2000
#604
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 50,874
First available Census row
Per 100,000 18.86
Uncommon Last name
Wyatt
Derived from a place name meaning "wood" or "wide island" in Old English.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 57,499 Americans carry the last name Wyatt. That puts it at #662 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 16.78 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 5,961 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Wyatt 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 Wyatt with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
57K
1 in 5,961
Census rank
#662
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
16.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
50K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 50,142 bearers of the surname Wyatt in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 16.78 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 662nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Wyatt, the largest self-reported group is White at 73.0%. The next largest groups are Black (18.0%) and Two or More Races (4.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Wyatt
The surname Wyatt is of English origin, derived from the Old English given name Wigheard, which was composed of the elements "wig" meaning war, and "heard" meaning hardy or brave. It is believed to have emerged as a surname in the 12th century, initially borne by those who held lands in Wyatville, Derbyshire.
Records from the Domesday Book of 1086 mention a landowner named Wigheard in Derbyshire, suggesting the name's antiquity in that region. Early spellings of the surname included Wihat, Wyhot, and Wyot, reflecting its evolution over time.
The earliest recorded instance of the surname Wyatt dates back to 1166, when a certain Roger Wyatt was mentioned in the Pipe Rolls of Devonshire. Another early reference comes from the Curia Regis Rolls of Oxfordshire in 1201, which recorded a Richard Wyatt.
In the 14th century, the surname gained prominence through Sir Thomas Wyatt, a renowned English poet and ambassador who lived from 1503 to 1542. He is best known for his contribution to the introduction of the sonnet form into English literature.
Another notable bearer of the name was Sir Thomas Wyatt the Younger, the son of the aforementioned poet, who was involved in a rebellion against Queen Mary I in 1554 and was subsequently executed.
During the 16th and 17th centuries, the Wyatt family held significant influence in Surrey, with their ancestral seat located at Allington Castle. George Wyatt, born in 1553, was a historian and author who wrote extensively on the life of Queen Anne Boleyn.
The surname also gained recognition through Sir Henry Wyatt, a British naval officer who lived from 1794 to 1853. He played a crucial role in the Battle of Navarino during the Greek War of Independence and was later appointed Governor of Grenada.
In the realm of literature, the name is associated with James Wyatt (1746-1813), a prominent English architect and garden designer who was responsible for the construction of numerous country houses and the renovation of historic buildings, including Fonthill Abbey and Ashridge Park.
The surname Wyatt continues to be widely distributed across England, particularly in the counties of Surrey, Kent, and Derbyshire, reflecting its historical roots and the migration patterns of those who bore the name over the centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Wyatt
Among Census respondents with the surname Wyatt, the largest self-reported group is White at 73.0%. The next largest groups are Black (18.0%) and Two or More Races (4.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Wyatt 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 Wyatt surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White73.0% · 36,597
- Black or African American18.0% · 9,029
- Two or more races4.4% · 2,221
- Hispanic or Latino3.5% · 1,759
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 273
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 263
Timeline
Historical Census data for Wyatt
Wyatt 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
#653
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 52,211
+1,337 bearers (+2.6%)
Per 100,000 17.70
Rank movement Down 49 places
2020
#662
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 50,142
-2,069 bearers (-4.0%)
Per 100,000 16.78
Rank movement Down 9 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #604 | 50,874 | 18.86 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #653 | 52,211 | 17.70 | +1,337 bearers (+2.6%) | Down 49 places |
| 2020 | #662 | 50,142 | 16.78 | -2,069 bearers (-4.0%) | Down 9 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 Wyatt 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 | #653 | #662 | -1.4% |
| Count | 52,211 | 50,142 | -4.0% |
| Per 100K | 17.70 | 16.78 | -5.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Wyatt bearers went from 52,211 to 50,142 (-4.0% change). The surname moved down 9 positions in the national ranking, going from #653 to #662.
FAQ
Wyatt surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Wyatt?
Name Census estimates that about 57,499 living Americans carry the surname Wyatt. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 5,961 residents.
How common is Wyatt?
Wyatt ranks #662 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 16.78 per 100,000 residents, which is about 17 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 50,142 people with the surname Wyatt. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (57,499), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 16.78 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 16.78 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 17 of them to have the surname Wyatt.
Has Wyatt become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Wyatt went from 52,211 recorded bearers to 50,142. That is a decrease of 2,069 (-4.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #653 to #662.
What does the Census say about the background of Wyatt?
Among Census respondents with the surname Wyatt, the largest self-reported group is White at 73.0%. The next largest groups are Black (18.0%) 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 Wyatt in the 2020 Census, accounting for 73.0% (36,597 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Wyatt appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (73.0%), Black (18.0%), 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 Wyatt (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 Wyatt mean?
Derived from a place name meaning "wood" or "wide island" in Old English. 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 Wyatt (16.78 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 common is the surname Wyatt?
For a quick modern take, check how common the surname Wyatt is on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.