# Wolfenden (surname)

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

A surname from Old English.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Origin | English |
| Type | place, taken from where an ancestor lived or came from |
| People in the US (2010 Census) | 589 |
| US rank (2010) | 37,735 of 162,253 |
| How often | about 1 in every 524,186 people |
| Change since 2000 | +5.0% (561 in 2000) |
| Pronunciation | /ˈwʌlfəndən/, 3 syllables |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |

## Etymology

Habitational surname from a minor place in Lancashire, from the Old English personal name Wulfhelm, which is composed of the elements wulf (“wolf”) and helm (“helmet; protection”), + denu (“den, valley”).

## Who carries it

Share of people named Wolfenden 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) | 96% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 1.2% |
| Two or more races | 2.0% |

## Similar surnames

Wolfenbarger, Wolfinger, Wilbanks, Wilfong, Willbanks.

## 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.