Wolsey Surname

209,010th
Most Common
surname in the World

Approximately 1,978 people bear this surname

Most prevalent in:
United States
Highest density in:
Northern Ireland

Wolsey Surname Definition:

This surname is derived from the name of an ancestor. 'the son of Wulsi.' At first sight the name seems local, and an abbreviation of Wolseley, which see. A parallel is found in the case of the famous founder of Wesleyanism, whose latest biographer shows that his progenitors were Wellesleys.

Read More About This Surname

Wolsey Surname Distribution Map

PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
United States8181:443,10438,071
Canada4531:81,3379,068
England4131:134,91113,250
Australia681:396,99632,204
Wales541:57,3065,200
Northern Ireland521:35,4813,447
New Zealand431:105,31013,865
Belgium141:821,18966,436
Ecuador121:1,325,48716,904
Scotland101:535,38220,332
Trinidad and Tobago61:227,32910,175
Argentina51:8,548,683204,003
Thailand41:17,659,586685,799
Ireland31:1,569,64617,286
Denmark31:1,881,57267,227
China21:683,660,78330,601
Germany21:40,252,730481,636
Spain21:23,376,018128,922
United Arab Emirates21:4,581,13693,443
Brazil11:214,074,3321,693,628
Mexico11:124,126,205103,776
Zimbabwe11:15,438,240133,260
Austria11:8,515,435118,036
Bahamas11:391,7512,737
Ghana11:27,020,69223,742
India11:767,065,3821,851,717
South Africa11:54,177,704343,732
Malaysia11:29,494,225409,885
Qatar11:2,357,99976,403
Peru11:31,784,12364,452
Nigeria11:177,142,758748,972
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
Ireland291:152,7548,150
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
England1921:126,95511,883
Wales81:196,0527,186
Scotland11:3,743,21632,299
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
United States3181:157,92014,489

Wolsey (130) may also be a first name.

Wolsey Surname Meaning

From Where Does The Surname Originate? meaning and history

This surname is derived from the name of an ancestor. 'the son of Wulsi.' At first sight the name seems local, and an abbreviation of Wolseley, which see. A parallel is found in the case of the famous founder of Wesleyanism, whose latest biographer shows that his progenitors were Wellesleys. But no doubt can exist on the subject. Wolsey is a modern form of the personal name Wolsi or Wulsi. Lower (Patronymica Britannica.), quoting from Fuller's Worthies, reminds me that St. Wulsy was first abbot of Westminster.

William Wulsi, Cambridgeshire, 1273. Hundred Rolls.

1605. Baptised — Israeli's. Israeli Wolsey: St. Dionis Backchurch.

A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames (1896) by Charles Wareing Endell Bardsley

(English) for the common Anglo-Saxon pers. name Wulfsige = Wolf-Victory [Old English wulf + sige, victory] In the 9th-1oth cent. there were three bishops of Sherborne of the name Wulfsige; as well as a bishop of London.

The Domesday-Bk. form was usually Ulsi.

Surnames of the United Kingdom (1912) by Henry Harrison

(English) Descendant of Wulfsige (wolf, victory).

Dictionary of American Family Names (1956) by Elsdon Coles Smith

An ancient personal name. The great sixteenth-century Cardinal was not the first of this designation who was influential at Westminster. Half-a-dozen centuries before his time, flourished Saint Wulsy, first abbot of Westminster, "where he lived many years," says Fuller, "very exemplary for his conversation, until his death, which happened Anno Domini 960. Then was his body buried in the same monastery; and the 26th day of September was kept by the citizens of London with great veneration of his miracle-working memory." Worthies, ii. 420. A Wlsi occurs in Domesday, as an Anglo-Saxon proprietor.

Patronymica Britannica (1860) by Mark Antony Lower

Wolsey Last Name Facts

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

The surname Wolsey is held by more people in The United States than any other country or territory. It may also be found as a variant:. Click here for other possible spellings of Wolsey.

