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

Wardlaw, 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 Wardlaw surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Wardlaw in America

Wardlaw is the 9720th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Wardlaw surname appeared 3,337 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 Wardlaw.

We can also compare 2010 data for Wardlaw 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 Wardlaw

The surname Wardlaw originated in Scotland during the medieval period. It is derived from the Old English words "weard" meaning "watch" and "hlaw" meaning "hill" or "mound." The name likely referred to someone who lived near a prominent hill or mound that served as a lookout point.

The earliest known record of the name dates back to the 12th century in the county of Roxburghshire, Scotland. A notable early bearer of the name was Sir Henry de Wardlaw, who was recorded as the Sheriff of Roxburghshire in 1296.

During the 13th and 14th centuries, the Wardlaw family held lands and properties in the Scottish Borders region, particularly around the town of Dryburgh. The name appears in various medieval charters and records from this area.

One of the most famous individuals with the surname Wardlaw was Walter Wardlaw (c. 1390-1470), who served as the Bishop of Glasgow from 1368 to 1387 and later became the Bishop of St. Andrews, one of the most influential positions in the Scottish church at the time.

In the 15th century, the Wardlaw family established themselves as lairds (landed gentry) in the county of Fife, where they held the estate of Torry. A notable member from this line was Sir Henry Wardlaw of Torry (c. 1500-1570), who was a prominent figure in the Scottish Reformation.

Other notable individuals with the surname Wardlaw include Ralph Wardlaw (c. 1510-1589), a Scottish nobleman and landowner in East Lothian, and William Wardlaw (c. 1550-1617), a Scottish clergyman who served as the Bishop of St. Andrews in the early 17th century.

Over time, various spellings of the name emerged, such as Wardlaw, Wardlawe, and Wardelaw, reflecting the regional dialects and spelling variations common in historical records.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Wardlaw

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

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

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

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

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!