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

Winship, 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 Winship surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Winship in America

Winship is the 16944th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Winship surname appeared 1,678 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Winship.

We can also compare 2010 data for Winship 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 Winship

The surname Winship has its origins in England, specifically rooted in the northern regions such as Yorkshire and Northumberland. The name can be traced back to the medieval period, around the 13th to 14th centuries, when surnames began to be used more commonly for identification purposes.

Winship is likely derived from a locational name, referring to someone who hailed from a place named Winship or a similar-sounding location. The name itself appears to be connected to Old English words, possibly featuring elements like wynn, meaning "joy" or "pleasure," and sceap, meaning "sheep." This could suggest a place associated with pleasant pastures or sheep farming. Variants of the name, such as Winschyp or Wynsips, have been found in historical records, indicating the evolving nature of English orthography over centuries.

One of the earliest recorded references to the name Winship occurs in the Poll Tax records of Yorkshire in 1379, with an individual named Ricardus Winschyp. This record provides a crucial insight into the name's existence and geographical association in medieval England.

In the 16th century, John Winship, born around 1540, is acknowledged for appearances in local records in Northumberland. His name illustrates the surname's continued presence and usage through various facets of English life, including tax records and local governance.

Marmaduke Winship, born circa 1606, is another prominent historical figure bearing the surname. He is known for his participation in trade and local administration in the early 17th century, reflecting the surname's association with individuals of noteworthy standing in society.

The Winship name crossed the Atlantic with the early settlers in America. One of the influential individuals was Edward Winship, who migrated to the Massachusetts Bay Colony in the early 1600s. Born around 1613, Edward became a noted freeman in the colony and played a fundamental role in the development of Cambridge, Massachusetts, where he passed away in 1688.

The Winship surname continued to spread in the United States and England, with other notable individuals such as William Winship, born in 1780, who contributed to educational reform in 19th-century England. His works and dedication to improving access to education left a lasting impact on the educational landscape during his lifetime.

The legacy of the surname Winship also includes John Winship, an influential American general born in 1845. His military career and contributions to the U.S. Army during and after the Civil War are well documented, reflecting the ongoing prominence of the name in various professional and public spheres.

Through these historical references and individuals bearing the name, the surname Winship showcases a rich and diverse heritage, reflecting its roots in medieval England and its spread across the Atlantic to early American society.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Winship

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

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

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

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!