Explore the Family Name Unwin

The meaning of Unwin

English (West Yorkshire): 1. from the Middle English personal name Unwine (Old English Hūnwine, from hūn ‘bear-cub’ + wine ‘friend’). There may have been some confusion with Onion and Union. 2. nickname from Old English unwine ‘unfriend, i.e. enemy’.

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

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

Based on the Decennial U.S. Census, the popularity of the surname Unwin experienced a slight decline between 2000 and 2010. Ranked 33,993 in 2000, it dropped to the 35,016th position in 2010, marking a change of -3.01%. However, the actual count of individuals bearing this surname increased from 632 in 2000 to 644 in 2010, an increase of 1.9%. The proportion per 100,000 residents decreased by -4.35% over the same period.

	2000	2010	Change
Rank	#33,993	#35,016	-3.01%
Count	632	644	1.9%
Proportion per 100k	0.23	0.22	-4.35%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Unwin

The ethnic identity associated with the surname Unwin underwent minor shifts during the first decade of the 21st century, as reported by the Decennial U.S. Census. The largest group remained those identifying as White, although their percentage dipped slightly from 92.88% in 2000 to 92.08% in 2010. An upward trend was noticeable among those identifying as Asian/Pacific Islander, increasing by 17.72% to reach 0.93% in 2010. Similarly, the proportion identifying as Hispanic and those reporting two or more races both saw increases, of 3.16% and 4.64% respectively. Meanwhile, no individuals with the surname Unwin identified as Black, American Indian, or Alaskan Native in either year.

	2000	2010	Change
White	92.88%	92.08%	-0.86%
Hispanic	3.16%	3.26%	3.16%
Two or More Races	2.37%	2.48%	4.64%
Asian/Pacific Islander	0.79%	0.93%	17.72%
Black	0%	0%	0%
American Indian and Alaskan Native	0%	0%	0%