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

Wirt, 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 Wirt surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Wirt in America

Wirt is the 12904th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Wirt surname appeared 2,382 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 Wirt.

We can also compare 2010 data for Wirt 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 Wirt

The surname WIRT is of German origin and is believed to have originated in the 14th century. It is thought to be derived from the Old High German word "wirt," which means "host" or "innkeeper." The name likely referred to someone who worked as an innkeeper or operated a tavern or inn.

The earliest known record of the WIRT surname appears in the town of Rothenburg ob der Tauber in Bavaria, Germany, in the year 1349. This record mentions a person named Hans Wirt, who was a tavern owner in the town. The name is also found in other parts of Germany during this time period, suggesting that it was not uncommon for people in the hospitality industry to adopt the surname.

In the 15th century, the WIRT surname is recorded in various German chronicles and records, including the Nuremberg Chronicle, which was a famous illustrated world history published in 1493. One of the notable individuals mentioned in this chronicle is a man named Konrad Wirt, who lived in the city of Nuremberg and was a successful merchant and trader.

Over the centuries, the WIRT surname has been associated with several notable figures. In the 16th century, there was a German scholar and humanist named Erasmus Wirt (1522-1588), who was known for his contributions to the study of classical literature and philosophy. Another prominent individual was Johann Georg Wirt (1591-1652), a German composer and organist who lived during the Baroque period.

In the 18th century, a famous German writer and philosopher named Johann Baptist Wirt (1742-1819) gained recognition for his works on education and philosophy. He was a proponent of the German Romantic movement and his ideas influenced many educators and thinkers of the time.

Moving into the 19th century, there was a German-American artist named William Wirt (1832-1904), who was known for his landscape paintings depicting scenes from the American West. He was part of the Hudson River School of painters and his works are now part of several museum collections.

Throughout its history, the WIRT surname has maintained its German roots and has been found in various parts of Germany, as well as in other countries where Germans have settled, such as the United States and Canada.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Wirt

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

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

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

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!