2010
#146,201
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 113
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Wollberg
A surname of German origin meaning "castle on a hill" or "castle in the woods".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 140 Americans carry the last name Wollberg. That puts it at #140,525 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,448,245 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Wollberg 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
140
1 in 2,448,245
Census rank
#140,525
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
122
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 122 bearers of the surname Wollberg in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 140525th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Wollberg, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.1%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (1.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Wollberg
The surname Wollberg likely has its origins in Germany, a country known for its rich tradition of compound surnames. Breaking down the name, "Woll" may derive from an old Germanic word for wool (Wolle), indicating that the origin of this surname could be tied to wool production or trade. "Berg" is a common Germanic suffix meaning mountain or hill. Thus, Wollberg could historically imply a location connected with wool, perhaps a settlement or mansion located on a hill or mountain.
The earliest references to names such as Wollberg can be traced back to Medieval Germany, particularly within the regions known for sheep herding and wool production, such as Thuringia or Saxony. Manuscripts from these areas during the Middle Ages occasionally mention people engaged in occupations connected to wool.
The earliest known recorded instance of the surname Wollberg dates to around the late 14th century, found in a ledger detailing wool merchants in the Hanseatic League, an influential commercial and defensive confederation of merchant guilds based along the coast of Northern Europe. One such figure is Hans Wollberg, a documented merchant from Lübeck, who played a notable role in Hanseatic trade around 1385.
In 1552, another notable individual bearing the name was Dietrich Wollberg, a landowner in the Bavarian region whose estate documents have survived to this day. His property records suggest he was a person of significance in his local area, involved in both agricultural production and textile trade.
Johann Wollberg, born in 1620 and died in 1675, was a prominent legal scholar at the University of Heidelberg. His contributions to legal texts of the time are cited in early modern academic works, establishing the Wollberg name in historical academia.
By the 18th century, the surname Wollberg had made its way beyond Germany. Records from 1723 show a Michael Wollberg, an immigrant artisan in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Michael’s work with wool fabrics had evidently established his reputation in a new country, once again tying the surname to its wool-related origins.
In the early 19th century, Elise Wollberg, born in 1798 and passed in 1864, is noted in Swedish genealogical records as a significant figure in Stockholm’s burgeoning textile industry. Her business acumen and entrepreneurial spirit helped transform it into a thriving enterprise.
Across centuries, the surname Wollberg is well-documented in relation to wool and textile production, illustrating the clear occupational and locational heritage embedded in its Germanic roots.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Wollberg
Among Census respondents with the surname Wollberg, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.1%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (1.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Wollberg 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 Wollberg surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White94.3% · 115
- Hispanic or Latino4.1% · 5
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.6% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Wollberg
Wollberg appears in 2 published Census surname files: 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2020
#140,525
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 122
+9 bearers (+8.0%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 5,676 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #146,201 | 113 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #140,525 | 122 | 0.04 | +9 bearers (+8.0%) | Up 5,676 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 Wollberg 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 | #146,201 | #140,525 | 3.9% |
| Count | 113 | 122 | 8.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | 2.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Wollberg bearers went from 113 to 122 (+8.0% change). The surname moved up 5,676 positions in the national ranking, going from #146,201 to #140,525.
FAQ
Wollberg surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Wollberg?
Name Census estimates that about 140 living Americans carry the surname Wollberg. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,448,245 residents.
How common is Wollberg?
Wollberg ranks #140,525 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 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 122 people with the surname Wollberg. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (140), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 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 Wollberg.
Has Wollberg become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Wollberg went from 113 recorded bearers to 122. That is an increase of 9 (+8.0%). In the national ranking it rose from #146,201 to #140,525.
What does the Census say about the background of Wollberg?
Among Census respondents with the surname Wollberg, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.1%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (1.6%). 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 Wollberg in the 2020 Census, accounting for 94.3% (115 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Wollberg appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (94.3%), Hispanic (4.1%), American Indian/Alaska Native (1.6%). 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 Wollberg (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 Wollberg mean?
A surname of German origin meaning "castle on a hill" or "castle in the woods". 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 Wollberg (0.04 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 Americans have the surname Wollberg?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.