2000
#11,449
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,524
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.94
Rare Last name
Wallach
A surname of German origin, referring to someone from a Romance-speaking country, especially Italy or France.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,673 Americans carry the last name Wallach. That puts it at #12,652 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.78 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 128,228 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Wallach 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
2.7K
1 in 128,228
Census rank
#12,652
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.3K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,331 bearers of the surname Wallach in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.78 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 12652nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Wallach, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.2%) and Two or More Races (2.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Wallach
The surname Wallach has its roots in Germany, where it first emerged in the medieval period. It is derived from the German word "Wallach," which refers to a gelding, or a castrated horse. This suggests that the name may have initially been an occupational surname given to someone who worked with horses, perhaps as a groom or stable hand.
In the early days, the name appeared in various spellings, such as Wallache, Walache, and Wallacher, reflecting the differences in regional dialects and scribal interpretations. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus Anhaltinus, a collection of historical documents from the Anhalt region of Germany, dating back to the 12th century.
The name Wallach also had connections to place names in Germany. For instance, there is a town called Walldorf in Baden-Württemberg, which might have contributed to the surname's origins. Additionally, the name was sometimes associated with people from Wallachia, a historical region in modern-day Romania, suggesting possible links to migration patterns.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the surname Wallach. One of the earliest was Johann Wallach (c. 1390-1456), a German scholar and theologian who served as the rector of the University of Leipzig in the 15th century. Another prominent figure was Abraham ben Moses Wallach (1753-1839), a Polish-Jewish scholar and author who wrote extensively on Jewish law and ethics.
In the realm of science, we find Richard Wallach (1816-1881), a German chemist who made significant contributions to the understanding of organic chemistry and the study of isomerism. Another scientist of note was Otto Wallach (1847-1915), a German chemist who received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1910 for his groundbreaking work on alicyclic compounds.
Lastly, in the artistic sphere, there is the German-American painter and sculptor Ingrid Wallach (1923-2009), whose works have been exhibited in various prestigious galleries and museums around the world.
While these are just a few examples, the surname Wallach has a rich history and has been borne by individuals from diverse backgrounds and professions, reflecting the widespread distribution and adaptability of this Germanic name over the centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Wallach
Among Census respondents with the surname Wallach, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.2%) and Two or More Races (2.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Wallach 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 Wallach surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.1% · 2,124
- Hispanic or Latino4.2% · 99
- Two or more races2.5% · 58
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.4% · 32
- Black or African American0.8% · 18
Timeline
Historical Census data for Wallach
Wallach 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
#12,170
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,561
+37 bearers (+1.5%)
Per 100,000 0.87
Rank movement Down 721 places
2020
#12,652
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,331
-230 bearers (-9.0%)
Per 100,000 0.78
Rank movement Down 482 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #11,449 | 2,524 | 0.94 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #12,170 | 2,561 | 0.87 | +37 bearers (+1.5%) | Down 721 places |
| 2020 | #12,652 | 2,331 | 0.78 | -230 bearers (-9.0%) | Down 482 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 Wallach 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 | #12,170 | #12,652 | -4.0% |
| Count | 2,561 | 2,331 | -9.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.87 | 0.78 | -10.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Wallach bearers went from 2,561 to 2,331 (-9.0% change). The surname moved down 482 positions in the national ranking, going from #12,170 to #12,652.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Wallach
FAQ
Wallach surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Wallach?
Name Census estimates that about 2,673 living Americans carry the surname Wallach. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 128,228 residents.
How common is Wallach?
Wallach ranks #12,652 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.78 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 2,331 people with the surname Wallach. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,673), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.78 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.78 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 Wallach.
Has Wallach become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Wallach went from 2,561 recorded bearers to 2,331. That is a decrease of 230 (-9.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #12,170 to #12,652.
What does the Census say about the background of Wallach?
Among Census respondents with the surname Wallach, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.2%) and Two or More Races (2.5%). 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 Wallach in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.1% (2,124 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Wallach appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.1%), Hispanic (4.2%), Two or More Races (2.5%). 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 Wallach (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 Wallach mean?
A surname of German origin, referring to someone from a Romance-speaking country, especially Italy or France. 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 Wallach (0.78 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 Wallach?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.