2000
#7,508
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,090
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.52
Rare Last name
Witham
Derived from a place name meaning "settlement on the River Witham" in Old English.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 4,625 Americans carry the last name Witham. That puts it at #7,894 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.35 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 74,109 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Witham 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 Witham with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
4.6K
1 in 74,109
Census rank
#7,894
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.3
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
4.0K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 4,033 bearers of the surname Witham in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.35 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 7894th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Witham, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.3%) and Hispanic (2.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Witham
The surname Witham is of Anglo-Saxon origin and is believed to have originated in England during the medieval period. It is a locational name, derived from the town of Witham in Essex, which was recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 as "Witham" or "Witeham." The name itself is thought to be derived from the Old English words "wid" or "wudu," meaning "wood," and "ham," meaning "homestead" or "village," suggesting that the name originated from a settlement located in a wooded area.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Witham can be found in the Pipe Rolls of Essex from 1195, where a person named William de Witeham is mentioned. This indicates that the surname was already in use by the late 12th century.
In the 13th century, the name appears in various historical records, including the Hundred Rolls of 1273, where a Robert de Wytham is listed as a resident of Essex. During this period, the name was also associated with a village called "Wytham" in Berkshire, which may have contributed to variations in the spelling of the surname.
Over the centuries, the Witham surname has been borne by several notable individuals, including Sir John Witham (c. 1540-1587), an English soldier and Member of Parliament during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. Another prominent figure was William Witham (1619-1699), an English Catholic priest and scholar who authored several theological works.
In the 18th century, Henry Witham (1779-1844) was a renowned English naturalist and geologist who made significant contributions to the study of fossil plants. His son, Henry T.M. Witham (1812-1884), followed in his footsteps as a prominent geologist and was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society.
The Witham surname has also been associated with several place names, such as Witham Friary in Somerset and Witham-on-the-Hill in Lincolnshire, further emphasizing its locational origins.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Witham
Among Census respondents with the surname Witham, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.3%) and Hispanic (2.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Witham 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 Witham surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.2% · 3,718
- Two or more races3.3% · 135
- Hispanic or Latino2.8% · 114
- Black or African American0.6% · 26
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 24
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 16
Timeline
Historical Census data for Witham
Witham 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
#7,734
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,293
+203 bearers (+5.0%)
Per 100,000 1.46
Rank movement Down 226 places
2020
#7,894
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,033
-260 bearers (-6.1%)
Per 100,000 1.35
Rank movement Down 160 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #7,508 | 4,090 | 1.52 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #7,734 | 4,293 | 1.46 | +203 bearers (+5.0%) | Down 226 places |
| 2020 | #7,894 | 4,033 | 1.35 | -260 bearers (-6.1%) | Down 160 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 Witham 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 | #7,734 | #7,894 | -2.1% |
| Count | 4,293 | 4,033 | -6.1% |
| Per 100K | 1.46 | 1.35 | -7.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Witham bearers went from 4,293 to 4,033 (-6.1% change). The surname moved down 160 positions in the national ranking, going from #7,734 to #7,894.
FAQ
Witham surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Witham?
Name Census estimates that about 4,625 living Americans carry the surname Witham. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 74,109 residents.
How common is Witham?
Witham ranks #7,894 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.35 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 4,033 people with the surname Witham. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (4,625), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.35 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.35 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 Witham.
Has Witham become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Witham went from 4,293 recorded bearers to 4,033. That is a decrease of 260 (-6.1%). In the national ranking it fell from #7,734 to #7,894.
What does the Census say about the background of Witham?
Among Census respondents with the surname Witham, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.3%) and Hispanic (2.8%). 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 Witham in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.2% (3,718 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Witham appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.2%), Two or More Races (3.3%), Hispanic (2.8%). 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 Witham (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 Witham mean?
Derived from a place name meaning "settlement on the River Witham" in Old English. 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 Witham (1.35 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 Americans have the surname Witham?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.