Explore the Family Name Wardwell

The meaning of Wardwell

English: perhaps a variant of Wardle or a habitational name from a place called Wordwell in Suffolk, probably named with an Old English wride ‘bend’ + well ‘stream’.

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

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

Based on the Decennial U.S. Census data, the surname Wardwell has seen a slight decrease in popularity between 2000 and 2010. In 2000, it was ranked 16,655th most common surname, but by 2010 it had dropped slightly to 16,894th, a change of -1.44%. However, despite a drop in rank, the actual count of people with this surname increased from 1,583 in 2000 to 1,686 in 2010, a growth of 6.51%. The proportion per 100,000 people also saw a minor reduction, going from 0.59 in 2000 to 0.57 in 2010, marking a -3.39% change.

	2000	2010	Change
Rank	#16,655	#16,894	-1.44%
Count	1,583	1,686	6.51%
Proportion per 100k	0.59	0.57	-3.39%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Wardwell

When considering the ethnic identity associated with the surname Wardwell, there have been some fluctuations over the decade based on the Decennial U.S. Census data. The largest ethnic group, White, saw a marginal decrease from 96.21% in 2000 to 95.31% in 2010. Asian/Pacific Islander and Hispanic groups both saw increases, from 0.57% to 0.71% and 0.82% to 1.07%, respectively. One of the most notable changes was within the Black community, which experienced a significant increase from 0.38% in 2000 to 1.19% in 2010, an astounding change of 213.16%. Conversely, the percentage of individuals identifying as Two or more races and American Indian and Alaskan Native both decreased, with the latter group seeing a -21.05% change.

	2000	2010	Change
White	96.21%	95.31%	-0.94%
Two or More Races	1.64%	1.42%	-13.41%
Black	0.38%	1.19%	213.16%
Hispanic	0.82%	1.07%	30.49%
Asian/Pacific Islander	0.57%	0.71%	24.56%
American Indian and Alaskan Native	0.38%	0.3%	-21.05%