Weary last name popularity, history, and meaning

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

Meaning of Weary

An English surname derived from the adjective "weary," originally referring to someone exhibiting a tired or fatigued disposition.

Weary, 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 Weary surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Weary in America

Weary is the 16887th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Weary surname appeared 1,687 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 Weary.

We can also compare 2010 data for Weary 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 16887 17408 -3.04%
Count 1,687 1,494 12.13%
Proportion per 100k 0.57 0.55 3.57%

The history of the last name Weary

The surname "WEARY" is of English origin, first appearing in the late 12th century. It is derived from the Old English word "weri," meaning tired or fatigued. The name likely originated as a nickname for someone who had a weary or exhausted disposition.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname can be found in the Pipe Rolls of Wiltshire from 1194, which mention a "Radulfus Weri." The Hundred Rolls of 1273 also include references to a "William le Wery" and a "John le Wery" in Oxfordshire.

In the 13th century, the name was sometimes spelled as "Werie" or "Werye," reflecting the variations in pronunciation and spelling common during that time period. By the 14th century, the spelling had largely settled on "Weary" or "Wery."

The surname is also associated with various place names in England, such as Weary Hill in Derbyshire and Weary Bank in Lancashire. These locations may have influenced the adoption of the surname by those living in or near these areas.

Notable historical figures with the surname "WEARY" include:

  1. Sir Thomas Weary (c. 1500 - 1572), an English politician and Member of Parliament for Westbury during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I.

  2. John Weary (c. 1580 - 1641), an English clergyman and author of several religious treatises, including "The Pilgrim's Progress" (1628).

  3. William Weary (1654 - 1721), an English merchant and one of the founders of the Virginia colony in North America. He established the town of Weary's Landing, which later became Richmond, Virginia.

  4. Elizabeth Weary (1690 - 1768), an English poet and playwright whose works include "The Virtuous Wife" (1726) and "The Tragedy of Lucretia" (1732).

  5. James Weary (1789 - 1863), a Scottish-born engineer and inventor who pioneered the use of steam power in textile mills and is credited with significant contributions to the Industrial Revolution.

While the surname "WEARY" may have initially carried connotations of fatigue or exhaustion, over time it has become a respected English surname with a rich history spanning several centuries.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Weary

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

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 Weary was:

Race/Ethnicity Percentage Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only 37.76% 637
Non-Hispanic Black Only 58.33% 984
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only (S)% (S)
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native (S)% (S)
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races 1.72% 29
Hispanic Origin 1.78% 30

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

2010 2000 Change (%)
White 37.76% 39.42% -4.30%
Black 58.33% 56.96% 2.38%
Asian and Pacific Islander (S)% (S)% (S)%
American Indian and Alaskan Native (S)% (S)% (S)%
Two or More Races 1.72% 2.01% -15.55%
Hispanic 1.78% 1.00% 56.12%

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

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

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

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

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

Search for a name

Search for a first or last name to learn more about its origin, meaning, and more.

Simple as that.