The Was surname
In the 2010 U.S. Census, 353 people carried this name — #57,639 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 833,300 people counted. That is down 16% from 422 in 2000.
What the name means
The meaning of the Was surname
From wąs (“moustache”).
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Wąs» (Polish), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.
In Poland’s population register
5,210 people named Was have a registered home in Poland.
Of the 5,687 in Poland’s national register, these are the ones with a permanent address on file. They live in all 16 of Poland’s voivodeships, most of all in Lesser Poland.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they live today
PESEL register, Ministry of Digital Affairs of Poland (dane.gov.pl) — CC0 · living people by voivodeship of permanent residence, 20 January 2026.
In France’s civil register
France’s register of deaths holds 51 people named Was.
12 of them were born outside France. Those born in France came from 10 départements, most often Pas-de-Calais.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they were born
Fichier des personnes décédées, INSEE — Licence Ouverte 2.0 · deaths recorded in France since 1970, by place of birth.
In Belgium’s population register
At least 33 people named Was live in Belgium.
Statbel only publishes a name in a municipality when five or more people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in Limburg.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they live today
Statbel (Statistics Belgium), family names of the population by municipality, 1 January 2026 — CC BY 4.0.
Who carried it
People named Was,
with a public archive behind them.
-
Michal Was 1986– · researcher
Wikidata (CC0).
Nearby in the index
Surnames next to Was.
- Wartel 106 · U.S. census
- Wartelle 106 · U.S. census
- Warter 185 · U.S. census
- Warth 932 · U.S. census
- Warther 126 · U.S. census
- Wary 176 · U.S. census
- Wasielewski 1,551 · U.S. census
- Wasik 1,416 · U.S. census
- Wasilewski 2,204 · U.S. census
- Wasmer 562 · U.S. census
- Wasner 245 · U.S. census
- Wasser 2,099 · U.S. census
When the index is not enough
This page says where Was is.
A volume says what happened to it.
Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.