Explore the Family Name Wedge
The meaning of Wedge
English: from Middle English weğğe ‘wedge, nail, coin’ in some undetermined sense, perhaps also used as a personal name. Some early spellings may represent Wagg and its Norfolk variant Wegg, because -gg- in Middle English can be ambiguous between the hard /g/ and soft /dʒ/ pronunciations.
Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.
How common is the last name Wedge in the United States?
The surname Wedge experienced a slight decrease in popularity from 2000 to 2010, according to the Decennial U.S. Census. In 2000, the surname ranked 11,943rd most popular and dropped to 12,566th by 2010; this indicates a change of -5.22%. The number of individuals carrying the Wedge surname, however, increased slightly from 2,400 in 2000 to 2,463 in 2010, showing a growth of 2.63%. Despite the increase in count, its proportion per 100k people dipped by -6.74% over the same period.
| 2000 | 2010 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #11,943 | #12,566 | -5.22% |
| Count | 2,400 | 2,463 | 2.63% |
| Proportion per 100k | 0.89 | 0.83 | -6.74% |
Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Wedge
As for the ethnic identity associated with the surname Wedge, the Decennial U.S. Census data shows a majority of persons identified as White, although there was a marginal drop from 90.17% in 2000 to 89.28% in 2010. The percentage of those identifying as Black also saw a minor decline from 5.83% to 5.77%. However, the Hispanic representation grew notably from 1.50% to 2.11%, marking a 40.67% change. Those identifying with two or more races saw a small increase from 1.75% to 1.87%. Notably, both Asian/Pacific Islander and American Indian and Alaskan Native representations were recorded in 2010 at 0.69% and 0.28% respectively, after having been suppressed in 2000 for privacy reasons.
| 2000 | 2010 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| White | 90.17% | 89.28% | -0.99% |
| Black | 5.83% | 5.77% | -1.03% |
| Hispanic | 1.5% | 2.11% | 40.67% |
| Two or More Races | 1.75% | 1.87% | 6.86% |
| Asian/Pacific Islander | 0% | 0.69% | 0% |
| American Indian and Alaskan Native | 0% | 0.28% | 0% |