Wanat last name popularity, history, and meaning

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

Meaning of Wanat

A surname of Polish origin meaning "a resident of Wanaty", a village or town.

Wanat, 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 Wanat surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Wanat in America

Wanat is the 36525th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Wanat surname appeared 612 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Wanat.

We can also compare 2010 data for Wanat 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.

2010 2000 Change (%)
Rank 36525 33054 9.98%
Count 612 653 -6.48%
Proportion per 100k 0.21 0.24 -13.33%

The history of the last name Wanat

The surname WANAT is of Polish origin, derived from the Polish word "wanat," which means "wanderer" or "traveler." This name first emerged in the 14th century in the regions of Lesser Poland and Silesia, which were part of the Kingdom of Poland at the time.

The earliest recorded instances of the surname WANAT can be found in the records of the Kraków Archdiocese from the late 15th century. One notable example is Jan WANAT, a farmer from the village of Prądnik Czerwony, who was mentioned in a document dated 1487.

During the 16th and 17th centuries, the WANAT surname was commonly found in the towns and villages surrounding the city of Kraków, such as Skawina, Mogilany, and Niepołomice. It is believed that many individuals with this surname were involved in trade and travel, as the name suggests.

In the 18th century, the WANAT surname began to spread throughout other regions of Poland, including Galicia, Masovia, and Pomerania. This was likely due to the increasing mobility of the population during that time period.

One notable figure bearing the WANAT surname was Andrzej WANAT (1759-1838), a Polish landowner and philanthropist from the village of Zabierzów near Kraków. He donated a significant portion of his wealth to support local schools and churches.

Another prominent individual was Katarzyna WANAT (1810-1882), a Polish writer and educator from the town of Bochnia. She authored several books on Polish history and literature, and was also involved in the establishment of a girls' school in her hometown.

In the 19th century, the WANAT surname was also found among Polish immigrants who settled in various parts of Europe and North America. For instance, Jan WANAT (1832-1912) was a Polish-American farmer who settled in Wisconsin, United States, in the late 1860s.

Another notable figure was Stanisław WANAT (1867-1942), a Polish-Canadian businessman and community leader in Winnipeg, Manitoba. He was actively involved in promoting Polish culture and traditions among the Polish diaspora in Canada.

As the WANAT surname spread across different regions and countries, various spellings and variations emerged, such as WANATOWSKI, WANATOWICZ, and WANATOWSKA. However, the core meaning and origin of the name remained the same, reflecting the nomadic or traveling nature of its bearers throughout history.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Wanat

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

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 Wanat was:

Race/Ethnicity Percentage Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only 95.92% 587
Non-Hispanic Black Only (S)% (S)
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only (S)% (S)
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native (S)% (S)
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races 1.31% 8
Hispanic Origin 2.12% 13

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 Wanat has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

2010 2000 Change (%)
White 95.92% 96.17% -0.26%
Black (S)% (S)% (S)%
Asian and Pacific Islander (S)% (S)% (S)%
American Indian and Alaskan Native (S)% (S)% (S)%
Two or More Races 1.31% 1.68% -24.75%
Hispanic 2.12% 1.53% 32.33%

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

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

Reference this page

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If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!

"Wanat last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on September 12, 2025. http://namecensus.com/last-names/wanat-surname-popularity/.

"Wanat last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/wanat-surname-popularity/. Accessed 12 September, 2025

Wanat last name popularity, history, and meaning. NameCensus.com. Retrieved from http://namecensus.com/last-names/wanat-surname-popularity/.

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