Explore the Family Name Wilhelms

The meaning of Wilhelms

German: patronymic from Wilhelm. Some characteristic forenames: German Otto.

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

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

Based on the Decennial U.S. Census data, the surname Wilhelms' popularity slightly declined between 2000 and 2010. In 2000, Wilhelms had a rank of 41,924 but by the end of the decade, it dropped to 44,270, indicating a change of -5.6%. Similarly, the count also experienced a slight drop from 488 in 2000 to 486 in 2010, marking a change of -0.41%. This minor decrease also impacted the proportion per 100,000 people, with the figure falling from 0.18 to 0.16 or an 11.11% reduction.

20002010Change
Rank#41,924#44,270-5.6%
Count488486-0.41%
Proportion per 100k0.180.16-11.11%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Wilhelms

The ethnic identity associated with the Wilhelms surname saw some changes as well during this period. According to the Decennial U.S. Census, there were no individuals identifying as Asian/Pacific Islander or Black holding the surname in either year. The majority of individuals with the Wilhelms surname identified as White, though there was a minimal decrease from 94.26% to 93.83%. There were small increases in those who identified as Hispanic (from 1.84% to 1.85%) and those who identified with two or more races (from 1.43% to 1.44%). The most significant change was observed in those who identified as American Indian and Alaskan Native, which went up from 1.64% in 2000 to 2.26% in 2010, a substantial increase of 37.80%.

20002010Change
White94.26%93.83%-0.46%
American Indian and Alaskan Native1.64%2.26%37.8%
Hispanic1.84%1.85%0.54%
Two or More Races1.43%1.44%0.7%
Asian/Pacific Islander0%0%0%
Black0%0%0%