Waters Surname Origin, Meaning & Last Name History - Forebears

• NamesForenamesSearch 30 million given namesSurnamesSearch 31 million family namesBaby Name GeneratorChoose the best name for your childMost Popular NamesBy country & year of birth
• Places

• LoginRemember meLogin Forgot password?
• Account
• Register

• Distribution
• Meaning
• Demographics
• Similar
• Transliteration
• Reference

Waters Surname

3,960th Most Commonsurname in the World

Approximately 141,535 people bear this surname

Most prevalent in: United StatesHighest density in: Wales

Waters Surname Definition:

This surname is derived from the name of an ancestor. the son of Walter.' Middle English Water, Old French Wauter and Watier.

'My name is Walter Whitmore. How now! why start'st thou? what! doth death affright? Suffolk. Thy name affrights me, in whose sound is death.

Read More About This Surname

Waters Surname Distribution Map

By incidenceBy incidenceBy frequencyBy rankFullscreen

• 2014
• 1901
• 1881
• 1880

Sort resultsIncidence (high to low)Incidence (low to high)Alphabetic A-ZAlphabetic Z-ARank (high to low)Rank (low to high)

Place	Incidence	Frequency	Rank in Area
United States	93,545	1:3,875	421
England	19,296	1:2,888	386
Australia	13,768	1:1,961	252
Canada	4,053	1:9,091	1,354
Ireland	2,211	1:2,130	400
Wales	1,996	1:1,550	149
New Zealand	1,816	1:2,494	350
South Africa	1,331	1:40,705	5,224
Scotland	895	1:5,982	966
Saudi Arabia	318	1:97,031	14,320
Namibia	239	1:10,081	1,938
Germany	197	1:408,657	37,472
Thailand	154	1:458,691	80,467
Spain	122	1:383,213	21,260
Northern Ireland	114	1:16,185	2,152
Dominican Republic	108	1:96,601	4,209
Argentina	97	1:440,654	33,272
Netherlands	93	1:181,583	25,939
Nicaragua	88	1:68,421	1,626
Singapore	73	1:75,448	3,146
France	68	1:976,805	110,007
Zimbabwe	62	1:249,004	26,834
Brazil	55	1:3,892,261	106,836
India	50	1:15,341,308	250,737
Sweden	39	1:252,481	17,476
Philippines	35	1:2,892,521	138,859
Nigeria	34	1:5,210,081	134,475
Switzerland	32	1:256,654	21,165
Peru	31	1:1,025,294	19,244
Belgium	29	1:396,436	41,978
Mexico	28	1:4,433,079	27,489
Portugal	28	1:372,080	12,265
Costa Rica	27	1:177,040	2,395
Denmark	27	1:209,064	16,975
China	25	1:54,692,863	2,965
Norway	25	1:205,691	23,411
Isle of Man	23	1:3,731	815
Guernsey	22	1:2,929	767
Russia	22	1:6,551,048	261,263
Israel	21	1:407,506	32,346
Jersey	19	1:5,221	1,083
United States Virgin Islands	18	1:6,132	931
Iraq	16	1:2,188,853	19,343
Japan	16	1:7,990,268	43,922
Austria	13	1:655,033	58,041
Italy	13	1:4,704,361	107,811
Malaysia	13	1:2,268,787	89,138
Bermuda	12	1:5,440	820
Hong Kong	12	1:611,290	3,500
Liberia	10	1:440,854	21,753
Bahrain	9	1:149,845	5,469
Ghana	9	1:3,002,299	11,581
Morocco	9	1:3,830,678	54,497
Panama	9	1:434,695	8,518
South Korea	9	1:5,693,362	993
Czechia	8	1:1,329,184	91,312
United Arab Emirates	8	1:1,145,284	40,289
Ecuador	7	1:2,272,264	23,377
Iran	7	1:10,968,932	186,522
Poland	7	1:5,429,821	146,768
Qatar	6	1:393,000	55,922
Finland	5	1:1,099,340	45,512
Georgia	5	1:749,109	21,598
Afghanistan	4	1:8,038,296	30,874
Algeria	4	1:9,657,888	64,782
Indonesia	4	1:33,062,298	643,618
Kuwait	4	1:950,174	18,811
Malta	4	1:107,568	1,849
Oman	4	1:921,993	7,313
Uzbekistan	4	1:7,732,286	43,643
Belarus	3	1:3,167,020	121,664
Greece	3	1:3,693,263	126,191
Jamaica	3	1:956,649	10,513
Saint Lucia	3	1:59,594	2,472
Trinidad and Tobago	3	1:454,658	14,297
Turkey	3	1:25,940,474	162,557
Ukraine	3	1:15,174,232	372,501
Bangladesh	2	1:79,678,386	25,993
Colombia	2	1:23,887,036	32,612
Egypt	2	1:45,967,877	132,655
Guatemala	2	1:8,041,334	9,698
Pakistan	2	1:89,321,942	157,560
Sri Lanka	2	1:10,404,280	18,448
Venezuela	2	1:15,102,038	69,873
Andorra	1	1:83,838	2,381
Antigua and Barbuda	1	1:99,171	2,137
Azerbaijan	1	1:9,649,122	47,873
Bahamas	1	1:391,751	2,737
Barbados	1	1:287,448	2,772
British Virgin Islands	1	1:31,594	1,029
Bulgaria	1	1:6,978,905	86,260
Cayman Islands	1	1:63,893	2,384
Cyprus	1	1:884,876	13,055
East Timor	1	1:1,215,928	507
Estonia	1	1:1,321,804	40,178
Fiji	1	1:894,391	4,568
Gambia	1	1:1,923,451	1,043
Gibraltar	1	1:33,954	1,660
Honduras	1	1:8,816,442	9,272
Hungary	1	1:9,816,277	73,288
Ivory Coast	1	1:23,071,232	76,679
Kazakhstan	1	1:17,682,496	204,010
Kenya	1	1:46,179,900	103,372
Laos	1	1:6,588,323	1,961
Lebanon	1	1:5,637,083	32,436
Luxembourg	1	1:580,542	15,155
Maldives	1	1:404,172	7,269
Mali	1	1:16,969,035	4,067
Nauru	1	1:11,879	452
Palestine	1	1:4,548,849	18,388
Puerto Rico	1	1:3,550,139	9,109
Romania	1	1:20,077,870	89,414
Saint Kitts and Nevis	1	1:55,199	1,294
Slovakia	1	1:5,336,450	140,422
Sudan	1	1:37,510,195	14,259
Taiwan	1	1:23,444,746	93,622
Uganda	1	1:39,039,279	258,887
Vanuatu	1	1:263,276	2,086
Vietnam	1	1:92,646,054	8,382

