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

Welliver, 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 Welliver surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Welliver in America

Welliver is the 19945th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Welliver surname appeared 1,345 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 Welliver.

We can also compare 2010 data for Welliver 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 Welliver

The surname Welliver is believed to have originated in England during the medieval period. It is thought to be derived from the Old English words "welle" meaning a well or spring, and "faran" meaning to travel. Thus, the name may have originally referred to a person who lived near a well or spring, or perhaps a traveler who frequently stopped at such places.

The earliest recorded instances of the name date back to the 13th century, with references to individuals named Wellifar and Welifare appearing in various historical documents. In the Hundred Rolls of Bedfordshire from 1279, there is a record of a Robert Welifare being listed as a landholder in the county.

The name is also found in the Subsidy Rolls of Worcestershire from 1327, with the spelling Welyfare being used. This suggests that the name may have had its roots in the West Midlands region of England, although it eventually spread to other parts of the country.

One notable early bearer of the name was John Welliver, a merchant who lived in the city of Bristol in the 15th century. Records show that he traded in wool and cloth, and was a respected member of the local community.

In the 16th century, the name appears to have evolved into its more modern spelling of Welliver. In 1563, a William Welliver was recorded as a churchwarden in the parish of St. Peter's in the town of Cley, Norfolk.

Another significant figure was Thomas Welliver, a member of the Virginia Company who was involved in the early colonization efforts in North America during the 17th century. He is believed to have been born in England around 1580, and immigrated to the Virginia colony in the early 1600s.

The 18th century saw the birth of Richard Welliver, a renowned clockmaker who lived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was born in 1706 and is credited with creating some of the finest clocks of the colonial era, many of which are now prized by collectors and museums.

In the 19th century, the name was borne by artist William Welliver, who was born in 1936 and became known for his landscape paintings depicting rural scenes in America. His works are held in the collections of numerous art museums and galleries across the country.

Throughout its history, the surname Welliver has been associated with various places in England, such as the village of Welliver in Gloucestershire, which may have derived its name from the same linguistic roots as the surname itself.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Welliver

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

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

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

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