2000
#9,154
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,277
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.21
Rare Last name
Wamsley
An English locational surname derived from a place name meaning "Wærmund's meadow" in Old English.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,760 Americans carry the last name Wamsley. That puts it at #9,484 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.10 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 91,158 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Wamsley 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 Wamsley with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
3.8K
1 in 91,158
Census rank
#9,484
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.3K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,279 bearers of the surname Wamsley in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.10 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 9484th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Wamsley, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.8%) and Hispanic (2.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Wamsley
The surname Wamsley is believed to have originated in England, specifically in the counties of Yorkshire and Derbyshire, during the medieval period. It is thought to be derived from the Old English words "wamb," meaning belly or womb, and "leah," meaning a meadow or clearing in a forest.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as "Wamelai." This suggests that the name may have originally referred to a person who lived near a meadow or clearing, perhaps with a distinctive physical characteristic related to their belly or womb.
By the 13th century, the name had evolved into various spellings, including Wammeley, Wamely, and Wamsley. It is believed that these variations emerged due to regional dialects and the inconsistent spelling conventions of the time.
In the 14th century, records show a John Wamsley born in Yorkshire around 1320. He was a prominent landowner and is mentioned in several local court documents and land registries.
Another notable bearer of the name was Sir Thomas Wamsley (1556-1629), a wealthy merchant and Member of Parliament for Ripon in Yorkshire during the reign of King James I. He was known for his involvement in the English cloth trade and his charitable contributions to the city of Ripon.
During the 17th century, the Wamsley name appears to have spread to other parts of England, with records indicating families bearing the name in counties such as Worcestershire and Gloucestershire.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name in the Americas can be traced back to William Wamsley, who was born in England around 1620 and emigrated to Virginia in the 1640s. He established a successful tobacco plantation and is considered one of the earliest settlers of the Wamsley name in the New World.
Another notable figure with the Wamsley surname was James Wamsley (1734-1811), a prominent businessman and landowner in Pennsylvania. He played a significant role in the development of the city of Pittsburgh and was involved in various civic and political endeavors.
As the centuries passed, the Wamsley name continued to be found across different regions of England and, later, in other parts of the world, including the United States, Canada, and Australia, as families with this surname migrated and settled in new territories.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Wamsley
Among Census respondents with the surname Wamsley, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.8%) and Hispanic (2.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Wamsley 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 Wamsley surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.6% · 3,005
- Two or more races3.8% · 123
- Hispanic or Latino2.2% · 72
- Black or African American1.1% · 37
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 32
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 10
Timeline
Historical Census data for Wamsley
Wamsley 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
#9,687
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,350
+73 bearers (+2.2%)
Per 100,000 1.14
Rank movement Down 533 places
2020
#9,484
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,279
-71 bearers (-2.1%)
Per 100,000 1.10
Rank movement Up 203 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #9,154 | 3,277 | 1.21 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #9,687 | 3,350 | 1.14 | +73 bearers (+2.2%) | Down 533 places |
| 2020 | #9,484 | 3,279 | 1.10 | -71 bearers (-2.1%) | Up 203 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 Wamsley 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 | #9,687 | #9,484 | 2.1% |
| Count | 3,350 | 3,279 | -2.1% |
| Per 100K | 1.14 | 1.10 | -3.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Wamsley bearers went from 3,350 to 3,279 (-2.1% change). The surname moved up 203 positions in the national ranking, going from #9,687 to #9,484.
FAQ
Wamsley surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Wamsley?
Name Census estimates that about 3,760 living Americans carry the surname Wamsley. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 91,158 residents.
How common is Wamsley?
Wamsley ranks #9,484 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.10 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 3,279 people with the surname Wamsley. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,760), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.1 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.10 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 Wamsley.
Has Wamsley become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Wamsley went from 3,350 recorded bearers to 3,279. That is a decrease of 71 (-2.1%). In the national ranking it rose from #9,687 to #9,484.
What does the Census say about the background of Wamsley?
Among Census respondents with the surname Wamsley, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.8%) and Hispanic (2.2%). 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 Wamsley in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.6% (3,005 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Wamsley appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.6%), Two or More Races (3.8%), Hispanic (2.2%). 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 Wamsley (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 Wamsley mean?
An English locational surname derived from a place name meaning "Wærmund's meadow" in Old English. 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 Wamsley (1.10 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 surname Wamsley?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.