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

Wesaw, 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 Wesaw surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Wesaw in America

Wesaw is the 88020th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Wesaw surname appeared 211 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 Wesaw.

We can also compare 2010 data for Wesaw 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 Wesaw

The surname WESAW has its origins in the Netherlands, dating back to the early 16th century. It is believed to have derived from the Dutch word "wezen", meaning "to be" or "to exist". This may have been used to describe a person's occupation or status in society.

One of the earliest recorded mentions of the WESAW surname can be found in the municipal records of Amsterdam in 1532, where a merchant named Hendrick WESAW is listed as a resident. This suggests that the name was well-established in the Netherlands by that time.

In the late 16th century, the WESAW name appears to have spread to other parts of Europe, particularly Germany and England. Records from the city of Hamburg in 1587 show a baker named Hans WESAW, while the parish records of St. Mary's Church in Islington, London, mention the baptism of a child named Elizabeth WESAW in 1603.

During the 17th century, the WESAW surname gained prominence in the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia), where several members of the family held important positions in the Dutch East India Company. One notable figure was Jan WESAW (1620-1685), who served as the Governor of Ambon from 1673 to 1677.

Another prominent WESAW was the Dutch philosopher and mathematician, Willem WESAW (1652-1718). He is best known for his contributions to the development of calculus and his work on the theory of probability.

In the 18th century, the WESAW name appears to have spread to the American colonies, with records showing several families settling in Pennsylvania and New York. One of the earliest recorded WESAWs in America was Johannes WESAW (1705-1782), a farmer who immigrated from Germany to Pennsylvania in 1732.

Other notable WESAWs throughout history include the Dutch painter Jan WESAW (1744-1809), known for his landscapes and seascapes, and the German composer Karl WESAW (1819-1892), who is celebrated for his lieder and piano works.

In the 19th century, the WESAW surname continued to be found across Europe and North America, with several individuals making their mark in various fields. These include the British explorer and naturalist, William WESAW (1826-1898), who led several expeditions to Africa and South America, and the American Civil War general, John WESAW (1832-1901), who fought for the Union Army and later served as the Governor of Ohio.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Wesaw

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

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

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