2010
#146,201
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 113
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Wascavage
Originally a Ukrainian surname denoting someone from the village of Vaskivtsi.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 112 Americans carry the last name Wascavage. That puts it at #156,269 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 3,060,307 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Wascavage surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
Bearers in the US
112
1 in 3,060,307
Census rank
#156,269
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
98
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 98 bearers of the surname Wascavage in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 156269th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Wascavage, the largest self-reported group is White at 99.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (1.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Wascavage
The surname WASCAVAGE originates from Poland, where it first appeared in the 16th century. It is believed to be derived from the Polish words "wąska" meaning "narrow" and "waga" meaning "weight" or "balance." This suggests the name may have originally referred to a person who worked as a weigher or someone involved in weighing goods.
The earliest known record of the surname WASCAVAGE can be found in the parish records of the village of Wąsosz, located in the Łódź region of central Poland. In a document dated 1587, a man named Tomasz Wascavage is listed as a resident of the village.
By the late 17th century, the name had spread to other parts of Poland, as well as neighboring regions of modern-day Belarus and Ukraine. In 1692, a record from the town of Brest (now in Belarus) mentions a merchant named Jakub Wascavage, who was engaged in the trade of grain and other agricultural goods.
In the 18th century, several individuals with the surname WASCAVAGE gained prominence in various fields. Franciszek Wascavage (1720-1795) was a respected scholar and mathematician who taught at the University of Krakow. His treatise on the application of calculus to navigation and shipbuilding was widely studied in academic circles across Europe.
Another notable figure was Katarzyna Wascavage (1745-1823), a renowned painter whose portraits of Polish nobility and gentry were highly sought after in her time. Her work can still be found in several art galleries and museums in Warsaw and Krakow.
In the 19th century, as many Polish families emigrated to the United States and other parts of the world, the WASCAVAGE surname spread further. One of the earliest recorded instances in America was that of Stanisław Wascavage (1812-1892), who settled in Pennsylvania and worked as a coal miner.
Other noteworthy individuals with the WASCAVAGE surname include Józef Wascavage (1865-1941), a Polish-American engineer who played a crucial role in the construction of the Brooklyn Bridge, and Wanda Wascavage (1897-1978), a Polish-Canadian writer and activist who campaigned for women's rights and social justice.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Wascavage
Among Census respondents with the surname Wascavage, the largest self-reported group is White at 99.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (1.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Wascavage bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Wascavage surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White99.0% · 97
- Hispanic or Latino1.0% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Wascavage
Wascavage appears in 2 published Census surname files: 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2020
#156,269
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 98
-15 bearers (-13.3%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Down 10,068 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #146,201 | 113 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #156,269 | 98 | 0.03 | -15 bearers (-13.3%) | Down 10,068 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Wascavage surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #146,201 | #156,269 | -6.9% |
| Count | 113 | 98 | -13.3% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.03 | -18.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Wascavage bearers went from 113 to 98 (-13.3% change). The surname moved down 10,068 positions in the national ranking, going from #146,201 to #156,269.
FAQ
Wascavage surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Wascavage?
Name Census estimates that about 112 living Americans carry the surname Wascavage. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 3,060,307 residents.
How common is Wascavage?
Wascavage ranks #156,269 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 98 people with the surname Wascavage. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (112), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.03 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.03 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Wascavage.
Has Wascavage become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Wascavage went from 113 recorded bearers to 98. That is a decrease of 15 (-13.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #146,201 to #156,269.
What does the Census say about the background of Wascavage?
Among Census respondents with the surname Wascavage, the largest self-reported group is White at 99.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (1.0%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Wascavage in the 2020 Census, accounting for 99.0% (97 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Wascavage appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (99.0%), Hispanic (1.0%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Wascavage (2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Wascavage mean?
Originally a Ukrainian surname denoting someone from the village of Vaskivtsi. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Wascavage (0.03 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people have the surname Wascavage?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.