2000
#2,287
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 14,556
First available Census row
Per 100,000 5.40
Uncommon Last name
Waggoner
An occupational surname referring to a wagon driver or wagon maker.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 16,286 Americans carry the last name Waggoner. That puts it at #2,475 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 4.75 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 21,046 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Waggoner surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
Bearers in the US
16K
1 in 21,046
Census rank
#2,475
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
4.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
14K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 14,202 bearers of the surname Waggoner in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 4.75 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 2475th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Waggoner, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.1%) and Hispanic (3.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Waggoner
The surname "WAGGONER" is an occupational name that originated in England and Germany in the medieval period. It derives from the Old English word "wægnere" and the Middle High German word "wegener," both meaning "carter" or "wagon driver."
In England, the earliest recorded example of the name appears in the Hundred Rolls of 1273, where it is spelled "le Wagnur." The Domesday Book of 1086 also includes references to individuals with occupations related to wagon driving, such as "Radulfus Carectarius" (Ralph the Carter).
The name was particularly common in areas with a strong agricultural or trade economy, where wagon drivers played a vital role in transporting goods and produce. Some early examples include John Wagnour (1379-1429), a farmer from Oxfordshire, and William Waggoner (1492-1562), a merchant from London.
In Germany, the name was more commonly spelled "Wegener" or "Wegner." One notable bearer was Georg Philipp Wegener (1613-1678), a German philosopher and mathematician from Saxony.
As people migrated to other parts of Europe and eventually to the Americas, the name took on various spellings, including Wagoner, Waggener, and Wagoneer. Some prominent figures with this surname include:
1. John Wagoner (1770-1852), an American Revolutionary War veteran from Pennsylvania.
2. Luther Wagoner (1856-1936), a U.S. Congressman from Missouri.
3. Porter Wagoner (1927-2007), an American country music singer and television personality.
4. David Wagoner (1926-2021), an American poet and novelist from Ohio.
5. Harley Wagoner (1914-1994), an American professional baseball player from California.
The name "WAGGONER" has a rich history spanning several centuries and countries, reflecting the crucial role of wagon drivers in transportation and trade throughout history.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Waggoner
Among Census respondents with the surname Waggoner, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.1%) and Hispanic (3.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Waggoner bearers 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 surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Waggoner surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White88.8% · 12,610
- Two or more races4.1% · 580
- Hispanic or Latino3.2% · 460
- Black or African American2.5% · 362
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 111
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 79
Timeline
Historical Census data for Waggoner
Waggoner appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#2,417
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 14,983
+427 bearers (+2.9%)
Per 100,000 5.08
Rank movement Down 130 places
2020
#2,475
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 14,202
-781 bearers (-5.2%)
Per 100,000 4.75
Rank movement Down 58 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #2,287 | 14,556 | 5.40 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #2,417 | 14,983 | 5.08 | +427 bearers (+2.9%) | Down 130 places |
| 2020 | #2,475 | 14,202 | 4.75 | -781 bearers (-5.2%) | Down 58 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Waggoner surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #2,417 | #2,475 | -2.4% |
| Count | 14,983 | 14,202 | -5.2% |
| Per 100K | 5.08 | 4.75 | -6.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Waggoner bearers went from 14,983 to 14,202 (-5.2% change). The surname moved down 58 positions in the national ranking, going from #2,417 to #2,475.
FAQ
Waggoner surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Waggoner?
Name Census estimates that about 16,286 living Americans carry the surname Waggoner. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 21,046 residents.
How common is Waggoner?
Waggoner ranks #2,475 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 4.75 per 100,000 residents, which is about 5 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 14,202 people with the surname Waggoner. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (16,286), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 4.75 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 4.75 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 5 of them to have the surname Waggoner.
Has Waggoner become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Waggoner went from 14,983 recorded bearers to 14,202. That is a decrease of 781 (-5.2%). In the national ranking it fell from #2,417 to #2,475.
What does the Census say about the background of Waggoner?
Among Census respondents with the surname Waggoner, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.1%) and Hispanic (3.2%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Waggoner in the 2020 Census, accounting for 88.8% (12,610 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Waggoner appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (88.8%), Two or More Races (4.1%), Hispanic (3.2%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Waggoner (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Waggoner mean?
An occupational surname referring to a wagon driver or wagon maker. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Waggoner (4.75 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people have the surname Waggoner?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.