2000
#123,314
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 129
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Woolfson
A surname originating from the occupational name for a maker or seller of woolen goods.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 134 Americans carry the last name Woolfson. That puts it at #144,270 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,557,868 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Woolfson 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 Woolfson with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
134
1 in 2,557,868
Census rank
#144,270
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
117
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 117 bearers of the surname Woolfson in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 144270th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Woolfson, the largest self-reported group is White at 85.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.3%) and Two or More Races (4.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Woolfson
The surname Woolfson is of Jewish origin and can be traced back to the Ashkenazi Jewish communities of Eastern Europe, particularly within the regions that are now Poland, Lithuania, and Belarus. The name likely appeared around the 18th century or earlier, during a period when Jews in these areas were required to adopt hereditary surnames.
The etymology of Woolfson suggests it is a patronymic surname derived from the Yiddish name Wolf, which itself is of Germanic origin. The suffix -son denotes “son of” and is indicative of the name’s structure, meaning "son of Wolf." The name Wolf was a common Hebrew name and was typically associated with the biblical figure Benjamin, who was compared to a wolf.
In historical records, the name can be seen with various spellings such as Wolfson, Wolffson, and Volfson. These variations are often found in old Jewish communal records, synagogue registries, and immigration documents from the 19th and early 20th centuries. One prominent early mention of a variant of this surname can be found in the tax registers of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in the late 18th century.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with this surname is Abraham Woolfson, born circa 1790, who appears in Lithuanian tax records and is noted as a merchant. Another notable individual is Simon Woolfson, born in 1825 in Warsaw, who emigrated to the United States and became known for his role in the Jewish community of New York City in the late 19th century.
Isaac Woolfson, an influential figure in the early 20th century, was born in 1869 in Belarus and became a recognized philanthropist and community leader in London after immigrating to the United Kingdom. He was instrumental in the establishment of several charitable organizations for Jewish immigrants.
In the scientific community, the name Woolfson is made prominent by Michael Woolfson, born in 1927, an English physicist and crystallographer who made significant contributions to the field of X-ray crystallography and was a recipient of multiple scientific awards throughout his career.
Another significant bearer of the surname is Albert Woolfson, a politician in interwar Poland, born in 1904, who was known for his activism in the Zionist movement and his contributions to Jewish educational reforms in Eastern Europe during the early 20th century.
The surname Woolfson carries a rich history and has been borne by individuals who have made contributions across various fields and regions, reflecting the diverse paths taken by Jewish communities around the world.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Woolfson
Among Census respondents with the surname Woolfson, the largest self-reported group is White at 85.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.3%) and Two or More Races (4.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Woolfson 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 Woolfson surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White85.5% · 100
- Hispanic or Latino4.3% · 5
- Two or more races4.3% · 5
- Black or African American3.4% · 4
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.7% · 2
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Woolfson
Woolfson 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
#125,282
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 137
+8 bearers (+6.2%)
Per 100,000 0.05
Rank movement Down 1,968 places
2020
#144,270
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 117
-20 bearers (-14.6%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 18,988 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #123,314 | 129 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #125,282 | 137 | 0.05 | +8 bearers (+6.2%) | Down 1,968 places |
| 2020 | #144,270 | 117 | 0.04 | -20 bearers (-14.6%) | Down 18,988 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 Woolfson 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 | #125,282 | #144,270 | -15.2% |
| Count | 137 | 117 | -14.6% |
| Per 100K | 0.05 | 0.04 | -21.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Woolfson bearers went from 137 to 117 (-14.6% change). The surname moved down 18,988 positions in the national ranking, going from #125,282 to #144,270.
FAQ
Woolfson surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Woolfson?
Name Census estimates that about 134 living Americans carry the surname Woolfson. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,557,868 residents.
How common is Woolfson?
Woolfson ranks #144,270 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 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 117 people with the surname Woolfson. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (134), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 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 Woolfson.
Has Woolfson become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Woolfson went from 137 recorded bearers to 117. That is a decrease of 20 (-14.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #125,282 to #144,270.
What does the Census say about the background of Woolfson?
Among Census respondents with the surname Woolfson, the largest self-reported group is White at 85.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.3%) and Two or More Races (4.3%). 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 Woolfson in the 2020 Census, accounting for 85.5% (100 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Woolfson appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (85.5%), Hispanic (4.3%), Two or More Races (4.3%). 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 Woolfson (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 Woolfson mean?
A surname originating from the occupational name for a maker or seller of woolen goods. 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 Woolfson (0.04 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 Woolfson?
See how common the surname Woolfson is on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.