It most frequently refers to George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States of America.

It later gained prominence due to General (later president) George Washington.

In addition to the genealogical origin and spread of the surname, it was also (as with Abraham Lincoln and other persons associated with abolition of slavery in America) a favored assumed surname of freed slaves and thus a widely spread surname among the black population of the United States.

Washington as a male given name is derived from the surname.

It is particularly popular in the United States and South America, evoking the memory of George Washington.