Show All Nations

Place	Incidence	Frequency	Rank in Area
Ireland	1,744	1:2,540	476

Sort resultsIncidence (high to low)Incidence (low to high)Alphabetic A-ZAlphabetic Z-ARank (high to low)Rank (low to high)

Place	Incidence	Frequency	Rank in Area
England	9,934	1:2,454	348
Wales	1,115	1:1,407	101
Scotland	1,007	1:3,717	607
Jersey	11	1:4,717	830
Isle of Man	4	1:13,567	1,192
Guernsey	2	1:16,328	1,834

Place	Incidence	Frequency	Rank in Area
United States	18,076	1:2,778	312

Waters (326) may also be a first name.

Waters Surname Meaning

From Where Does The Surname Originate? meaning and history

This surname is derived from the name of an ancestor. the son of Walter.' Middle English Water, Old French Wauter and Watier.

'My name is Walter Whitmore. How now! why start'st thou? what! doth death affright? Suffolk. Thy name affrights me, in whose sound is death. A cunning man did calculate my birth, And told me that by Water I should die.': 2 Henry VI, Act iv. sc. 1.

'The account of Wattare Taylor and Wyllyam Partrynge, benge churchewardens': Churchwardens Accounts, Ludlow, 1541, Cam. Soc.

Wauter de Cornwaille, 1313. Writs of Parliament.

Alicia Wartson, 1379: Poll Tax of Yorkshire.

Johannes Wauterson, 1379: ibid.

John Waterson, Yorkshire: Deposition from York Castle (Surtees Society).

1579- Judith, d. of Water Arksone, stranger: St. Dionis Backchurch (London).

1563. Baptised — William, son of Water Lancaster: St. Antholin (London).

— Buried — Water Right, servant to Richard Clarke: ibid.

1588. Margaret Watterson, of Cartmell: Lancashire Wills at Richmond.

Married — Edward Waterson and Jane Harrison: St. Michael, Cornhill.

— A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames (1896) by Charles Wareing Endell Bardsley

Forms of 'Walters,' 'son of Walter.' which see. Alison Walters in Fishweicke, 1676 (Lauder). Sergeant-Major Watters distinguished himself in the first Great War and was promoted to captain.

