2000
#13,980
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,981
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.73
Rare Last name
Welcome
A surname derived from a greeting or a place name, possibly referring to someone living near a well-visited location.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,479 Americans carry the last name Welcome. That puts it at #13,463 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.72 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 138,263 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Welcome 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
2.5K
1 in 138,263
Census rank
#13,463
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.2K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,162 bearers of the surname Welcome in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.72 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 13463rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Welcome, the largest self-reported group is Black at 45.4%. The next largest groups are White (41.5%) and Hispanic (7.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Welcome
The surname Welcome is an English locational name that originated in the medieval period. It derived from the Old English word 'wilcuma', which meant 'a welcome guest' or 'a newcomer'. The name likely referred to someone who had recently arrived in a particular area or settlement.
The earliest recorded instances of the surname Welcome can be found in various medieval records and charters from the 13th and 14th centuries. In the Hundred Rolls of Bedfordshire from 1273, there is a reference to a John le Wilcume. Similarly, the Subsidy Rolls of Sussex from 1296 mention a William Welcom.
The surname Welcome is also linked to various place names throughout England, such as Welcombe in Devon, Welcombe in Warwickshire, and Welcombe in Dorset. These place names likely originated from the Old English words 'wil' (a stream) and 'cumb' (a valley), suggesting that the name may have referred to someone living in a valley near a stream.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the surname Welcome was Thomas Welcome, who was born in Hertfordshire, England, around 1550. He served as a member of the Company of Merchant Adventurers and was involved in the wool trade.
Another notable figure was Sir John Welcome, who lived in the 17th century and was a prominent lawyer and landowner in Gloucestershire. He served as a Member of Parliament and played a significant role in local politics during the English Civil War.
In the 18th century, there was a family of Welcome's who were prominent clockmakers and watchmakers in London. The most famous among them was Thomas Welcome, who was born in 1711 and became a master clockmaker. His clocks and watches were highly sought after by the wealthy and aristocratic classes of the time.
During the 19th century, a notable figure with the surname Welcome was William Welcome, a British architect who designed several notable buildings in London, including the Royal Naval College in Greenwich and the Church of St. Michael in Cornhill.
The surname Welcome has also been found in various other parts of the world, particularly in countries with strong British colonial ties, such as the United States, Canada, and Australia. However, its origins can be traced back to the medieval period in England, where it first emerged as a locational name.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Welcome
Among Census respondents with the surname Welcome, the largest self-reported group is Black at 45.4%. The next largest groups are White (41.5%) and Hispanic (7.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Welcome 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 Welcome surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American45.4% · 982
- White41.5% · 898
- Hispanic or Latino7.4% · 160
- Two or more races4.3% · 94
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 15
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 13
Timeline
Historical Census data for Welcome
Welcome 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
#13,855
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,181
+200 bearers (+10.1%)
Per 100,000 0.74
Rank movement Up 125 places
2020
#13,463
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,162
-19 bearers (-0.9%)
Per 100,000 0.72
Rank movement Up 392 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #13,980 | 1,981 | 0.73 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #13,855 | 2,181 | 0.74 | +200 bearers (+10.1%) | Up 125 places |
| 2020 | #13,463 | 2,162 | 0.72 | -19 bearers (-0.9%) | Up 392 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 Welcome 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 | #13,855 | #13,463 | 2.8% |
| Count | 2,181 | 2,162 | -0.9% |
| Per 100K | 0.74 | 0.72 | -2.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Welcome bearers went from 2,181 to 2,162 (-0.9% change). The surname moved up 392 positions in the national ranking, going from #13,855 to #13,463.
FAQ
Welcome surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Welcome?
Name Census estimates that about 2,479 living Americans carry the surname Welcome. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 138,263 residents.
How common is Welcome?
Welcome ranks #13,463 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.72 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 2,162 people with the surname Welcome. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,479), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.72 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.72 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Welcome.
Has Welcome become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Welcome went from 2,181 recorded bearers to 2,162. That is a decrease of 19 (-0.9%). In the national ranking it rose from #13,855 to #13,463.
What does the Census say about the background of Welcome?
Among Census respondents with the surname Welcome, the largest self-reported group is Black at 45.4%. The next largest groups are White (41.5%) and Hispanic (7.4%). 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?
Black is the largest self-reported group for the surname Welcome in the 2020 Census, accounting for 45.4% (982 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Welcome appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Black (45.4%), White (41.5%), Hispanic (7.4%). 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 Welcome (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 Welcome mean?
A surname derived from a greeting or a place name, possibly referring to someone living near a well-visited location. 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 Welcome (0.72 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 Americans have the surname Welcome?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.