Explore the Family Name Medway

The meaning of Medway

English (southern): 1. habitational name from one or other of numerous minor places called Meadway (from Old English mǣd ‘meadow’ + weg ‘way, path, road’), such as that in Winfrith Newburgh (Dorset). 2. topographic name from the river Medway (Kent and Sussex). The river name may derive from words based on Indo-European medhu ‘middle’ and wis-, weis- ‘water’.

Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.

How common is the last name Medway in the United States?

The popularity of the surname Medway has seen a slight increase according to data from the Decennial U.S. Census. In 2000, Medway ranked 146,011 in terms of popularity, while by 2010 it had climbed to 136,449, marking a 6.55% change. The count of individuals carrying the Medway surname also increased from 104 in 2000 to 123 in 2010, representing an 18.27% growth. However, proportionally, per 100,000 people, the presence of the name remained steady at 0.04.

	2000	2010	Change
Rank	#146,011	#136,449	6.55%
Count	104	123	18.27%
Proportion per 100k	0.04	0.04	0%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Medway

In terms of ethnicity, the Decennial U.S. Census data reveals that the Medway surname is predominantly associated with people of White ethnic identity. In 2000, 98.08% of those with the Medway surname identified as White, although this percentage slightly decreased to 94.31% by 2010. Interestingly, the data shows a rise in the Hispanic representation among individuals with the Medway surname, growing from 0% in 2000 to 4.88% in 2010. Other ethnic identities such as Asian/Pacific Islander, Black, and American Indian and Alaskan Native were either not represented or suppressed for privacy in the census data.

	2000	2010	Change
White	98.08%	94.31%	-3.84%
Hispanic	0%	4.88%	0%
Asian/Pacific Islander	0%	0%	0%
Two or More Races	0%	0%	0%
Black	0%	0%	0%
American Indian and Alaskan Native	0%	0%	0%