Why Surname

1,111,382nd
Most Common
surname in the World

Approximately 219 people bear this surname

Most prevalent in:
England
Highest density in:
England

Why Surname Definition:

1 for Quy, q.v.

2 fur Wye, q.v.

Why Surname Distribution Map

PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
England1471:379,03426,619
Malaysia211:1,404,48759,312
South Africa171:3,186,924115,449
Papua New Guinea111:741,24783,447
Iran71:10,968,932186,522
Indonesia31:44,083,065698,220
Liberia21:2,204,26840,131
Afghanistan21:16,076,59243,178
China21:683,660,78330,601
Canada21:18,422,796409,488
Pakistan11:178,643,885213,220
Israel11:8,557,634182,558
DR Congo11:73,879,570260,543
South Sudan11:11,415,0763,182
Wales11:3,094,53244,023
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
England1731:140,89812,691
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
United States461:1,091,71163,103

Why (1,456) may also be a first name.

Why Surname Meaning

From Where Does The Surname Originate? meaning and history

1 for Quy, q.v.

2 fur Wye, q.v.

Surnames of the United Kingdom (1912) by Henry Harrison

A name found in the Registrar-General's List. It seems to be corrupted from Wy, Gui, Guy (whence Wyat, Wyatt, Wyot, Wiatt, Guyot, Guiot, Wyon, Guyon, Wiart); formed from William.

Ludus Patronymicus (1868) by Richard Stephen Charnock

Why Last Name Facts

Where Does The Last Name Why Come From? nationality or country of origin

The surname Why is borne by more people in England than any other country or territory. It can be rendered as a variant:. Click here for further potential spellings of this surname.

How Common Is The Last Name Why? popularity and diffusion

Why is the 1,111,382nd most prevalent family name on a worldwide basis It is held by around 1 in 33,276,465 people. This surname occurs mostly in Europe, where 68 percent of Why reside; 68 percent reside in Northern Europe and 68 percent reside in British Isles. It is also the 204,378th most frequently used first name in the world It is held by 1,456 people.

The surname Why is most frequent in England, where it is held by 147 people, or 1 in 379,034. In England Why is mostly concentrated in: Berkshire, where 19 percent are found, Greater London, where 19 percent are found and Dorset, where 8 percent are found. Outside of England Why exists in 14 countries. It is also common in Malaysia, where 10 percent are found and South Africa, where 8 percent are found.

Why Family Population Trend historical fluctuation

The prevalency of Why has changed through the years. In England the number of people who held the Why last name fell 15 percent between 1881 and 2014.

Why Last Name Statistics demography

Why earn more than double the average income. In South Africa they earn 112.04% more than the national average, earning R 503,892 per year.

Phonetically Similar Names

SurnameSimilarityWorldwide IncidencePrevalency
Wahy86424/
Whay86197/
Whey8660/
Whoy8611/
Wohy864/
Whjy861/
Whyd861/
Whuy861/
Whyi861/
Whyp861/
Wuhy861/
Wy80604/
Wahay75150/
Wahyi75132/
Whych7528/
Wahyd7525/
Wuhyi7515/
Wahey7512/
Whytt7510/
Hwehy759/
Wahys755/
Whypp753/
Vwhiy751/
Wahiy751/
Whiey751/
Whhuy751/
Whytz750/
Whoey750/
Way6746,255/
Wey676,103/
Weh673,369/
Woy671,627/
Wha67379/
Wih67189/
Wiy67170/
Wuy67114/
Whi6798/
Vhy6745/
Whe6733/
Wyy6714/
Waheye6713/
Wjh6712/
Wyß6711/
Hby6711/
Hwy678/
Wahydh677/
Wyi677/
Whj675/
Waahay673/
Vwy673/
Hvy673/
Wyh673/
Wjy672/
Whaytt672/
Wwy672/
Wáy671/
Wéh671/
Wchouy671/
Whydth671/
Wuhaya671/

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Footnotes

  • Surnames are taken as the first part of an person's inherited family name, caste, clan name or in some cases patronymic
  • Descriptions may contain details on the name's etymology, origin, ethnicity and history. They are largely reproduced from 3rd party sources; diligence is advised on accepting their validity - more information
  • Name distribution statistics are generated from a global database of over 4 billion people - more information
  • Heatmap: Dark red means there is a higher occurrence of the name, transitioning to light yellow signifies a progressively lower occurrence. Clicking on selected countries will show mapping at a regional level
  • Rank: Name are ranked by incidence using the ordinal ranking method; the name that occurs the most is assigned a rank of 1; name that occur less frequently receive an incremented rank; if two or more name occur the same number of times they are assigned the same rank and successive rank is incremented by the total preceeding names
  • Ethnic group cannot necessarily be determined by geographic occurrence
  • Similar: Names listed in the "Similar" section are phonetically similar and may not have any relation to Why
  • To find out more about this surname's family history, lookup records on Family​Search, My​Heritage, FindMyPast and Ancestry. Further information may be obtained by DNA analysis