How common is the surname Wolfe?

83,928 people in the United States had the surname Wolfe in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 3,679 Americans. It ranked 374th of 162,253 surnames.

Who is the most famous person named Wolfe?

Thomas Wolfe, American writer, followed by Tom Wolfe.

Where is the surname Wolfe most common?

Wikidata records people named Wolfe in the United States and the Kingdom of Great Britain.

Is the surname Wolfe getting more or less common?

More common. 83,112 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 83,928 in 2010, up 1.0%.

Is Wolfe also a first name?

Yes. Wolfe is used as a first name as well as a surname; its first-name page has the meaning and how many babies were given it.

The surname Wolfe

A patronymic surname, carried by 83,928 people in the United States.

1 syllable Soundex W410

Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). Wolfe is more common than 99.8% of them.

Origin

A surname transferred from the given name of English and German origin, a variant of Wolf.

Wolfe is a patronymic surname: formed from a father’s (or ancestor’s) given name.

Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

How common it is

2010 US Census

There were 83,928 people named Wolfe in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 3,679 Americans. That is up 1.0% since 2000, when the Census counted 83,112.

#374

rank among US surnames

83,928

people in 2010

per 100,000 Americans

+1%

change since 2000 (was #337)

Rank	Surname	People	1 in
#365	Benson	86,081	3,587
#366	Haynes	85,974	3,591
#367	Horton	85,195	3,624
#368	Miles	84,942	3,635
#369	Lyons	84,516	3,653
#370	Pham	84,320	3,662
#371	Graves	84,179	3,668

Who is named Wolfe

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

91% of people named Wolfe identified as white (not Hispanic), 3.6% as Black (not Hispanic) and 2.1% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).

White (not Hispanic) 91%
Black (not Hispanic) 3.6%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 2.1%
Two or more races 1.7%
American Indian and Alaska Native 1.4%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.5%

Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

Famous Wolfes

20 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

Thomas Wolfe
American writer, 1900–1938
Tom Wolfe
American author and journalist (1930–2018)
James Wolfe
British Army officer (1727–1759)
Gene Wolfe
American science fiction and fantasy writer (1931–2019)
Whitney Wolfe Herd
American businesswoman, born 1989
Madison Wolfe
American actress, born 2002
Chelsea Wolfe
American singer-songwriter, born 1983
Ian Wolfe
American actor (1896-1992)
Collette Wolfe
American actress, born 1980
Julia Wolfe
American composer (born 1958)
Rowland Wolfe
American gymnast (1914–2010)
George C. Wolfe
American playwright (born 1954)

Notable Wolfes come mostly from the United States (19) and the Kingdom of Great Britain (1).

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Surnames that sound like Wolfe

Wolfe has the Soundex code W410, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code W410.

Questions

How common is the surname Wolfe?: 83,928 people in the United States had the surname Wolfe in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 3,679 Americans. It ranked 374th of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname Wolfe?: In the 2010 Census, 91% of people named Wolfe identified as white (not Hispanic), and 3.6% as Black (not Hispanic).
Who is the most famous person named Wolfe?: Thomas Wolfe, American writer, followed by Tom Wolfe.
Where is the surname Wolfe most common?: Wikidata records people named Wolfe in the United States and the Kingdom of Great Britain.
What type of surname is Wolfe?: Wolfe is a patronymic surname, formed from a father’s (or ancestor’s) given name.
Is the surname Wolfe getting more or less common?: More common. 83,112 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 83,928 in 2010, up 1.0%.
Is Wolfe also a first name?: Yes. Wolfe is used as a first name as well as a surname; its first-name page has the meaning and how many babies were given it.