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

Weasel, 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 Weasel surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Weasel in America

Weasel is the 79338th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Weasel surname appeared 240 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Weasel.

We can also compare 2010 data for Weasel 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 Weasel

The surname Weasel originated in England during the late 12th century. It is derived from the Middle English word 'wesel', which itself comes from the Old English 'wesle', meaning a weasel. The name likely referred to someone with traits associated with the weasel, such as being quick, agile, or cunning.

The earliest recorded instance of the surname Weasel can be found in the Pipe Rolls of Gloucestershire in 1195, where one Robert Wessel is mentioned. Another early record is from the Curia Regis Rolls of Northamptonshire in 1212, which refers to a William Wessel.

During the 13th century, the name appeared in various spellings, including Wessel, Wessell, and Wesil. It is also found in place names such as Wessellton, a small hamlet in Dorset, which likely took its name from a family bearing the surname Weasel.

One notable figure with the surname Weasel was Sir John Weasel, a knight who fought in the Battle of Agincourt in 1415 under King Henry V. Another was Richard Weasel, a merchant and alderman in the City of London in the late 15th century.

In the 16th century, the name was sometimes anglicized to Weasley, as seen in the records of the parish of Charlton-on-Otmoor in Oxfordshire, where a family by the name of Weasley is mentioned in 1563.

During the 17th century, the name continued to appear in various records, including those of the English Civil War. One such instance is that of Captain Thomas Weasel, who served in the Parliamentary army under Oliver Cromwell and was killed in the Battle of Naseby in 1645.

Another notable bearer of the surname Weasel was Sir William Weasel (1620-1688), a wealthy landowner and Member of Parliament for the borough of Malmesbury in the latter half of the 17th century.

The 18th century saw the name spread to other parts of the British Isles, including Scotland and Ireland, where it was sometimes anglicized as Wisely or Whysall.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Weasel

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

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

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Weasel, please contact us.

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