2000
#6,023
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,259
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.95
Rare Last name
Winder
An occupational surname for someone who winds thread or yarn, or operates a winding machine in textile manufacturing.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 6,203 Americans carry the last name Winder. That puts it at #6,095 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.81 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 55,256 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Winder 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 Winder with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
6.2K
1 in 55,256
Census rank
#6,095
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
5.4K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 5,409 bearers of the surname Winder in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.81 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 6095th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Winder, the largest self-reported group is White at 67.0%. The next largest groups are Black (22.9%) and Two or More Races (4.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Winder
The surname Winder originated in England, with records dating back to the 13th century. It is an occupational name derived from the Old English word "windere," referring to someone who worked as a winder of thread, yarn, or rope.
During the medieval period, the name was concentrated in the counties of Yorkshire, Lancashire, and Cheshire, where the textile industry was thriving. Variations in spelling, such as Wynder and Wyndere, were common in early records.
One of the earliest references to the name can be found in the Assize Rolls of Yorkshire, where a William le Wyndere was mentioned in 1297. The Winder surname also appears in the Lay Subsidy Rolls of Cheshire in 1333, indicating its presence in the region.
In the 16th century, the name Winder became associated with the Lancashire town of Winder, now known as Windle. This connection suggests that some individuals may have adopted the surname based on their place of residence or origin.
Notable individuals bearing the Winder surname include John Winder (c. 1585-1647), an English clergyman and author of the book "The Winding Light." Robert Winder (1635-1718) was a prominent Quaker leader in Pennsylvania, known for his role in the establishment of Philadelphia.
Another notable figure is Levin Winder (1719-1766), an American planter and politician who served as a member of the Maryland House of Delegates. In the 19th century, John H. Winder (1800-1865) was a Confederate brigadier general during the American Civil War.
The Winder surname has also been associated with several place names, such as Winder, Georgia, and Winderbourne in Gloucestershire, England, which may have influenced the adoption or spelling of the name in certain regions.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Winder
Among Census respondents with the surname Winder, the largest self-reported group is White at 67.0%. The next largest groups are Black (22.9%) and Two or More Races (4.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Winder 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 Winder surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White67.0% · 3,625
- Black or African American22.9% · 1,236
- Two or more races4.3% · 230
- Hispanic or Latino4.1% · 223
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.1% · 57
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 38
Timeline
Historical Census data for Winder
Winder 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
#6,192
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,527
+268 bearers (+5.1%)
Per 100,000 1.87
Rank movement Down 169 places
2020
#6,095
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,409
-118 bearers (-2.1%)
Per 100,000 1.81
Rank movement Up 97 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #6,023 | 5,259 | 1.95 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #6,192 | 5,527 | 1.87 | +268 bearers (+5.1%) | Down 169 places |
| 2020 | #6,095 | 5,409 | 1.81 | -118 bearers (-2.1%) | Up 97 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 Winder 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 | #6,192 | #6,095 | 1.6% |
| Count | 5,527 | 5,409 | -2.1% |
| Per 100K | 1.87 | 1.81 | -3.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Winder bearers went from 5,527 to 5,409 (-2.1% change). The surname moved up 97 positions in the national ranking, going from #6,192 to #6,095.
FAQ
Winder surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Winder?
Name Census estimates that about 6,203 living Americans carry the surname Winder. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 55,256 residents.
How common is Winder?
Winder ranks #6,095 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.81 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 5,409 people with the surname Winder. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (6,203), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.81 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.81 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Winder.
Has Winder become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Winder went from 5,527 recorded bearers to 5,409. That is a decrease of 118 (-2.1%). In the national ranking it rose from #6,192 to #6,095.
What does the Census say about the background of Winder?
Among Census respondents with the surname Winder, the largest self-reported group is White at 67.0%. The next largest groups are Black (22.9%) and Two or More Races (4.3%). 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 Winder in the 2020 Census, accounting for 67.0% (3,625 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Winder appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (67.0%), Black (22.9%), Two or More Races (4.3%). 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 Winder (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 Winder mean?
An occupational surname for someone who winds thread or yarn, or operates a winding machine in textile manufacturing. 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 Winder (1.81 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 common is the surname Winder?
See how common the surname Winder is on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.