2000
#12,081
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,370
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.88
Rare Last name
Winegar
An occupational surname for a maker or seller of wine vinegar.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,909 Americans carry the last name Winegar. That puts it at #11,802 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.85 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 117,825 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Winegar 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
2.9K
1 in 117,825
Census rank
#11,802
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.5K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,537 bearers of the surname Winegar in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.85 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 11802nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Winegar, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.8%) and Hispanic (2.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Winegar
The surname WINEGAR is of English origin, derived from the Old English words "win" meaning "wine" and "gar" meaning "maker" or "grower". It likely originated in the medieval period as an occupational surname for those involved in the production or trade of wine.
The earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in various historical documents from the 13th and 14th centuries. One notable mention is in the Hundred Rolls of Gloucestershire from 1273, where a John le Winegar is listed as a resident of the county.
In the Pipe Rolls of Hertfordshire from 1296, there is a record of a Thomas Wynegar who was a landowner in the region. This spelling variation, with the "y" instead of the "i", was not uncommon during that time period.
The WINEGAR surname is also linked to several place names in England, such as Winegar Croft in Oxfordshire and Winegar Hill in Staffordshire. These locations may have been named after early bearers of the surname or could have influenced the adoption of the name by those living in those areas.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the WINEGAR surname was William WINEGAR, who was born in Somerset, England in 1521. He was a prominent merchant and landowner in the region.
Another notable bearer of the name was John WINEGAR (1642-1712), a British military officer who served during the Nine Years' War and later became a member of Parliament for the borough of Taunton.
In the 18th century, Samuel WINEGAR (1734-1803) was a renowned clockmaker and watchmaker from Gloucestershire, known for his intricate and precise timepieces.
The WINEGAR surname also has connections to the American colonies, with Thomas WINEGAR (1680-1746) being one of the earliest recorded immigrants bearing the name. He settled in Virginia in the early 1700s and established a successful farming operation.
Additionally, Mary WINEGAR (1782-1865) was a notable figure in the early abolitionist movement in the United States, actively advocating for the end of slavery and assisting enslaved individuals in their quest for freedom.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Winegar
Among Census respondents with the surname Winegar, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.8%) and Hispanic (2.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Winegar 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 Winegar surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.1% · 2,362
- Two or more races2.8% · 71
- Hispanic or Latino2.6% · 66
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 20
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 11
- Black or African American0.3% · 7
Timeline
Historical Census data for Winegar
Winegar 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
#12,333
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,521
+151 bearers (+6.4%)
Per 100,000 0.85
Rank movement Down 252 places
2020
#11,802
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,537
+16 bearers (+0.6%)
Per 100,000 0.85
Rank movement Up 531 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #12,081 | 2,370 | 0.88 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #12,333 | 2,521 | 0.85 | +151 bearers (+6.4%) | Down 252 places |
| 2020 | #11,802 | 2,537 | 0.85 | +16 bearers (+0.6%) | Up 531 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 Winegar 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 | #12,333 | #11,802 | 4.3% |
| Count | 2,521 | 2,537 | 0.6% |
| Per 100K | 0.85 | 0.85 | -0.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Winegar bearers went from 2,521 to 2,537 (+0.6% change). The surname moved up 531 positions in the national ranking, going from #12,333 to #11,802.
FAQ
Winegar surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Winegar?
Name Census estimates that about 2,909 living Americans carry the surname Winegar. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 117,825 residents.
How common is Winegar?
Winegar ranks #11,802 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.85 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 2,537 people with the surname Winegar. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,909), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.85 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.85 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Winegar.
Has Winegar become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Winegar went from 2,521 recorded bearers to 2,537. That is an increase of 16 (+0.6%). In the national ranking it rose from #12,333 to #11,802.
What does the Census say about the background of Winegar?
Among Census respondents with the surname Winegar, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.8%) and Hispanic (2.6%). 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 Winegar in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.1% (2,362 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Winegar appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.1%), Two or More Races (2.8%), Hispanic (2.6%). 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 Winegar (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 Winegar mean?
An occupational surname for a maker or seller of wine vinegar. 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 Winegar (0.85 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 are called Winegar?
If you just want to know how many people have the surname Winegar, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.