2000
#2,252
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 14,841
First available Census row
Per 100,000 5.50
Uncommon Last name
Wagoner
An occupational surname referring to a person who drives or manufactures a wagon.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 16,220 Americans carry the last name Wagoner. That puts it at #2,489 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 4.73 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 21,132 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Wagoner 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.
Bearers in the US
16K
1 in 21,132
Census rank
#2,489
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
4.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
14K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 14,145 bearers of the surname Wagoner in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 4.73 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 2489th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Wagoner, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.8%) and Black (2.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Wagoner
The surname Wagoner originated in medieval England, deriving from the Old English words "wægen" meaning wagon or cart, and "er" meaning one who works with or operates. It effectively translates to "one who drives a wagon" or "wagon driver."
The name emerged as an occupational surname during the Middle Ages, referring to individuals whose primary trade involved transporting goods and materials via horse-drawn wagons or carts. These wagoners played a crucial role in facilitating trade and commerce within towns and villages across England.
Some of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Wagoner can be found in the Hundred Rolls of Cambridgeshire from 1273, where it appears as "Wagonere." Other early spellings include "Waghenere" in the Court Rolls of the Borough of Colchester from 1310 and "Wagnour" in the Feet of Fines for Essex from 1384.
Notably, the Wagoner surname appears in the renowned Domesday Book of 1086, compiled by order of William the Conqueror. This influential record lists individuals with variants of the surname, such as "Wainerius" and "Wainarius," further solidifying the name's origins and presence in medieval England.
One of the earliest recorded individuals bearing the surname was John Wagoner, who was mentioned in the Assize Rolls of Staffordshire in 1292. Another notable figure was William Wagoner, a member of the Guild of Corpus Christi in York, whose name appears in records dating back to 1415.
During the 16th century, the Wagoner surname gained further prominence, with individuals like Robert Wagoner, a landowner in Yorkshire mentioned in the Lay Subsidy Rolls of 1524, and Thomas Wagoner, a merchant from London whose name is found in the Musters of the Merchants of the Staple in 1597.
In the 17th century, the name Wagoner was associated with several notable figures, including Edward Wagoner, a member of the Virginia Company who sailed to the Americas in 1620, and John Wagoner, a Puritan minister who emigrated from England to Massachusetts in 1638.
As the centuries passed, the Wagoner surname continued to be carried by individuals from various walks of life, including farmers, tradesmen, and even military personnel. One such notable figure was Joseph Wagoner, an American soldier who fought in the American Revolutionary War and was present at the Battle of Yorktown in 1781.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Wagoner
Among Census respondents with the surname Wagoner, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.8%) and Black (2.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Wagoner 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 Wagoner surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White89.1% · 12,603
- Two or more races3.8% · 533
- Black or African American2.9% · 413
- Hispanic or Latino2.9% · 412
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 94
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 90
Timeline
Historical Census data for Wagoner
Wagoner 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
#2,401
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 15,118
+277 bearers (+1.9%)
Per 100,000 5.13
Rank movement Down 149 places
2020
#2,489
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 14,145
-973 bearers (-6.4%)
Per 100,000 4.73
Rank movement Down 88 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #2,252 | 14,841 | 5.50 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #2,401 | 15,118 | 5.13 | +277 bearers (+1.9%) | Down 149 places |
| 2020 | #2,489 | 14,145 | 4.73 | -973 bearers (-6.4%) | Down 88 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 Wagoner 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 | #2,401 | #2,489 | -3.7% |
| Count | 15,118 | 14,145 | -6.4% |
| Per 100K | 5.13 | 4.73 | -7.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Wagoner bearers went from 15,118 to 14,145 (-6.4% change). The surname moved down 88 positions in the national ranking, going from #2,401 to #2,489.
FAQ
Wagoner surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Wagoner?
Name Census estimates that about 16,220 living Americans carry the surname Wagoner. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 21,132 residents.
How common is Wagoner?
Wagoner ranks #2,489 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 4.73 per 100,000 residents, which is about 5 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 14,145 people with the surname Wagoner. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (16,220), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 4.73 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 4.73 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 5 of them to have the surname Wagoner.
Has Wagoner become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Wagoner went from 15,118 recorded bearers to 14,145. That is a decrease of 973 (-6.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #2,401 to #2,489.
What does the Census say about the background of Wagoner?
Among Census respondents with the surname Wagoner, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.8%) and Black (2.9%). 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 Wagoner in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.1% (12,603 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Wagoner appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (89.1%), Two or More Races (3.8%), Black (2.9%). 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 Wagoner (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 Wagoner mean?
An occupational surname referring to a person who drives or manufactures a wagon. 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 Wagoner (4.73 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 Wagoner?
If you just want to know how common the surname Wagoner is, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.