2000
#2,970
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 11,144
First available Census row
Per 100,000 4.13
Uncommon Last name
Watters
An occupational surname for someone who transported or sold water, or lived near a water source.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 12,601 Americans carry the last name Watters. That puts it at #3,203 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 3.68 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 27,201 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Watters surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Watters with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
13K
1 in 27,201
Census rank
#3,203
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
3.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
11K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 10,989 bearers of the surname Watters in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 3.68 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 3203rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Watters, the largest self-reported group is White at 80.5%. The next largest groups are Black (10.4%) and Two or More Races (4.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Watters
The surname Watters has its origins in Scotland, dating back to the 12th century. It is believed to be a variant of the old Scottish name Walter, which is derived from the Germanic elements "wald" meaning ruler and "heri" meaning army.
The earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in various medieval charters and records from Scotland. One notable example is the mention of a Walter de Berclay in the Ragman Rolls of 1296, a document recording the swearing of fealty to Edward I of England by Scottish nobles and landowners.
During the 13th and 14th centuries, the name Watters became particularly prevalent in the Scottish Lowlands, particularly in the regions of Dumfriesshire and Lanarkshire. In these areas, the name is thought to have been associated with families who held positions of authority or had ties to the local nobility.
As the surname spread throughout Scotland, various spelling variations emerged, including Watt, Watters, Waters, and Watters. These variations often reflected local dialects and the preferences of individual scribes who recorded the name in official documents.
One of the earliest known bearers of the surname was Sir John Watters, a prominent Scottish knight who fought alongside Robert the Bruce during the Wars of Scottish Independence in the early 14th century. Another notable figure was William Watters, a 16th-century Scottish scholar and theologian who played a significant role in the Protestant Reformation.
In the 17th century, the Watters surname became associated with the Scottish Covenanters, a group of Presbyterians who opposed the religious reforms imposed by the Stuart monarchy. Several individuals with the surname, such as Alexander Watters and John Watters, were imprisoned or executed for their involvement in the Covenanter movement.
As the centuries passed, the Watters surname continued to be found throughout Scotland and eventually spread to other parts of the British Isles and beyond. Notable individuals bearing the name include the Irish-American minister and evangelist Billy Watters (1827-1908), who played a significant role in the Second Great Awakening, and the American artist and illustrator Bill Watters (1935-2020), known for his work on popular comic book series like Spiderman and The Avengers.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Watters
Among Census respondents with the surname Watters, the largest self-reported group is White at 80.5%. The next largest groups are Black (10.4%) and Two or More Races (4.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Watters bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Watters surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White80.5% · 8,850
- Black or African American10.4% · 1,141
- Two or more races4.5% · 492
- Hispanic or Latino3.2% · 347
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 83
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 76
Timeline
Historical Census data for Watters
Watters appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#3,113
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 11,569
+425 bearers (+3.8%)
Per 100,000 3.92
Rank movement Down 143 places
2020
#3,203
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 10,989
-580 bearers (-5.0%)
Per 100,000 3.68
Rank movement Down 90 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #2,970 | 11,144 | 4.13 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #3,113 | 11,569 | 3.92 | +425 bearers (+3.8%) | Down 143 places |
| 2020 | #3,203 | 10,989 | 3.68 | -580 bearers (-5.0%) | Down 90 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Watters surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #3,113 | #3,203 | -2.9% |
| Count | 11,569 | 10,989 | -5.0% |
| Per 100K | 3.92 | 3.68 | -6.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Watters bearers went from 11,569 to 10,989 (-5.0% change). The surname moved down 90 positions in the national ranking, going from #3,113 to #3,203.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Watters
FAQ
Watters surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Watters?
Name Census estimates that about 12,601 living Americans carry the surname Watters. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 27,201 residents.
How common is Watters?
Watters ranks #3,203 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 3.68 per 100,000 residents, which is about 4 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 10,989 people with the surname Watters. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (12,601), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 3.68 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 3.68 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 4 of them to have the surname Watters.
Has Watters become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Watters went from 11,569 recorded bearers to 10,989. That is a decrease of 580 (-5.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #3,113 to #3,203.
What does the Census say about the background of Watters?
Among Census respondents with the surname Watters, the largest self-reported group is White at 80.5%. The next largest groups are Black (10.4%) and Two or More Races (4.5%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Watters in the 2020 Census, accounting for 80.5% (8,850 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Watters appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (80.5%), Black (10.4%), Two or More Races (4.5%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Watters (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Watters mean?
An occupational surname for someone who transported or sold water, or lived near a water source. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Watters (3.68 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people have the surname Watters?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.