Find out how popular the last name Wage is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Wage.

Wage, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Wage surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Wage in America

Wage is the 56310th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Wage surname appeared 363 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Wage.

We can also compare 2010 data for Wage to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Wage

The surname WAGE originates from England, with records dating back to the late 12th century. It is believed to have derived from the Old English word "wæge," which means "to carry" or "to weigh." This suggests that the name may have been initially associated with individuals who worked as porters, carriers, or weighers of goods.

One of the earliest known references to the surname WAGE can be found in the Pipe Rolls of Yorkshire from 1166, where a person named William Wage was listed as a taxpayer. Additionally, the name appears in the Hundred Rolls of Cambridgeshire from 1273, which mentions a John Wage.

During the medieval period, the surname WAGE was prevalent in various counties of England, including Yorkshire, Cambridgeshire, Suffolk, and Norfolk. Some variations in spelling were common, such as Wage, Wayge, and Waige.

In the 14th century, a notable figure bearing the surname WAGE was John Wage, a member of the English Parliament who represented Cambridgeshire in 1328. Another individual of note was Richard Wage, a wealthy merchant and landowner from Ipswich, Suffolk, who lived in the late 15th century.

The WAGE surname can also be traced to the village of Waghen in Suffolk, which may have influenced the surname's development. This connection is evident in the case of William de Waghen, who was mentioned in the Feet of Fines for Suffolk in 1310.

In the 16th century, the WAGE surname gained further prominence with individuals like Thomas Wage, a prominent lawyer and judge who served as the Recorder of Cambridge from 1552 to 1554. Another notable figure was Robert Wage, a Protestant martyr who was burned at the stake in Thetford, Norfolk, in 1556 for his religious beliefs during the Marian Persecutions.

Throughout the 17th and 18th centuries, the WAGE surname continued to be found across various regions of England, with several individuals leaving their mark in various fields. One such example is Richard Wage, a renowned clockmaker from Ipswich who was active in the early 18th century and is credited with creating intricate and highly regarded timepieces.

Other notable individuals with the surname WAGE include John Wage, a successful merchant and landowner from Norfolk in the late 17th century, and William Wage, a prominent lawyer and Member of Parliament for Ipswich in the mid-18th century.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Wage

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Wage.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Wage was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Wage has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Wage was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Wage, please contact us.

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