2000
#14,581
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,872
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.69
Rare Last name
Winburn
An English locational surname derived from a place name meaning "stream by a meadow" or "stream by a fortified place."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,047 Americans carry the last name Winburn. That puts it at #15,743 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.60 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 167,442 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Winburn 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
2.0K
1 in 167,442
Census rank
#15,743
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.8K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,785 bearers of the surname Winburn in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.60 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 15743rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Winburn, the largest self-reported group is White at 79.0%. The next largest groups are Black (11.2%) and Two or More Races (5.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Winburn
The surname Winburn is of English origin, tracing its roots back to the medieval period. It is believed to have derived from a place name, likely a variation of the Old English words "wind" and "burna," meaning "winding stream" or "winding brook." This suggests that the name may have originated from a location near a meandering waterway.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Hundred Rolls of Bedfordshire from 1273, where it appears as "Wyndeburn." This historical document, which served as a census and taxation record, provides valuable insight into the name's early existence and spelling variations.
The Winburn surname is also mentioned in the Subsidy Rolls of Sussex from 1327, further solidifying its presence in medieval England. These rolls were tax records used to assess and collect subsidies from landowners and tenants.
In the 15th century, the name appears in the form of "Wyndeborne" in the Paston Letters, a collection of correspondence from the prominent Paston family of Norfolk. This historical source offers a glimpse into the lives and affairs of the English gentry during the latter part of the Hundred Years' War and the Wars of the Roses.
Notable individuals bearing the Winburn surname include John Winburn, a yeoman farmer from Northamptonshire, who was recorded in the Lay Subsidy Rolls of 1524. In the 17th century, Richard Winburn, a merchant and landowner from Wiltshire, was mentioned in the Hearth Tax records of 1672.
Another prominent figure was Sir William Winburn, a military officer who served in the English Civil War and later became a Member of Parliament for Shropshire in the late 17th century. He was born in 1632 and died in 1708.
In the 18th century, the Winburn name gained recognition through the work of Thomas Winburn, a renowned architect and surveyor from Yorkshire. He was responsible for designing several notable buildings, including the Parish Church of St. Mary in Beverley, where he is recorded as being born in 1707 and passing away in 1767.
The 19th century saw the rise of Samuel Winburn, a prominent industrialist and philanthropist from Lancashire. Born in 1825, he made significant contributions to the textile industry and was known for his charitable endeavors, particularly in supporting education and healthcare initiatives in his local community until his death in 1901.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Winburn
Among Census respondents with the surname Winburn, the largest self-reported group is White at 79.0%. The next largest groups are Black (11.2%) and Two or More Races (5.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Winburn 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 Winburn surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White79.0% · 1,411
- Black or African American11.2% · 200
- Two or more races5.5% · 99
- Hispanic or Latino3.0% · 54
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 15
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.3% · 6
Timeline
Historical Census data for Winburn
Winburn 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
#14,427
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,071
+199 bearers (+10.6%)
Per 100,000 0.70
Rank movement Up 154 places
2020
#15,743
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,785
-286 bearers (-13.8%)
Per 100,000 0.60
Rank movement Down 1,316 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #14,581 | 1,872 | 0.69 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #14,427 | 2,071 | 0.70 | +199 bearers (+10.6%) | Up 154 places |
| 2020 | #15,743 | 1,785 | 0.60 | -286 bearers (-13.8%) | Down 1,316 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 Winburn 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 | #14,427 | #15,743 | -9.1% |
| Count | 2,071 | 1,785 | -13.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.70 | 0.60 | -14.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Winburn bearers went from 2,071 to 1,785 (-13.8% change). The surname moved down 1,316 positions in the national ranking, going from #14,427 to #15,743.
FAQ
Winburn surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Winburn?
Name Census estimates that about 2,047 living Americans carry the surname Winburn. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 167,442 residents.
How common is Winburn?
Winburn ranks #15,743 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.60 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 1,785 people with the surname Winburn. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,047), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.6 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.60 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Winburn.
Has Winburn become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Winburn went from 2,071 recorded bearers to 1,785. That is a decrease of 286 (-13.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #14,427 to #15,743.
What does the Census say about the background of Winburn?
Among Census respondents with the surname Winburn, the largest self-reported group is White at 79.0%. The next largest groups are Black (11.2%) and Two or More Races (5.5%). 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 Winburn in the 2020 Census, accounting for 79.0% (1,411 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Winburn appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (79.0%), Black (11.2%), Two or More Races (5.5%). 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 Winburn (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 Winburn mean?
An English locational surname derived from a place name meaning "stream by a meadow" or "stream by a fortified place." 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 Winburn (0.60 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 last name Winburn?
If you just want to know how common the surname Winburn is, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.