Find out how popular the last name Tarwater is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Tarwater.

Tarwater, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Tarwater surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Tarwater in America

Tarwater is the 20648th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Tarwater surname appeared 1,282 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Tarwater.

We can also compare 2010 data for Tarwater to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Tarwater

The surname Tarwater is believed to have originated in England, with records dating back to the 12th century. It is thought to be a locational name derived from a place name, possibly referring to someone who lived near a tar-water, which was a spring or stream with tar-like water.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Pipe Rolls of Yorkshire from 1166, which mention a Richard de Tarwatere. The name is also found in the Hundred Rolls of 1273, which list a Robert de Tarwatere in Lincolnshire.

It is possible that the name is derived from the Old English words "teru" meaning tar and "waeter" meaning water, referring to a tar-like spring or stream. There are also theories that it could be derived from the Old English personal name "Tara" combined with "waeter".

In the 14th century, the name appeared in various forms, such as Tarrewatyr, Tarrewater, and Terwater, reflecting the changes in spelling and pronunciation over time. The Subsidy Rolls of Sussex from 1327 list a John Terwater, while the Poll Tax returns of Yorkshire from 1379 include a Thomas Tarrewatyr.

One of the earliest notable bearers of the name was John Tarwater, a merchant and alderman in the city of London, who was born around 1430 and died in 1499. Another early record is of William Tarwater, a landowner in Warwickshire, who was born in 1518 and died in 1587.

In the 16th and 17th centuries, the name continued to appear in various parts of England. Elizabeth Tarwater, born in 1563 in Gloucestershire, was accused of witchcraft in 1618 and was one of the last people to be executed for witchcraft in England.

During the English Civil War, a Captain Thomas Tarwater fought for the Parliamentarian forces and was involved in the siege of Bristol in 1645. He later settled in Virginia, where he established a plantation and became a prominent figure in the colony.

In the 18th century, John Tarwater, born in 1712 in Hertfordshire, was a notable clockmaker and watchmaker, known for his precision timepieces. He had a workshop in London and his clocks were highly sought after by the wealthy and aristocratic classes.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Tarwater

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Tarwater.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Tarwater was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Tarwater has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Tarwater was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Tarwater, please contact us.

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!