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 last name Why is more commonly found in England than any other country or territory. It may appear in the variant forms:. For other potential spellings of Why click here.

How Common Is The Last Name Why? popularity and diffusion

The surname Why is the 1,111,382nd most widespread surname throughout the world It is held by approximately 1 in 33,276,465 people. The last name is mostly found in Europe, where 68 percent of Why are found; 68 percent are found in Northern Europe and 68 percent are found in British Isles. It is also the 204,378th most common forename worldwide, held by 1,456 people.

It is most widespread in England, where it is borne by 147 people, or 1 in 379,034. In England it is most frequent in: Berkshire, where 19 percent live, Greater London, where 19 percent live and Dorset, where 8 percent live. Besides England Why is found in 14 countries. It is also found in Malaysia, where 10 percent live and South Africa, where 8 percent live.

Why Family Population Trend historical fluctuation

The incidence of Why has changed through the years. In England the number of people who held the Why last name declined 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