2000
#6,714
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,638
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.72
Rare Last name
Welton
Derived from a place name meaning "town with a well" in Old English.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 5,122 Americans carry the last name Welton. That puts it at #7,207 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.49 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 66,918 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Welton 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Welton with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
5.1K
1 in 66,918
Census rank
#7,207
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.5
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
4.5K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 4,467 bearers of the surname Welton in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.49 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 7207th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Welton, the largest self-reported group is White at 81.4%. The next largest groups are Black (10.3%) and Two or More Races (4.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Welton
The surname Welton is of English origin, and it is believed to have originated in the medieval period, around the 12th or 13th century. It is thought to be derived from a place name, specifically the town of Welton in Lincolnshire, England. The name itself is a combination of the Old English words "well" and "tun," meaning a farm or settlement near a well or spring.
Some of the earliest recorded instances of the name Welton can be found in various historical documents from the 13th and 14th centuries. For example, the Hundred Rolls of 1273 mention a John de Welton, while the Subsidy Rolls of 1327 list a William de Welton.
The Welton surname is also found in the renowned Domesday Book, compiled in 1086 under the orders of William the Conqueror. This document recorded landowners and their holdings across England, and it lists several individuals with the surname Welton or variations of it, such as Weltone or Weltuna.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the surname Welton. One such person was Sir Ralph Welton (c. 1390-1459), who served as the Lord Mayor of London in 1458. Another was Richard Welton (c. 1671-1713), an English playwright and poet known for his works "The Dissembled Wanton" and "The Parson's Wedding."
In the 16th century, the name Welton was associated with the village of Welton in Northamptonshire, which was once known as Welton Brockholes or Welton Brockhall. This village is mentioned in records from the time, indicating that the Welton surname may have originated from this location as well.
Additionally, the name Welton has been linked to various place names in other parts of England, such as Welton in East Yorkshire and Welton in Lincolnshire, further reinforcing its connection to specific locations.
Other notable individuals with the Welton surname include John Welton (c. 1590-1662), an English Puritan minister and author; Thomas Welton (1619-1676), an English clergyman and author; and Edward Welton (1795-1870), an English architect who designed several churches in the Gothic Revival style.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Welton
Among Census respondents with the surname Welton, the largest self-reported group is White at 81.4%. The next largest groups are Black (10.3%) and Two or More Races (4.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Welton 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 Welton surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White81.4% · 3,636
- Black or African American10.3% · 458
- Two or more races4.1% · 182
- Hispanic or Latino2.9% · 131
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 40
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 20
Timeline
Historical Census data for Welton
Welton 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
#7,028
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,761
+123 bearers (+2.7%)
Per 100,000 1.61
Rank movement Down 314 places
2020
#7,207
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,467
-294 bearers (-6.2%)
Per 100,000 1.49
Rank movement Down 179 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #6,714 | 4,638 | 1.72 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #7,028 | 4,761 | 1.61 | +123 bearers (+2.7%) | Down 314 places |
| 2020 | #7,207 | 4,467 | 1.49 | -294 bearers (-6.2%) | Down 179 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 Welton 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 | #7,028 | #7,207 | -2.5% |
| Count | 4,761 | 4,467 | -6.2% |
| Per 100K | 1.61 | 1.49 | -7.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Welton bearers went from 4,761 to 4,467 (-6.2% change). The surname moved down 179 positions in the national ranking, going from #7,028 to #7,207.
FAQ
Welton surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Welton?
Name Census estimates that about 5,122 living Americans carry the surname Welton. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 66,918 residents.
How common is Welton?
Welton ranks #7,207 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.49 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 4,467 people with the surname Welton. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (5,122), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.49 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.49 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 Welton.
Has Welton become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Welton went from 4,761 recorded bearers to 4,467. That is a decrease of 294 (-6.2%). In the national ranking it fell from #7,028 to #7,207.
What does the Census say about the background of Welton?
Among Census respondents with the surname Welton, the largest self-reported group is White at 81.4%. The next largest groups are Black (10.3%) and Two or More Races (4.1%). 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?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Welton in the 2020 Census, accounting for 81.4% (3,636 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Welton appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (81.4%), Black (10.3%), Two or More Races (4.1%). 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 Welton (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 Welton mean?
Derived from a place name meaning "town with a well" in Old English. 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 Welton (1.49 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 people are called Welton?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people are called Welton at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.