Warnock last name popularity, history, and meaning

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

Meaning of Warnock

A surname of English origin referring to someone who lived near a river with a weir or dam.

Warnock, 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 Warnock surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Warnock in America

Warnock is the 6567th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Warnock surname appeared 5,159 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 2 people would have the surname Warnock.

We can also compare 2010 data for Warnock 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 6567 6217 5.48%
Count 5,159 5,065 1.84%
Proportion per 100k 1.75 1.88 -7.16%

The history of the last name Warnock

The surname Warnock has its origins in England and Scotland, where it first emerged in the 12th century. It is derived from the Old English word "warnian," meaning "to warn" or "take heed," and the Middle English suffix "-ock," a diminutive form.

The name Warnock was initially found in the counties of Yorkshire and Lincolnshire in England, as well as in the Scottish Lowlands. It is believed that the name may have been given to someone employed as a watchman or sentinel, whose role was to warn others of potential danger or threats.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the Warnock surname can be found in the Pipe Rolls of Lincolnshire, dated 1195, which mention a person named Robert Warnoc. The Hundred Rolls of 1273 also contain references to individuals with the surname Warnock in Yorkshire.

In Scotland, the name is thought to have originated in the town of Warnocktown, now known as Monkton, in Ayrshire. The earliest known Scottish bearer of the name was John Warnok, who was mentioned in the records of the Burgh of Prestwick in 1490.

Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals with the surname Warnock:

  1. Ralph Warnock (1591-1677), an English clergyman and author who wrote several religious works.
  2. James Warnock (1774-1848), a Scottish-born American pioneer and soldier who fought in the War of 1812.
  3. Benjamin Warnock (1805-1871), an American politician who served as a U.S. Representative from Illinois.
  4. Neil Warnock (born 1948), an English former professional football player and manager who has managed several Premier League teams.
  5. John Warnock (born 1940), an American computer scientist and co-founder of Adobe Systems, best known for developing the widely used PostScript software and PDF file format.

The name Warnock has also been associated with various place names in England and Scotland, such as Warnock Hill in Derbyshire and Warnock Burn in Lanarkshire, further indicating its historical significance in these regions.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Warnock

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

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 Warnock was:

Race/Ethnicity Percentage Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only 93.35% 4,816
Non-Hispanic Black Only 1.38% 71
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only 0.52% 27
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.41% 21
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races 1.34% 69
Hispanic Origin 3.00% 155

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

2010 2000 Change (%)
White 93.35% 95.14% -1.90%
Black 1.38% 1.36% 1.46%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.52% 0.34% 41.86%
American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.41% 0.28% 37.68%
Two or More Races 1.34% 0.93% 36.12%
Hispanic 3.00% 1.95% 42.42%

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

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Warnock, 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!

"Warnock last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on December 22, 2024. http://namecensus.com/last-names/warnock-surname-popularity/.

"Warnock last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/warnock-surname-popularity/. Accessed 22 December, 2024

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

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