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

Whisman, 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 Whisman surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Whisman in America

Whisman is the 11430th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Whisman surname appeared 2,756 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Whisman.

We can also compare 2010 data for Whisman 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 Whisman

The surname WHISMAN is of English origin, dating back to the medieval period in the region of Buckinghamshire. It is believed to have derived from the Old English words "hwispr" and "mann," which translates to "a whispering man" or "a man who whispers." This could have been a descriptive surname given to someone known for their soft-spoken or discreet nature.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name WHISMAN can be found in the Pipe Rolls of Buckinghamshire from 1198, where a person named Robert Whisman is mentioned as a landowner. This suggests that the name had already established itself as a surname by the late 12th century.

In the 13th century, the name appeared in various forms, such as "Whyssman" and "Whysemon," which further solidifies its origins from the Old English words. A notable example is John Whyssman, a merchant from Winchester who was mentioned in the Borough Court Rolls of 1285.

The WHISMAN surname also has connections to place names in Buckinghamshire, such as the village of Weston Turville, which was once known as "Wistanestune" in the Domesday Book of 1086. This could suggest that some WHISMAN families may have derived their name from this location.

In the 16th century, the name WHISMAN gained prominence with the birth of Sir Thomas WHISMAN (1515-1589), a prominent politician and Member of Parliament for Buckinghamshire during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I.

Other notable individuals with the surname WHISMAN include:

1. William WHISMAN (1678-1742), a wealthy merchant and landowner in Berkshire.
2. Mary WHISMAN (1720-1798), a pioneer settler in colonial Virginia and one of the first English settlers in the Shenandoah Valley.
3. John WHISMAN (1765-1834), an American Revolutionary War veteran and early settler in Ohio.
4. Samuel WHISMAN (1812-1887), a successful businessman and philanthropist from Pennsylvania, known for establishing the WHISMAN Foundation for Education.
5. Elizabeth WHISMAN (1845-1923), a noted author and poet from New York, whose works focused on themes of nature and rural life.

While the WHISMAN name may have evolved in spelling and pronunciation over the centuries, its roots can be traced back to the Old English language and the medieval counties of England, particularly Buckinghamshire, where it first emerged as a distinctive surname.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Whisman

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

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

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Whisman, please contact us.

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