WILHELM was also documented in the Annales Rodenses, a chronicle written by the monks of the Abbey of Rode in present-day Belgium. Here, a reference is made to a knight named Willehelmus de Avennis.
In England, the surname WILHELM is believed to have originated from the Norman conquest in 1066. The Domesday Book, a great survey of landholdings and properties in England compiled in 1086, lists several individuals with the name Wilhelm or its variants, such as Willelmus and Guillelmus.
Notable individuals throughout history who bore the surname WILHELM include:
1) Philipp Wilhelm von Pfalz-Neuburg (1615-1690), a German prince and Elector of the Palatinate.
2) Johann Wilhelm von Jungius (1587-1657), a German mathematician, philosopher, and scientist.
3) Wilhelm von Humboldt (1767-1835), a Prussian philosopher, linguist, and statesman, who was a pioneer in the field of comparative linguistics.
4) Wilhelm Leibl (1844-1900), a German painter and one of the leading figures of the Realistic style.
5) Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen (1845-1923), a German physicist who discovered X-rays and received the first Nobel Prize in Physics in 1901.
The surname WILHELM is also found in various place names and old spellings, such as Wilhelmshöhe, a former summer residence of the Electors of Hesse-Kassel in Germany, and Wilhelmshaven, a coastal town in Lower Saxony, Germany, which was named after King Wilhelm I of Prussia.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Wilhelm
Among Census respondents with the surname Wilhelm, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.4%) and Two or More Races (2.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Wilhelm 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 Wilhelm surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.2% · 17,700
- Hispanic or Latino3.4% · 656
- Two or more races2.9% · 554
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 161
- Black or African American0.4% · 83
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 44
Timeline
Historical Census data for Wilhelm
Wilhelm 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
#1,802
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 19,913
+249 bearers (+1.3%)
Per 100,000 6.75
Rank movement Down 136 places
2020
#1,832
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 19,198
-715 bearers (-3.6%)
Per 100,000 6.42
Rank movement Down 30 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #1,666 | 19,664 | 7.29 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #1,802 | 19,913 | 6.75 | +249 bearers (+1.3%) | Down 136 places |
| 2020 | #1,832 | 19,198 | 6.42 | -715 bearers (-3.6%) | Down 30 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 Wilhelm 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 | #1,802 | #1,832 | -1.7% |
| Count | 19,913 | 19,198 | -3.6% |
| Per 100K | 6.75 | 6.42 | -4.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Wilhelm bearers went from 19,913 to 19,198 (-3.6% change). The surname moved down 30 positions in the national ranking, going from #1,802 to #1,832.
FAQ
Wilhelm surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Wilhelm?
Name Census estimates that about 22,015 living Americans carry the surname Wilhelm. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 15,569 residents.
How common is Wilhelm?
Wilhelm ranks #1,832 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 6.42 per 100,000 residents, which is about 6 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 19,198 people with the surname Wilhelm. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (22,015), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 6.42 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 6.42 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 6 of them to have the surname Wilhelm.
Has Wilhelm become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Wilhelm went from 19,913 recorded bearers to 19,198. That is a decrease of 715 (-3.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #1,802 to #1,832.
What does the Census say about the background of Wilhelm?
Among Census respondents with the surname Wilhelm, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.4%) and Two or More Races (2.9%). 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 Wilhelm in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.2% (17,700 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Wilhelm appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.2%), Hispanic (3.4%), Two or More Races (2.9%). 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 Wilhelm (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 Wilhelm mean?
Derived from the Germanic elements "wil" meaning "will, desire" and "helm" meaning "helmet, protection," referring to a resolute protector. 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 Wilhelm (6.42 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 Wilhelm?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.