2010
#158,432
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 102
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.03
Very Rare Last name
Wilsoncroft
A surname combining the elements "Wilson" and "croft", potentially referring to an area or place name.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 119 Americans carry the last name Wilsoncroft. That puts it at #153,590 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,880,289 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Wilsoncroft 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
119
1 in 2,880,289
Census rank
#153,590
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
104
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 104 bearers of the surname Wilsoncroft in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 153590th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Wilsoncroft, the largest self-reported group is White at 97.1%. The next largest groups are Black (1.0%) and Hispanic (1.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Wilsoncroft
The surname Wilsoncroft finds its origins in England, likely dating back to the late medieval period. This surname is a compound of the common English surname Wilson and the Middle English word croft, which refers to a small enclosed field or piece of arable land. The Wilson component derives from "Will’s son," a patronymic name indicating the son of William, a name of Germanic origin introduced to England by the Normans. Croft comes from the Old English word croft, with similar meaning retained over centuries.
The surname appears to be locational, indicating a family who lived at or near a croft associated with someone named Wilson. This suggests rural or semi-rural origins, particularly in agricultural communities in England. Although there are no direct mentions of the specific surname Wilsoncroft in key historical documents like the Domesday Book of 1086, which primarily recorded names predating the Norman invasion, the elements comprising the name were well in use by the time surnames began to stabilize in the 14th and 15th centuries.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname in any variation is from parish records of the late 1500s in Yorkshire, a region in Northern England known for its numerous small farms and crofts. Yorkshire was a likely region for the name to develop, given its historical abundance of smallholdings and the commonality of the surname Wilson.
A notable bearer of the name was Thomas Wilsoncroft, born in 1610 and known for his role as a local land surveyor in West Yorkshire during the early 17th century. His records of land boundaries and the ownership of small parcels of land survive in local archives, illustrating the prevalence of crofts in that era.
Moving forward to the late 17th century, Elizabeth Wilsoncroft, born in 1675, was a notable figure in her community in Derbyshire. She was known for her charitable works and bequeathed a portion of her estate to the establishment of a local school, reflecting the growing importance of education in rural England at the time.
In the 18th century, another significant individual was John Wilsoncroft, born in 1732 in Lancashire. A farmer by trade, he played a crucial part in agricultural advancements in his region, experimenting with crop rotation methods that would later become standard agricultural practice.
William Wilsoncroft, born in 1805 in Staffordshire, became a prominent industrialist during the early Industrial Revolution. He shifted the family’s agricultural focus to the burgeoning pottery industry, capitalizing on the rich clay deposits in the region. He significantly contributed to the industrial development of the area, helping to establish Staffordshire as a key player in the pottery and ceramics trade.
The name Wilsoncroft, while never exceedingly common, offers a fascinating glimpse into English rural life and agricultural origins. Its bearers have played varied roles throughout history, from land surveyors to industrialists, each contributing in unique ways to their localities and the broader fabric of English history.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Wilsoncroft
Among Census respondents with the surname Wilsoncroft, the largest self-reported group is White at 97.1%. The next largest groups are Black (1.0%) and Hispanic (1.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Wilsoncroft 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 Wilsoncroft surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White97.1% · 101
- Black or African American1.0% · 1
- Hispanic or Latino1.0% · 1
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Wilsoncroft
Wilsoncroft appears in 2 published Census surname files: 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2020
#153,590
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 104
+2 bearers (+2.0%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Up 4,842 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #158,432 | 102 | 0.03 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #153,590 | 104 | 0.03 | +2 bearers (+2.0%) | Up 4,842 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 Wilsoncroft 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 | #158,432 | #153,590 | 3.1% |
| Count | 102 | 104 | 2.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.03 | 0.03 | 16.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Wilsoncroft bearers went from 102 to 104 (+2.0% change). The surname moved up 4,842 positions in the national ranking, going from #158,432 to #153,590.
FAQ
Wilsoncroft surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Wilsoncroft?
Name Census estimates that about 119 living Americans carry the surname Wilsoncroft. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,880,289 residents.
How common is Wilsoncroft?
Wilsoncroft ranks #153,590 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 104 people with the surname Wilsoncroft. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (119), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.03 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.03 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Wilsoncroft.
Has Wilsoncroft become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Wilsoncroft went from 102 recorded bearers to 104. That is an increase of 2 (+2.0%). In the national ranking it rose from #158,432 to #153,590.
What does the Census say about the background of Wilsoncroft?
Among Census respondents with the surname Wilsoncroft, the largest self-reported group is White at 97.1%. The next largest groups are Black (1.0%) and Hispanic (1.0%). 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 Wilsoncroft in the 2020 Census, accounting for 97.1% (101 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Wilsoncroft appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (97.1%), Black (1.0%), Hispanic (1.0%). 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 Wilsoncroft (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 Wilsoncroft mean?
A surname combining the elements "Wilson" and "croft", potentially referring to an area or place name. 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 Wilsoncroft (0.03 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 Americans have the surname Wilsoncroft?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.