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

Wheeler, 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 Wheeler surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Wheeler in America

Wheeler is the 243rd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Wheeler surname appeared 125,058 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 42 people would have the surname Wheeler.

We can also compare 2010 data for Wheeler 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 Wheeler

The surname Wheeler is an English occupational name derived from the Old English word 'hweol', meaning wheel. It originated as a descriptive name for a maker or seller of wheels, particularly for carts and carriages.

The earliest recorded instances of the name can be traced back to the late 12th century, with variations in spelling such as 'le Whelewrighte' and 'le Wheolare' appearing in medieval records and charters. The Hundred Rolls of 1273 contain a reference to a 'Henry le Wheolare' in Oxfordshire.

The name Wheeler is widely distributed across England, with early concentrations in counties like Yorkshire, Norfolk, and Gloucestershire. Some notable early bearers of the name include John Wheeler (c. 1550-1637), an English clergyman and academic who served as Vice-Chancellor of the University of Oxford.

In the 17th century, the Wheeler name gained prominence with the exploits of Sir Francis Wheeler (c. 1565-1634), an English naval captain and navigator who voyaged to the East Indies and later served as Vice-Admiral of the British Royal Navy.

Another notable figure was William Wheeler (1601-1676), an early settler in Massachusetts Bay Colony and one of the founders of the town of Concord. He served as a captain in the local militia and was a deputy to the General Court.

The Wheeler surname also has a connection to the American Revolution, with John Wheeler (1732-1805), a renowned patriot and member of the Sons of Liberty who played a key role in the Boston Tea Party protest.

During the 19th century, Daniel Wheeler (1771-1840), an English Quaker minister and author, gained recognition for his travels and writings promoting religious tolerance and social reform.

As the name spread across the English-speaking world, notable bearers of the Wheeler surname continued to emerge, such as Sir Charles Thomas Wheeler (1892-1975), a British military officer and diplomat who served as Governor of Burma from 1948 to 1952.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Wheeler

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

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

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