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

Winters, 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 Winters surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Winters in America

Winters is the 766th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Winters surname appeared 44,914 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 15 people would have the surname Winters.

We can also compare 2010 data for Winters 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 Winters

The surname Winters is of English origin and is thought to have derived from the old English word "winter," which referred to the coldest season of the year. The name likely originated as a descriptive nickname for someone who lived through particularly harsh winters or was associated with cold weather conditions.

The earliest known record of the surname Winters dates back to the 13th century in the county of Yorkshire, England. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Hundred Rolls of 1273, where a Roger Wynter was mentioned.

In the 14th century, the surname appeared in various forms, such as Wynter, Wintre, and Wyntur, reflecting the variations in spelling common during that time period. The name was also associated with certain place names, such as Winterbourne and Winterton, which may have influenced its development.

In the Domesday Book, a great survey of England commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086, there is no direct mention of the surname Winters. However, the book does reference several place names that contain the word "winter," suggesting that the name may have existed in some form during that era.

One of the earliest known individuals to bear the surname Winters was Sir John Wyntres (c. 1310-1376), a prominent English judge and Chief Baron of the Exchequer during the reign of Edward III.

Another notable figure with the surname Winters was William Wyntres (c. 1460-1535), an English clergyman who served as the Archdeacon of Suffolk and the Archdeacon of Sudbury in the early 16th century.

In the literary world, the name Winters is associated with the English poet and playwright Thomas Dekker (c. 1572-1632), who wrote the famous play "The Shoemaker's Holiday" in 1599. Although his surname was Dekker, one of the characters in the play was named Simon Eyre, a shoemaker who adopted the nickname "Winters."

During the 17th century, the surname Winters gained further recognition with individuals such as Robert Winters (1615-1685), an English politician who served as a Member of Parliament for Lincolnshire.

In the 18th century, the name was carried by John Winters (1723-1789), an American soldier and frontiersman who fought in the French and Indian War and the American Revolutionary War.

As the centuries progressed, the surname Winters continued to be found throughout England and its colonies, with various individuals making their mark in different fields, including politics, literature, and the military.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Winters

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

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

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

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