Explore the Family Name Westra

The meaning of Westra

West Frisian and Dutch: topographic name from west ‘western’ + the suffix -stra from Old Frisian sittera ‘inhabitant of’.

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

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

Based on data from the Decennial U.S. Census, the surname Westra has seen an increase in popularity between 2000 and 2010. In 2000, Westra was ranked as the 14,912th most popular surname, while in 2010 it climbed to the 13,874th position, marking a growth of approximately 6.96%. The actual count of individuals bearing the Westra surname also grew from 1,821 to 2,177; a rise of about 19.55%. This indicates that for every 100,000 people in the U.S., there was an increase from 0.68 individuals named Westra in 2000 to 0.74 in 2010, revealing a 8.82% surge in proportion.

	2000	2010	Change
Rank	#14,912	#13,874	6.96%
Count	1,821	2,177	19.55%
Proportion per 100k	0.68	0.74	8.82%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Westra

The ethnicity linked with the surname Westra also underwent changes between 2000 and 2010 according to the Decennial U.S. Census data. The majority of Westras are of White ethnicity, although this percentage dropped from 93.19% to 87.64%, a decrease of around 5.96%. Meanwhile, those identifying as Hispanic saw an enormous increase of 197.18%, from 0.71% to 2.11%. Similarly, the Black population with the Westra surname experienced a significant boost of 87.38%, growing from 4.12% to 7.72%. Those identifying as Asian/Pacific Islander slightly decreased in proportion, while the number of Westras identifying with two or more races rose by 46.15%. Lastly, American Indian and Alaskan Natives with the Westra surname saw an increase of 37.04%.

	2000	2010	Change
White	93.19%	87.64%	-5.96%
Black	4.12%	7.72%	87.38%
Hispanic	0.71%	2.11%	197.18%
Two or More Races	1.04%	1.52%	46.15%
Asian/Pacific Islander	0.66%	0.64%	-3.03%
American Indian and Alaskan Native	0.27%	0.37%	37.04%