2000
#12,292
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,320
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.86
Rare Last name
Wittenberg
A habitational surname referring to someone from the German city of Wittenberg, meaning "white mountain."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,785 Americans carry the last name Wittenberg. That puts it at #12,227 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.81 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 123,072 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Wittenberg 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
2.8K
1 in 123,072
Census rank
#12,227
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.4K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,429 bearers of the surname Wittenberg in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.81 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 12227th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Wittenberg, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.0%) and Two or More Races (2.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Wittenberg
The surname Wittenberg originated in Germany, dating back to the 16th century. It is derived from the German word "Wittenberg," which refers to a town in the state of Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. The name is believed to have originated from the Old Germanic words "witu" meaning "wood" and "berg" meaning "mountain" or "hill," suggesting a connection to a wooded area or settlement near a hill or mountain.
The town of Wittenberg is historically significant as it was the place where Martin Luther, the famous German professor of theology and the key figure in the Protestant Reformation, posted his 95 Theses on the door of the Wittenberg Castle Church in 1517. This event is widely regarded as the spark that ignited the Reformation movement. As a result, the surname Wittenberg may have been adopted by individuals associated with or influenced by the Reformation.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Wittenberg can be found in the Kirchenbücher (church records) of Saxony-Anhalt from the late 16th and early 17th centuries. Notable individuals with the surname Wittenberg include Johannes Wittenberg (1583-1648), a German theologian and philosopher who served as a professor at the University of Wittenberg.
Another notable figure was Georg Wittenberg (1610-1667), a German composer and organist who worked in various churches in Saxony. In the 18th century, Johann Michael Wittenberg (1718-1784) was a German architect and sculptor who designed several churches and public buildings in the region.
In the 19th century, Carl Friedrich Wittenberg (1819-1892) was a German writer and poet who published several works in his lifetime. Additionally, Paul Wittenberg (1876-1961) was a German architect and urban planner who designed several notable buildings in Berlin and other German cities.
While the surname Wittenberg is not as common today as it once was, it continues to be associated with its German roots and the historical significance of the town of Wittenberg in the context of the Protestant Reformation.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Wittenberg
Among Census respondents with the surname Wittenberg, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.0%) and Two or More Races (2.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Wittenberg 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 Wittenberg surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.3% · 2,267
- Hispanic or Latino3.0% · 74
- Two or more races2.0% · 48
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 20
- Black or African American0.5% · 11
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 9
Timeline
Historical Census data for Wittenberg
Wittenberg 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
#12,435
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,498
+178 bearers (+7.7%)
Per 100,000 0.85
Rank movement Down 143 places
2020
#12,227
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,429
-69 bearers (-2.8%)
Per 100,000 0.81
Rank movement Up 208 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #12,292 | 2,320 | 0.86 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #12,435 | 2,498 | 0.85 | +178 bearers (+7.7%) | Down 143 places |
| 2020 | #12,227 | 2,429 | 0.81 | -69 bearers (-2.8%) | Up 208 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 Wittenberg 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 | #12,435 | #12,227 | 1.7% |
| Count | 2,498 | 2,429 | -2.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.85 | 0.81 | -4.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Wittenberg bearers went from 2,498 to 2,429 (-2.8% change). The surname moved up 208 positions in the national ranking, going from #12,435 to #12,227.
FAQ
Wittenberg surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Wittenberg?
Name Census estimates that about 2,785 living Americans carry the surname Wittenberg. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 123,072 residents.
How common is Wittenberg?
Wittenberg ranks #12,227 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.81 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 2,429 people with the surname Wittenberg. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,785), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.81 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.81 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Wittenberg.
Has Wittenberg become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Wittenberg went from 2,498 recorded bearers to 2,429. That is a decrease of 69 (-2.8%). In the national ranking it rose from #12,435 to #12,227.
What does the Census say about the background of Wittenberg?
Among Census respondents with the surname Wittenberg, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.0%) and Two or More Races (2.0%). 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 Wittenberg in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.3% (2,267 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Wittenberg appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.3%), Hispanic (3.0%), Two or More Races (2.0%). 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 Wittenberg (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 Wittenberg mean?
A habitational surname referring to someone from the German city of Wittenberg, meaning "white mountain." 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 Wittenberg (0.81 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 Wittenberg?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people have the surname Wittenberg at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.