2000
#1,576
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 20,885
First available Census row
Per 100,000 7.74
Uncommon Last name
Waddell
An English and Scottish toponymic surname derived from places named Waddell, likely meaning "wolf valley" in Old English.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 22,935 Americans carry the last name Waddell. That puts it at #1,750 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 6.69 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 14,945 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Waddell 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 Waddell with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
23K
1 in 14,945
Census rank
#1,750
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
6.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
20K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 20,000 bearers of the surname Waddell in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 6.69 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 1750th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Waddell, the largest self-reported group is White at 78.3%. The next largest groups are Black (14.0%) and Two or More Races (3.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Waddell
The surname Waddell is believed to have originated in Scotland, deriving from the Old English word "wadel," which means "woad," a blue dye plant. It is thought to have been an occupational surname given to those involved in the cultivation or processing of woad.
The name can be traced back to the 12th century in Scotland, with early recordings such as Radulfus Waddel in the Bain's Calendar of Documents Relating to Scotland in 1189. The name appears in various spellings, including Wadel, Waddell, and Waddill.
In the 13th century, the name Waddell is mentioned in the Ragman Rolls, a collection of instruments of homage and fealty to Edward I of England, which includes the names of many Scottish noblemen and landowners. This suggests that the Waddells held a prominent position in Scottish society at the time.
The Waddell surname is also associated with several place names, such as Waddell in Renfrewshire, Scotland, and Waddell Glen in Ayrshire, Scotland. These locations may have been named after individuals with the surname or served as the ancestral homes of Waddell families.
Notable individuals with the surname Waddell include:
1. James Iredell Waddell (1824-1886), an American naval officer who served in the Confederate States Navy during the American Civil War.
2. Peter Hately Waddell (1817-1891), an Irish-born Australian artist and writer known for his landscape paintings and writings about colonial life in Australia.
3. William Henry Waddell (1826-1894), an Irish-born American poet and journalist who served as a Confederate soldier during the American Civil War.
4. Alfred Moore Waddell (1834-1912), an American politician and lawyer who served as a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives from North Carolina.
5. Robert Austin Waddell (1854-1923), an American professional baseball pitcher who played in Major League Baseball for the Louisville Colonels and Philadelphia Phillies in the late 19th century.
While the surname Waddell has Scottish origins, it has spread to various parts of the world due to migration and is now found in countries like the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, among others.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Waddell
Among Census respondents with the surname Waddell, the largest self-reported group is White at 78.3%. The next largest groups are Black (14.0%) and Two or More Races (3.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Waddell 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 Waddell surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White78.3% · 15,663
- Black or African American14.0% · 2,794
- Two or more races3.9% · 788
- Hispanic or Latino2.8% · 567
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 107
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 81
Timeline
Historical Census data for Waddell
Waddell 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
#1,691
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 21,301
+416 bearers (+2.0%)
Per 100,000 7.22
Rank movement Down 115 places
2020
#1,750
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 20,000
-1,301 bearers (-6.1%)
Per 100,000 6.69
Rank movement Down 59 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #1,576 | 20,885 | 7.74 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #1,691 | 21,301 | 7.22 | +416 bearers (+2.0%) | Down 115 places |
| 2020 | #1,750 | 20,000 | 6.69 | -1,301 bearers (-6.1%) | Down 59 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 Waddell 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 | #1,691 | #1,750 | -3.5% |
| Count | 21,301 | 20,000 | -6.1% |
| Per 100K | 7.22 | 6.69 | -7.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Waddell bearers went from 21,301 to 20,000 (-6.1% change). The surname moved down 59 positions in the national ranking, going from #1,691 to #1,750.
FAQ
Waddell surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Waddell?
Name Census estimates that about 22,935 living Americans carry the surname Waddell. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 14,945 residents.
How common is Waddell?
Waddell ranks #1,750 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 6.69 per 100,000 residents, which is about 7 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 20,000 people with the surname Waddell. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (22,935), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 6.69 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 6.69 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 7 of them to have the surname Waddell.
Has Waddell become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Waddell went from 21,301 recorded bearers to 20,000. That is a decrease of 1,301 (-6.1%). In the national ranking it fell from #1,691 to #1,750.
What does the Census say about the background of Waddell?
Among Census respondents with the surname Waddell, the largest self-reported group is White at 78.3%. The next largest groups are Black (14.0%) and Two or More Races (3.9%). 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 Waddell in the 2020 Census, accounting for 78.3% (15,663 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Waddell appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (78.3%), Black (14.0%), Two or More Races (3.9%). 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 Waddell (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 Waddell mean?
An English and Scottish toponymic surname derived from places named Waddell, likely meaning "wolf valley" in Old English. 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 Waddell (6.69 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 are called Waddell?
For a quick modern take, check how many Americans have the surname Waddell on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.