2000
#10,327
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,859
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.06
Rare Last name
Wait
An occupational surname referring to a watchman, guard, or gatekeeper.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,282 Americans carry the last name Wait. That puts it at #10,659 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.96 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 104,435 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Wait 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 Wait with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
3.3K
1 in 104,435
Census rank
#10,659
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.9K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,862 bearers of the surname Wait in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.96 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 10659th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Wait, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.5%) and Hispanic (3.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Wait
The surname Wait originates from England and traces its roots back to the early 12th century. It likely derived from the Old English word "wait," meaning to watch or guard, suggesting that the earliest bearers of this name may have been employed as watchmen or sentries.
In ancient records, the name appears in various spellings, such as Wayte, Waite, and Waight, reflecting the inconsistencies in spelling during medieval times. One of the earliest known references to the name can be found in the Pipe Rolls of Gloucestershire from 1195, which mention a person named Osbert le Waite.
The surname Wait is also associated with several place names in England, such as Wait in Gloucestershire and Waite in Staffordshire. These locations may have served as the original homesteads or areas of residence for families bearing this surname.
Among the notable individuals with the surname Wait throughout history are William Wait (c. 1455-1536), an English composer and church musician during the Tudor period. Another prominent figure was Sir John Wait (1558-1638), an English diplomat and politician who served as Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire under King James I.
In the 17th century, Richard Wait (1609-1688) gained recognition as a renowned English clergyman and scholar, holding the position of Vice-Chancellor of the University of Oxford. During the same period, Samuel Wait (1636-1700) was a respected English nonconformist minister and author.
Moving into the 18th century, Benjamin Wait (1734-1804) was an American Revolutionary War soldier and one of the founders of Marietta, Ohio. His legacy as a pioneer and settler in the Ohio Territory remains significant in American history.
These are just a few examples of the many individuals bearing the surname Wait who have left their mark on various fields throughout the centuries, contributing to the rich tapestry of this name's historical legacy.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Wait
Among Census respondents with the surname Wait, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.5%) and Hispanic (3.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Wait 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 Wait surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White89.7% · 2,568
- Two or more races3.5% · 100
- Hispanic or Latino3.1% · 90
- Black or African American1.7% · 48
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.4% · 41
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 15
Timeline
Historical Census data for Wait
Wait 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
#10,145
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,179
+320 bearers (+11.2%)
Per 100,000 1.08
Rank movement Up 182 places
2020
#10,659
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,862
-317 bearers (-10.0%)
Per 100,000 0.96
Rank movement Down 514 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #10,327 | 2,859 | 1.06 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #10,145 | 3,179 | 1.08 | +320 bearers (+11.2%) | Up 182 places |
| 2020 | #10,659 | 2,862 | 0.96 | -317 bearers (-10.0%) | Down 514 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 Wait 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 | #10,145 | #10,659 | -5.1% |
| Count | 3,179 | 2,862 | -10.0% |
| Per 100K | 1.08 | 0.96 | -11.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Wait bearers went from 3,179 to 2,862 (-10.0% change). The surname moved down 514 positions in the national ranking, going from #10,145 to #10,659.
FAQ
Wait surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Wait?
Name Census estimates that about 3,282 living Americans carry the surname Wait. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 104,435 residents.
How common is Wait?
Wait ranks #10,659 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.96 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 2,862 people with the surname Wait. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,282), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.96 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.96 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 Wait.
Has Wait become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Wait went from 3,179 recorded bearers to 2,862. That is a decrease of 317 (-10.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #10,145 to #10,659.
What does the Census say about the background of Wait?
Among Census respondents with the surname Wait, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.5%) and Hispanic (3.1%). 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 Wait in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.7% (2,568 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Wait appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (89.7%), Two or More Races (3.5%), Hispanic (3.1%). 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 Wait (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 Wait mean?
An occupational surname referring to a watchman, guard, or gatekeeper. 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 Wait (0.96 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 have the last name Wait?
If you just want to know how common the surname Wait is, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.