— The Surnames of Scotland (1946) by George Fraser Black (1866-1948)

A form of Walters, q.v., the form doubtless being mainly due to the French homogenetic Wauter, Waut(h)ier.

The occurrence of Waters as the name of noblemen in two ballads in (among others) the Percy collection, viz. ‘Young Waters’ and ‘Child Waters' (see the quot. under Child(e), suggests that the -s in some cases is not the English genit. but the Old French formative (nom.) suff., as in “li quens Gualters” (the Count Walter) of the 'Chanson de Roland’, 1. 800. ‘Child Waters’ was translated into German with the title ‘Graf [Earl] Walter.’

— Surnames of the United Kingdom (1912) by Henry Harrison

In addition to English settler families of this name it is also a synonym of several Gaelic-Irish surnames e.g. Hiskey, Whoriskey etc. Sometimes, too, it — with or without the prefix Mac-is a variant of MacWalter.

Bibl; MIF 241

— A Guide to Irish Names (1964) by Edward MacLysaght

(Welsh, English) Descendant of Walter (rule, folk), the early pronunciation of the name; dweller near the stream or lake.

— Dictionary of American Family Names (1956) by Elsdon Coles Smith

In some dialects, the word water is applied to lakes and rivers, as Ullswater, Derwent-water, Black-water. Upon the adoption of surnames by the common people, a person who resided near such a place would be called William or John Atte-Water, still retained in Attwater; but on the omission of the preposition in the XV. century, the name was pluralized to Waters. The latinizations are De Aqua and Ad Aquam. See Water.

— Patronymica Britannica (1860) by Mark Antony Lower

Local. A name given to one who navigated the waters, or resided near them.

— An Etymological Dictionary of Family and Christian Names (1857) by William Arthur

From the Flemish, Wauters; a personal name.

— British Family Names: Their Origin and Meaning (1903) by Henry Barber

The surname Watson literally means ‘son of Wat’. The first name Wat is a diminutive of the first name Walter (as in Wat Tyler, the leader of the Peasants’ Revolt during the reign of Richard II). This derivation arose because in medieval times the usual pronunciation of Walter was Water.

The first name Walter derives from the Old German name Waldhari. This is made up of two words-‘wald’ meaning ‘rule’, and ‘hari’ meaning ‘army’. So some original Walters may have been war leaders.

The first name Walter came to England with the Norman Conquest and appears frequently as a first name in the Domesday Book (where it was invariably Latinised to Walterius). Right through to the mid-seventeenth century it was more customary to pronounce this first name Water, and in consequence the popular diminutive Wat (or Watt) gave rise to that surname.

Other variations of names from the first-name source of Walter include Watts (short for Watson) and Watmough (‘Walter’s brother-in-law’). Waters (short for Walter’s son, derived from the early pronunciation of the surname as Waters) is also a derivation from a place name for a ‘dweller by the water or stream’.

The surname Watson is widespread throughout the land, but appears most numerously in the north of England and the southern Scottish counties.

The earliest appearance of the name Watson in the records is in the 1324 Rolls for the Manor of Wakefield in Yorkshire, when one Richard Watson is listed.

Watsons and Watts have excelled in many fields of science. The Scottish inventor James Watt (1736—1819) is generally credited with the invention of the steam engine, for which he was granted a patent in 1769; the watt, a unit of power, is named after him and he also coined the term ‘horsepower’; another of his inventions was the duplicating machine, to make quick copies of his records. Another Scotsman, the physicist Sir Robert Alexander Watson-Watt (1892—1973) was knighted in 1942 for his role in the development of radar (Radio Detection And Ranging), a device for locating aircraft which played a vital part in the defence of Britain against German bombing raids in World War II. Another, Dr Thomas A. Watson, worked as assistant to Alexander Graham Bell when he made the first trans-Atlantic telephone call in 1915. The American geneticist, James D. Watson (b. 1928), won a Nobel Prize in 1962 for his crucial role in the discovery of the molecular structure of DNA, the vital constituent in the genetic process.

In August 1965 Watts Riot in the Los Angeles ghetto (35,000 inhabitants) was the first big race riot in American history. Five days of burning, shooting and looting left 34 dead, 200 buildings destroyed and led to 3,900 arrests.

Charles Watson-Wentworth, Marquis of Rockingham (1730— 82), made a large bet that he could drive a coach and horses at full gallop through the eye of a needle. He then craftily built a 40-foot obelisk with a large opening at the base and won the wager. The ‘Needle’s Eye Folly’ still stands at Wentworth in Yorkshire as a memorial to his ingenuity.

