2000
#3,406
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 9,625
First available Census row
Per 100,000 3.57
Uncommon Last name
Wadsworth
From the English place name, likely referring to a village near a ford frequented by wading birds.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 10,959 Americans carry the last name Wadsworth. That puts it at #3,625 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 3.20 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 31,276 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Wadsworth 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 Wadsworth with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
11K
1 in 31,276
Census rank
#3,625
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
3.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
9.6K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 9,557 bearers of the surname Wadsworth in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 3.20 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 3625th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Wadsworth, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.5%. The next largest groups are Black (4.0%) and Two or More Races (3.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Wadsworth
The surname Wadsworth is of English origin, derived from a combination of the Old English words "wad" meaning "ford" or "river crossing" and "worth" meaning "enclosure" or "estate." It originally referred to someone who lived near a ford or river crossing on an estate or enclosed area.
The earliest recorded instances of the Wadsworth surname can be traced back to the 13th century in various counties across England, including Yorkshire, Lancashire, and Derbyshire. The name was particularly prevalent in the West Riding of Yorkshire, where it is believed to have originated from the village of Wadsworth, near Hebden Bridge.
One of the earliest documented references to the Wadsworth name can be found in the Subsidy Rolls of Yorkshire from 1297, which lists a "John de Waddesworth." The name also appears in the Lay Subsidy Rolls for Wiltshire in 1332, where it is recorded as "Walterus de Waddesworth."
In the late 14th century, the Wadsworth family gained prominence in the area around Haworth, West Yorkshire, with records showing a John Wadsworth holding lands there in 1379. Another notable figure was Thomas Wadsworth (c. 1630-1670), a Puritan minister and one of the founders of the town of Milton, Massachusetts, in the early days of the Massachusetts Bay Colony.
During the English Civil War, Captain Joseph Wadsworth (1610-1675) was a prominent military officer who fought for the Parliamentarian forces. He later became a landowner and magistrate in Massachusetts. His son, Benjamin Wadsworth (1670-1737), was the first president of Harvard College (now Harvard University) from 1725 to 1737.
Other famous individuals with the Wadsworth surname include the English poet and playwright James Wadsworth (1572-1623), whose works include "The English Spanish Pilgrim" and "The Present Estate of Spayne." In the 19th century, James Samuel Wadsworth (1807-1864) was a prominent American lawyer, politician, and philanthropist from New York.
The Wadsworth name has also been associated with several notable places throughout history. For example, the village of Wadsworth in West Yorkshire, which dates back to the Domesday Book of 1086, where it was recorded as "Wadreswrde." Additionally, there is a Wadsworth Falls State Park in Connecticut, named after the Wadsworth family who owned land in the area in the 18th century.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Wadsworth
Among Census respondents with the surname Wadsworth, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.5%. The next largest groups are Black (4.0%) and Two or More Races (3.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Wadsworth 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 Wadsworth surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White86.5% · 8,266
- Black or African American4.0% · 378
- Two or more races3.7% · 358
- Hispanic or Latino3.1% · 293
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.1% · 196
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 66
Timeline
Historical Census data for Wadsworth
Wadsworth 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
#3,588
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 9,912
+287 bearers (+3.0%)
Per 100,000 3.36
Rank movement Down 182 places
2020
#3,625
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 9,557
-355 bearers (-3.6%)
Per 100,000 3.20
Rank movement Down 37 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #3,406 | 9,625 | 3.57 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #3,588 | 9,912 | 3.36 | +287 bearers (+3.0%) | Down 182 places |
| 2020 | #3,625 | 9,557 | 3.20 | -355 bearers (-3.6%) | Down 37 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 Wadsworth 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 | #3,588 | #3,625 | -1.0% |
| Count | 9,912 | 9,557 | -3.6% |
| Per 100K | 3.36 | 3.20 | -4.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Wadsworth bearers went from 9,912 to 9,557 (-3.6% change). The surname moved down 37 positions in the national ranking, going from #3,588 to #3,625.
FAQ
Wadsworth surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Wadsworth?
Name Census estimates that about 10,959 living Americans carry the surname Wadsworth. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 31,276 residents.
How common is Wadsworth?
Wadsworth ranks #3,625 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 3.20 per 100,000 residents, which is about 3 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 9,557 people with the surname Wadsworth. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (10,959), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 3.2 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 3.20 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 3 of them to have the surname Wadsworth.
Has Wadsworth become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Wadsworth went from 9,912 recorded bearers to 9,557. That is a decrease of 355 (-3.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #3,588 to #3,625.
What does the Census say about the background of Wadsworth?
Among Census respondents with the surname Wadsworth, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.5%. The next largest groups are Black (4.0%) and Two or More Races (3.7%). 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 Wadsworth in the 2020 Census, accounting for 86.5% (8,266 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Wadsworth appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (86.5%), Black (4.0%), Two or More Races (3.7%). 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 Wadsworth (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 Wadsworth mean?
From the English place name, likely referring to a village near a ford frequented by wading birds. 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 Wadsworth (3.20 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 Wadsworth?
For a quick modern take, check how many people have the last name Wadsworth on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.