How common is the surname Way?

14,157 people in the United States had the surname Way in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 21,809 Americans. It ranked 2,552nd of 162,253 surnames.

What ethnicity is the surname Way?

In the 2010 Census, 80% of people named Way identified as white (not Hispanic), and 12% as Black (not Hispanic).

Who is the most famous person named Way?

Gerard Way, American singer (born 1977), followed by Mikey Way.

Where is the surname Way most common?

Wikidata records people named Way in the United States and the United Kingdom.

Is the surname Way getting more or less common?

Less common. 14,222 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 14,157 in 2010, down 0.5%.

The surname Way

A surname, carried by 14,157 people in the United States.

1 syllable Soundex W000

Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). Way is more common than 98.4% of them.

Origin

A surname.

Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

How common it is

2010 US Census

There were 14,157 people named Way in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 21,809 Americans. That is about the same as in 2000, when the Census counted 14,222.

#2,552

rank among US surnames

14,157

people in 2010

4.8

per 100,000 Americans

-0.5%

change since 2000 (was #2,334)

Rank	Surname	People	1 in
#2,543	Baughman	14,230	21,697
#2,544	Ryder	14,228	21,700
#2,545	Lombardi	14,227	21,701
#2,546	Weiner	14,208	21,730
#2,547	Mota	14,182	21,770
#2,548	Villasenor	14,180	21,773
#2,549	Breen	14,170	21,789

Who is named Way

Race and Hispanic origin as people reported it in the 2010 Census

80% of people named Way identified as white (not Hispanic), 12% as Black (not Hispanic) and 2.5% as Asian and Pacific Islander.

White (not Hispanic) 80%
Black (not Hispanic) 12%
Asian and Pacific Islander 2.5%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 2.5%
Two or more races 1.8%
American Indian and Alaska Native 0.9%

Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

Famous Ways

7 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

Gerard Way
American singer (born 1977)
Mikey Way
American bass guitarist, born 1980
Danny Way
American professional Skateboarder, born 1974
Katharine Way
American physicist, 1902–1995
Pete Way
British bassist (1950–2020)
Lindsey Way
American bassist, born 1976
Soulja Boy
American rapper and record producer (born 1990)

Notable Ways come mostly from the United States (6) and the United Kingdom (1).

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Surnames that sound like Way

Way has the Soundex code W000, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code W000.

Questions

How common is the surname Way?: 14,157 people in the United States had the surname Way in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 21,809 Americans. It ranked 2,552nd of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname Way?: In the 2010 Census, 80% of people named Way identified as white (not Hispanic), and 12% as Black (not Hispanic).
Who is the most famous person named Way?: Gerard Way, American singer (born 1977), followed by Mikey Way.
Where is the surname Way most common?: Wikidata records people named Way in the United States and the United Kingdom.
Is the surname Way getting more or less common?: Less common. 14,222 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 14,157 in 2010, down 0.5%.