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

Wear, 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 Wear surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Wear in America

Wear is the 9366th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Wear surname appeared 3,473 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 Wear.

We can also compare 2010 data for Wear 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 Wear

The surname WEAR is believed to have originated in England, with roots dating back to the medieval period. It is likely derived from the Old English word "wer," which means a pool, weir, or dam. This suggests that the name may have initially been associated with people who lived near a pool or weir, or worked in occupations related to the management of water systems.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the WEAR surname can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, which was a comprehensive survey of land ownership and taxation in England commissioned by William the Conqueror. In this document, the name appears as "de Wer," indicating that it may have originally referred to someone who lived near a specific body of water.

During the 13th and 14th centuries, the surname WEAR began to appear in various records and documents across England, often with variations in spelling such as "Weir," "Weare," and "Wyer." These variations likely arose due to regional dialects and the inconsistent spelling practices of the time.

Notable individuals bearing the WEAR surname in history include John Wear (c. 1598-1665), an English clergyman and author who served as the Archdeacon of Chichester. Another prominent figure was Sir Robert Wear (1679-1762), a British naval officer who served as the Governor of Newfoundland from 1729 to 1730.

In the literary world, the name is associated with James Wear (1853-1937), an English poet and journalist who published several collections of verse and worked as an editor for various newspapers.

Moving into the 20th century, Nathaniel Wear (1904-1990) was an American lawyer and politician who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from Pennsylvania from 1945 to 1959.

More recently, the WEAR surname has been carried by individuals like Robert Wear (born 1951), an American author and professor of English literature, and Janelle Wear (born 1992), an Australian professional basketball player who has represented her country in international competitions.

While the WEAR surname may have originated in England, it has since spread to other parts of the world, and individuals with this name can be found in various countries and cultures today.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Wear

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

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

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