2000
#7,543
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,067
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.51
Rare Last name
Atwater
Derived from a place name referring to someone living near a body of water or river.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 4,661 Americans carry the last name Atwater. That puts it at #7,822 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.36 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 73,537 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Atwater 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.
Bearers in the US
4.7K
1 in 73,537
Census rank
#7,822
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.4
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
4.1K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 4,065 bearers of the surname Atwater in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.36 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 7822nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Atwater, the largest self-reported group is White at 58.7%. The next largest groups are Black (32.2%) and Two or More Races (4.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Atwater
The surname Atwater originates from England and is believed to have derived from the Old English words "æt" meaning "at" and "wæter" meaning "water," likely referring to someone who lived near a body of water such as a river or lake. The earliest recorded spelling of the name was found in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appeared as "Aet Waetre."
In the medieval period, the name was often spelled in various forms such as Attwater, Attewater, and Atwatyr, reflecting the evolution of the English language over time. It is also thought to have been influenced by the Norman French form "à l'eau," meaning "at the water."
One of the earliest recorded instances of the Atwater surname was in the Hundred Rolls of Bedfordshire in 1273, where a Robert Attewatere was mentioned. Another early reference was in the Pipe Rolls of Oxfordshire in 1311, which listed a John Attewatere.
The name has been associated with several notable individuals throughout history, including Sir Adolphus Atwater (1522-1604), an English politician and member of Parliament during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. Another prominent bearer of the name was William Atwater (1616-1689), one of the founders of New Haven, Connecticut, in the American colonies.
In the 17th century, the Atwater family played a significant role in the early settlement of New England. One notable member was David Atwater (1615-1692), who served as a magistrate and deputy governor of the New Haven Colony. His son, Jeremiah Atwater (1638-1726), was a prominent minister and author.
Other notable individuals with the Atwater surname include Caleb Atwater (1778-1867), an American author and antiquarian who wrote extensively on the history and archaeology of Ohio, and Wilbur Olin Atwater (1844-1907), a pioneering American chemist and nutritionist who conducted groundbreaking research on human metabolism and the chemical composition of foods.
While the Atwater surname has its roots in England, it has since spread to other parts of the world, particularly through the migration of families to the American colonies and beyond.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Atwater
Among Census respondents with the surname Atwater, the largest self-reported group is White at 58.7%. The next largest groups are Black (32.2%) and Two or More Races (4.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Atwater 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 Atwater surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White58.7% · 2,387
- Black or African American32.2% · 1,308
- Two or more races4.5% · 183
- Hispanic or Latino3.6% · 145
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 22
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 20
Timeline
Historical Census data for Atwater
Atwater 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
#7,739
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,289
+222 bearers (+5.5%)
Per 100,000 1.45
Rank movement Down 196 places
2020
#7,822
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,065
-224 bearers (-5.2%)
Per 100,000 1.36
Rank movement Down 83 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #7,543 | 4,067 | 1.51 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #7,739 | 4,289 | 1.45 | +222 bearers (+5.5%) | Down 196 places |
| 2020 | #7,822 | 4,065 | 1.36 | -224 bearers (-5.2%) | Down 83 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 Atwater 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 | #7,739 | #7,822 | -1.1% |
| Count | 4,289 | 4,065 | -5.2% |
| Per 100K | 1.45 | 1.36 | -6.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Atwater bearers went from 4,289 to 4,065 (-5.2% change). The surname moved down 83 positions in the national ranking, going from #7,739 to #7,822.
FAQ
Atwater surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Atwater?
Name Census estimates that about 4,661 living Americans carry the surname Atwater. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 73,537 residents.
How common is Atwater?
Atwater ranks #7,822 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.36 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 4,065 people with the surname Atwater. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (4,661), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.36 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.36 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Atwater.
Has Atwater become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Atwater went from 4,289 recorded bearers to 4,065. That is a decrease of 224 (-5.2%). In the national ranking it fell from #7,739 to #7,822.
What does the Census say about the background of Atwater?
Among Census respondents with the surname Atwater, the largest self-reported group is White at 58.7%. The next largest groups are Black (32.2%) 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 Atwater in the 2020 Census, accounting for 58.7% (2,387 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Atwater appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (58.7%), Black (32.2%), 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 Atwater (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 Atwater mean?
Derived from a place name referring to someone living near a body of water or river. 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 Atwater (1.36 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 share the surname Atwater?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.