2000
#11,021
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,647
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.98
Rare Last name
Waid
Derived from a nickname for a hunter, from Old English wæd, meaning "hunting."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,225 Americans carry the last name Waid. That puts it at #10,821 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.94 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 106,280 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Waid 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 Waid with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
3.2K
1 in 106,280
Census rank
#10,821
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.8K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,812 bearers of the surname Waid in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.94 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 10821st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Waid, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.8%) and Two or More Races (3.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Waid
The surname WAID is of English origin, first appearing in records during the late 16th century. It is believed to be a variant spelling of the Old English place name "Weald", which refers to a wooded area or forest. This suggests that the earliest bearers of the WAID surname likely hailed from or resided near such a wooded region.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the WAID surname can be found in the parish records of Lamberhurst, Kent, England, where a John Waid was documented in 1594. The variant spelling "Wade" was also common during this period, with several individuals bearing this name appearing in the Hearth Tax Returns for Yorkshire in the late 17th century.
In the 19th century, the WAID surname gained prominence through notable figures such as Sir Patrick Waid (1796-1873), a Scottish lawyer and politician who served as Lord Advocate of Scotland from 1849 to 1853. Another notable bearer was William Waid (1810-1886), an American politician and lawyer who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from Ohio.
Other historical figures bearing the WAID surname include Robert Waid (1824-1901), a Scottish-born American businessman and politician who served as the Mayor of New York City from 1865 to 1866. Additionally, George Waid (1838-1915) was a prominent Australian cricketer who represented Victoria in domestic cricket and played for the English touring team during the 1868 Aboriginal tour of England.
The WAID surname also has connections to various place names, such as Waid House, a historic building located in Anstruther, Scotland, and Waid Academy, a secondary school in Anstruther established in the 17th century by the will of a local merchant named James Waid.
Throughout its history, the WAID surname has been recorded with various spellings, including Wade, Wayde, and Waide, reflecting regional variations and changes in spelling conventions over time. Despite its relatively uncommon nature, the WAID surname has left an indelible mark on various aspects of history, from politics and law to sports and education.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Waid
Among Census respondents with the surname Waid, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.8%) and Two or More Races (3.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Waid 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 Waid surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White89.7% · 2,522
- Hispanic or Latino3.8% · 108
- Two or more races3.0% · 83
- Black or African American2.0% · 57
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 23
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 19
Timeline
Historical Census data for Waid
Waid 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
#9,245
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,521
+874 bearers (+33.0%)
Per 100,000 1.19
Rank movement Up 1,776 places
2020
#10,821
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,812
-709 bearers (-20.1%)
Per 100,000 0.94
Rank movement Down 1,576 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #11,021 | 2,647 | 0.98 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #9,245 | 3,521 | 1.19 | +874 bearers (+33.0%) | Up 1,776 places |
| 2020 | #10,821 | 2,812 | 0.94 | -709 bearers (-20.1%) | Down 1,576 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 Waid 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 | #9,245 | #10,821 | -17.0% |
| Count | 3,521 | 2,812 | -20.1% |
| Per 100K | 1.19 | 0.94 | -20.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Waid bearers went from 3,521 to 2,812 (-20.1% change). The surname moved down 1,576 positions in the national ranking, going from #9,245 to #10,821.
FAQ
Waid surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Waid?
Name Census estimates that about 3,225 living Americans carry the surname Waid. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 106,280 residents.
How common is Waid?
Waid ranks #10,821 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.94 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 2,812 people with the surname Waid. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,225), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.94 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.94 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Waid.
Has Waid become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Waid went from 3,521 recorded bearers to 2,812. That is a decrease of 709 (-20.1%). In the national ranking it fell from #9,245 to #10,821.
What does the Census say about the background of Waid?
Among Census respondents with the surname Waid, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.8%) and Two or More Races (3.0%). 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 Waid in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.7% (2,522 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Waid appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (89.7%), Hispanic (3.8%), Two or More Races (3.0%). 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 Waid (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 Waid mean?
Derived from a nickname for a hunter, from Old English wæd, meaning "hunting." 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 Waid (0.94 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 Waid?
For a quick modern take, check how many people have the last name Waid on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.