English clergyman Isaac Watts (1674—1748) wrote hundreds of hymns, including ‘O God Our Help in Ages Past’ and ‘When I Survey the Wondrous Cross’.

British-born chemist Richard Watson (1737—1816) was credited with saving the government £100,000 in 1787 with his improvements to gunpowder.

Places and geographic features named for Watson are rare. There are none in the United Kingdom, one each in Canada and Australia (towns called Watson), while the United States has 3 towns so named along with a Watsonton and a Watsonville. No major mountains are so named and only a few bodies of water: Canada’s Watson lake and Watson river and Australia’s Watson bay.

With about 118,000 namesakes Watson is the 43rd most popular surname in England and Wales. There are over 21,000 Watsons in Scotland where it is 17th in popularity. Watson is notably popular in and around Edinburgh where an estimated one in about 195 families bears the name. In descending numerical order Teesside, Glasgow and Leeds are other Watson strongholds. Around the world Watsons are most common in Wellington (one in 562 families), Canberra (one in 605) and Auckland (one in 607). The United States has more Watsons than the entire population of Derby-an estimated total of just over 252,000 makes this their 71st most popular surname.

— Peter VerstappenSubmit the Meaning of This Surname for a Chance To Win a $60 Genealogy DNA TestDNA test informationDisplay Statistics on:

• Average Salary in:CanadaCanadaEnglandNorthern IrelandNorwayPeruScotlandSouth AfricaUnited StatesWales
• Height:EarthEarth
• Religious Adherence in:IrelandIreland
• Political Affiliation in:United StatesUnited States

Waters Demographics

Waters Political Affiliationin United States

Sample size: 19,038 (2014)

United StatesAverage

View the most partisan surnames in The United States

Waters Last Name Facts

Where Does The Last Name Waters Come From? nationality or country of origin

The surname Waters (Arabic: لاترز) is more commonly found in The United States than any other country or territory. It can also appear as:. Click here for further potential spellings of this last name.

How Common Is The Last Name Waters? popularity and diffusion

This surname is the 3,960th most widespread family name internationally, borne by around 1 in 51,489 people. This last name is mostly found in The Americas, where 64 percent of Waters live; 64 percent live in North America and 63 percent live in Anglo-North America. Waters is also the 485,722nd most numerous first name in the world It is held by 326 people.

The surname is most frequently occurring in The United States, where it is borne by 93,545 people, or 1 in 3,875. In The United States Waters is most common in: Georgia, where 12 percent are found, California, where 7 percent are found and Florida, where 7 percent are found. Apart from The United States it is found in 118 countries. It is also found in England, where 14 percent are found and Australia, where 10 percent are found.

Waters Family Population Trend historical fluctuation

The occurrence of Waters has changed through the years. In The United States the number of people bearing the Waters surname rose 518 percent between 1880 and 2014; in England it rose 194 percent between 1881 and 2014; in Ireland it rose 127 percent between 1901 and 2014; in Wales it rose 179 percent between 1881 and 2014 and in Scotland it decreased 11 percent between 1881 and 2014.

Waters Last Name Statistics demography

The religious devotion of those holding the surname is predominantly Catholic (89%) in Ireland.

In The United States those holding the Waters surname are 17.28% more likely to be registered Republicans than The US average, with 64.05% registered with the party.

The amount Waters earn in different countries varies greatly. In Norway they earn 18.04% less than the national average, earning 283,642 kr per year; in Peru they earn 425.43% more than the national average, earning S/. 101,855 per year; in South Africa they earn 34.62% more than the national average, earning R 319,920 per year; in United States they earn 2.33% less than the national average, earning $42,142 USD per year and in Canada they earn 10.37% more than the national average, earning $54,836 CAD per year.

Phonetically Similar Names

Sort resultsIncidence (high to low)Incidence (low to high)Alphabetic A-ZAlphabetic Z-ASimilarity (high to low)Similarity (low to high)Prevalent jurisdiction A-ZPrevalent jurisdiction Z-A

