Explore the Family Name Wish

The meaning of Wish

1. English: topographic name for someone who lived by a water meadow or marsh, from an unattested Middle English wishe, from Old English wisce ‘marshy meadow’ or perhaps wisse ‘meadow, marsh’. 2. Americanized form of German Wisch.

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

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

The surname 'Wish' was ranked 43,232 in popularity according to the 2000 Decennial U.S. Census and dropped slightly to a rank of 47,966 by 2010. This represents a decrease in popularity of approximately 10.95%. The number of individuals who identified with the surname 'Wish' also decreased from 471 in 2000 to 441 in 2010, a reduction of roughly 6.37%. Moreover, the representation of this surname per 100,000 people fell by about 11.76% during the same period.

	2000	2010	Change
Rank	#43,232	#47,966	-10.95%
Count	471	441	-6.37%
Proportion per 100k	0.17	0.15	-11.76%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Wish

Ethnically, people bearing the 'Wish' surname showed some changes between 2000 and 2010, as revealed by the Decennial U.S. Census data. The majority identified as White, accounting for 93.84% in 2000 and a slightly higher percentage of 93.88% in 2010. Those identifying as Hispanic represented 1.70% in 2000 and increased to 2.49% in 2010. Individuals who identified as belonging to two or more races also saw growth from 1.27% to 2.27% over the decade. However, the percentage of those identifying as Black decreased significantly from 2.76% in 2000 to 1.13% in 2010. No individuals identified as Asian/Pacific Islander or American Indian and Alaskan Native in either year.

	2000	2010	Change
White	93.84%	93.88%	0.04%
Hispanic	1.7%	2.49%	46.47%
Two or More Races	1.27%	2.27%	78.74%
Black	2.76%	1.13%	-59.06%
Asian/Pacific Islander	0%	0%	0%
American Indian and Alaskan Native	0%	0%	0%