The Werner surname
In the 2010 U.S. Census, 34,488 people carried this name — #1,013 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 8,550 people counted. About the same as in 2000 (34,352).
What the name means
The meaning of the Werner surname
A common surname originating as a patronymic.
Germanic: *waraz (“cautious; heedful; wary; watchful”) + *harjaz (“army; army leader”); roughly equivalent to English Warner.
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Werner» (German), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.
In Poland’s population register
4,953 people named Werner have a registered home in Poland.
Of the 6,055 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 Greater Poland.
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 Switzerland’s population statistics
1,948 people named Werner live in Switzerland.
They live in 23 of Switzerland’s 26 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 France’s civil register
France’s register of deaths holds 1,313 people named Werner.
187 of them were born outside France. Those born in France came from 70 départements, most often Bas-Rhin.
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 Argentina’s national register
At least 1,259 people named Werner 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 Belgium’s population register
At least 185 people named Werner 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.
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
3,266 people named Werner 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
Werner in American newspapers,
1889–1963.
Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 214,690 pages in all carry the name.
Who carried it
People named Werner,
with a public archive behind them.
-
Johannes Werner 1468–1522 · astronomer -
Joseph Werner the Younger 1637–1710 · painter -
Paul Werner 1707–1785 · military personnel -
Abraham Gottlob Werner 1749–1817 · geologist -
August Hermann Werner 1808–1882 · physician
Wikidata and Wikimedia Commons (CC0) · 121 lives in all are documented under this name.
Nearby in the index
Surnames next to Werner.
- Wentzel 3,681 · U.S. census
- Wenzel 11,432 · U.S. census
- Werle 925 · U.S. census
- Werling 1,495 · U.S. census
- Werly 131 · U.S. census
- Wermuth 612 · U.S. census
- Wernert 397 · U.S. census
- Wernet 389 · U.S. census
- Wernette 532 · U.S. census
- Wernimont 480 · U.S. census
- Wersinger 212 · U.S. census
- Werth 3,757 · U.S. census
When the index is not enough
This page says where Werner 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.