2000
#4,620
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,017
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.60
Rare Last name
Whitmire
Derived from a place name meaning "white bog" or "white marsh," likely referring to a person who lived near one.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 7,766 Americans carry the last name Whitmire. That puts it at #5,022 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.27 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 44,135 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Whitmire 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
7.8K
1 in 44,135
Census rank
#5,022
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.3
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
6.8K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 6,772 bearers of the surname Whitmire in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.27 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 5022nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Whitmire, the largest self-reported group is White at 83.4%. The next largest groups are Black (8.0%) and Two or More Races (4.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Whitmire
The surname Whitmire has its origins in England and dates back to the medieval period. It is believed to be a locational name derived from the Old English words "hwit" meaning "white" and "mere" meaning "a pool or lake." The name likely referred to a person who lived near a body of water with clear or white waters.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Whitmire can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, which was a manuscript record of a great survey of England commissioned by William the Conqueror. The name appears as "Witemer" in this document, indicating its early spelling variations.
During the 13th century, the name Whitmire was also found in various records and documents, such as the Pipe Rolls of Oxfordshire from 1230, where it was spelled as "Whitemere." This spelling variation suggests a connection to the place name "Whitemere" or "Whitemore," which was likely the origin of the surname.
In the 14th century, the name Whitmire began to appear more frequently in historical records. One notable bearer of the name was John Whitmire, a landowner and merchant from Yorkshire, who was born around 1320 and died in 1384.
As time passed, the surname Whitmire continued to be associated with various place names and locations across England. For instance, in the 16th century, there was a record of a family with the surname Whitmire residing in the village of Whitemore, located in Staffordshire.
Another prominent figure with the surname Whitmire was Sir William Whitmire, a politician and member of the English Parliament during the reign of King Charles I. He was born in 1595 and played a significant role in the English Civil War, supporting the Royalist cause.
During the 17th century, the Whitmire surname also found its way to the American colonies. One of the earliest recorded instances was that of Thomas Whitmire, who immigrated to Virginia from England in the 1630s and established a family there.
In the 18th century, the Whitmire surname continued to spread across various regions. Notable individuals from this period include John Whitmire, a merchant and landowner from Pennsylvania, born in 1725, and Elizabeth Whitmire, a pioneer and early settler in the Ohio Territory, born in 1760.
Throughout the 19th century, the Whitmire surname was well-established in various parts of the United States and Europe. One notable figure was Charles Whitmire, a British explorer and naturalist born in 1820, who traveled extensively in Africa and made significant contributions to the study of flora and fauna.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Whitmire
Among Census respondents with the surname Whitmire, the largest self-reported group is White at 83.4%. The next largest groups are Black (8.0%) and Two or More Races (4.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Whitmire 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 Whitmire surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White83.4% · 5,645
- Black or African American8.0% · 543
- Two or more races4.5% · 302
- Hispanic or Latino2.2% · 146
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.5% · 104
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 32
Timeline
Historical Census data for Whitmire
Whitmire 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
#4,906
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,179
+162 bearers (+2.3%)
Per 100,000 2.43
Rank movement Down 286 places
2020
#5,022
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,772
-407 bearers (-5.7%)
Per 100,000 2.27
Rank movement Down 116 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #4,620 | 7,017 | 2.60 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #4,906 | 7,179 | 2.43 | +162 bearers (+2.3%) | Down 286 places |
| 2020 | #5,022 | 6,772 | 2.27 | -407 bearers (-5.7%) | Down 116 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 Whitmire 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 | #4,906 | #5,022 | -2.4% |
| Count | 7,179 | 6,772 | -5.7% |
| Per 100K | 2.43 | 2.27 | -6.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Whitmire bearers went from 7,179 to 6,772 (-5.7% change). The surname moved down 116 positions in the national ranking, going from #4,906 to #5,022.
FAQ
Whitmire surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Whitmire?
Name Census estimates that about 7,766 living Americans carry the surname Whitmire. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 44,135 residents.
How common is Whitmire?
Whitmire ranks #5,022 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.27 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 6,772 people with the surname Whitmire. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (7,766), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.27 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.27 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Whitmire.
Has Whitmire become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Whitmire went from 7,179 recorded bearers to 6,772. That is a decrease of 407 (-5.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #4,906 to #5,022.
What does the Census say about the background of Whitmire?
Among Census respondents with the surname Whitmire, the largest self-reported group is White at 83.4%. The next largest groups are Black (8.0%) and Two or More Races (4.5%). 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 Whitmire in the 2020 Census, accounting for 83.4% (5,645 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Whitmire appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (83.4%), Black (8.0%), Two or More Races (4.5%). 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 Whitmire (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 Whitmire mean?
Derived from a place name meaning "white bog" or "white marsh," likely referring to a person who lived near one. 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 Whitmire (2.27 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 common is the surname Whitmire?
Want to know how many people have the last name Whitmire? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.