2000
#252
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 107,866
First available Census row
Per 100,000 39.99
Common Last name
Weber
An occupational surname referring to a weaver.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 121,851 Americans carry the last name Weber. That puts it at #290 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 35.55 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,813 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Weber 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Weber with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
122K
1 in 2,813
Census rank
#290
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
35.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
106K
common in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 106,260 bearers of the surname Weber in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 35.55 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 290th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Weber, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.2%) and Two or More Races (2.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Weber
The surname WEBER is of German origin, derived from the Middle High German word "wëbære" or "webære", meaning "weaver". It was an occupational name given to those who worked as weavers or cloth makers. This name has been documented as early as the 13th century in various regions of Germany.
The earliest recorded instances of the WEBER surname can be traced back to the town of Augsburg in Bavaria, where a family of weavers was mentioned in a document from the year 1255. Another early record dates back to 1292 in the city of Cologne, where a man named Henricus Weber was listed as a citizen.
During the Middle Ages, the WEBER name was particularly prominent in the textile-producing regions of Germany, such as Saxony, Silesia, and the Rhineland. The name was also found in the areas around the cities of Frankfurt, Nuremberg, and Leipzig, which were important centers of trade and commerce.
One of the earliest known bearers of the WEBER surname was Johannes Weber, a weaver from Nuremberg who lived in the late 14th century. Another notable figure was Hans Weber, a renowned German artist and printmaker who was born in Basle, Switzerland, in 1525 and died in 1592.
In the 16th century, the WEBER name appeared in the famous Germanisches Nationalmuseum in Nuremberg, a museum that houses a vast collection of historical documents and artifacts from the German-speaking regions of Europe.
During the 17th and 18th centuries, the WEBER surname continued to spread across various parts of Germany and beyond. Johann Gottfried Weber (1739-1797) was a German composer and music theorist from Freinsheim, while Carl Maria von Weber (1786-1826) was a renowned German composer, conductor, and pianist from Dresden.
Another notable figure was Max Weber (1864-1920), a German sociologist, philosopher, and political economist who is considered one of the founding fathers of modern sociology. He was born in Erfurt, Prussia, and made significant contributions to the study of social theory and the Protestant work ethic.
Overall, the surname WEBER has a rich history rooted in the textile industry and the German-speaking regions of Europe, with numerous notable bearers contributing to various fields throughout the centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Weber
Among Census respondents with the surname Weber, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.2%) and Two or More Races (2.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Weber 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 Weber surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.4% · 97,074
- Hispanic or Latino3.2% · 3,426
- Two or more races2.9% · 3,034
- Black or African American1.4% · 1,517
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 850
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 359
Timeline
Historical Census data for Weber
Weber 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
#283
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 109,433
+1,567 bearers (+1.5%)
Per 100,000 37.10
Rank movement Down 31 places
2020
#290
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 106,260
-3,173 bearers (-2.9%)
Per 100,000 35.55
Rank movement Down 7 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #252 | 107,866 | 39.99 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #283 | 109,433 | 37.10 | +1,567 bearers (+1.5%) | Down 31 places |
| 2020 | #290 | 106,260 | 35.55 | -3,173 bearers (-2.9%) | Down 7 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 Weber 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 | #283 | #290 | -2.5% |
| Count | 109,433 | 106,260 | -2.9% |
| Per 100K | 37.10 | 35.55 | -4.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Weber bearers went from 109,433 to 106,260 (-2.9% change). The surname moved down 7 positions in the national ranking, going from #283 to #290.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Weber
FAQ
Weber surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Weber?
Name Census estimates that about 121,851 living Americans carry the surname Weber. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,813 residents.
How common is Weber?
Weber ranks #290 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Common." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 35.55 per 100,000 residents, which is about 36 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 106,260 people with the surname Weber. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (121,851), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 35.55 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 35.55 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 36 of them to have the surname Weber.
Has Weber become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Weber went from 109,433 recorded bearers to 106,260. That is a decrease of 3,173 (-2.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #283 to #290.
What does the Census say about the background of Weber?
Among Census respondents with the surname Weber, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.2%) and Two or More Races (2.9%). 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 Weber in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.4% (97,074 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Weber appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.4%), Hispanic (3.2%), Two or More Races (2.9%). 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 Weber (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 Weber mean?
An occupational surname referring to a weaver. 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 Weber (35.55 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 are called Weber?
Find out how many people are called Weber on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.