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

Willhoite, 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 Willhoite surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Willhoite in America

Willhoite is the 25381st most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Willhoite surname appeared 975 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Willhoite.

We can also compare 2010 data for Willhoite 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 Willhoite

The surname Willhoite has its origin in England, and its roots can be traced back to the medieval period. The name is believed to derive from Old English elements. The first part, "Will," might be associated with a personal name such as William, a common Anglo-Saxon and Norman given name. The second part, "hoite," could derive from the Old English word "hoh," meaning a spur of a hill or a ridge, indicating a geographical feature. The similar surname spells like Willhoit and Wilhoite have been recorded, indicating minor variations over time.

The earliest recorded references to the surname can be found in historical documents from the 13th and 14th centuries. For example, in the records of Yorkshire, you can find variations of the name with different spellings such as Willhoit and Wilhoit. There are no specific mentions of the Domesday Book (1086) for this name, but other medieval manuscripts and tax records do provide clues about its existence and evolution. The name appears in various forms in muster rolls, land grants, and legal documents.

The earliest known individual with the surname Willhoite is John Willhoite, who lived in the early 1500s in Yorkshire, England. Another notable figure is Richard Willhoite, who was recorded in a parish register in Kent in 1573. The name began to appear more frequently in parish records, indicating that families with this surname were becoming established in various regions of England.

The name made its way to the United States by the 17th century with the waves of English settlers. In particular, Thomas Willhoite, born circa 1640, is known to have immigrated to the New World around the 1670s and settled in Virginia. His descendants spread across Kentucky and Tennessee, further solidifying the presence of the surname in America.

In the 18th century, Samuel Willhoite (1755–1830) became a well-known figure in Kentucky for his role as a farmer and local militia member during the American Revolutionary War. Another notable person with this surname is Jacob Willhoite, born in 1790. He was a prominent landowner in Tennessee and contributed to the early agricultural development of the region.

By the 19th century, the Willhoite name had various branches across the southern and midwestern United States. Notable among them was Mary Willhoite (1820–1885), who is remembered for her involvement in the early educational movements in Kentucky. Her efforts helped lay the groundwork for the public school system in her county.

The history of the surname Willhoite illustrates a rich tapestry of migration, adaptation, and settlement, beginning in medieval England and extending to a significant American presence.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Willhoite

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

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

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

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