2000
#6,167
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,114
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.90
Rare Last name
Wayman
An English occupational surname for a wagon driver or wagon maker.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 5,933 Americans carry the last name Wayman. That puts it at #6,315 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.73 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 57,771 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Wayman 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Wayman with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
5.9K
1 in 57,771
Census rank
#6,315
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
5.2K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 5,174 bearers of the surname Wayman in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.73 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 6315th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Wayman, the largest self-reported group is White at 85.9%. The next largest groups are Black (4.8%) and Hispanic (3.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Wayman
The surname Wayman is of English origin and is thought to have derived from the Old English words "weg" meaning "way" and "mann" meaning "man", suggesting that the name was initially an occupational one referring to someone who was responsible for maintaining or guarding roads and pathways.
This surname can be traced back to the 13th century, with some of the earliest recorded instances appearing in the Hundred Rolls of Oxfordshire from 1273, where it was spelled as "le Wayman". It is also found in the Subsidy Rolls of Worcestershire from 1327, written as "Wayman".
In the 14th century, the name appeared in various forms in different regions of England, such as "Weymon" in the Subsidy Rolls of Sussex from 1332 and "Weyeman" in the Feet of Fines for Essex from 1397.
One of the earliest known bearers of this surname was John Wayman, who was recorded in the Inquisitiones post mortem for Oxfordshire in 1366. Another early reference can be found in the Patent Rolls of 1440, which mention a Thomas Wayman from Kent.
The Wayman surname has been associated with several notable individuals throughout history, including Sir William Wayman (1529-1597), a prominent English lawyer and landowner during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. Another figure was John Wayman (1633-1705), a Puritan minister and author from Massachusetts.
In the 18th century, William Wayman (1730-1811) was a renowned English engraver and sculptor, known for his intricate work on medals and seals. Additionally, Joseph Wayman (1763-1828) was a British naval officer who served during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars.
One of the most famous individuals with this surname was Sir Hussey Vivian Wayman (1892-1979), a British barrister and judge who served as Lord Justice of Appeal and was knighted in 1955.
While the Wayman surname has its roots in England, it has since spread to other parts of the world, including North America, where it is often spelled as "Wyman" or "Wheyman".
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Wayman
Among Census respondents with the surname Wayman, the largest self-reported group is White at 85.9%. The next largest groups are Black (4.8%) and Hispanic (3.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Wayman 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 Wayman surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White85.9% · 4,443
- Black or African American4.8% · 246
- Hispanic or Latino3.8% · 195
- Two or more races3.6% · 188
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.4% · 72
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 30
Timeline
Historical Census data for Wayman
Wayman appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#6,307
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,411
+297 bearers (+5.8%)
Per 100,000 1.83
Rank movement Down 140 places
2020
#6,315
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,174
-237 bearers (-4.4%)
Per 100,000 1.73
Rank movement Down 8 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #6,167 | 5,114 | 1.90 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #6,307 | 5,411 | 1.83 | +297 bearers (+5.8%) | Down 140 places |
| 2020 | #6,315 | 5,174 | 1.73 | -237 bearers (-4.4%) | Down 8 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 Wayman 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 | #6,307 | #6,315 | -0.1% |
| Count | 5,411 | 5,174 | -4.4% |
| Per 100K | 1.83 | 1.73 | -5.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Wayman bearers went from 5,411 to 5,174 (-4.4% change). The surname moved down 8 positions in the national ranking, going from #6,307 to #6,315.
FAQ
Wayman surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Wayman?
Name Census estimates that about 5,933 living Americans carry the surname Wayman. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 57,771 residents.
How common is Wayman?
Wayman ranks #6,315 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.73 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 5,174 people with the surname Wayman. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (5,933), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.73 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.73 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Wayman.
Has Wayman become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Wayman went from 5,411 recorded bearers to 5,174. That is a decrease of 237 (-4.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #6,307 to #6,315.
What does the Census say about the background of Wayman?
Among Census respondents with the surname Wayman, the largest self-reported group is White at 85.9%. The next largest groups are Black (4.8%) and Hispanic (3.8%). 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 Wayman in the 2020 Census, accounting for 85.9% (4,443 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Wayman appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (85.9%), Black (4.8%), Hispanic (3.8%). 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 Wayman (2000, 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 Wayman mean?
An English occupational surname for a wagon driver or wagon maker. 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 Wayman (1.73 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 are called Wayman?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people have the last name Wayman at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.