2000
#13,830
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,005
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.74
Rare Last name
Worsley
From a place name meaning "Wulf's wood or clearing" in Old English, or "Wulf's lee" (meadow).
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,338 Americans carry the last name Worsley. That puts it at #14,136 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.68 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 146,602 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Worsley 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 Worsley with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
2.3K
1 in 146,602
Census rank
#14,136
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.0K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,039 bearers of the surname Worsley in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.68 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 14136th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Worsley, the largest self-reported group is White at 57.1%. The next largest groups are Black (36.4%) and Two or More Races (3.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Worsley
The surname Worsley originates from England, tracing its roots back to the early medieval period. The name is derived from the Old English words "wurð" meaning an enclosed homestead or farm, and "leah" signifying a woodland clearing or meadow. It is believed to have originated as a locational surname, referring to individuals who hailed from the town or village of Worsley, located in Lancashire.
One of the earliest recorded mentions of the name can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as "Wordeslea." This reference suggests that the name was already established in the region during the Norman Conquest of England in the 11th century.
During the Middle Ages, the name was often spelled in various ways, such as Wordeslegh, Wordsley, and Wordesley, reflecting the evolving nature of English spelling and pronunciation over time. These variations were common until the standardization of surnames in the 16th and 17th centuries.
Worsley has a strong connection to the Bridgewater family, a prominent noble house in England. John Worsley (1590-1646) was a notable figure during the English Civil War, serving as a colonel in the Royalist army. His descendants continued to hold influential positions, including Sir Richard Worsley (1694-1768), who became the 7th Baronet of Worsley and was a prominent politician and landowner.
Another notable bearer of the name was Frank Worsley (1872-1957), a renowned Antarctic explorer and navigator. He served as the captain of the Endurance expedition led by Sir Ernest Shackleton and played a crucial role in the successful rescue of the crew after their ship became trapped in ice.
In the literary realm, John Worsley (1794-1841) was a notable English author and clergyman who wrote several works on religious subjects and contributed to various periodicals of his time.
The surname has also been associated with the Worsley family of Yorkshire, which produced several notable individuals, including Sir William Worsley (1480-1538), a prominent merchant and landowner during the reign of Henry VIII, and Sir Henry Worsley (1617-1666), a Royalist commander during the English Civil War.
While the name Worsley has its roots in England, it has since spread to other parts of the world, particularly through the British Empire and migration patterns. However, its origins can be traced back to the early medieval period in the regions of Lancashire and Yorkshire, where it first emerged as a locational surname reflecting the specific geographic locations from which the bearers originated.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Worsley
Among Census respondents with the surname Worsley, the largest self-reported group is White at 57.1%. The next largest groups are Black (36.4%) and Two or More Races (3.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Worsley 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 Worsley surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White57.1% · 1,164
- Black or African American36.4% · 743
- Two or more races3.3% · 68
- Hispanic or Latino2.5% · 50
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.4% · 9
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 5
Timeline
Historical Census data for Worsley
Worsley 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
#14,030
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,147
+142 bearers (+7.1%)
Per 100,000 0.73
Rank movement Down 200 places
2020
#14,136
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,039
-108 bearers (-5.0%)
Per 100,000 0.68
Rank movement Down 106 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #13,830 | 2,005 | 0.74 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #14,030 | 2,147 | 0.73 | +142 bearers (+7.1%) | Down 200 places |
| 2020 | #14,136 | 2,039 | 0.68 | -108 bearers (-5.0%) | Down 106 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 Worsley 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 | #14,030 | #14,136 | -0.8% |
| Count | 2,147 | 2,039 | -5.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.73 | 0.68 | -6.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Worsley bearers went from 2,147 to 2,039 (-5.0% change). The surname moved down 106 positions in the national ranking, going from #14,030 to #14,136.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Worsley
FAQ
Worsley surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Worsley?
Name Census estimates that about 2,338 living Americans carry the surname Worsley. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 146,602 residents.
How common is Worsley?
Worsley ranks #14,136 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.68 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 2,039 people with the surname Worsley. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,338), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.68 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.68 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 Worsley.
Has Worsley become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Worsley went from 2,147 recorded bearers to 2,039. That is a decrease of 108 (-5.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #14,030 to #14,136.
What does the Census say about the background of Worsley?
Among Census respondents with the surname Worsley, the largest self-reported group is White at 57.1%. The next largest groups are Black (36.4%) and Two or More Races (3.3%). 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 Worsley in the 2020 Census, accounting for 57.1% (1,164 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Worsley appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (57.1%), Black (36.4%), Two or More Races (3.3%). 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 Worsley (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 Worsley mean?
From a place name meaning "Wulf's wood or clearing" in Old English, or "Wulf's lee" (meadow). 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 Worsley (0.68 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 are called Worsley?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people are called Worsley at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.