Explore the Family Name Wadhams

The meaning of Wadhams

English: variant of Wadham, with post-medieval excrescent -s, a habitational name from Wadham in Knowstone (Devon). The placename derives from the Old English personal name Wada or Old English wād ‘woad’ + hām ‘village, homestead’ or hamm ‘water meadow’. Wadham College, Oxford, was founded in 1610 by Dorothy Wadham, widow of Nicholas Wadham (died 1609), a wealthy Somerset landowner.

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

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

According to the Decennial U.S. Census data, the popularity of the surname Wadhams saw a slight decrease between 2000 and 2010. In 2000, it ranked 54,766th in terms of commonality but dropped to 56,073rd by 2010, representing a 2.39% decline. However, the actual number of people with this surname increased from 352 in 2000 to 365 in 2010, marking a 3.69% growth. Despite this increase, the proportion per 100k people marginally reduced by 7.69%.

	2000	2010	Change
Rank	#54,766	#56,073	-2.39%
Count	352	365	3.69%
Proportion per 100k	0.13	0.12	-7.69%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Wadhams

In terms of ethnic identity, the Decennial U.S. Census indicates that the majority of individuals with the Wadhams surname identified as White, although there was a slight decrease in this percentage from 97.44% in 2000 to 95.89% in 2010. Interestingly, the census reported individuals identifying as belonging to two or more races for the first time in 2010, making up 1.64%. There were no changes in the other ethnic categories including Asian/Pacific Islander, Hispanic, Black, and American Indian and Alaskan Native, either due to absence or suppression of data for privacy purposes.

	2000	2010	Change
White	97.44%	95.89%	-1.59%
Two or More Races	0%	1.64%	0%
Asian/Pacific Islander	0%	0%	0%
Hispanic	0%	0%	0%
Black	0%	0%	0%
American Indian and Alaskan Native	0%	0%	0%