# Winchester (surname)

Source: https://namelineage.com/surname/winchester/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. Counts from the US Census Bureau; origin and etymology from Wiktionary; bearers from Wikidata. Data updated 2026-11-11.

A habitational surname from Old English.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Origin | Latin |
| Type | place, taken from where an ancestor lived or came from |
| People in the US (2010 Census) | 10,480 |
| US rank (2010) | 3,413 of 162,253 |
| How often | about 1 in every 29,460 people |
| Change since 2000 | +2.8% (10,199 in 2000) |
| Pronunciation | /ˈwɪnt͡ʃɛstə(ɹ)/, 3 syllables |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |

## Etymology

From Middle English Wynchester, Winchestre, from Old English Wintanċeaster, from Latin Venta Belgārum (literally “Venta of the Belgae”), perhaps ultimately from Proto-Celtic *wentā (“town, place”), Proto-Indo-European *h₁wen- (“place (?)”) + Old English ċeaster, from Latin castra (“camp”). The bottle is named for the former customary units of the English city. The rifle is named after American businessman Oliver Winchester (1810–1880). The computer disk is named for the rifle.

## Who carries it

Share of people named Winchester in the 2010 US Census by the Census's own race and ethnicity groups. The Census suppresses a share when the count behind it is small.

| Group | Share |
|---|---|
| White (not Hispanic) | 78% |
| Black (not Hispanic) | 15% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 2.1% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 0.8% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 1.1% |
| Two or more races | 2.3% |

## Where

Wikidata records people named Winchester in the United States.

## People named Winchester

- Philip Winchester, American stage actor, television actor and film actor
- Oliver Winchester, American businessman and politician (1810-1880)
- Sarah Winchester, American heiress and occultist (1839–1922)
- Jesse Winchester, American-Canadian singer-songwriter, producer
- Jacarra Winchester, American wrestler (1992-)
- Brad Winchester, American ice hockey player
- Lem Winchester, American recording artist, vibraphonist, jazz musician, police officer (1928–1961)

## Similar surnames

Winquist.

## How to read these numbers

A Census count is people alive and counted in 2010, not births, and names occurring fewer than 100 times are not published at all. Ethnicity shares are the Census's own categories.