2000
#2,659
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 12,475
First available Census row
Per 100,000 4.62
Uncommon Last name
Willingham
A locational surname referring to a person from any of the villages called Willingham in England.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 13,858 Americans carry the last name Willingham. That puts it at #2,906 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 4.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 24,733 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Willingham 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Willingham with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
14K
1 in 24,733
Census rank
#2,906
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
4.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
12K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 12,085 bearers of the surname Willingham in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 4.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 2906th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Willingham, the largest self-reported group is White at 61.4%. The next largest groups are Black (29.2%) and Two or More Races (4.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Willingham
The surname Willingham is of English origin, and it is believed to have originated in the medieval period, specifically during the 12th or 13th century. The name is derived from the place name Willingham, which is found in several locations across England, including Cambridgeshire, Lincolnshire, and Suffolk.
The name Willingham itself is a combination of two Old English words: "willan" meaning "willow" and "ham" meaning "homestead" or "village." This suggests that the name was likely given to someone who lived near a willow tree or in a village surrounded by willow trees.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Willingham can be found in the Hundred Rolls of Cambridgeshire from 1273, where a person named Richard de Willingham is mentioned. Additionally, the name appears in the Pipe Rolls of Lincolnshire from 1195, indicating its long-standing history in the region.
The surname Willingham has been associated with several notable individuals throughout history. One of the earliest known bearers of the name was Sir Ralph Willingham, who served as a Member of Parliament for Steyning, Sussex, in 1324. Another prominent figure was William Willingham, who was a member of the Long Parliament during the English Civil War in the 17th century.
In the 18th century, Reverend Ralph Willingham (1719-1790) was a notable English clergyman and author, best known for his work "A Body of Divinity" published in 1780. Another notable Willingham was Sir Thomas Willingham (1753-1822), a British naval officer who served during the Napoleonic Wars and was knighted for his service.
Moving into the 19th century, Willingham F. Merrick (1834-1899) was an American politician who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from Maryland. In the field of literature, Calder Willingham (1922-1995) was an American novelist and screenwriter known for works such as "End as a Man" and the screenplay for the film "The Graduate."
Throughout its history, the surname Willingham has also been associated with various place names, such as Willingham Green in Cambridgeshire and Willingham-by-Stow in Lincolnshire. These place names further reinforce the connection between the surname and the villages or settlements where willow trees were prominent.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Willingham
Among Census respondents with the surname Willingham, the largest self-reported group is White at 61.4%. The next largest groups are Black (29.2%) and Two or More Races (4.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Willingham 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 Willingham surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White61.4% · 7,425
- Black or African American29.2% · 3,531
- Two or more races4.4% · 535
- Hispanic or Latino3.9% · 468
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 65
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 61
Timeline
Historical Census data for Willingham
Willingham 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
#2,814
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 12,818
+343 bearers (+2.7%)
Per 100,000 4.35
Rank movement Down 155 places
2020
#2,906
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 12,085
-733 bearers (-5.7%)
Per 100,000 4.04
Rank movement Down 92 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #2,659 | 12,475 | 4.62 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #2,814 | 12,818 | 4.35 | +343 bearers (+2.7%) | Down 155 places |
| 2020 | #2,906 | 12,085 | 4.04 | -733 bearers (-5.7%) | Down 92 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 Willingham 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 | #2,814 | #2,906 | -3.3% |
| Count | 12,818 | 12,085 | -5.7% |
| Per 100K | 4.35 | 4.04 | -7.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Willingham bearers went from 12,818 to 12,085 (-5.7% change). The surname moved down 92 positions in the national ranking, going from #2,814 to #2,906.
FAQ
Willingham surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Willingham?
Name Census estimates that about 13,858 living Americans carry the surname Willingham. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 24,733 residents.
How common is Willingham?
Willingham ranks #2,906 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 4.04 per 100,000 residents, which is about 4 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 12,085 people with the surname Willingham. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (13,858), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 4.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 4.04 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 4 of them to have the surname Willingham.
Has Willingham become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Willingham went from 12,818 recorded bearers to 12,085. That is a decrease of 733 (-5.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #2,814 to #2,906.
What does the Census say about the background of Willingham?
Among Census respondents with the surname Willingham, the largest self-reported group is White at 61.4%. The next largest groups are Black (29.2%) and Two or More Races (4.4%). 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 Willingham in the 2020 Census, accounting for 61.4% (7,425 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Willingham appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (61.4%), Black (29.2%), Two or More Races (4.4%). 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 Willingham (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 Willingham mean?
A locational surname referring to a person from any of the villages called Willingham in England. 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 Willingham (4.04 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 share the surname Willingham?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.