Explore the Family Name Werther

The meaning of Werther

German: 1. variant of Werth (see Wert 1, 3), the suffix -er denoting an inhabitant. 2. occupational name from Middle High German warte ‘lookout, observation point’. Compare Wartman. Some characteristic forenames: German Egon, Herwig, Markus, Rainer, Willi.

Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.

How common is the last name Werther in the United States?

Based on the Decennial U.S. Census, the surname Werther experienced a slight decrease in popularity between 2000 and 2010. While the rank of the surname dropped by approximately 4.8 percent, from 51,809 to 54,296, the actual count of people with this surname slightly increased by 0.8 percent, from 377 to 380. Consequently, the proportion per 100,000 individuals with this last name decreased by around 7.14 percent.

	2000	2010	Change
Rank	#51,809	#54,296	-4.8%
Count	377	380	0.8%
Proportion per 100k	0.14	0.13	-7.14%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Werther

When it comes to ethnicity, data from the Decennial U.S. Census reveals some shifts among those with the Werther surname from 2000 to 2010. The percentage of individuals identifying as White decreased by about 3.39 percent, from 91.25 percent to 88.16 percent. However, there was an increase in the proportion of those identifying as Hispanic, up from 3.71 percent to 5.26 percent, marking a rise of 41.78 percent. Interestingly, the category of "Two or more races" nearly doubled, jumping from 1.59 percent to 3.16 percent. Meanwhile, the percentage of people identifying as Black, Asian/Pacific Islander, and American Indian and Alaskan Native remained relatively stable, with the latter two maintaining a zero or near-zero presence.

	2000	2010	Change
White	91.25%	88.16%	-3.39%
Hispanic	3.71%	5.26%	41.78%
Two or More Races	1.59%	3.16%	98.74%
American Indian and Alaskan Native	2.12%	2.11%	-0.47%
Black	0%	1.32%	0%
Asian/Pacific Islander	0%	0%	0%