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

Westbrook, 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 Westbrook surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Westbrook in America

Westbrook is the 1770th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Westbrook surname appeared 20,284 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 7 people would have the surname Westbrook.

We can also compare 2010 data for Westbrook 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 Westbrook

The surname Westbrook is of English origin, derived from a place name meaning "west brook" or "western stream." It likely originated in the medieval period, as many English surnames arose from geographical features or locations.

Westbrook is a locative surname, indicating that the first bearers of this name hailed from a place called Westbrook or a location with a western brook or stream. The earliest recorded instances of this surname date back to the 13th century in various counties across England, such as Buckinghamshire, Gloucestershire, and Worcestershire.

In the Domesday Book of 1086, a record of landowners in England commissioned by William the Conqueror, there are several entries for places called "Westbroc" or similar spellings, which may have contributed to the development of the Westbrook surname.

One of the earliest known bearers of the Westbrook surname was John de Westbrook, who was mentioned in the Subsidy Rolls of Worcestershire in 1327. Another early record is that of William Westbrook, who was listed in the Feet of Fines for Buckinghamshire in 1426.

Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals with the surname Westbrook. Sir John Westbrook (1512-1596) was an English politician and member of Parliament during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. Thomas Westbrook (1670-1744) was an English-born settler in colonial America and the founder of the town of Westbrook, Maine.

John Westbrook (1765-1819) was a British naval officer who served during the Napoleonic Wars and was renowned for his bravery in battle. Mary Westbrook (1801-1887) was an English author and poet who published several works, including "The Wife's Revenge" and "Legends of a Leisure Hour."

Finally, Sir Thomas Westbrook (1847-1925) was a prominent British businessman and philanthropist who made significant contributions to various charitable organizations and educational institutions in London.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Westbrook

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

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

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