2000
#7,085
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,353
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.61
Rare Last name
Wolter
A surname of German origin referring to someone living near or tending to woods or woodland.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 4,794 Americans carry the last name Wolter. That puts it at #7,630 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.40 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 71,497 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Wolter 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
4.8K
1 in 71,497
Census rank
#7,630
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.4
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
4.2K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 4,181 bearers of the surname Wolter in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.40 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 7630th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Wolter, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.7%) and Hispanic (2.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Wolter
The surname Wolter is of Germanic origin, derived from the old German personal name Walter, which means "ruler of the army" or "commander of the host". This name can be traced back to the 8th century and was popular among the Frankish and Teutonic tribes.
The earliest recorded instances of the surname Wolter can be found in various German regions, including Bavaria, Saxony, and Westphalia. It is believed that the name first appeared in written records during the Middle Ages, possibly in the form of "Walter" or "Walther".
One of the earliest known bearers of this surname was Wolter von der Vogelweide, a renowned Middle High German lyric poet and minnesinger from the late 12th and early 13th centuries. His poems and songs are considered among the finest examples of medieval German literature.
During the 13th and 14th centuries, the surname Wolter can be found in various medieval records and documents, such as the Codex Diplomaticus Brandenburgensis and the Monumenta Germaniae Historica, which documented the history of the Holy Roman Empire.
In the 16th century, the surname Wolter was borne by Johann Wolter, a German printer and publisher who was active in Nuremberg from around 1540 to 1580. He is known for publishing works by notable authors of the time, including Desiderius Erasmus.
Another notable bearer of the surname was Bernhard Wolter, a German sculptor and woodcarver born in Nuremberg in 1605. He is renowned for his intricate and detailed wood carvings, many of which adorned churches and public buildings in Germany.
In the 18th century, Johann Wolter was a German theologian and philosopher who lived from 1741 to 1819. He is best known for his works on ethics and moral philosophy, which were influential during the Enlightenment period.
The surname Wolter has also been associated with various place names throughout Germany, such as Woltershausen, Woltersdorf, and Woltersburg, indicating that the name may have originated from specific locations or regions.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Wolter
Among Census respondents with the surname Wolter, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.7%) and Hispanic (2.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Wolter 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 Wolter surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.2% · 3,897
- Two or more races2.7% · 114
- Hispanic or Latino2.6% · 107
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 31
- Black or African American0.4% · 18
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 14
Timeline
Historical Census data for Wolter
Wolter 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
#7,384
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,511
+158 bearers (+3.6%)
Per 100,000 1.53
Rank movement Down 299 places
2020
#7,630
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,181
-330 bearers (-7.3%)
Per 100,000 1.40
Rank movement Down 246 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #7,085 | 4,353 | 1.61 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #7,384 | 4,511 | 1.53 | +158 bearers (+3.6%) | Down 299 places |
| 2020 | #7,630 | 4,181 | 1.40 | -330 bearers (-7.3%) | Down 246 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 Wolter 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 | #7,384 | #7,630 | -3.3% |
| Count | 4,511 | 4,181 | -7.3% |
| Per 100K | 1.53 | 1.40 | -8.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Wolter bearers went from 4,511 to 4,181 (-7.3% change). The surname moved down 246 positions in the national ranking, going from #7,384 to #7,630.
FAQ
Wolter surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Wolter?
Name Census estimates that about 4,794 living Americans carry the surname Wolter. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 71,497 residents.
How common is Wolter?
Wolter ranks #7,630 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.40 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 4,181 people with the surname Wolter. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (4,794), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.4 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.40 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 Wolter.
Has Wolter become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Wolter went from 4,511 recorded bearers to 4,181. That is a decrease of 330 (-7.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #7,384 to #7,630.
What does the Census say about the background of Wolter?
Among Census respondents with the surname Wolter, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.7%) and Hispanic (2.6%). 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 Wolter in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.2% (3,897 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Wolter appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.2%), Two or More Races (2.7%), Hispanic (2.6%). 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 Wolter (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 Wolter mean?
A surname of German origin referring to someone living near or tending to woods or woodland. 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 Wolter (1.40 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 common is the surname Wolter?
Find out how many Americans have the surname Wolter on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.