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

Wanamaker, 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 Wanamaker surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Wanamaker in America

Wanamaker is the 12339th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Wanamaker surname appeared 2,520 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 Wanamaker.

We can also compare 2010 data for Wanamaker 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 Wanamaker

The surname WANAMAKER is of German origin, originating from the regions of Bavaria and Franconia in southern Germany during the 16th and 17th centuries. It is derived from the German words "Wanne" meaning a shallow tub or vessel, and "Macher" meaning maker or producer, suggesting that the name may have originally referred to a person who crafted or produced tubs, barrels, or similar containers.

The earliest recorded instances of the name date back to the mid-16th century in various German parish records and town registries. One of the earliest known individuals with this surname was Hans Wanamaker, a cooper (barrel maker) born around 1550 in the town of Rothenburg ob der Tauber, located in present-day Bavaria.

In the 17th century, the name appeared in several historical documents, including tax rolls and military records, indicating that individuals bearing the WANAMAKER name were scattered across various parts of southern Germany. One notable example is Johann Wanamaker, a soldier from Franconia who fought in the Thirty Years' War (1618-1648), a conflict that devastated large areas of Central Europe.

As German immigrants began to settle in North America in the 18th and 19th centuries, the WANAMAKER name was brought to the New World. One of the earliest recorded instances in America was Johann Michael Wanamaker, who arrived in Philadelphia from the Palatinate region of Germany in 1737.

Perhaps the most famous bearer of the WANAMAKER surname was John Wanamaker (1838-1922), an American entrepreneur and pioneer of modern retail marketing. He founded the Wanamaker's department store chain, which became one of the first and largest retail establishments in the United States.

Other notable individuals with the WANAMAKER surname include:

1. Lewis Rodman Wanamaker (1863-1928), son of John Wanamaker and a prominent Philadelphia businessman and philanthropist.
2. William Horace Wanamaker (1869-1918), another son of John Wanamaker and a businessman who helped expand the family's retail empire.
3. Samuel Wanamaker (1919-1993), an American actor and director, best known for his efforts to rebuild the Globe Theatre in London.
4. John Wanamaker (1952-), an American former professional tennis player and coach.

While the WANAMAKER name has its roots in southern Germany, it has since spread across various parts of the world, carried by successive generations of immigrants and travelers. Today, it remains a recognizable surname, indelibly linked to its rich heritage and the remarkable individuals who have borne it throughout history.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Wanamaker

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

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

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

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