2000
#148,244
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 102
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Winsper
A surname derived from the Old English words "winnan" meaning "to win" and "spere" meaning "spear".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 114 Americans carry the last name Winsper. That puts it at #156,005 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 3,006,617 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Winsper 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 Winsper with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
114
1 in 3,006,617
Census rank
#156,005
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
99
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 99 bearers of the surname Winsper in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 156005th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Winsper, the largest self-reported group is White at 97.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.0%) and Black (1.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Winsper
The surname Winsper is believed to originate from England, with its roots traceable to the medieval period. The name is thought to derive from a geographical or locational source, which was a common practice in England during those times. Surnames were often taken from the names of places where families lived or owned land. The etymology suggests a link to Old English elements, possibly referring to a specific feature of the landscape where early bearers of the name resided.
Winsper is not a common surname and does not appear frequently in historical documents, but variations of the name can be found in old English records. One possible root word is "winn," an Old English word meaning "pasture" or "meadow," combined with "per," an old form of "pear" or a reference to a particular type of land feature. Therefore, the name Winsper could originally describe a person who lived near a pear orchard or a specific pasture.
The earliest recorded example of the name Winsper appears in parish registers and early tax records dating back to the late 16th century. A notable mention includes a John Winsper, who was recorded in the Warwickshire parish registers in 1598. The birth, marriage, and death records from this period frequently documented variations in spelling, reflecting the phonetic interpretations of the time.
One historical figure bearing the surname Winsper was Samuel Winsper, born in 1632 in Worcestershire. Samuel later became involved in the local parish activities and is noted in several church records until his death in 1694. Another notable individual was Thomas Winsper, a yeoman documented in property and land records in Staffordshire in the early 1700s, reflecting the surname's spread within the central regions of England.
In the 19th century, the name Winsper continued to appear in regional records. Mary Winsper, born in 1824, is noted in Birmingham census records, having married into a local merchant family. Her lineage provides a clear trace of the name's continuity through generations in the Midlands.
Another distinguished bearer of the Winsper name was Richard Winsper, born in 1784, who was noted for his contributions to local government in the Derbyshire area. Serving as a parish council member, Richard is remembered in records spanning from his birth until his death in 1851.
Finally, records from the late 19th to early 20th century include mention of Alice Winsper (1867-1923), who was a prominent figure in her community for her charitable work and involvement in early educational movements in Birmingham. Alice's contributions to local education reform are documented in several municipal records.
The surname Winsper, while not widely spread, carries a distinctive regional history rooted in the Midlands of England, reflecting a heritage tied to the land and local communities from the medieval period through the early modern era.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Winsper
Among Census respondents with the surname Winsper, the largest self-reported group is White at 97.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.0%) and Black (1.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Winsper 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 Winsper surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White97.0% · 96
- Hispanic or Latino2.0% · 2
- Black or African American1.0% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Winsper
Winsper 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
#156,044
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 104
+2 bearers (+2.0%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 7,800 places
2020
#156,005
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 99
-5 bearers (-4.8%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Up 39 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #148,244 | 102 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #156,044 | 104 | 0.04 | +2 bearers (+2.0%) | Down 7,800 places |
| 2020 | #156,005 | 99 | 0.03 | -5 bearers (-4.8%) | Up 39 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 Winsper 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 | #156,044 | #156,005 | 0.0% |
| Count | 104 | 99 | -4.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.03 | -17.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Winsper bearers went from 104 to 99 (-4.8% change). The surname moved up 39 positions in the national ranking, going from #156,044 to #156,005.
FAQ
Winsper surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Winsper?
Name Census estimates that about 114 living Americans carry the surname Winsper. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 3,006,617 residents.
How common is Winsper?
Winsper ranks #156,005 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 99 people with the surname Winsper. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (114), 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 Winsper.
Has Winsper become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Winsper went from 104 recorded bearers to 99. That is a decrease of 5 (-4.8%). In the national ranking it rose from #156,044 to #156,005.
What does the Census say about the background of Winsper?
Among Census respondents with the surname Winsper, the largest self-reported group is White at 97.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.0%) and Black (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 Winsper in the 2020 Census, accounting for 97.0% (96 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Winsper appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (97.0%), Hispanic (2.0%), Black (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 Winsper (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 Winsper mean?
A surname derived from the Old English words "winnan" meaning "to win" and "spere" meaning "spear". 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 Winsper (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 people share the surname Winsper?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.