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

Wainscott, 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 Wainscott surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Wainscott in America

Wainscott is the 12130th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Wainscott surname appeared 2,569 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Wainscott.

We can also compare 2010 data for Wainscott 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 Wainscott

The surname Wainscott is believed to have originated in England during the medieval period. It is derived from the Old English words "wægn" meaning wagon and "cot" meaning cottage, referring to a dwelling for those who built or repaired wagons.

The earliest known record of the name appears in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it is listed as "Wagnecote" in Bedfordshire. This suggests the name was already established in parts of England by the 11th century.

By the 13th century, variations of the name such as Waynscot, Waynescote, and Waynscott were found in various county records across southern England, particularly in Essex, Kent, and Sussex.

One notable early bearer of the name was John Wainscott, a merchant from London who was granted a coat of arms in 1585 by the College of Arms. This indicates the family had achieved a level of prominence and respectability by the late 16th century.

In the 17th century, the name Wainscott appeared in several parish records in the county of Norfolk, including the baptism of Thomas Wainscott in 1643 in the town of Diss.

During the English Civil War, a Captain William Wainscott served in the Parliamentarian forces and was mentioned in dispatches for his bravery at the Battle of Naseby in 1645.

Another notable figure was Sir John Wainscott (1608-1677), a wealthy landowner and Member of Parliament who represented the constituency of Colchester in Essex.

As the name spread across Britain, variations such as Wainscot and Wainscoat emerged, likely due to regional dialects and spelling variations common in earlier centuries.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Wainscott

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

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 Wainscott 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 Wainscott 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 Wainscott was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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