2000
#43,377
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 469
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.17
Very Rare Last name
Wombacher
A German surname derived from a toponym or place name referring to a person from Wombacher.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 544 Americans carry the last name Wombacher. That puts it at #48,145 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.16 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 630,063 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Wombacher 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
544
1 in 630,063
Census rank
#48,145
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
474
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 474 bearers of the surname Wombacher in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.16 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 48145th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Wombacher, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.0%) and Hispanic (1.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Wombacher
The surname Wombacher finds its roots in Germany, likely originating in the medieval period, around the 14th or 15th centuries. The name is believed to be locational, pointing to an origin in a specific place or region in Germany.
Wombacher likely originates from the Bavarian region, where names derived from geographical features were common. The suffix "bach" indicates a brook or small stream in Old High German, while "wom" might be connected to a place or a feature near a river. Thus, Wombacher could translate to "one who lives by the brook near the womb," with "womb" potentially being an ancient or local term for a specific type of terrain or land feature.
Historical references to the name include medieval tax records and church registries. One of the earliest mentions appears in a 1483 Bavarian tax ledger, listing a Johann Wombacher who was a farmer in a village near Munich. The name appears spelled as Wombachher in a 1510 ecclesiastical record, suggesting a regional phonetic variation possibly due to dialectical influences.
Notable historical figures with the surname include Matthias Wombacher, a known stonemason in Nuremberg around 1561, who contributed to local cathedral restorations. Another example is Friedrich Wombacher, born in 1605, a merchant in Augsburg who engaged in trading textiles, garnering mention in trade documents of the early 17th century.
A famous 18th-century academic, Dr. Klaus Wombacher (1712–1787), notable for his work in natural history, particularly in botany and mineralogy, hailed from the University of Heidelberg. His publications in the field left a significant mark, and his works are still referenced by historians of science.
In the 19th century, records indicate the presence of the Wombacher family in various parts of Europe and America as people emigrated, further spreading the surname. One notable person is Heinrich Wombacher, an artist from Berlin born in 1825, known for his landscapes and whose works are part of several German museum collections.
Lastly, we have Greta Wombacher, an influential 19th-century social reformer born in 1859, advocating for educational reforms in Bavaria, whose efforts led to the establishment of one of the region's first schools for girls, which has laid the foundation for modern educational practices there.
In historical context, the name Wombacher vividly captures a lineage tied to geographical landmarks and significant contributions to their respective fields across centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Wombacher
Among Census respondents with the surname Wombacher, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.0%) and Hispanic (1.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Wombacher 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 Wombacher surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.9% · 445
- Two or more races4.0% · 19
- Hispanic or Latino1.5% · 7
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.4% · 2
- Black or African American0.2% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Wombacher
Wombacher 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
#44,730
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 480
+11 bearers (+2.3%)
Per 100,000 0.16
Rank movement Down 1,353 places
2020
#48,145
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 474
-6 bearers (-1.3%)
Per 100,000 0.16
Rank movement Down 3,415 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #43,377 | 469 | 0.17 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #44,730 | 480 | 0.16 | +11 bearers (+2.3%) | Down 1,353 places |
| 2020 | #48,145 | 474 | 0.16 | -6 bearers (-1.3%) | Down 3,415 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 Wombacher 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 | #44,730 | #48,145 | -7.6% |
| Count | 480 | 474 | -1.3% |
| Per 100K | 0.16 | 0.16 | -0.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Wombacher bearers went from 480 to 474 (-1.3% change). The surname moved down 3,415 positions in the national ranking, going from #44,730 to #48,145.
FAQ
Wombacher surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Wombacher?
Name Census estimates that about 544 living Americans carry the surname Wombacher. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 630,063 residents.
How common is Wombacher?
Wombacher ranks #48,145 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.16 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 474 people with the surname Wombacher. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (544), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.16 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.16 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 Wombacher.
Has Wombacher become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Wombacher went from 480 recorded bearers to 474. That is a decrease of 6 (-1.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #44,730 to #48,145.
What does the Census say about the background of Wombacher?
Among Census respondents with the surname Wombacher, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.0%) and Hispanic (1.5%). 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 Wombacher in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.9% (445 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Wombacher appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.9%), Two or More Races (4.0%), Hispanic (1.5%). 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 Wombacher (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 Wombacher mean?
A German surname derived from a toponym or place name referring to a person from Wombacher. 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 Wombacher (0.16 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 Wombacher?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.