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

Wyse, 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 Wyse surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Wyse in America

Wyse is the 12613th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Wyse surname appeared 2,454 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Wyse.

We can also compare 2010 data for Wyse 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 Wyse

The surname Wyse is of Anglo-Saxon origin and is derived from the Old English word "wis", meaning wise or learned. It is believed to have originated in England during the 8th or 9th century and was likely used as a descriptive nickname for someone who was considered wise or knowledgeable.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Wyse can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, which was a comprehensive survey of land ownership in England commissioned by William the Conqueror. The name is listed as "Wise" and is associated with various locations across the country.

In the 13th century, the name appeared in various forms, such as "Wyse", "Wise", and "Wyce", in various historical records and manuscripts. Some of these records include the Hundred Rolls of 1273, which listed individuals named "Gaufrid le Wise" and "Adam le Wise".

During the 14th century, the name began to take on a more consistent spelling of "Wyse". One notable individual from this period was John Wyse, a wealthy merchant from Bristol who lived from around 1320 to 1395. He was known for his involvement in the wool trade and for his charitable donations to the city.

In the 16th century, the Wyse family had established themselves as landowners in various parts of England, particularly in the counties of Somerset and Devon. One prominent member of the family was Andrew Wyse, born in 1535, who served as a member of Parliament for the borough of Bridgwater in Somerset.

Another noteworthy individual with the surname Wyse was Sir Thomas Wyse, born in 1791, who was an Irish politician, diplomat, and writer. He served as a member of the British Parliament and was also involved in various diplomatic missions to Greece and Turkey.

Throughout history, the Wyse surname has also been associated with various place names, such as Wyse's Green in Hertfordshire and Wyseby in Lincolnshire. These place names likely originated from individuals with the surname Wyse who lived or owned land in those areas.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Wyse

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

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

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

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!