Warner last name popularity, history, and meaning

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

Meaning of Warner

An occupational surname referring to a guard or watchman.

Warner, 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 Warner surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Warner in America

Warner is the 375th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Warner surname appeared 83,781 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 28 people would have the surname Warner.

We can also compare 2010 data for Warner 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 375 344 8.62%
Count 83,781 81,824 2.36%
Proportion per 100k 28.40 30.33 -6.57%

The history of the last name Warner

The surname Warner is an occupational name that originated in England during the Middle Ages. It is derived from the Old English word "warenor," which means "guard" or "keeper." This name was given to those who were responsible for guarding or overseeing something, such as a park or a manor.

In the Domesday Book of 1086, there are several references to individuals with the surname Warner, indicating that the name was already well-established by the late 11th century. Some of the earliest recorded examples of the name include William le Warner, who was listed in the Pipe Rolls of Shropshire in 1198, and Roger le Warner, who was mentioned in the Assize Rolls of Staffordshire in 1281.

The surname Warner was also associated with various place names in England, such as Warner's Hill in Gloucestershire and Warner's Woodlands in Buckinghamshire. These place names may have been derived from the name of an individual who once lived or worked in those areas.

One of the earliest notable individuals with the surname Warner was John Warner (c. 1580-1666), an English explorer and navigator who is credited with being one of the first settlers in Bermuda. Another famous Warner was Sir Thomas Warner (c. 1580-1649), an English colonist and politician who established the first English settlement on the island of St. Kitts in the West Indies.

In the United States, the surname Warner has been associated with several prominent figures throughout history. These include Seth Warner (1743-1784), an American Revolutionary War officer and one of the leaders of the Green Mountain Boys, and Charles Dudley Warner (1829-1900), an American writer and editor who co-authored the novel "The Gilded Age" with Mark Twain.

Other notable individuals with the surname Warner include William Warner (c. 1558-1609), an English poet and playwright who wrote the epic poem "Albion's England," and Susan Warner (1819-1885), an American novelist best known for her novel "The Wide, Wide World."

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Warner

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

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 Warner was:

Race/Ethnicity Percentage Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only 84.22% 70,560
Non-Hispanic Black Only 10.24% 8,579
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only 0.65% 545
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.61% 511
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races 1.87% 1,567
Hispanic Origin 2.41% 2,019

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

2010 2000 Change (%)
White 84.22% 86.32% -2.46%
Black 10.24% 9.69% 5.52%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.65% 0.51% 24.14%
American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.61% 0.61% 0.00%
Two or More Races 1.87% 1.40% 28.75%
Hispanic 2.41% 1.48% 47.81%

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

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

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"Warner last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on October 31, 2024. http://namecensus.com/last-names/warner-surname-popularity/.

"Warner last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/warner-surname-popularity/. Accessed 31 October, 2024

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

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