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

Wittrock, 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 Wittrock surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Wittrock in America

Wittrock is the 17717th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Wittrock surname appeared 1,583 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 Wittrock.

We can also compare 2010 data for Wittrock 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 Wittrock

The surname Wittrock has its origins in the German-speaking regions of Europe, with historical roots tracing back to the Middle Ages. The name is most commonly associated with Germany, particularly in northern and central regions, and is believed to have emerged during the 12th or 13th century. Wittrock is derived from an older German term, likely "witt" meaning "white" or "bright" and "rock" meaning "skirt" or "coat". The combination might have originally referred to someone who wore a white garment or had some association with such attire.

Early records indicate that variants of the surname were present in various forms. One of the earliest documented usages can be found in rural areas of Lower Saxony and Westphalia. Historical manuscripts, including church records and local registries from the 14th and 15th centuries, contain references to the name in various spellings such as Witrock, Withrock, and Witroch.

The name appears in the 1487 records of the city of Bremen, a significant Hanseatic city, where a merchant named Heinrich Wittrock was noted for his involvement in regional trade. Another example includes Johann Wittrock, a farmer listed in the 1523 agricultural census of Westphalia, highlighting the name’s presence among agrarian communities.

Moving into the 17th century, the surname Wittrock continued to appear in documents, with Andreas Wittrock, born in 1611, making a name as a local magistrate in the town of Goslar. His contributions to the local judiciary added civic significance to the family name during that period.

By the 18th century, the name spread further within the German-speaking world and even into neighboring countries. An example from this era includes Friedrich Wilhelm Wittrock, born in 1732, who became a noted theologian and professor at the University of Leipzig, contributing significantly to religious and academic life until his death in 1799.

In the 19th century, another notable individual with this surname was Karl Wittrock, a Prussian military officer born in 1825, who achieved prominence during the Austro-Prussian War of 1866 and the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-1871. His military career accentuated the name Wittrock’s association with both scholastic and martial achievements.

Throughout history, the Wittrock surname has been borne by individuals involved in various vocations, from merchant activities and agricultural pursuits to scholarly and military careers. The evolution and persistence of the name underscore the adaptability and resilience of families bearing the surname Wittrock over the centuries.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Wittrock

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

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

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Wittrock, 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!