The Wagner surname
In the 2010 U.S. Census, 155,795 people carried this name — #173 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 1,890 people counted. That is up 1% from 154,516 in 2000.
What the name means
The meaning of the Wagner surname
Borrowed from German Wagner (literally “wainwright”), later conflated with wheelwright. As the name of a private military company, borrowed from Russian Ва́гнер (Vágner). Reportedly the call sign of Russian GRU officer and company founder Dmitry Utkin, which was ultimately named after German composer Richard Wagner.
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Wagner» (English), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.
In France’s civil register
France’s register of deaths holds 6,883 people named Wagner.
515 of them were born outside France. Those born in France came from 91 départements, most often Moselle.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they were born
Fichier des personnes décédées, INSEE — Licence Ouverte 2.0 · deaths recorded in France since 1970, by place of birth.
In Switzerland’s population statistics
5,814 people named Wagner live in Switzerland.
They live in all 26 of Switzerland’s cantons, most of all in Zurich.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they live today
Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO), «Surnames of the permanent resident population by canton», 2025, opendata.swiss/en/dataset/nachnamen-der-standigen-wohnbevolkerung-nach-kanton3 · names with fewer than 3 bearers in a canton are not published.
In Argentina’s national register
At least 5,412 people named Wagner live in Argentina.
RENAPER only publishes a name in a province when more than ten people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in Buenos Aires Province.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they live today
RENAPER (National Registry of Persons, Argentina), surnames of residents by province, December 2021 — CC BY 4.0.
In Poland’s population register
4,290 people named Wagner have a registered home in Poland.
Of the 5,508 in Poland’s national register, these are the ones with a permanent address on file. They live in all 16 of Poland’s voivodeships, most of all in Masovian.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they live today
PESEL register, Ministry of Digital Affairs of Poland (dane.gov.pl) — CC0 · living people by voivodeship of permanent residence, 20 January 2026.
In Belgium’s population register
At least 537 people named Wagner live in Belgium.
Statbel only publishes a name in a municipality when five or more people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in Luxembourg Province.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they live today
Statbel (Statistics Belgium), family names of the population by municipality, 1 January 2026 — CC BY 4.0.
In the Nordic population registers
1,167 people named Wagner are counted in Sweden, Norway and Finland.
Sweden’s figure is from 31 December 2022, the last count Statistics Sweden published. Norway publishes only surnames with 200 or more bearers. Finland counts its citizens, at home or abroad.
Counted, by country
Own calculations based on data from Statistics Sweden (SCB), surnames with at least two bearers, 31 December 2022 — CC BY 4.0 (names with 20 or more bearers shown) · Statistics Norway (SSB, ssb.no), table 12891, 2025 — CC BY 4.0 · Digital and Population Data Services Agency (DVV), Finland, surname statistics, August 2026 — CC BY 4.0.
In print
Wagner in American newspapers,
1903–1904.
Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 851,168 pages in all carry the name.
Who carried it
People named Wagner,
with a public archive behind them.
-
Paul Wagner 1617–1697 · mayor -
Sigismund Wagner 1759–1835 · writer -
Friedrich August Wagner 1775–1856 · physician -
Theodor Wagner 1800–1880 · sculptor -
Ernst Wagner 1832–1920 · archaeologist
Wikidata and Wikimedia Commons (CC0) · 145 lives in all are documented under this name.
Nearby in the index
Surnames next to Wagner.
- Wade 97,040 · U.S. census
- Wadel 513 · U.S. census
- Waechter 1,157 · U.S. census
- Wagener 1,627 · U.S. census
- Wagenheim 172 · U.S. census
- Wager 3,428 · U.S. census
- Wagnon 2,050 · U.S. census
- Wagon 104 · U.S. census
- Wahl 13,253 · U.S. census
- Waibel 1,414 · U.S. census
- Wajda 940 · U.S. census
- Walas 349 · U.S. census
When the index is not enough
This page says where Wagner is.
A volume says what happened to it.
Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.