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

Word, 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 Word surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Word in America

Word is the 5628th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Word surname appeared 6,177 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 2 people would have the surname Word.

We can also compare 2010 data for Word 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 Word

The surname WORD is of Anglo-Saxon origin and is thought to have derived from the Old English word "worð" or "wurð", meaning an enclosed homestead or dwelling place. It is believed to have first emerged in the region of Wiltshire, England, during the 8th or 9th century.

The earliest recorded use of the name WORD can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as "Worthe" and "Wurthe". These entries refer to landholders in the counties of Wiltshire and Dorset. During the Middle Ages, the name was also spelled as "Worde", "Wurde", and "Wurde".

One of the earliest known bearers of the name was Richard Wurthe, who was mentioned in the Pipe Rolls of Gloucestershire in 1207. In the 13th century, John atte Wurthe was recorded in the Subsidy Rolls of Worcestershire in 1275.

The name WORD is also associated with several place names in England, such as Worth in Kent, Worthing in Sussex, and Worthington in Lancashire. These place names likely influenced the spelling and pronunciation of the surname over time.

Among notable historical figures with the surname WORD, there was Sir William Worde (c. 1480-1542), who was a prominent English printer and publisher during the Renaissance period. He is known for publishing works by famous authors like Thomas Malory and John Lydgate.

Another notable bearer of the name was Sir Edward Worde (1554-1636), an English diplomat and Member of Parliament during the reign of King James I. He served as the English ambassador to Denmark and Sweden.

In the 18th century, Thomas Word (1728-1798) was a renowned English architect and surveyor, known for his work on several country houses and estates in Wiltshire and Somerset.

The surname WORD was also borne by William Worde (1779-1859), an English clergyman and antiquarian who published several works on the history and antiquities of Wiltshire and the surrounding areas.

In the 20th century, Sir Wilfred Word (1904-1991) was a distinguished British civil servant and diplomat who served as the Ambassador to the United Nations from 1963 to 1968.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Word

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

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

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

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