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

Wilkie, 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 Wilkie surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Wilkie in America

Wilkie is the 4947th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Wilkie surname appeared 7,116 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 2 people would have the surname Wilkie.

We can also compare 2010 data for Wilkie 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 Wilkie

The surname WILKIE has its origins in Scotland, where it first emerged in the 12th century. It is derived from the Old English personal name Wilcuma, which means "a desired guest" or "welcome". This name was later Anglicized as Wilkin or Wilkie.

One of the earliest records of the name can be found in the Ragman Rolls of 1296, which documented Scottish landowners who swore fealty to King Edward I of England. The entry "Willelmus Wylci de Botheuill" refers to William Wilkie from Bothwell.

In the 16th century, the WILKIE surname was prevalent in the Scottish Lowlands, particularly in the counties of Lanarkshire and Ayrshire. The town of Wilkieston in West Lothian may have been named after a family of WILKIEs who resided there.

A notable early bearer of the name was Sir John Wilkie (c. 1580-1646), a Scottish landowner and member of the Parliament of Scotland. He is known for his involvement in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms.

Another prominent figure was William Wilkie (1721-1772), a Scottish writer and philosopher who authored several works on moral philosophy and natural religion. He was also a professor at the University of St. Andrews.

In the 19th century, David Wilkie (1785-1841) was a renowned Scottish painter known for his vivid and detailed genre scenes depicting everyday life in Scotland. He was elected a member of the Royal Academy in 1811 and was appointed the King's Painter in 1830.

Sir John Wilkie (1835-1916) was a Scottish businessman and shipowner who co-founded the Wilkie & Richmond shipping company. He was knighted in 1897 for his contributions to the shipping industry.

William Wilkie Collins (1824-1889) was an English novelist and playwright, best known for his works "The Woman in White" and "The Moonstone". He was a contemporary of Charles Dickens and is considered a pioneer of the detective fiction genre.

The WILKIE surname has also been found in various spellings throughout history, including Wilky, Wilkey, and Wilkeyn. While the name has Scottish origins, it has since spread to other parts of the world through migration and has been adopted by people of various nationalities.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Wilkie

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

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

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

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