2000
#3,312
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 9,911
First available Census row
Per 100,000 3.67
Uncommon Last name
Wirth
An occupational surname of German origin referring to an innkeeper, from the Middle High German "wirt" meaning "innkeeper" or "landlord."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 11,273 Americans carry the last name Wirth. That puts it at #3,542 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 3.29 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 30,405 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Wirth 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 Wirth with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
11K
1 in 30,405
Census rank
#3,542
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
3.3
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
9.8K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 9,831 bearers of the surname Wirth in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 3.29 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 3542nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Wirth, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.5%) and Two or More Races (2.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Wirth
The surname Wirth originated in Germany and is derived from the German word "wirt", meaning innkeeper or host. It first appeared in the 12th century in the regions of Bavaria and Swabia, where many inns and taverns were located along trade routes.
The earliest recorded instances of the name date back to the 13th century, such as Henricus Wirt, mentioned in a document from 1243 in the town of Nuremberg. Similar spellings like Wirth, Wyrth, and Wuerth were also common in medieval records.
One notable bearer of the name was Johannes Wirth, a 15th-century German mathematician and astronomer born in Nuremberg around 1437. He is known for his work on planetary motion and the calculation of eclipses.
In the 16th century, the name Wirth appeared in the Duchy of Württemberg, where a village called Wirth existed. This place name likely contributed to the prevalence of the surname in that region.
Another significant figure was Johann Georg Wirth, a German philosopher and theologian born in 1654 in Nuremberg. He wrote extensively on metaphysics and the philosophy of religion.
The surname Wirth also has a long history in Switzerland, particularly in the canton of Zurich. One notable Swiss bearer was Max Wirth, a 19th-century writer and journalist born in 1822 in Winterthur. He was known for his travel writings and his advocacy for Swiss nationalism.
In the 20th century, the name gained prominence in the field of computer science with the work of Niklaus Wirth, a Swiss computer scientist born in 1934 in Winterthur. He is credited with developing several programming languages, including Pascal and Modula-2, and has made significant contributions to compiler design and software engineering.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Wirth
Among Census respondents with the surname Wirth, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.5%) and Two or More Races (2.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Wirth 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 Wirth surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.1% · 9,051
- Hispanic or Latino3.5% · 341
- Two or more races2.9% · 288
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 86
- Black or African American0.4% · 43
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 22
Timeline
Historical Census data for Wirth
Wirth 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
#3,592
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 9,907
-4 bearers (-0.0%)
Per 100,000 3.36
Rank movement Down 280 places
2020
#3,542
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 9,831
-76 bearers (-0.8%)
Per 100,000 3.29
Rank movement Up 50 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #3,312 | 9,911 | 3.67 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #3,592 | 9,907 | 3.36 | -4 bearers (-0.0%) | Down 280 places |
| 2020 | #3,542 | 9,831 | 3.29 | -76 bearers (-0.8%) | Up 50 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 Wirth 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 | #3,592 | #3,542 | 1.4% |
| Count | 9,907 | 9,831 | -0.8% |
| Per 100K | 3.36 | 3.29 | -2.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Wirth bearers went from 9,907 to 9,831 (-0.8% change). The surname moved up 50 positions in the national ranking, going from #3,592 to #3,542.
FAQ
Wirth surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Wirth?
Name Census estimates that about 11,273 living Americans carry the surname Wirth. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 30,405 residents.
How common is Wirth?
Wirth ranks #3,542 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 3.29 per 100,000 residents, which is about 3 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 9,831 people with the surname Wirth. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (11,273), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 3.29 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 3.29 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 3 of them to have the surname Wirth.
Has Wirth become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Wirth went from 9,907 recorded bearers to 9,831. That is a decrease of 76 (-0.8%). In the national ranking it rose from #3,592 to #3,542.
What does the Census say about the background of Wirth?
Among Census respondents with the surname Wirth, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.5%) 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 Wirth in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.1% (9,051 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Wirth appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.1%), Hispanic (3.5%), 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 Wirth (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 Wirth mean?
An occupational surname of German origin referring to an innkeeper, from the Middle High German "wirt" meaning "innkeeper" or "landlord." 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 Wirth (3.29 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 Wirth?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.