# Washington (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/washington/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. US counts from the Social Security Administration; England and Wales counts from the Office for National Statistics; meaning and etymology from Wiktionary. Data updated 2026-11-11.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Usually given to | boys |
| Origin | English |
| Meaning | “a settlement of the household of *hwæssa”, “belonging to”, “homestead”, “settlement”, “hunt”, “victory”, “wheat” |
| Pronunciation | /ˈwɑʃɪŋtən/, 3 syllables |
| Nicknames | Wash, Wa, Wsh |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |
| US babies named this | 2,644 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 2,644 / 0 (0% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | not in the ONS data |

## Etymology

Washington (the town in Tyne and Wear, northeast England): probably from the Old English place name Hwæssingatūn (literally “a settlement of the household of *Hwæssa”), from *Hwæssa (a Saxon chieftain's name) + -ing (“belonging to”) + tūn (“homestead, settlement”). It was attested in 1096 as Wasindone. *Hwæssa is of uncertain origin, said to possibly correspond to waþ (“hunt”) + sige (“victory”), or possibly related to hwæte (“wheat”). There are other theories; more on Wikipedia. The surname derives from the town, and most places in the United States are named for George Washington.

## What it means

Washington is grouped under victory.

## Popularity

The last 15 years of each series. A year is missing when too few babies were given the name for the agency to publish it: five in the US, three in England and Wales.

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 9 | 8,751 |
| 2011 | 15 | 5,928 |
| 2012 | 13 | 6,613 |
| 2013 | 12 | 6,996 |
| 2014 | 13 | 6,607 |
| 2015 | 11 | 7,467 |
| 2016 | 11 | 7,571 |
| 2017 | 23 | 4,458 |
| 2018 | 12 | 7,105 |
| 2019 | 10 | 8,174 |
| 2020 | 11 | 7,470 |
| 2021 | 6 | 12,061 |
| 2022 | 10 | 8,253 |
| 2023 | 9 | 8,872 |
| 2024 | 8 | 9,819 |

## In other languages

- Arabic: وَاشِنْطُن
- Armenian: Վաշինգտոն
- Bulgarian: Ва́шингтон
- Chinese: 華盛頓 /华盛顿
- Czech: Washington
- Danish: Washington
- Dutch: Washington
- Esperanto: Vaŝingtono
- Estonian: Washington
- Finnish: Washington
- French: Washington
- Georgian: ვაშინგტონი
- German: Washington
- Greek: Ουάσιγκτον, Ουάσινγκτον
- Hebrew: ושינגטון \ וָשִׁינְגְטוֹן
- Hindi: वॉशिंगटन
- Icelandic: Washington
- Japanese: ワシントン
- Korean: 워싱턴, 워싱톤
- Latvian: Vašingtona

## People named Washington

- Washington Irving, American writer, historian and diplomat (1783-1859)
- Washington Stecanela Cerqueira, Brazilian association football player
- Washington Allston, American artist (1779-1843)
- Washington Luiz Mascarenhas Silva, Brazilian association football player
- Washington Luiz Pereira dos Santos, Brazilian association football player
- Washington Luigi Garcia, Brazilian association football player
- Deivid Washington, Brazilian association football player
- George Washington Lambert, Australian artist (1873–1930)
- Washington Rodríguez, boxer
- Washington Cruz, Brazilian priest
- Washington Roebling, American civil engineer (1837–1926)
- Washington Phillips, American musician (1880–1954)

## How to read these numbers

A count is babies registered with that name in that year, not people alive now, so a name common a century ago can have a large total and few recent births.