2000
#712
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 43,762
First available Census row
Per 100,000 16.22
Uncommon Last name
Winters
A seasonal surname referring to someone who lived near a winter shelter or had a cold personality.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 49,877 Americans carry the last name Winters. That puts it at #776 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 14.55 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 6,872 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Winters 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 Winters with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
50K
1 in 6,872
Census rank
#776
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
14.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
43K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 43,495 bearers of the surname Winters in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 14.55 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 776th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Winters, the largest self-reported group is White at 75.7%. The next largest groups are Black (15.0%) and Two or More Races (4.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Winters
The surname Winters is of English origin and is thought to have derived from the old English word "winter," which referred to the coldest season of the year. The name likely originated as a descriptive nickname for someone who lived through particularly harsh winters or was associated with cold weather conditions.
The earliest known record of the surname Winters dates back to the 13th century in the county of Yorkshire, England. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Hundred Rolls of 1273, where a Roger Wynter was mentioned.
In the 14th century, the surname appeared in various forms, such as Wynter, Wintre, and Wyntur, reflecting the variations in spelling common during that time period. The name was also associated with certain place names, such as Winterbourne and Winterton, which may have influenced its development.
In the Domesday Book, a great survey of England commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086, there is no direct mention of the surname Winters. However, the book does reference several place names that contain the word "winter," suggesting that the name may have existed in some form during that era.
One of the earliest known individuals to bear the surname Winters was Sir John Wyntres (c. 1310-1376), a prominent English judge and Chief Baron of the Exchequer during the reign of Edward III.
Another notable figure with the surname Winters was William Wyntres (c. 1460-1535), an English clergyman who served as the Archdeacon of Suffolk and the Archdeacon of Sudbury in the early 16th century.
In the literary world, the name Winters is associated with the English poet and playwright Thomas Dekker (c. 1572-1632), who wrote the famous play "The Shoemaker's Holiday" in 1599. Although his surname was Dekker, one of the characters in the play was named Simon Eyre, a shoemaker who adopted the nickname "Winters."
During the 17th century, the surname Winters gained further recognition with individuals such as Robert Winters (1615-1685), an English politician who served as a Member of Parliament for Lincolnshire.
In the 18th century, the name was carried by John Winters (1723-1789), an American soldier and frontiersman who fought in the French and Indian War and the American Revolutionary War.
As the centuries progressed, the surname Winters continued to be found throughout England and its colonies, with various individuals making their mark in different fields, including politics, literature, and the military.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Winters
Among Census respondents with the surname Winters, the largest self-reported group is White at 75.7%. The next largest groups are Black (15.0%) and Two or More Races (4.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Winters 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 Winters surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White75.7% · 32,908
- Black or African American15.0% · 6,544
- Two or more races4.4% · 1,898
- Hispanic or Latino3.5% · 1,527
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 321
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 297
Timeline
Historical Census data for Winters
Winters 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
#766
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 44,914
+1,152 bearers (+2.6%)
Per 100,000 15.23
Rank movement Down 54 places
2020
#776
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 43,495
-1,419 bearers (-3.2%)
Per 100,000 14.55
Rank movement Down 10 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #712 | 43,762 | 16.22 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #766 | 44,914 | 15.23 | +1,152 bearers (+2.6%) | Down 54 places |
| 2020 | #776 | 43,495 | 14.55 | -1,419 bearers (-3.2%) | Down 10 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 Winters 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 | #766 | #776 | -1.3% |
| Count | 44,914 | 43,495 | -3.2% |
| Per 100K | 15.23 | 14.55 | -4.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Winters bearers went from 44,914 to 43,495 (-3.2% change). The surname moved down 10 positions in the national ranking, going from #766 to #776.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Winters
FAQ
Winters surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Winters?
Name Census estimates that about 49,877 living Americans carry the surname Winters. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 6,872 residents.
How common is Winters?
Winters ranks #776 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 14.55 per 100,000 residents, which is about 15 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 43,495 people with the surname Winters. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (49,877), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 14.55 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 14.55 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 15 of them to have the surname Winters.
Has Winters become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Winters went from 44,914 recorded bearers to 43,495. That is a decrease of 1,419 (-3.2%). In the national ranking it fell from #766 to #776.
What does the Census say about the background of Winters?
Among Census respondents with the surname Winters, the largest self-reported group is White at 75.7%. The next largest groups are Black (15.0%) and Two or More Races (4.4%). 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 Winters in the 2020 Census, accounting for 75.7% (32,908 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Winters appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (75.7%), Black (15.0%), Two or More Races (4.4%). 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 Winters (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 Winters mean?
A seasonal surname referring to someone who lived near a winter shelter or had a cold personality. 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 Winters (14.55 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 Winters?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.