2000
#13,654
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,038
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.76
Rare Last name
Waiters
An occupational surname referring to a server or attendant at an inn, restaurant, or other establishment.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 4,104 Americans carry the last name Waiters. That puts it at #8,791 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.20 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 83,517 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Waiters 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
4.1K
1 in 83,517
Census rank
#8,791
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.6K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,579 bearers of the surname Waiters in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.20 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 8791st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Waiters, the largest self-reported group is Black at 49.8%. The next largest groups are White (41.2%) and Two or More Races (4.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Waiters
The surname Waiters has its origins in England, with records dating back to the 13th century. It is believed to be an occupational name derived from the Old English word "waiter," which referred to a person whose occupation was to serve food and drink.
The earliest recorded instance of the name can be found in the Hundred Rolls of Cambridgeshire from 1273, where it appears as "Adam le Waiter." This suggests that the name was already in use as a descriptive term for someone's occupation during that time.
In the 14th century, the surname appears in various forms, such as "Wayter" and "Waytour," indicating variations in spelling and pronunciation. The Lay Subsidy Rolls of 1332 mention a "Johanna Wayter" from Cambridgeshire, while the Poll Tax Returns of 1379 record a "Johannes Waytour" from Yorkshire.
The Waiters surname is also associated with several place names in England, such as Waiter's Green in Suffolk and Waiter's Hill in Gloucestershire. These place names likely originated from individuals bearing the Waiters surname who resided in those areas.
One notable bearer of the Waiters surname was Thomas Waiter (c. 1535-1592), an English Catholic priest and martyr who was executed during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I for his religious beliefs.
Another prominent individual with this surname was Sir William Waiters (1592-1676), an English soldier and adventurer who played a significant role in the English Civil War. He was renowned for his loyalty to King Charles I and his military exploits during the conflict.
In the 18th century, John Waiters (1708-1795) gained recognition as a renowned British architect who designed several notable buildings, including the Radcliffe Observatory in Oxford.
The 19th century saw the rise of Robert Waite Waiters (1818-1897), a British politician and lawyer who served as a Member of Parliament and was appointed as a Queen's Counsel.
In the realm of literature, Mary Waiters (1857-1935) was a notable English writer and poet who published several works, including "The Tramp's Anthology" and "The Lyric Year."
While the surname Waiters has its roots in England, it has since spread to other parts of the world through migration and immigration. However, its origins can be traced back to the occupational name used in medieval England to describe individuals who served food and drink.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Waiters
Among Census respondents with the surname Waiters, the largest self-reported group is Black at 49.8%. The next largest groups are White (41.2%) and Two or More Races (4.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Waiters 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 Waiters surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American49.8% · 1,781
- White41.2% · 1,475
- Two or more races4.4% · 156
- Hispanic or Latino3.2% · 114
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 34
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 19
Timeline
Historical Census data for Waiters
Waiters 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
#1,809
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 19,853
+17,815 bearers (+874.1%)
Per 100,000 6.73
Rank movement Up 11,845 places
2020
#8,791
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,579
-16,274 bearers (-82.0%)
Per 100,000 1.20
Rank movement Down 6,982 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #13,654 | 2,038 | 0.76 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #1,809 | 19,853 | 6.73 | +17,815 bearers (+874.1%) | Up 11,845 places |
| 2020 | #8,791 | 3,579 | 1.20 | -16,274 bearers (-82.0%) | Down 6,982 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 Waiters 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 | #1,809 | #8,791 | -386.0% |
| Count | 19,853 | 3,579 | -82.0% |
| Per 100K | 6.73 | 1.20 | -82.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Waiters bearers went from 19,853 to 3,579 (-82.0% change). The surname moved down 6,982 positions in the national ranking, going from #1,809 to #8,791.
FAQ
Waiters surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Waiters?
Name Census estimates that about 4,104 living Americans carry the surname Waiters. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 83,517 residents.
How common is Waiters?
Waiters ranks #8,791 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.20 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 3,579 people with the surname Waiters. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (4,104), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.2 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.20 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 Waiters.
Has Waiters become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Waiters went from 19,853 recorded bearers to 3,579. That is a decrease of 16,274 (-82.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #1,809 to #8,791.
What does the Census say about the background of Waiters?
Among Census respondents with the surname Waiters, the largest self-reported group is Black at 49.8%. The next largest groups are White (41.2%) and Two or More Races (4.4%). 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?
Black is the largest self-reported group for the surname Waiters in the 2020 Census, accounting for 49.8% (1,781 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Waiters appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Black (49.8%), White (41.2%), Two or More Races (4.4%). 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 Waiters (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 Waiters mean?
An occupational surname referring to a server or attendant at an inn, restaurant, or other establishment. 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 Waiters (1.20 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 Waiters?
Find out how many people have the last name Waiters on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.