2000
#7,642
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,012
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.49
Rare Last name
Wideman
An occupational surname for a person who made or sold widows' caps or other mourning attire.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 4,629 Americans carry the last name Wideman. That puts it at #7,883 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.35 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 74,045 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Wideman 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
4.6K
1 in 74,045
Census rank
#7,883
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.4
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
4.0K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 4,037 bearers of the surname Wideman in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.35 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 7883rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Wideman, the largest self-reported group is White at 53.5%. The next largest groups are Black (39.0%) and Two or More Races (4.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Wideman
The surname Wideman is of English origin and dates back to the late 12th century. It is a locational name derived from the Middle English words "wide" meaning broad and "man" referring to a person. The name likely originated from a location with a prominent or large dwelling or perhaps a broad meadow or field.
Early records show the surname spelled as Wydeman, Widyman, and Wydyman among other variations. One of the earliest known recorded instances of the name is found in the Pipe Rolls of Wiltshire in 1201, where a William Wydeman is mentioned.
In the 13th century, the Hundred Rolls of Oxfordshire from 1273 list a Hugo Wydeman. During this period, the name appears to have been concentrated in the southern counties of England, particularly Wiltshire, Oxfordshire, and Hampshire.
The Wideman name can also be traced back to the Domesday Book of 1086, which includes a reference to a landowner named Widemannus in the county of Sussex.
Notable historical figures with the surname Wideman include John Wideman (1492-1558), a prominent English merchant and member of the Worshipful Company of Mercers in London. Another early Wideman of note was William Wideman (1610-1688), a Puritan minister who emigrated to New England and served as the pastor of the First Church in Charlestown, Massachusetts.
In the 18th century, Johann Wideman (1734-1808) was a German Baroque composer and organist who served as the court musician to the Prince-Bishop of Würzburg. During the American Revolutionary War, Captain Jacob Wideman (1743-1810) fought in the Continental Army and was present at the Battle of Trenton in 1776.
One of the most prominent bearers of the Wideman name was Sir John Wideman (1820-1895), a British industrialist and philanthropist who founded the Wideman Steel Works in Sheffield and served as a Member of Parliament.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Wideman
Among Census respondents with the surname Wideman, the largest self-reported group is White at 53.5%. The next largest groups are Black (39.0%) and Two or More Races (4.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Wideman 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 Wideman surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White53.5% · 2,161
- Black or African American39.0% · 1,574
- Two or more races4.8% · 194
- Hispanic or Latino2.2% · 90
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 10
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.2% · 8
Timeline
Historical Census data for Wideman
Wideman 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
#7,578
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,385
+373 bearers (+9.3%)
Per 100,000 1.49
Rank movement Up 64 places
2020
#7,883
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,037
-348 bearers (-7.9%)
Per 100,000 1.35
Rank movement Down 305 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #7,642 | 4,012 | 1.49 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #7,578 | 4,385 | 1.49 | +373 bearers (+9.3%) | Up 64 places |
| 2020 | #7,883 | 4,037 | 1.35 | -348 bearers (-7.9%) | Down 305 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 Wideman 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 | #7,578 | #7,883 | -4.0% |
| Count | 4,385 | 4,037 | -7.9% |
| Per 100K | 1.49 | 1.35 | -9.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Wideman bearers went from 4,385 to 4,037 (-7.9% change). The surname moved down 305 positions in the national ranking, going from #7,578 to #7,883.
FAQ
Wideman surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Wideman?
Name Census estimates that about 4,629 living Americans carry the surname Wideman. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 74,045 residents.
How common is Wideman?
Wideman ranks #7,883 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.35 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 4,037 people with the surname Wideman. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (4,629), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.35 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.35 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 Wideman.
Has Wideman become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Wideman went from 4,385 recorded bearers to 4,037. That is a decrease of 348 (-7.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #7,578 to #7,883.
What does the Census say about the background of Wideman?
Among Census respondents with the surname Wideman, the largest self-reported group is White at 53.5%. The next largest groups are Black (39.0%) and Two or More Races (4.8%). 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 Wideman in the 2020 Census, accounting for 53.5% (2,161 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Wideman appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (53.5%), Black (39.0%), Two or More Races (4.8%). 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 Wideman (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 Wideman mean?
An occupational surname for a person who made or sold widows' caps or other mourning attire. 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 Wideman (1.35 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 Wideman?
If you just want to know how many people have the surname Wideman, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.