2000
#127,186
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 124
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Windhorn
A surname likely derived from a place name related to a windy or exposed location.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 119 Americans carry the last name Windhorn. That puts it at #153,590 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,880,289 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Windhorn 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
119
1 in 2,880,289
Census rank
#153,590
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
104
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 104 bearers of the surname Windhorn in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 153590th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Windhorn, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.8%) and Two or More Races (1.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Windhorn
The surname Windhorn likely finds its origins in Germany, specifically from regions like Westphalia or Lower Saxony. It appears to date back to at least the early medieval period. The name is believed to be a compound of the Middle High German words "wind" meaning 'wind' and "horn" meaning 'horn', possibly indicating a geographical feature or a habitational name. The combination suggests a windy promontory or elevated area resembling a horn, which would be a notable landmark in early rural communities.
Early references to the surname can be found in various medieval documents. Although not present in records as famous as the Domesday Book, the name appears in local German manuscripts and land grants from the 12th and 13th centuries. One of the earliest recorded mentions is a Heinrich Windhorn, listed in a 1238 registry from the Westphalian region detailing land holdings and parish contributions.
The name is commonly associated with the rural landscapes of Germany and often appears in conjunction with agricultural census documents from the 14th century onwards. An early recorded example includes the name Johannes Windhorn, noted in a 1327 document related to the Diocese of Münster. This connection suggests the family may have had ties to ecclesiastical lands or roles within the local church community.
Many historic instances of Windhorn in German records connect the name with villages and rural settings. Another notable figure is Dietrich Windhorn, born in 1406 and recorded in a 1472 tax document as a landowner in the Lower Saxony region. This indicates the name's presence in multiple parts of Germany over a considerable time frame.
As time progressed, the name spread slightly beyond its original confines. Margarethe Windhorn, born in 1563, was documented in marriage records from Bremen in 1589, showing the family's expansion into more urbanized areas. Such records highlight the movement and socioeconomic changes faced by bearers of the surname over centuries.
One of the more famous bearers of the name in history is Karl Windhorn, a noted 18th-century German scholar born in 1745 and associated with developing natural philosophy theories during the Enlightenment period. His works were influential in regional academic circles, further highlighting the diverse paths individuals with this surname have taken throughout history.
The legacy of the surname Windhorn showcases a rich tapestry of individual lives spread across centuries, marked by their connections to specific geographic landmarks and historical developments, firmly rooted in German lands.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Windhorn
Among Census respondents with the surname Windhorn, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.8%) and Two or More Races (1.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Windhorn 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 Windhorn surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.3% · 96
- Hispanic or Latino4.8% · 5
- Two or more races1.9% · 2
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Windhorn
Windhorn 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
#145,220
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 114
-10 bearers (-8.1%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 18,034 places
2020
#153,590
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 104
-10 bearers (-8.8%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Down 8,370 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #127,186 | 124 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #145,220 | 114 | 0.04 | -10 bearers (-8.1%) | Down 18,034 places |
| 2020 | #153,590 | 104 | 0.03 | -10 bearers (-8.8%) | Down 8,370 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 Windhorn 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 | #145,220 | #153,590 | -5.8% |
| Count | 114 | 104 | -8.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.03 | -13.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Windhorn bearers went from 114 to 104 (-8.8% change). The surname moved down 8,370 positions in the national ranking, going from #145,220 to #153,590.
FAQ
Windhorn surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Windhorn?
Name Census estimates that about 119 living Americans carry the surname Windhorn. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,880,289 residents.
How common is Windhorn?
Windhorn ranks #153,590 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 104 people with the surname Windhorn. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (119), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.03 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.03 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Windhorn.
Has Windhorn become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Windhorn went from 114 recorded bearers to 104. That is a decrease of 10 (-8.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #145,220 to #153,590.
What does the Census say about the background of Windhorn?
Among Census respondents with the surname Windhorn, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.8%) and Two or More Races (1.9%). 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 Windhorn in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.3% (96 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Windhorn appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.3%), Hispanic (4.8%), Two or More Races (1.9%). 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 Windhorn (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 Windhorn mean?
A surname likely derived from a place name related to a windy or exposed location. 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 Windhorn (0.03 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 last name Windhorn?
Find out how many people have the last name Windhorn on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.