The Wei surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 9,578 people carried this name — #3,707 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 30,800 people counted. That is up 59% from 6,037 in 2000.

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In Argentina’s national register

At least 461 people named Wei 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 City of Buenos Aires.

Where it concentrates, on the map

Where they live today

City of Buenos Aires 244
Buenos Aires Province 195
Santa Fe 12
Entre Ríos 10

RENAPER (National Registry of Persons, Argentina), surnames of residents by province, December 2021 — CC BY 4.0.

In Switzerland’s population statistics

160 people named Wei live in Switzerland.

They live in 13 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Zurich.

Where it concentrates, on the map

Where they live today

Zurich 48
Vaud 28
Geneva 19
Aargau 16
St. Gallen 11
Basel-Stadt 6
Bern 6
Solothurn 5

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 Belgium’s population register

At least 66 people named Wei 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 Brussels-Capital.

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they live today

Brussels-Capital 28
Flemish Brabant 15
Antwerp 10
East Flanders 8
Walloon Brabant 5

Statbel (Statistics Belgium), family names of the population by municipality, 1 January 2026 — CC BY 4.0.

In France’s civil register

France’s register of deaths holds 23 people named Wei.

Most of them — 23 — were born outside France.

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they were born

Born outside France 23

Fichier des personnes décédées, INSEE — Licence Ouverte 2.0 · deaths recorded in France since 1970, by place of birth.

In the Nordic population registers

289 people named Wei are counted in Sweden and Finland.

Sweden’s figure is from 31 December 2022, the last count Statistics Sweden published. Finland counts its citizens, at home or abroad.

Counted, by country

Sweden (2022) 267
Finland (2026) 22

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) · Digital and Population Data Services Agency (DVV), Finland, surname statistics, August 2026 — CC BY 4.0.

In print

Wei in American newspapers,
1911–1914.

Newspaper page from Jamestown Weekly Alert carrying the name Wei
Jamestown Weekly Alert 1911-12-21
Newspaper page from The Chronicle=news carrying the name Wei
The Chronicle=news 1914-12-05
Newspaper page from Bridgeton Pioneer carrying the name Wei
Bridgeton Pioneer 1911-12-21

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 3,931 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Wei in Australian newspapers,
1830s–2000s.

10,217 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Wei. The most, 1,736, date from the 1920s.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 2,906
Victoria 2,677
Queensland 1,797
South Australia 1,212
Western Australia 936
Tasmania 530
ACT (Canberra) 96
Northern Territory 8

Trove, National Library of Australia (trove.nla.gov.au) · articles in its digitised newspapers that name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Wei.

Who carried it

People named Wei,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Wei Zican d. 586 · politician
  • Wei Jian d. 746 · politician
  • Wei Jian d. 731 · politician
  • Wei Guan d. 1668 · politician
  • Wei Shaofang d. 1685 · politician
  • Wei Jingjun d. 732 · politician

Wikidata (CC0) · 9 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Wei,
in the records of 4 countries.

Soldiers, farmers, migrants and neighbours who carried the name and left a trace in public archives. Everyone shown here died long ago or was born more than a century ago.

United States128 records

128 records of the Wei name in the United States
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 73
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 32
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 17
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 5
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 1
  1. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Kang Yu Wei

    Arrived at New York in 1907 aboard the America from Cuxhaven, aged 48; professor. From Hartford; bound for New York. Born in Singapore.

    U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)
  2. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Sman Sidney Wei

    Born 1920 in New York. Enlisted 1942 at New York City; auto plant worker from Kings County.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain)
  3. The receipt card sent under the U.S. Alien Registration Act of 1940
    Example: U.S. alien registration card, 1940s
    Alien registration Edith H. Wei

    Born 1898 in Shanghai, China. Entered the United States at San Francisco in 1948. Listed in the U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955.

    U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain)

Showing 3 of 128 records for Wei in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Alien Registration Receipt Card, Form AR-3, photo by Bobjgalindo via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0).

Netherlands112 records

112 records of the Wei name in the Netherlands
  • Dutch civil registers (births, marriages, deaths) 83
  • Dutch population registers 24
  • Dutch church registers before 1811 5
  1. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Harm Wei

    Born 1819 in Veendam. Died 1902 in Oosterdiep (Veendam), aged 82; merchant.

    Open Archives, Groninger Archieven (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Jantina Efina Wei

    Born 1901 in Egypteneinde (Veendam). Married in 1928 in Avereest.

    Open Archives, Groninger Archieven (CC BY 4.0); Open Archives, Collectie Overijssel locatie Zwolle (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Jan Wei

    Born 1853 in Groote Keeten. Married in 1876 in Callantsoog; labourer.

    Open Archives, Regionaal Archief Alkmaar (CC BY 4.0); Open Archives, Noord-Hollands Archief (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 112 records for Wei in the Netherlands.

Counts: Open Archives (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0); Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain).

Canada4 records

4 records of the Wei name in Canada
  • City of Calgary cemetery records 2
  • Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver 2
  1. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Choei Thai Wei

    Buried in 1993 at Queen's Park Cemetery, Calgary, Alberta, aged 68.

    City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary.
  2. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Quan Wei

    Died 1932; buried at Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver, British Columbia.

    City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver.
  3. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Rong Kin Wei

    Buried in 1996 at Queen's Park Cemetery, Calgary, Alberta.

    City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary.

Showing 3 of 4 records for Wei in Canada.

Counts: City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary. · City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0).

France2 records

2 records of the Wei name in France France's national death register, 1970–2001
  1. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Tsing Sing Wei

    Born 1903 in China; died 2001 in Paris.

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)
  2. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Yen-Fen Wei

    Born 1975 in Hsinchu (Taïwan); died 2001 in Paris.

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)

Counts: Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Death register of Nice, 1930, Archives départementales des Alpes-Maritimes (public domain).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Wei.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Wei 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.

See the Wei volume
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