Explore the Family Name Wilding

The meaning of Wilding

1. English: from a Middle English survival of unattested Old English Wilding, a derivative of wilde ‘wild’, used both as a personal name and as a nickname; compare Wildman. 2. German: patronymic from Wilto, a short form of an ancient Germanic personal name beginning with wild ‘wild’.

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

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

Based on data from the Decennial U.S. Census, the surname Wilding has seen a slight increase in popularity in the United States between 2000 and 2010. In 2000, its rank was 14,292, and by 2010 it had climbed to 14,030, marking an increase of 1.83%. Simultaneously, the count of individuals with the surname Wilding rose by 11.71%, from 1,922 to 2,147. The proportion per 100,000 people also saw an increase, moving from 0.71 to 0.73.

	2000	2010	Change
Rank	#14,292	#14,030	1.83%
Count	1,922	2,147	11.71%
Proportion per 100k	0.71	0.73	2.82%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Wilding

The census data also provides interesting insights into the ethnic identity associated with the Wilding surname. As per the Decennial U.S. Census, a majority of people with this surname identified as White in both 2000 and 2010, with an increase of 2.13% over the decade. However, there were notable shifts in other ethnicities. The percentage of those identifying as Black decreased significantly by 54.61%, while the Hispanic representation increased by 15.07%. The proportions of those identifying as Asian/Pacific Islander and American Indian and Alaskan Native were previously suppressed but began to appear in 2010. Conversely, the proportion of those identifying with two or more races decreased by 24.42%.

	2000	2010	Change
White	92.3%	94.27%	2.13%
Black	4.01%	1.82%	-54.61%
Hispanic	1.46%	1.68%	15.07%
Two or More Races	1.72%	1.3%	-24.42%
Asian/Pacific Islander	0%	0.61%	0%
American Indian and Alaskan Native	0%	0.33%	0%