Wister
A rare English masculine name possibly derived from the Old English words "wiz" and "ster", meaning "counsellor".
Name Census estimates that about 13 living Americans carry the first name Wister. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Wister today is around 83 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Wister births was 1923 (10 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Wister. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
Key insights
- • The typical person named Wister is about 83 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Wisters were born before 1953.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Wister. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
13
~ 1 in 26,365,718 Americans
Peak year
1923
10 babies that year
Average age
83
years old
1957 SSA rank
#4,547
Tracked since 1914
Popularity
Wister: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Wister from the 1910s through to the 1950s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 34 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1920s peak, Wister remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Wister by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Wister during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Wisters live
Origin
Meaning and history of Wister
The name Wister is an old English surname that can be traced back to the Anglo-Saxon era. It is derived from the Old English words "wist" meaning sustenance or food, and "ere" meaning a worker or provider. The name likely originated as a descriptive surname for someone who worked in a bakery or mill.
In the Middle Ages, the name Wister appeared in various spellings such as Wyster, Wistre, and Wiseter. It was primarily found in regions of England like Yorkshire, Lincolnshire, and Norfolk. The earliest known recorded instance of the name dates back to the 13th century in the Pipe Rolls of Yorkshire from 1273, where a William Wyster is mentioned.
While there are no known direct references to the name Wister in ancient texts or religious scriptures, the name's association with food and sustenance may have held significance in certain cultural contexts. The name's connection to bakers and millers could have been seen as an honorable profession in medieval times.
One of the earliest notable individuals with the name Wister was John Wister, a prominent English merchant and landowner who lived in the 15th century. Another early figure was Robert Wister, a scholar and clergyman who served as the Archdeacon of Taunton in Somerset in the late 16th century.
In the 17th century, the Wister family established itself in Pennsylvania, United States, after emigrating from Germany. Caspar Wister (1696-1737) was a noted early American botanist and horticulturist, and his grandson Owen Wister (1860-1938) was a famous American novelist and historian, best known for his novel "The Virginian" which helped popularize the Western genre.
Other notable individuals with the first name Wister include:
1. Wister Haines (1892-1965), an American painter and teacher.
2. Wister Wood (1892-1967), an American architect and designer.
3. Wister Meigs (1796-1853), an American politician who served as the 8th U.S. Postmaster General.
4. Wister Judson Coughlin (1892-1957), an American politician and lawyer from Pennsylvania.
5. Wister Donald Cravens (1919-2008), an American academic and university administrator.
While not as common as some other English names, the name Wister has a rich history that spans several centuries and continents, with its roots firmly planted in the Anglo-Saxon era and a connection to the sustenance and livelihood of people in medieval times.
People
Wister + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Wister as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with W
Other first names starting with W with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Wister: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Wister?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 13 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Wister going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 26,365,718 US residents.
Is Wister a common name?
We classify Wister as "Very Rare". It ranks above 33.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 85 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Wister most popular?
The single biggest year for Wister was 1923, when 10 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Wister is about 83 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Wister in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Wister a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Wister in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Wister still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Wister in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Wister can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people are named Wister?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.