How Common Is The Last Name Wolsey? popularity and diffusion

The surname is the 209,010th most frequently used last name internationally, borne by approximately 1 in 3,684,300 people. The last name Wolsey is mostly found in The Americas, where 66 percent of Wolsey are found; 64 percent are found in North America and 64 percent are found in Anglo-North America. It is also the 814,623rd most common first name in the world It is held by 130 people.

The last name is most prevalent in The United States, where it is borne by 818 people, or 1 in 443,104. In The United States it is most frequent in: Utah, where 20 percent live, Nevada, where 17 percent live and Texas, where 16 percent live. Excluding The United States this last name exists in 30 countries. It is also found in Canada, where 23 percent live and England, where 21 percent live.

Wolsey Family Population Trend historical fluctuation

The occurrence of Wolsey has changed over time. In The United States the number of people bearing the Wolsey surname grew 257 percent between 1880 and 2014; in England it grew 215 percent between 1881 and 2014; in Wales it grew 675 percent between 1881 and 2014; in Scotland it grew 1,000 percent between 1881 and 2014 and in Ireland it contracted 90 percent between 1901 and 2014.

Wolsey Last Name Statistics demography

The religious devotion of those holding the last name is principally Anglican (69%) in Ireland.

In The United States those holding the Wolsey surname are 35.99% more likely to be registered with the Republican Party than the national average, with 82.76% registered to vote for the political party.

The amount Wolsey earn in different countries varies marginally. In United States they earn 5.02% less than the national average, earning $40,982 USD per year and in Canada they earn 2.45% less than the national average, earning $48,464 CAD per year.

Phonetically Similar Names

SurnameSimilarityWorldwide IncidencePrevalency
Woolsey9211,368/
Wollsey925/
Wholsey921/
Wolssey921/
Wolse91239/
Wolsy910/
Woollsey8629/
Whoolsey862/
Woolesey861/
Woolssey860/
Walsey8393/
Volsey8319/
Bolsey8318/
Woolsy834/
Woolse834/
Wollse832/
Wolsse831/
Wolsee831/
Wolese831/
Wolsay830/
Wulsey830/
Wolcey830/
D'Woolsey801/
Wolseth7732/
Wallsey7715/
Woolcey775/
Whoelse774/
Waalsey771/
Woolset771/
Woolsie771/
Woulsay771/
Wolseij771/
Woollsy770/
Woolsay770/
Woolesy770/
Woolsez770/
Whalsey770/
Walse73377/
Bolse7371/
Volse7363/
Wolze7345/
Wolsa7327/
Volsy7318/
Walsy7318/
Wolge7317/
Wolce734/
Bolsy731/
Wolsi731/
Wohleser71121/
Wollseth7115/
Wollesse718/
Wolscher713/
Woolsher711/
Walshe677,395/
Bolese671,225/
Wolsza67471/
Bolsoy67173/
Walsøe67149/
Bolsei67130/
Wohlesser6793/
Woltje6787/
Bolsøy6786/
Bolshe6782/
Bolsee6774/
Walsie6770/
Walese6756/
Welese6755/
Wulser6742/
Volcey6732/
Balsey6731/
Walsoe6731/
Bulsey6717/
Wolzer6715/
Wolges6714/
Boulse6713/
Wolscheid679/
Wahlse679/
Walsea678/
Volgey675/
Wohlge674/
Walezy674/
Woltge673/
Wohlsceid672/
Bolsay672/
Wolshi672/
Volecy671/
Voulse671/
Walesy671/
Walsae671/
Walshy671/
Voolse671/
Wohlsheie671/
Wollce671/
Wolsui671/
Volser671/
Walsei671/
Wolezi671/
Wehleseyi671/
Volssy671/
Volzey671/
Bolsze671/
Wolscheih671/
Wolsou671/
Wolcet670/
Valsey670/
Woljes670/
Woolce670/
Wallse670/
Woolcy670/
Wollshedt670/
Wolzie670/
Welesy670/
Whalsy670/
Wollscher670/
Wollsheid670/

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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 Wolsey
  • 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