2000
#5,410
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,926
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.20
Rare Last name
Word
An occupational surname for a poet, writer, or scribe, derived from the Old English "wyrhta" meaning "worker" or "shaper."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 6,779 Americans carry the last name Word. That puts it at #5,654 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.98 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 50,561 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Word 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 Word with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
6.8K
1 in 50,561
Census rank
#5,654
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
5.9K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 5,912 bearers of the surname Word in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.98 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 5654th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Word, the largest self-reported group is White at 55.1%. The next largest groups are Black (35.2%) and Two or More Races (4.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Word
Among Census respondents with the surname Word, the largest self-reported group is White at 55.1%. The next largest groups are Black (35.2%) and Two or More Races (4.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Word 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 Word surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White55.1% · 3,256
- Black or African American35.2% · 2,080
- Two or more races4.9% · 292
- Hispanic or Latino3.8% · 225
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 33
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 26
Timeline
Historical Census data for Word
Word 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
#5,628
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,177
+251 bearers (+4.2%)
Per 100,000 2.09
Rank movement Down 218 places
2020
#5,654
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,912
-265 bearers (-4.3%)
Per 100,000 1.98
Rank movement Down 26 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #5,410 | 5,926 | 2.20 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #5,628 | 6,177 | 2.09 | +251 bearers (+4.2%) | Down 218 places |
| 2020 | #5,654 | 5,912 | 1.98 | -265 bearers (-4.3%) | Down 26 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 Word 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 | #5,628 | #5,654 | -0.5% |
| Count | 6,177 | 5,912 | -4.3% |
| Per 100K | 2.09 | 1.98 | -5.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Word bearers went from 6,177 to 5,912 (-4.3% change). The surname moved down 26 positions in the national ranking, going from #5,628 to #5,654.
FAQ
Word surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Word?
Name Census estimates that about 6,779 living Americans carry the surname Word. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 50,561 residents.
How common is Word?
Word ranks #5,654 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.98 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 5,912 people with the surname Word. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (6,779), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.98 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.98 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Word.
Has Word become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Word went from 6,177 recorded bearers to 5,912. That is a decrease of 265 (-4.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #5,628 to #5,654.
What does the Census say about the background of Word?
Among Census respondents with the surname Word, the largest self-reported group is White at 55.1%. The next largest groups are Black (35.2%) and Two or More Races (4.9%). 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 Word in the 2020 Census, accounting for 55.1% (3,256 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Word appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (55.1%), Black (35.2%), Two or More Races (4.9%). 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 Word (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 Word mean?
An occupational surname for a poet, writer, or scribe, derived from the Old English "wyrhta" meaning "worker" or "shaper." 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 Word (1.98 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 have the surname Word?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.