2000
#2,422
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 13,713
First available Census row
Per 100,000 5.08
Uncommon Last name
Winslow
From the Old English elements "wine" meaning friend and "slow" meaning hill, likely referring to someone living near a hill.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 15,651 Americans carry the last name Winslow. That puts it at #2,587 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 4.57 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 21,900 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Winslow 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 Winslow with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
16K
1 in 21,900
Census rank
#2,587
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
4.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
14K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 13,648 bearers of the surname Winslow in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 4.57 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 2587th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Winslow, the largest self-reported group is White at 81.0%. The next largest groups are Black (10.6%) and Hispanic (3.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Winslow
The surname Winslow is believed to have originated in England, specifically in the county of Buckinghamshire. Its earliest recorded form was "Windeshlau," which appears in the Domesday Book of 1086, a manuscript record of a survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed by order of King William the Conqueror.
The name Winslow is thought to be derived from the Old English words "wind" and "hlaw," meaning "windswept hill" or "hill exposed to the wind." This is likely a reference to the town of Winslow in Buckinghamshire, which may have been situated on a hill prone to strong winds.
One of the earliest known bearers of the surname was Richard de Windeshlau, who is mentioned in the Pipe Rolls of Buckinghamshire in 1197. The Pipe Rolls were administrative records maintained by the English Exchequer, providing valuable insights into the names and locations of individuals during that time period.
In the 13th century, the surname appeared in various spellings, including Windeslawe, Windeslowe, and Wyndeslow, reflecting the evolution of the name over time. By the 14th century, the spelling had largely settled into its modern form, Winslow.
Notable individuals with the surname Winslow throughout history include:
1. Edward Winslow (c. 1595 - 1655), a Separatist who traveled on the Mayflower and became the governor of Plymouth Colony in 1633.
2. Josiah Winslow (1628 - 1680), the first native-born governor of Plymouth Colony, serving from 1673 to 1680.
3. James Winslow (1642 - 1720), a colonial military officer who commanded forces during King Philip's War in New England.
4. William Winslow (1776 - 1839), an American Revolutionary War soldier and early settler in Ohio.
5. Gordon Winslow (1905 - 1994), an American actor and playwright best known for his performance in the film "Sergeant York" (1941).
The Winslow surname has also been associated with various place names, such as Winslow, Arizona, and Winslow, Maine, which were likely named after individuals bearing the surname or in reference to the town of Winslow in Buckinghamshire, England.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Winslow
Among Census respondents with the surname Winslow, the largest self-reported group is White at 81.0%. The next largest groups are Black (10.6%) and Hispanic (3.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Winslow 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 Winslow surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White81.0% · 11,060
- Black or African American10.6% · 1,446
- Hispanic or Latino3.6% · 485
- Two or more races3.5% · 481
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 125
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 51
Timeline
Historical Census data for Winslow
Winslow 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
#2,570
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 14,056
+343 bearers (+2.5%)
Per 100,000 4.77
Rank movement Down 148 places
2020
#2,587
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 13,648
-408 bearers (-2.9%)
Per 100,000 4.57
Rank movement Down 17 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #2,422 | 13,713 | 5.08 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #2,570 | 14,056 | 4.77 | +343 bearers (+2.5%) | Down 148 places |
| 2020 | #2,587 | 13,648 | 4.57 | -408 bearers (-2.9%) | Down 17 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 Winslow 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 | #2,570 | #2,587 | -0.7% |
| Count | 14,056 | 13,648 | -2.9% |
| Per 100K | 4.77 | 4.57 | -4.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Winslow bearers went from 14,056 to 13,648 (-2.9% change). The surname moved down 17 positions in the national ranking, going from #2,570 to #2,587.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Winslow
FAQ
Winslow surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Winslow?
Name Census estimates that about 15,651 living Americans carry the surname Winslow. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 21,900 residents.
How common is Winslow?
Winslow ranks #2,587 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 4.57 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 13,648 people with the surname Winslow. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (15,651), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 4.57 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 4.57 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 Winslow.
Has Winslow become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Winslow went from 14,056 recorded bearers to 13,648. That is a decrease of 408 (-2.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #2,570 to #2,587.
What does the Census say about the background of Winslow?
Among Census respondents with the surname Winslow, the largest self-reported group is White at 81.0%. The next largest groups are Black (10.6%) and Hispanic (3.6%). 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 Winslow in the 2020 Census, accounting for 81.0% (11,060 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Winslow appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (81.0%), Black (10.6%), Hispanic (3.6%). 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 Winslow (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 Winslow mean?
From the Old English elements "wine" meaning friend and "slow" meaning hill, likely referring to someone living near a hill. 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 Winslow (4.57 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 Winslow?
Want to know how many people have the surname Winslow? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.