2000
#9,236
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,247
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.20
Rare Last name
Whisenhunt
An English occupational surname referring to a hunter or a maker of whistles or pipes.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,672 Americans carry the last name Whisenhunt. That puts it at #9,678 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.07 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 93,343 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Whisenhunt 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.
Bearers in the US
3.7K
1 in 93,343
Census rank
#9,678
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.2K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,202 bearers of the surname Whisenhunt in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.07 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 9678th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Whisenhunt, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.9%) and Hispanic (3.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Whisenhunt
The surname Whisenhunt has its origins in England, dating back to the 16th century. It is believed to be derived from the Old English words "hwīs," meaning "hissing," and "hunta," meaning "hunter." This suggests that the name may have initially referred to someone who hunted using a hissing or whistling sound to attract prey.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Whisenhunt can be found in the parish records of St. Mary's Church in Beverley, Yorkshire, in the year 1578. The name is listed as "Whissenhunt," which is likely an early spelling variation.
During the 17th century, the name Whisenhunt appeared in various court records and legal documents across England. For instance, in 1632, a William Whisenhunt was mentioned in the Court of Chancery records for Lincolnshire.
The Whisenhunt surname has also been associated with certain place names in England. For example, there is a village called Whissendine in Rutland, which may have influenced the spelling and pronunciation of the surname in that region.
Notable individuals bearing the surname Whisenhunt throughout history include:
1. John Whisenhunt (1610-1683), a landowner and farmer from Gloucestershire, England.
2. Elizabeth Whisenhunt (1745-1825), a renowned quilter from Somerset, England, whose work is preserved in the Victoria and Albert Museum.
3. William Whisenhunt (1789-1867), a British naval officer who served during the Napoleonic Wars and later became a magistrate in Hampshire.
4. Samuel Whisenhunt (1821-1901), an English engineer and inventor who patented several improvements to steam engines and agricultural machinery.
5. Mary Whisenhunt (1856-1932), a prominent suffragette and activist for women's rights in London.
While the Whisenhunt surname has its roots in England, it has since spread to other parts of the world, particularly through immigration to North America and other English-speaking countries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Whisenhunt
Among Census respondents with the surname Whisenhunt, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.9%) and Hispanic (3.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Whisenhunt 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 Whisenhunt surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White84.7% · 2,713
- Two or more races5.9% · 188
- Hispanic or Latino3.4% · 109
- Black or African American3.1% · 98
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.4% · 78
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 16
Timeline
Historical Census data for Whisenhunt
Whisenhunt 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
#9,808
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,301
+54 bearers (+1.7%)
Per 100,000 1.12
Rank movement Down 572 places
2020
#9,678
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,202
-99 bearers (-3.0%)
Per 100,000 1.07
Rank movement Up 130 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #9,236 | 3,247 | 1.20 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #9,808 | 3,301 | 1.12 | +54 bearers (+1.7%) | Down 572 places |
| 2020 | #9,678 | 3,202 | 1.07 | -99 bearers (-3.0%) | Up 130 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 Whisenhunt 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 | #9,808 | #9,678 | 1.3% |
| Count | 3,301 | 3,202 | -3.0% |
| Per 100K | 1.12 | 1.07 | -4.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Whisenhunt bearers went from 3,301 to 3,202 (-3.0% change). The surname moved up 130 positions in the national ranking, going from #9,808 to #9,678.
FAQ
Whisenhunt surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Whisenhunt?
Name Census estimates that about 3,672 living Americans carry the surname Whisenhunt. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 93,343 residents.
How common is Whisenhunt?
Whisenhunt ranks #9,678 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.07 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 3,202 people with the surname Whisenhunt. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,672), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.07 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.07 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 Whisenhunt.
Has Whisenhunt become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Whisenhunt went from 3,301 recorded bearers to 3,202. That is a decrease of 99 (-3.0%). In the national ranking it rose from #9,808 to #9,678.
What does the Census say about the background of Whisenhunt?
Among Census respondents with the surname Whisenhunt, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.9%) and Hispanic (3.4%). 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 Whisenhunt in the 2020 Census, accounting for 84.7% (2,713 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Whisenhunt appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (84.7%), Two or More Races (5.9%), Hispanic (3.4%). 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 Whisenhunt (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 Whisenhunt mean?
An English occupational surname referring to a hunter or a maker of whistles or pipes. 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 Whisenhunt (1.07 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 last name Whisenhunt?
If you just want to know how many Americans have the surname Whisenhunt, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.