Surname	Similarity	Worldwide Incidence	Prevalency
Watters	92	27,071	/
Wauters	92	12,212	/
Waiters	92	2,297	/
Waeters	92	41	/
Wuaters	92	9	/
Wathers	92	9	/
Waûters	92	5	/
Wateers	92	4	/
Watiers	92	2	/
Watersd	92	2	/
Wayters	92	1	/
Wwaters	92	1	/
Waterse	92	1	/
Watears	92	1	/
Water's	92	1	/
Weaters	92	0	/
Wasters	92	0	/
Whaters	92	0	/
Weathers	86	19,625	/
Wauthers	86	14	/
Waithers	86	11	/
Waitters	86	10	/
Weahters	86	3	/
Waethers	86	2	/
Weatehrs	86	2	/
Wattters	86	1	/
Watterrs	86	1	/
Wautters	86	1	/
Weatters	86	1	/
Whathers	86	0	/
Watthers	86	0	/
Washters	86	0	/
Vaters	83	875	/
Woters	83	63	/
Baters	83	45	/
Weters	83	5	/
Watyrs	83	1	/
Wators	83	0	/
Watars	83	0	/
Wheathers	80	18	/
Watersová	80	9	/
Weatherss	80	2	/
Waschters	80	1	/
Weauthers	80	1	/
Weahthers	80	1	/
Wouters	77	33,267	/
Wooters	77	1,450	/
Bauters	77	1,392	/
Batters	77	905	/
Wetters	77	399	/
Wethers	77	340	/
Wothers	77	194	/
Vauters	77	151	/
Vasters	77	107	/
Bathers	77	93	/
Weiters	77	79	/
Weyters	77	35	/
Weuters	77	24	/
Beaters	77	12	/
Baiters	77	10	/
Wotters	77	4	/
Woeters	77	3	/
Wheters	77	2	/
Vahters	77	1	/
Wojters	77	1	/
Vatters	77	1	/
Whoters	77	1	/
Weeters	77	1	/
Wattars	77	0	/
Wattors	77	0	/
Wosters	77	0	/
Wuiters	77	0	/
Wouterse	71	731	/
Weijters	71	362	/
Weithers	71	296	/
Woutersz	71	286	/
Whethers	71	55	/
Weysters	71	44	/
Whetters	71	41	/
Weisters	71	30	/
Woutters	71	25	/
Wootters	71	20	/
Woosters	71	4	/
Wouthers	71	1	/
Bathersh	71	1	/
Vautters	71	1	/
Woodters	71	1	/
Whotters	71	0	/
Weuthers	71	0	/
Bauthers	71	0	/
Weitters	71	0	/
Weathirs	71	0	/
Veters	67	89	/
Weijsters	67	77	/
Boters	67	49	/
Voters	67	16	/
Vauthiers	67	15	/
Uoters	67	8	/
Böters	67	3	/
Wheitersh	67	0	/

Show All Similar Surnames

Waters Name Transliterations

Transliteration	ICU Latin	Percentage of Incidence
Waters in the Arabic language
لاترز	latrz	-
واترز	watrz	-
ترز	trz	-

Search for Another Surname

Search

Waters Reference & Research

Walters DNA Website - A web page dedicated to the genetic research of those who bear the surname and its variants.

Waters FamilyTree DNA Group - A group collating DNA test results for those who bear the surname, includes results of DNA tests and discussions.

Walters FamilyTree DNA Project - A description of a group researching the paternal lines of men who bear the surname with the help of DNA analysis.

Waterhouse FamilyTree DNA Project - A description of a group researching the paternal lines of men who bear the surname with the help of DNA analysis.

Waters FamilyTree DNA Project - A description of a group researching the paternal lines of men who bear the surname with the help of DNA analysis.

The name statistics are still in development, sign up for information on more maps and data

Subscribe

By signing up to the mailing list you will only receive emails specifically about name reference on Forebears and your information will not be distributed to 3rd parties.

Footnotes

• Surnames are taken as the first part of an person's inherited family name, caste, clan name or in some cases patronymic
• Descriptions may contain details on the name's etymology, origin, ethnicity and history. They are largely reproduced from 3rd party sources; diligence is advised on accepting their validity - more information
• Name distribution statistics are generated from a global database of over 4 billion people - more information
• Heatmap: Dark red means there is a higher occurrence of the name, transitioning to light yellow signifies a progressively lower occurrence. Clicking on selected countries will show mapping at a regional level
• Rank: Name are ranked by incidence using the ordinal ranking method; the name that occurs the most is assigned a rank of 1; name that occur less frequently receive an incremented rank; if two or more name occur the same number of times they are assigned the same rank and successive rank is incremented by the total preceeding names
• Ethnic group cannot necessarily be determined by geographic occurrence
• Similar: Names listed in the "Similar" section are phonetically similar and may not have any relation to Waters
• To find out more about this surname's family history, lookup records on Family​Search, My​Heritage, FindMyPast and Ancestry. Further information may be obtained by DNA analysis