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

Wainwright, 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 Wainwright surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Wainwright in America

Wainwright is the 4948th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Wainwright surname appeared 7,114 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 2 people would have the surname Wainwright.

We can also compare 2010 data for Wainwright 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 Wainwright

The surname Wainwright originated in England, and it is an occupational name derived from the Old English words "waegn" (wagon) and "wyrhta" (worker or maker). It referred to someone who built or repaired wagons, carts, or other wheeled vehicles.

The name can be traced back to the late 12th century, with one of the earliest recorded instances found in the Pipe Rolls of Yorkshire in 1194, where a person named Reginald le Wainwrighte was mentioned. The name also appeared in the Hundred Rolls of Cambridgeshire in 1273, which documented a Robert le Waynwrith.

In the Domesday Book, a great survey of England commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086, there are no direct references to the surname Wainwright, but related occupations such as "carpenters" and "wheelwrights" are mentioned.

Over time, the surname has undergone various spelling variations, including Wainwright, Waynwright, Wainewright, and Wainright. Some of these variations were influenced by regional dialects and phonetic adaptations.

One of the earliest known Wainwrights was John Wainwright, born around 1350 in Yorkshire, England. He was a prominent landowner and served as a Member of Parliament for Yorkshire in 1379 and 1384.

Another notable individual with this surname was Thomas Wainwright (c. 1460-1522), a English Catholic priest and theologian who served as the Chancellor of the University of Oxford from 1508 to 1515.

In the 16th century, a famous Wainwright was Francis Wainwright (c. 1528-1592), an English navigator and explorer who accompanied Sir Francis Drake on his circumnavigation of the world from 1577 to 1580.

During the English Civil War in the 17th century, Jonathan Wainwright (1608-1679) was a prominent Parliamentarian soldier and served as a Major-General in Oliver Cromwell's army.

In the literary world, Henry Wainwright (1792-1847) was an English author and poet who wrote several works, including "The Musical Drift," a collection of poems published in 1827.

The surname Wainwright has been carried by individuals from various walks of life throughout history, reflecting the diverse occupations and backgrounds of those who bore this name.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Wainwright

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

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

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

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