2000
#4,748
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,824
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.53
Rare Last name
Wainwright
An occupational surname referring to a wagon builder or repairer.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 7,560 Americans carry the last name Wainwright. That puts it at #5,132 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.21 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 45,338 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Wainwright 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Wainwright with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
7.6K
1 in 45,338
Census rank
#5,132
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
6.6K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 6,593 bearers of the surname Wainwright in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.21 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 5132nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Wainwright, the largest self-reported group is White at 73.2%. The next largest groups are Black (17.5%) and Two or More Races (5.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Wainwright
The surname Wainwright originated in England, and it is an occupational name derived from the Old English words "waegn" (wagon) and "wyrhta" (worker or maker). It referred to someone who built or repaired wagons, carts, or other wheeled vehicles.
The name can be traced back to the late 12th century, with one of the earliest recorded instances found in the Pipe Rolls of Yorkshire in 1194, where a person named Reginald le Wainwrighte was mentioned. The name also appeared in the Hundred Rolls of Cambridgeshire in 1273, which documented a Robert le Waynwrith.
In the Domesday Book, a great survey of England commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086, there are no direct references to the surname Wainwright, but related occupations such as "carpenters" and "wheelwrights" are mentioned.
Over time, the surname has undergone various spelling variations, including Wainwright, Waynwright, Wainewright, and Wainright. Some of these variations were influenced by regional dialects and phonetic adaptations.
One of the earliest known Wainwrights was John Wainwright, born around 1350 in Yorkshire, England. He was a prominent landowner and served as a Member of Parliament for Yorkshire in 1379 and 1384.
Another notable individual with this surname was Thomas Wainwright (c. 1460-1522), a English Catholic priest and theologian who served as the Chancellor of the University of Oxford from 1508 to 1515.
In the 16th century, a famous Wainwright was Francis Wainwright (c. 1528-1592), an English navigator and explorer who accompanied Sir Francis Drake on his circumnavigation of the world from 1577 to 1580.
During the English Civil War in the 17th century, Jonathan Wainwright (1608-1679) was a prominent Parliamentarian soldier and served as a Major-General in Oliver Cromwell's army.
In the literary world, Henry Wainwright (1792-1847) was an English author and poet who wrote several works, including "The Musical Drift," a collection of poems published in 1827.
The surname Wainwright has been carried by individuals from various walks of life throughout history, reflecting the diverse occupations and backgrounds of those who bore this name.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Wainwright
Among Census respondents with the surname Wainwright, the largest self-reported group is White at 73.2%. The next largest groups are Black (17.5%) and Two or More Races (5.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Wainwright 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 Wainwright surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White73.2% · 4,825
- Black or African American17.5% · 1,153
- Two or more races5.0% · 328
- Hispanic or Latino3.4% · 221
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 34
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 32
Timeline
Historical Census data for Wainwright
Wainwright 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
#4,948
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,114
+290 bearers (+4.2%)
Per 100,000 2.41
Rank movement Down 200 places
2020
#5,132
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,593
-521 bearers (-7.3%)
Per 100,000 2.21
Rank movement Down 184 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #4,748 | 6,824 | 2.53 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #4,948 | 7,114 | 2.41 | +290 bearers (+4.2%) | Down 200 places |
| 2020 | #5,132 | 6,593 | 2.21 | -521 bearers (-7.3%) | Down 184 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 Wainwright 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 | #4,948 | #5,132 | -3.7% |
| Count | 7,114 | 6,593 | -7.3% |
| Per 100K | 2.41 | 2.21 | -8.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Wainwright bearers went from 7,114 to 6,593 (-7.3% change). The surname moved down 184 positions in the national ranking, going from #4,948 to #5,132.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Wainwright
FAQ
Wainwright surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Wainwright?
Name Census estimates that about 7,560 living Americans carry the surname Wainwright. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 45,338 residents.
How common is Wainwright?
Wainwright ranks #5,132 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.21 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 6,593 people with the surname Wainwright. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (7,560), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.21 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.21 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Wainwright.
Has Wainwright become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Wainwright went from 7,114 recorded bearers to 6,593. That is a decrease of 521 (-7.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #4,948 to #5,132.
What does the Census say about the background of Wainwright?
Among Census respondents with the surname Wainwright, the largest self-reported group is White at 73.2%. The next largest groups are Black (17.5%) and Two or More Races (5.0%). 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 Wainwright in the 2020 Census, accounting for 73.2% (4,825 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Wainwright appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (73.2%), Black (17.5%), Two or More Races (5.0%). 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 Wainwright (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 Wainwright mean?
An occupational surname referring to a wagon builder or repairer. 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 Wainwright (2.21 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 share the surname Wainwright?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.