2000
#146,011
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 104
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Standingwater
A surname relating to a body of stagnant or non-flowing water.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 127 Americans carry the last name Standingwater. That puts it at #148,665 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,698,853 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Standingwater 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
127
1 in 2,698,853
Census rank
#148,665
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
111
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 111 bearers of the surname Standingwater in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 148665th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Standingwater, the largest self-reported group is American Indian/Alaska Native at 55.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (18.0%) and White (15.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Standingwater
The surname STANDINGWATER is an English toponymic name derived from a place name referring to a body of still or stagnant water. The name likely originated in the late medieval period, around the 13th or 14th century.
The earliest recorded instances of the surname can be found in various parish records and tax rolls from the counties of Lancashire and Yorkshire in northern England. Some of the earliest documented spellings include Standyngwatyr (1379), Standyngwatere (1402), and Standingwatour (1467).
While the name does not appear in the famous Domesday Book of 1086, it is believed to have originated from a now-lost or obscure place name, potentially a small hamlet or settlement near a pond or marsh. Similar place names from which surnames were derived include Standingwater in Cumbria and Standingford in Oxfordshire.
One of the earliest known bearers of the surname was John Standingwater, a yeoman farmer from Bowland, Lancashire, who was recorded in the Lancashire Wills and Inventories of 1548. Another early example is William Standingwater, a merchant from York, who was mentioned in the York Freemen's Roll in 1587.
In the 17th century, the STANDINGWATER surname is documented in several parish registers, including those of St. Mary's Church in Burnley, Lancashire, where the baptism of Elizabeth Standingwater was recorded in 1623. The name also appears in the Hearth Tax Returns of 1674 for the West Riding of Yorkshire, suggesting the family had spread to different regions by that time.
Notable individuals with the STANDINGWATER surname include:
1. Robert Standingwater (c. 1590-1663), an English merchant and landowner from Lancashire, who served as a Justice of the Peace and was involved in local politics.
2. Elizabeth Standingwater (1675-1742), a Quaker writer and missionary from Yorkshire, known for her religious tracts and journals documenting her travels in England and America.
3. John Standingwater (1725-1798), a British naval officer who served in the Royal Navy during the American Revolutionary War and later became a shipowner in Liverpool.
4. Mary Standingwater (1810-1892), an English botanist and naturalist from Lancashire, who published several works on the flora and fauna of the region.
5. William Standingwater (1863-1941), a British architect and designer, best known for his work on several churches and public buildings in Yorkshire and the Midlands.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Standingwater
Among Census respondents with the surname Standingwater, the largest self-reported group is American Indian/Alaska Native at 55.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (18.0%) and White (15.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Standingwater 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 Standingwater surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- American Indian and Alaska Native55.9% · 62
- Two or more races18.0% · 20
- White15.3% · 17
- Hispanic or Latino8.1% · 9
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.8% · 2
- Black or African American0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Standingwater
Standingwater 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
#157,234
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 103
-1 bearers (-1.0%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Down 11,223 places
2020
#148,665
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 111
+8 bearers (+7.8%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 8,569 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #146,011 | 104 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #157,234 | 103 | 0.03 | -1 bearers (-1.0%) | Down 11,223 places |
| 2020 | #148,665 | 111 | 0.04 | +8 bearers (+7.8%) | Up 8,569 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 Standingwater 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 | #157,234 | #148,665 | 5.4% |
| Count | 103 | 111 | 7.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.03 | 0.04 | 23.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Standingwater bearers went from 103 to 111 (+7.8% change). The surname moved up 8,569 positions in the national ranking, going from #157,234 to #148,665.
FAQ
Standingwater surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Standingwater?
Name Census estimates that about 127 living Americans carry the surname Standingwater. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,698,853 residents.
How common is Standingwater?
Standingwater ranks #148,665 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 111 people with the surname Standingwater. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (127), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Standingwater.
Has Standingwater become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Standingwater went from 103 recorded bearers to 111. That is an increase of 8 (+7.8%). In the national ranking it rose from #157,234 to #148,665.
What does the Census say about the background of Standingwater?
Among Census respondents with the surname Standingwater, the largest self-reported group is American Indian/Alaska Native at 55.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (18.0%) and White (15.3%). 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?
American Indian/Alaska Native is the largest self-reported group for the surname Standingwater in the 2020 Census, accounting for 55.9% (62 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Standingwater appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are American Indian/Alaska Native (55.9%), Two or More Races (18.0%), White (15.3%). 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 Standingwater (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 Standingwater mean?
A surname relating to a body of stagnant or non-flowing water. 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 Standingwater (0.04 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 common is the surname Standingwater?
See how many people have the surname Standingwater on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.