Explore the Family Name Wherry

The meaning of Wherry

English (Cornwall and Lincolnshire): from Middle English weri ‘weary’. Compare Weary. The name has in some areas, especially Eastern England, been influenced by Middle English whery ‘wherry, rowing barge’.

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

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

The surname Wherry ranking in popularity dipped slightly between the 2000 and 2010 Decennial U.S. Census data, moving from a rank of 13,333 to 14,014, which represents a decrease of 5.11%. Despite this, the count of individuals with the Wherry name increased by 2.48%, growing from 2,097 to 2,149 individuals. This resulted in a slight reduction in proportion per 100,000 people from 0.78 to 0.73, marking a decrease of 6.41%.

	2000	2010	Change
Rank	#13,333	#14,014	-5.11%
Count	2,097	2,149	2.48%
Proportion per 100k	0.78	0.73	-6.41%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Wherry

As evidenced by the Decennial U.S. Census data, changes in the ethnic identity associated with the Wherry surname were observed between 2000 and 2010. In terms of notable increases, those identifying as two or more races rose significantly from 1.34% to 2.56%, an impressive growth of 91.04%. Also, the Hispanic representation experienced a significant increase of 67.32%, moving from 1.53% to 2.56%. Although the White ethnicity remained dominant at 65.98%, it saw a decrease of 6.06% from 2000's 70.24%. The Black ethnicity increased slightly from 26.28% to 28.29%, a change of 7.65%. The 2010 data also marked the first inclusion of Asian/Pacific Islander and American Indian and Alaskan Native categories, each constituting 0.37% and 0.23% respectively.

	2000	2010	Change
White	70.24%	65.98%	-6.06%
Black	26.28%	28.29%	7.65%
Two or More Races	1.34%	2.56%	91.04%
Hispanic	1.53%	2.56%	67.32%
Asian/Pacific Islander	0%	0.37%	0%
American Indian and Alaskan Native	0%	0.23%	0%