2000
#7,646
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,011
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.49
Rare Last name
Fitzwater
An English surname referring to the illegitimate son of someone named Water or Walter.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 4,434 Americans carry the last name Fitzwater. That puts it at #8,201 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.29 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 77,301 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Fitzwater 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 Fitzwater with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
4.4K
1 in 77,301
Census rank
#8,201
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.3
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.9K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,867 bearers of the surname Fitzwater in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.29 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 8201st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Fitzwater, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.2%) and Hispanic (2.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Fitzwater
The surname FITZWATER is an old English name that originated in medieval times. It is derived from the Norman French words "fils" meaning son, and "de l'eau" meaning of the water. This suggests the name was likely given to someone who lived near a body of water such as a river or lake.
FITZWATER is thought to have emerged as a surname in England sometime in the 12th or 13th century after the Norman Conquest of 1066. One of the earliest known records of the name is found in the Pipe Rolls of Gloucestershire from 1195, which mentions a Robert Fitz Water.
Over the centuries, the name has had various spellings including Fitzwater, Fitzwalter, Fitz Walter, and Fitzwarin. It is believed some branches of the family adopted the spelling Fitzwarin after a Norman knight named Warin who was granted lands in Shropshire by William the Conqueror.
A notable early bearer of the name was Sir William FitzWarin, Lord of Whittington (1137-1198). He was a powerful Marcher lord with vast estates in Shropshire and played a role in the Third Crusade. Another early example is Walter de Windsor, alias Fitzother or Fitzwalter (c.1170-1198), a prominent courtier under King Richard I.
In the 13th century, the Fitzwaters were an influential family who held the manor of Woughton in Buckinghamshire. Thomas Fitzwater (d.1334) was summoned to Parliament as a baron in 1321. His descendant, Sir John Fitzwater (c.1376-1412), served as Lord Deputy of Ireland from 1405-1408.
Other historically significant individuals with this surname include Sir William Fitzwater (1460-1536), Treasurer of the Household to King Henry VIII, and Michael Fitzwalter (fl.1670s), an English soldier who served under Prince Rupert during the English Civil War. Elizabeth Fitzwalter (1577-1586) was one of the last surviving legitimate descendants of the Fitzwalter Barons of Woodham Walter.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Fitzwater
Among Census respondents with the surname Fitzwater, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.2%) and Hispanic (2.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Fitzwater 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 Fitzwater surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.0% · 3,595
- Two or more races3.2% · 124
- Hispanic or Latino2.5% · 96
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 20
- Black or African American0.5% · 18
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 14
Timeline
Historical Census data for Fitzwater
Fitzwater 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
#8,155
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,066
+55 bearers (+1.4%)
Per 100,000 1.38
Rank movement Down 509 places
2020
#8,201
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,867
-199 bearers (-4.9%)
Per 100,000 1.29
Rank movement Down 46 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #7,646 | 4,011 | 1.49 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #8,155 | 4,066 | 1.38 | +55 bearers (+1.4%) | Down 509 places |
| 2020 | #8,201 | 3,867 | 1.29 | -199 bearers (-4.9%) | Down 46 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 Fitzwater 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 | #8,155 | #8,201 | -0.6% |
| Count | 4,066 | 3,867 | -4.9% |
| Per 100K | 1.38 | 1.29 | -6.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Fitzwater bearers went from 4,066 to 3,867 (-4.9% change). The surname moved down 46 positions in the national ranking, going from #8,155 to #8,201.
FAQ
Fitzwater surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Fitzwater?
Name Census estimates that about 4,434 living Americans carry the surname Fitzwater. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 77,301 residents.
How common is Fitzwater?
Fitzwater ranks #8,201 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.29 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 3,867 people with the surname Fitzwater. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (4,434), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.29 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.29 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 Fitzwater.
Has Fitzwater become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Fitzwater went from 4,066 recorded bearers to 3,867. That is a decrease of 199 (-4.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #8,155 to #8,201.
What does the Census say about the background of Fitzwater?
Among Census respondents with the surname Fitzwater, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.2%) and Hispanic (2.5%). 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 Fitzwater in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.0% (3,595 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Fitzwater appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.0%), Two or More Races (3.2%), Hispanic (2.5%). 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 Fitzwater (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 Fitzwater mean?
An English surname referring to the illegitimate son of someone named Water or Walter. 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 Fitzwater (1.29 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 Americans have the surname Fitzwater?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.