2000
#3,758
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,662
First available Census row
Per 100,000 3.21
Rare Last name
Wheaton
From an English place name meaning "wheat town," referring to a settlement where wheat was grown or sold.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 9,903 Americans carry the last name Wheaton. That puts it at #3,985 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.89 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 34,611 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Wheaton 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 Wheaton with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
9.9K
1 in 34,611
Census rank
#3,985
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
8.6K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 8,636 bearers of the surname Wheaton in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.89 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 3985th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Wheaton, the largest self-reported group is White at 74.0%. The next largest groups are Black (16.6%) and Two or More Races (4.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Wheaton
The surname Wheaton has its origins in England, dating back to the medieval period. It is derived from the Old English word "hwæte," which means wheat, and the word "tun," meaning a farm or an enclosure. Thus, the name likely referred to someone who lived near a wheat farm or a wheat enclosure.
Wheaton is believed to have originated in the counties of Shropshire and Staffordshire, where there are several places named Wheaton or variations of the name, such as Wheaton Aston and Wheaton Under Hill. These place names likely gave rise to the surname.
The earliest recorded instance of the surname Wheaton can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it is listed as "Whetone." This suggests that the name was already well-established by the late 11th century.
One of the earliest known bearers of the name was Sir Thomas de Wheaton, a knight who lived in the 13th century and served under King Edward I. Another notable figure was John Wheaton, born in 1594, who was a Puritan settler in Massachusetts Bay Colony and one of the founders of the town of Rehoboth.
In the 17th century, the Wheaton family played a significant role in the English Civil War. Robert Wheaton (1609-1694) was a prominent Parliamentarian and served as a colonel in Oliver Cromwell's army. His son, Obadiah Wheaton (1647-1719), also fought for the Parliamentarians and later became a Baptist minister.
Another notable figure was William Wheaton (1708-1785), an English poet and clergyman who was known for his translations of Virgil's Eclogues and Horace's Odes. He was also a fellow of the Royal Society.
In the 19th century, Henry Wheaton (1785-1848) was a prominent American lawyer, diplomat, and scholar who is best known for his work on international law. His seminal work, "Elements of International Law," published in 1836, became a standard reference in the field.
Throughout history, the surname Wheaton has been spelled in various ways, including Whetone, Wheatton, and Wheatone, reflecting the evolution of the English language and regional variations in pronunciation and spelling.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Wheaton
Among Census respondents with the surname Wheaton, the largest self-reported group is White at 74.0%. The next largest groups are Black (16.6%) and Two or More Races (4.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Wheaton 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 Wheaton surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White74.0% · 6,390
- Black or African American16.6% · 1,435
- Two or more races4.6% · 394
- Hispanic or Latino3.3% · 289
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 68
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 60
Timeline
Historical Census data for Wheaton
Wheaton 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
#3,847
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 9,202
+540 bearers (+6.2%)
Per 100,000 3.12
Rank movement Down 89 places
2020
#3,985
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,636
-566 bearers (-6.2%)
Per 100,000 2.89
Rank movement Down 138 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #3,758 | 8,662 | 3.21 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #3,847 | 9,202 | 3.12 | +540 bearers (+6.2%) | Down 89 places |
| 2020 | #3,985 | 8,636 | 2.89 | -566 bearers (-6.2%) | Down 138 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 Wheaton 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 | #3,847 | #3,985 | -3.6% |
| Count | 9,202 | 8,636 | -6.2% |
| Per 100K | 3.12 | 2.89 | -7.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Wheaton bearers went from 9,202 to 8,636 (-6.2% change). The surname moved down 138 positions in the national ranking, going from #3,847 to #3,985.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Wheaton
FAQ
Wheaton surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Wheaton?
Name Census estimates that about 9,903 living Americans carry the surname Wheaton. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 34,611 residents.
How common is Wheaton?
Wheaton ranks #3,985 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.89 per 100,000 residents, which is about 3 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 8,636 people with the surname Wheaton. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (9,903), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.89 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.89 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 3 of them to have the surname Wheaton.
Has Wheaton become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Wheaton went from 9,202 recorded bearers to 8,636. That is a decrease of 566 (-6.2%). In the national ranking it fell from #3,847 to #3,985.
What does the Census say about the background of Wheaton?
Among Census respondents with the surname Wheaton, the largest self-reported group is White at 74.0%. The next largest groups are Black (16.6%) and Two or More Races (4.6%). 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 Wheaton in the 2020 Census, accounting for 74.0% (6,390 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Wheaton appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (74.0%), Black (16.6%), Two or More Races (4.6%). 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 Wheaton (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 Wheaton mean?
From an English place name meaning "wheat town," referring to a settlement where wheat was grown or sold. 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 Wheaton (2.89 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 Wheaton?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.