2000
#2,822
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 11,631
First available Census row
Per 100,000 4.31
Uncommon Last name
Wylie
Derived from a place name meaning "temple", or from a nickname meaning "tricky" or "wily" in Scottish.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 12,945 Americans carry the last name Wylie. That puts it at #3,108 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 3.78 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 26,478 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Wylie 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 Wylie with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
13K
1 in 26,478
Census rank
#3,108
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
3.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
11K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 11,289 bearers of the surname Wylie in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 3.78 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 3108th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Wylie, the largest self-reported group is White at 79.1%. The next largest groups are Black (10.8%) and Two or More Races (4.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Wylie
The surname WYLIE has its origins in Scotland, with the earliest recorded examples dating back to the 12th century. The name is derived from the Old English word "wil," which means "willow," and the suffix "-ey," which denotes a place name, suggesting that the original bearers of the name likely lived near a willow tree or in a place where willows grew abundantly.
One of the earliest known references to the name can be found in the Ragman Rolls of 1296, a collection of Scottish landowners' oaths of allegiance to Edward I of England. The name appears as "Wyly" in this record. The name is also mentioned in the Exchequer Rolls of Scotland in the 14th century, where it is spelled "Wylie."
The WYLIE surname is closely associated with the county of Lanarkshire in Scotland, particularly the areas around Glasgow and Hamilton. In the 16th century, the name was commonly found in records from these regions, often spelled as "Wyllie" or "Wylly."
Notable historical figures with the surname WYLIE include Andrew Wylie (1789-1851), a Scottish-born Canadian Presbyterian minister and educator who played a crucial role in establishing the Presbyterian Church in Canada. Another prominent individual was William Wylie (1768-1828), a Scottish-American political figure who served as a United States Representative from Virginia.
Other notable bearers of the WYLIE surname include:
1. James Wylie (1768-1854), a Scottish minister and historian best known for his work "The History of the Reformation in Scotland."
2. Samuel Brown Wylie (1773-1828), an American Presbyterian minister and educator who served as the Vice President of the University of Pennsylvania.
3. Andrew Wylie III (1789-1851), a Scottish-born Canadian Presbyterian minister and educator, considered the "Father of the Presbyterian Church in Canada."
4. John Wylie (1837-1923), a Scottish-born American businessman and politician who served as the Mayor of Columbus, Ohio.
5. Ida Alexa Ross Wylie (1885-1959), a Canadian writer and journalist known for her works on Canadian history and culture.
The WYLIE surname has also been associated with various place names in Scotland, such as Wyliesmill, a village in South Lanarkshire, and Wyliehole, a location in West Lothian. These place names further reinforce the connection between the surname and the willow tree or willow-growing areas.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Wylie
Among Census respondents with the surname Wylie, the largest self-reported group is White at 79.1%. The next largest groups are Black (10.8%) and Two or More Races (4.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Wylie 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 Wylie surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White79.1% · 8,929
- Black or African American10.8% · 1,224
- Two or more races4.8% · 539
- Hispanic or Latino3.8% · 430
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 93
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 74
Timeline
Historical Census data for Wylie
Wylie 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
#2,993
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 11,975
+344 bearers (+3.0%)
Per 100,000 4.06
Rank movement Down 171 places
2020
#3,108
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 11,289
-686 bearers (-5.7%)
Per 100,000 3.78
Rank movement Down 115 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #2,822 | 11,631 | 4.31 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #2,993 | 11,975 | 4.06 | +344 bearers (+3.0%) | Down 171 places |
| 2020 | #3,108 | 11,289 | 3.78 | -686 bearers (-5.7%) | Down 115 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 Wylie 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 | #2,993 | #3,108 | -3.8% |
| Count | 11,975 | 11,289 | -5.7% |
| Per 100K | 4.06 | 3.78 | -7.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Wylie bearers went from 11,975 to 11,289 (-5.7% change). The surname moved down 115 positions in the national ranking, going from #2,993 to #3,108.
FAQ
Wylie surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Wylie?
Name Census estimates that about 12,945 living Americans carry the surname Wylie. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 26,478 residents.
How common is Wylie?
Wylie ranks #3,108 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 3.78 per 100,000 residents, which is about 4 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 11,289 people with the surname Wylie. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (12,945), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 3.78 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 3.78 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 4 of them to have the surname Wylie.
Has Wylie become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Wylie went from 11,975 recorded bearers to 11,289. That is a decrease of 686 (-5.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #2,993 to #3,108.
What does the Census say about the background of Wylie?
Among Census respondents with the surname Wylie, the largest self-reported group is White at 79.1%. The next largest groups are Black (10.8%) and Two or More Races (4.8%). 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 Wylie in the 2020 Census, accounting for 79.1% (8,929 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Wylie appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (79.1%), Black (10.8%), Two or More Races (4.8%). 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 Wylie (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 Wylie mean?
Derived from a place name meaning "temple", or from a nickname meaning "tricky" or "wily" in Scottish. 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 Wylie (3.78 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 Wylie?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.