Why is the last name "Washington" so uncommon among White Americans ?

Question

George Washington was the first President and you would think that today, there would be many Caucasians with the last name just like Johnson, Jones, Murphy, Gibson, etc. And although I've never met a White Washington, I know a few Black ones.

Answer 1

Well, according to recent census report, Washington is the #90 most common last name, about 0.092% of last names in the US. It does not however mention how many Washingtons are African Americans.

As far as the many African-American Washingtons you know... it appears that is a result of the Emancipation Act. "After the conclusion of the Civil War, one of the first things that many freed slaves did was cast aside the names that had been forced upon them by their former masters and adopt new names that reflected their freedom. What the newly freed slaves didn't do was revert to their ancestral names. They were often second- and third-generation descendants of the people who first came to the U.S., and the traditions and cultures of their native countries were long forgotten. Nor was there much new information coming from Africa that could be used to restore their heritage. Given the racial bias that was so strongly in place, the incentive was much greater to use names that were generally accepted and in broad use than those that were too far out of the ordinary."

Answer 2

Washington never had any legally recognized children.

With the end of the Civil War, slaves -- whose surnames, if they had one, indicated their ownership -- were able to choose names of their own. At the time, Washington was probably the best-known and revered name a person could take.

When the African American Civil War Memorial, which lists the names of the more than 200,000 United States Colored Troops who served in the war, was unveiled in Washington in 1998, Edwin Washington of the Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society calculated that 1,885 of those soldiers were named Washington. Nearly half of them were named George Washington. Another 15 were named General Washington.

Why so few white Washingtons? It wasn't that common a name to begin with in early America.

Answer 3

nicely first u want to make constructive that its now to not uncommon or unique because it makes them extra weak to be made relaxing off. attempt those african names because i got here from zimbabwe that is on of the african 2 the south. My call is Tanyaradwa meaning 2 convenience. yet human beings call me tanya that would nicely be ur toddler females names. For a boy african call u could attempt Tinashe it means that ur are with the lord. Or different like Nayasa or Manyara lady names. and Mufaro for boys. i wish u and ur toddler nicely have a life complete of happiness.

Answer 4

Me too....I have always wondered that.