Explore the Family Name Widdows
The meaning of Widdows
English: 1. sometimes a variant of the now extinct name Wid(d)ow, usually, with post-medieval excrescent -s but occcasionally perhaps with Middle English genitival -s (compare Widdowson). It derives from Middle English widwe, wedewe, wodewe (Old English widewe, wuduwe) ‘widow or widower, a person of either gender whose spouse has died and who has not remarried’. The female sense of the word was always commoner than the male sense, which has now died out, but the male sense is more likely to have given rise to the hereditary surname Widow. 2. most often a variant of Woodhouse, a commoner name than that in 1 above. The two names were easily confused due to the loss of medial /h/ in local pronunciation.
Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.
How common is the last name Widdows in the United States?
Based on the Decennial U.S. Census data, the surname Widdows saw a decrease in its popularity between 2000 and 2010. In 2000, the surname was ranked 53,420th and held by 363 individuals while by 2010 it fell to the rank of 56,836 with 359 bearers. This represents a decline in popularity by 6.39% and a decrease in count by 1.1%. The proportion of persons named Widdows per 100,000 also dwindled from 0.13 to 0.12, a change of -7.69%.
| 2000 | 2010 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #53,420 | #56,836 | -6.39% |
| Count | 363 | 359 | -1.1% |
| Proportion per 100k | 0.13 | 0.12 | -7.69% |
Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Widdows
In terms of ethnicity, according to the Decennial U.S. Census data, the Widdows surname is primarily associated with people of White ethnic identity. In both 2000 and 2010, this group accounted for over 97% of the individuals with this surname, increasing marginally from 97.52% to 97.77%. A new development was observed in 2010 when the surname began to be associated with the Hispanic ethnicity, accounting for 1.67% of the total. There were no records of the surname among Asian/Pacific Islander, Black, American Indian and Alaskan Native populations, or those identifying with two or more races during these years.
| 2000 | 2010 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| White | 97.52% | 97.77% | 0.26% |
| Hispanic | 0% | 1.67% | 0% |
| Asian/Pacific Islander | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Two or More Races | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Black | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| American Indian and Alaskan Native | 0% | 0% | 0% |