2000
#12,705
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,232
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.83
Rare Last name
Wycoff
An English toponymic surname derived from a place name meaning "dairy farm" or "settlement in a wood".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,390 Americans carry the last name Wycoff. That puts it at #13,878 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.70 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 143,412 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Wycoff 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.
Bearers in the US
2.4K
1 in 143,412
Census rank
#13,878
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.1K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,084 bearers of the surname Wycoff in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.70 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 13878th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Wycoff, the largest self-reported group is White at 80.6%. The next largest groups are Black (8.9%) and Two or More Races (4.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Wycoff
The surname WYCOFF is of Dutch origin, emerging from the Netherlands during the late medieval period. It is believed to be derived from the Dutch phrase "wijk hof," which translates to "village court" or "outlying farm." This suggests that the name may have initially referred to someone who lived on the outskirts of a village or owned a farmstead in a remote area.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name WYCOFF can be found in the Dutch province of North Holland, where it appeared in various municipal records dating back to the 16th century. The name was most commonly spelled as "Wijckhoff" or "Wyckhoff" during this time, reflecting the regional dialect and pronunciation.
In the late 17th century, several individuals bearing the WYCOFF surname immigrated to the Dutch colony of New Netherland, which later became part of the British colonies and eventually the United States. One notable early bearer of the name was Cornelis Wycoff, who arrived in New Amsterdam (present-day New York City) around 1655 and later settled in what is now Brooklyn.
As the WYCOFF family spread across the American colonies and later the United States, the spelling of the name evolved to its current form. Variations such as "Wyckoff" and "Wyckhoff" were also used, but "WYCOFF" eventually became the predominant spelling.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the WYCOFF surname. One of the earliest was Jacob Wycoff (1744-1820), a farmer and militia officer who served in the American Revolutionary War. Another was William Henry WYCOFF (1852-1935), an American businessman and philanthropist who founded the WYCOFF House Museum in Monmouth County, New Jersey.
In the field of literature, the writer and critic Gertrude WYCOFF (1889-1954) gained recognition for her work on the Harlem Renaissance and her friendship with prominent authors such as Langston Hughes and Zora Neale Hurston. More recently, the artist and sculptor John WYCOFF (1924-2018) gained recognition for his abstract expressionist works and his involvement in the New York art scene of the 1950s and 1960s.
While the WYCOFF surname is most closely associated with the Netherlands and the United States, it has also been found in other parts of the world, likely due to migration and intermarriage. Regardless of its geographic distribution, the name continues to carry a rich history and connection to its Dutch roots and the early settlement of the American colonies.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Wycoff
Among Census respondents with the surname Wycoff, the largest self-reported group is White at 80.6%. The next largest groups are Black (8.9%) and Two or More Races (4.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Wycoff 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 Wycoff surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White80.6% · 1,680
- Black or African American8.9% · 185
- Two or more races4.9% · 103
- Hispanic or Latino4.6% · 95
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 19
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Wycoff
Wycoff 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
#13,682
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,213
-19 bearers (-0.9%)
Per 100,000 0.75
Rank movement Down 977 places
2020
#13,878
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,084
-129 bearers (-5.8%)
Per 100,000 0.70
Rank movement Down 196 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #12,705 | 2,232 | 0.83 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #13,682 | 2,213 | 0.75 | -19 bearers (-0.9%) | Down 977 places |
| 2020 | #13,878 | 2,084 | 0.70 | -129 bearers (-5.8%) | Down 196 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 Wycoff 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 | #13,682 | #13,878 | -1.4% |
| Count | 2,213 | 2,084 | -5.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.75 | 0.70 | -7.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Wycoff bearers went from 2,213 to 2,084 (-5.8% change). The surname moved down 196 positions in the national ranking, going from #13,682 to #13,878.
FAQ
Wycoff surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Wycoff?
Name Census estimates that about 2,390 living Americans carry the surname Wycoff. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 143,412 residents.
How common is Wycoff?
Wycoff ranks #13,878 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.70 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 2,084 people with the surname Wycoff. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,390), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.7 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.70 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 Wycoff.
Has Wycoff become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Wycoff went from 2,213 recorded bearers to 2,084. That is a decrease of 129 (-5.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #13,682 to #13,878.
What does the Census say about the background of Wycoff?
Among Census respondents with the surname Wycoff, the largest self-reported group is White at 80.6%. The next largest groups are Black (8.9%) 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 Wycoff in the 2020 Census, accounting for 80.6% (1,680 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Wycoff appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (80.6%), Black (8.9%), 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 Wycoff (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 Wycoff mean?
An English toponymic surname derived from a place name meaning "dairy farm" or "settlement in a wood". 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 Wycoff (0.70 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 Wycoff?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.