Walter Koenig
There are approximately 17 people named Walter Koenig living in the United States today. That makes this name combination very rare, occurring at a rate of about 1 in 20,162,020 Americans.
This estimate combines SSA birth records for the first name Walter with Census Bureau frequency data for the surname Koenig. Below you will find a breakdown of both names, including popularity trends, gender data, and Census demographics where available.
Expected bearers
17
1 in 20,162,020
Named Walter
238K
Alive today
Named Koenig
24K
Alive today
US population
343M
Denominator
Estimated living: 238K
Rarity: Common
Gender: Male
Peak year: 1918
Average age: 62
Top Census group: White (67.5%)
Estimated bearers: 24K
Rarity: Uncommon
Census rank: #1,667
Per 100K: 7.05
Top ancestry: White (92.1%)
First name trend
Walter: popularity over time
Year-by-year SSA birth registrations for the first name Walter. The peak year was 1918 with 13,418 births. The average person named Walter today is 62 years old.
Babies born per year
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Walter
Self-reported race and ethnicity breakdown for people with the first name Walter, from the 2020 US Census Bureau first-name tables. The largest published group is White at 67.5%.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Walter described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. These are self-reported numbers, and they describe the population who happened to carry the name Walter at the time of the Census. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity.
- White67.5% · 165,335
- Black or African American16.0% · 39,263
- Hispanic or Latino12.3% · 30,017
- Two or more races2.3% · 5,593
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.3% · 3,076
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 1,564
Ethnicity
Ancestry of the Koenig surname
Self-reported race and ethnicity breakdown for people with the surname Koenig, from the 2020 US Census Bureau. The largest group is White at 92.1%.
The bar chart below shows how people with the surname Koenig described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. These are self-reported numbers, and they describe the population who happened to carry the surname Koenig at the time of the Census. A surname does not determine a person's race or ethnicity.
- White92.1% · 19,417
- Hispanic or Latino3.2% · 675
- Two or more races2.8% · 587
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 157
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 135
- Black or African American0.5% · 113
Methodology
How we calculated this
The first name Walter has a living-bearer frequency of 0.0694% of the US population, based on 237,731 estimated living Americans carrying this first name (from SSA birth records going back to 1880, adjusted for mortality using CDC life tables).
Even though the Census Bureau now publishes first-name tables, we do not use that file as the main first-name input for this estimate. The latest first-name Census snapshot is from 2020, which makes it 6 years old today. Because Census first-name data is only released once every 10 years, SSA birth records plus CDC survival rates give a better current estimate of how many people are likely alive with the name Walter right now.
The surname Koenig appears at a rate of 7.05 per 100,000 residents in the 2020 Census Bureau surname file, which translates to a frequency of 0.0071%.
Multiplying these two independent frequencies against the current US population of 342,754,338 gives an expected count of approximately 17 people with the full name Walter Koenig. This assumes statistical independence between first and last names, which is a simplification but produces reasonable estimates for most combinations.
Related
Other people named Walter
FAQ
Walter Koenig: questions and answers
How many people are named Walter Koenig?
We estimate approximately 17 people in the United States share the full name Walter Koenig. That works out to about 1 in 20,162,020 Americans. This is calculated by combining the first-name frequency (0.0694%) with the surname frequency (7.05 per 100K) against the current US population.
How rare is the name Walter Koenig?
We classify Walter Koenig as "Very Rare". About 1 in 20,162,020 Americans share this exact first and last name combination.
Is Walter a male or female name?
Walter is predominantly male. Out of 633,415 total SSA registrations, 99.4% were male and 0.6% were female. See the full Walter profile for detailed gender data.
Where does this data come from?
First-name data comes from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files (1880 to 2024). Surname data comes from the 2020 US Census Bureau decennial surname tables. Living-bearer estimates use CDC actuarial life tables to adjust for mortality. Read the full methodology.
How many people have the full name Walter Koenig?
Want to know how common the name Walter Koenig is? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.