2000
#8,019
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,815
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.41
Rare Last name
Wheelock
An English occupational surname referring to a maker or repairer of wheels, or a person living near a water wheel.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 4,155 Americans carry the last name Wheelock. That puts it at #8,695 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.21 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 82,492 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Wheelock 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 Wheelock with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
4.2K
1 in 82,492
Census rank
#8,695
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.6K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,623 bearers of the surname Wheelock in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.21 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 8695th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Wheelock, the largest self-reported group is White at 82.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.8%) and Two or More Races (4.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Wheelock
The surname Wheelock is of English origin, deriving from an old place name, and dates back to the medieval period. The name is a compound word, combining the Old English terms "hweol" meaning wheel and "ac" meaning oak tree, indicating an oak tree situated by a wheel or mill-wheel.
Records show that the name was first found in Worcestershire, where the family held estates and lands after the Norman Conquest of 1066. One of the earliest recorded bearers of the name was William de Whelok, who was mentioned in the Pipe Rolls of Worcestershire in 1221.
During the Middle Ages, the Wheelock family played a significant role in the region, and their name appeared in various historical documents. In the Domesday Book of 1086, a reference is made to a place called "Wheluche" in Worcestershire, which is believed to be the original location associated with the surname.
In the 14th century, the name Wheelock was also found in Lancashire, where John de Whelok was listed in the Wills at Chester in 1362. This suggests that branches of the family had spread to different parts of England by that time.
One notable bearer of the name was Ralph Wheelock (c. 1600-1683), an English Puritan minister who emigrated to Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1637 and became one of the founders of the town of Medfield.
Another prominent individual was Eleazar Wheelock (1711-1779), a Congregational minister and educator from Connecticut, who founded Dartmouth College in 1769, one of the oldest institutions of higher education in the United States.
In the literary world, John Wheelock (1786-1857), an American publisher and son of Eleazar Wheelock, is known for publishing the works of renowned authors like James Fenimore Cooper and Washington Irving.
Other notable figures with the surname Wheelock include Edward Wheelock (1608-1684), an English clergyman and puritan writer, and Gerry Wheelock (1904-1989), an American baseball player who played for the New York Yankees in the 1920s.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Wheelock
Among Census respondents with the surname Wheelock, the largest self-reported group is White at 82.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.8%) and Two or More Races (4.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Wheelock 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 Wheelock surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White82.4% · 2,987
- Hispanic or Latino6.8% · 248
- Two or more races4.4% · 158
- Black or African American3.6% · 129
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.9% · 70
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 31
Timeline
Historical Census data for Wheelock
Wheelock 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
#8,602
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,827
+12 bearers (+0.3%)
Per 100,000 1.30
Rank movement Down 583 places
2020
#8,695
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,623
-204 bearers (-5.3%)
Per 100,000 1.21
Rank movement Down 93 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #8,019 | 3,815 | 1.41 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #8,602 | 3,827 | 1.30 | +12 bearers (+0.3%) | Down 583 places |
| 2020 | #8,695 | 3,623 | 1.21 | -204 bearers (-5.3%) | Down 93 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 Wheelock 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 | #8,602 | #8,695 | -1.1% |
| Count | 3,827 | 3,623 | -5.3% |
| Per 100K | 1.30 | 1.21 | -6.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Wheelock bearers went from 3,827 to 3,623 (-5.3% change). The surname moved down 93 positions in the national ranking, going from #8,602 to #8,695.
FAQ
Wheelock surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Wheelock?
Name Census estimates that about 4,155 living Americans carry the surname Wheelock. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 82,492 residents.
How common is Wheelock?
Wheelock ranks #8,695 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.21 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 3,623 people with the surname Wheelock. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (4,155), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.21 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.21 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 Wheelock.
Has Wheelock become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Wheelock went from 3,827 recorded bearers to 3,623. That is a decrease of 204 (-5.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #8,602 to #8,695.
What does the Census say about the background of Wheelock?
Among Census respondents with the surname Wheelock, the largest self-reported group is White at 82.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.8%) and Two or More Races (4.4%). 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 Wheelock in the 2020 Census, accounting for 82.4% (2,987 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Wheelock appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (82.4%), Hispanic (6.8%), Two or More Races (4.4%). 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 Wheelock (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 Wheelock mean?
An English occupational surname referring to a maker or repairer of wheels, or a person living near a water wheel. 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 Wheelock (1.21 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 have the surname Wheelock?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.