2000
#6,700
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,651
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.72
Rare Last name
Waldo
Derived from a Germanic name meaning "ruler" or "mighty one."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 5,070 Americans carry the last name Waldo. That puts it at #7,266 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.48 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 67,604 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Waldo 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
5.1K
1 in 67,604
Census rank
#7,266
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.5
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
4.4K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 4,421 bearers of the surname Waldo in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.48 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 7266th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Waldo, the largest self-reported group is White at 80.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (8.5%) and Black (6.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Waldo
The surname Waldo originated in England, with its earliest recorded use dating back to the 12th century. It is believed to be derived from the Old English word "weald," meaning a wood or forest, and the suffix "-eri," denoting a person or place associated with something. The name likely referred to someone who lived near or worked in a wooded area.
One of the earliest known references to the name Waldo can be found in the Domesday Book, a comprehensive survey of landowners and property in England commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086. The name appears in various spellings, such as Walda, Walde, and Walde.
The Waldo surname has been associated with several notable individuals throughout history. One of the earliest recorded individuals with this name was Ralph Waldo, who lived in the 13th century and was a prominent landowner and nobleman in Buckinghamshire, England.
Another notable figure was Sir Edmund Waldo, an English soldier and Member of Parliament who lived from 1588 to 1668. He played a significant role in the English Civil War, serving as a commander in the Parliamentarian army.
In the realm of literature, the name Waldo gained fame through the character of the same name in the children's book series "Where's Waldo?" written and illustrated by Martin Handford. The first book was published in 1987, and the series became a worldwide phenomenon, with Waldo's iconic red-and-white striped shirt and glasses becoming instantly recognizable.
The Waldo surname has also been associated with place names in England, such as Waldo Priory in Bedfordshire and Waldo's Field in Derbyshire. These place names likely derive from the same Old English root as the surname itself.
Another prominent individual with the Waldo surname was Ralph Waldo Emerson, the renowned American essayist, philosopher, and poet, who lived from 1803 to 1882. Although he was not of English descent, his surname shared the same origins as the English Waldo name.
Throughout history, the Waldo surname has been recorded with various spellings, including Walde, Walden, and Waldoe, reflecting the fluid nature of surname spellings in earlier times. While the name has English roots, it has been adopted and adapted by families in various parts of the world.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Waldo
Among Census respondents with the surname Waldo, the largest self-reported group is White at 80.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (8.5%) and Black (6.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Waldo 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 Waldo surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White80.0% · 3,538
- Hispanic or Latino8.5% · 377
- Black or African American6.8% · 301
- Two or more races3.0% · 134
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.1% · 48
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 23
Timeline
Historical Census data for Waldo
Waldo 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
#7,120
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,699
+48 bearers (+1.0%)
Per 100,000 1.59
Rank movement Down 420 places
2020
#7,266
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,421
-278 bearers (-5.9%)
Per 100,000 1.48
Rank movement Down 146 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #6,700 | 4,651 | 1.72 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #7,120 | 4,699 | 1.59 | +48 bearers (+1.0%) | Down 420 places |
| 2020 | #7,266 | 4,421 | 1.48 | -278 bearers (-5.9%) | Down 146 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 Waldo 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 | #7,120 | #7,266 | -2.1% |
| Count | 4,699 | 4,421 | -5.9% |
| Per 100K | 1.59 | 1.48 | -7.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Waldo bearers went from 4,699 to 4,421 (-5.9% change). The surname moved down 146 positions in the national ranking, going from #7,120 to #7,266.
FAQ
Waldo surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Waldo?
Name Census estimates that about 5,070 living Americans carry the surname Waldo. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 67,604 residents.
How common is Waldo?
Waldo ranks #7,266 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.48 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 4,421 people with the surname Waldo. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (5,070), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.48 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.48 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 Waldo.
Has Waldo become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Waldo went from 4,699 recorded bearers to 4,421. That is a decrease of 278 (-5.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #7,120 to #7,266.
What does the Census say about the background of Waldo?
Among Census respondents with the surname Waldo, the largest self-reported group is White at 80.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (8.5%) and Black (6.8%). 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 Waldo in the 2020 Census, accounting for 80.0% (3,538 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Waldo appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (80.0%), Hispanic (8.5%), Black (6.8%). 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 Waldo (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 Waldo mean?
Derived from a Germanic name meaning "ruler" or "mighty one." 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 Waldo (1.48 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 Waldo?
See how many people have the surname Waldo on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.