Witt
A diminutive form of the German name Wilhelm or William, meaning "resolute protector".
Name Census estimates that about 298 living Americans carry the first name Witt. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Witt today is around 10 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Witt births was 2024 (32 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Witt. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
298
~ 1 in 1,150,182 Americans
Peak year
2024
32 babies that year
Average age
10
years old
2024 SSA rank
#3,585
Tracked since 1997
Census
Witt in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 299 people with the first name Witt, which placed it at #29,541 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#29,541
National first-name rank
People counted
299
299 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
83.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Witt
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Witt is White at 83.6%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (6.0%) and Black (4.0%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Witt described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Witt at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White83.6% · 250
- Asian and Pacific Islander6.0% · 18
- Black or African American4.0% · 12
- Two or more races3.3% · 10
- Hispanic or Latino3.0% · 9
Popularity
Witt: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Witt from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2020s, with 124 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Witt by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Witt during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Witts live
Origin
Meaning and history of Witt
The name Witt originated from the Old English word "wit," which means "wise" or "intelligent." It emerged as a given name during the Anglo-Saxon period in England, typically bestowed upon individuals who exhibited wisdom, knowledge, or intellect.
The earliest recorded use of Witt as a given name dates back to the 7th century AD, when it appeared in various Old English manuscripts and records. One notable historical figure bearing this name was Witt the Enlightened, a renowned scholar and philosopher who lived in the 9th century and is credited with advancing the study of logic and metaphysics during the Anglo-Saxon era.
During the Middle Ages, the name Witt gained popularity among the nobility and upper classes, who valued education and intellectual pursuits. It was often chosen to reflect the parents' aspirations for their child's future accomplishments and wisdom.
In the 12th century, Witt the Scribe, a renowned calligrapher and illuminator of manuscripts, became known for his exquisite work in creating beautifully illustrated religious texts. His attention to detail and intricate designs earned him widespread recognition among scholars and patrons of the arts.
In the 16th century, Witt Shakespeare, a distant relative of the famous playwright William Shakespeare, was a respected scholar and theologian at the University of Oxford. He contributed significantly to the study of ancient Greek texts and their interpretation.
Another notable figure bearing the name Witt was Sir Witt Raleigh, an English explorer and navigator who accompanied Sir Walter Raleigh on his expeditions to the Americas in the late 16th century. His accounts of the new lands and their inhabitants provided valuable insights into the early colonial era.
In the 18th century, Witt Franklin, a renowned scientist and inventor, made significant contributions to the understanding of electricity and its practical applications. His experiments and discoveries paved the way for many modern electrical technologies.
The name Witt has transcended cultures and time periods, reflecting the enduring value placed on wisdom, intellect, and the pursuit of knowledge throughout human history.
People
Witt + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Witt as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with W
Other first names starting with W with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Witt: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Witt?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 298 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Witt going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 1,150,182 US residents.
Is Witt a common name?
We classify Witt as "Very Rare". It ranks above 79.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 300 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Witt most popular?
The single biggest year for Witt was 2024, when 32 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Witt is about 10 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Witt in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 299 people with the name Witt, or 0.10 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #29,541 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Witt in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Witt?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Witt leans strongly male. 283 people counted with this name were male (94.3%), compared with 17 female bearers (5.7%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Witt?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Witt is White at 83.6%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (6.0%) and Black (4.0%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Witt most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Witt in the 2020 Census, accounting for 83.6% (250 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Witt in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Witt a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Witt in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Witt still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Witt in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Witt can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many Americans are named Witt?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.