2000
#7,532
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,073
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.51
Rare Last name
Waldon
A habitational surname derived from various Old English place names meaning "valley hill" or "valley down."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 4,486 Americans carry the last name Waldon. That puts it at #8,111 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.31 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 76,405 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Waldon 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 Waldon with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
4.5K
1 in 76,405
Census rank
#8,111
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.3
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.9K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,912 bearers of the surname Waldon in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.31 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 8111th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Waldon, the largest self-reported group is White at 53.3%. The next largest groups are Black (34.2%) and Two or More Races (6.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Waldon
The surname Waldon has its origins in England, dating back to the medieval period. It is believed to be a locational name, derived from a place called Waldon or Walden, which was likely a small village or hamlet in one of the English counties. The name may be a combination of the Old English words "weald," meaning a wooded area or forest, and "dun," meaning a hill or down.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Waldon can be found in the Domesday Book, a comprehensive survey of landholdings in England commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086. The Domesday Book mentions a landowner named Walden in the county of Essex.
In the 13th century, records show a person named Thomas de Waldon, who lived in Hertfordshire. This suggests that the name may have originated from a place called Walden or Waldon in that county, possibly the town now known as Saffron Walden.
Another early reference to the name can be found in the Subsidy Rolls of Worcestershire from 1327, which list a certain John Waldon as a taxpayer. This indicates that the name was present in different regions of England during the medieval period.
One notable bearer of the Waldon surname was William Waldon (c. 1370-1416), a clergyman and academic who served as the Chancellor of the University of Oxford from 1405 to 1416.
In the 16th century, a prominent individual with this surname was Thomas Waldon (c. 1530-1590), an English Protestant reformer and clergyman who served as the Rector of St. Mary's Church in Dover.
During the 17th century, a notable figure was Sir Clement Waldon (1616-1669), an English lawyer and judge who served as the Solicitor General for England and Wales from 1660 to 1663.
In the 18th century, John Waldon (1720-1789) was a successful merchant and landowner in the county of Gloucestershire, known for his philanthropic contributions to the local community.
Another individual of note was Mary Waldon (1788-1856), a British author and poet who published several works of poetry and fiction during the early 19th century.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Waldon
Among Census respondents with the surname Waldon, the largest self-reported group is White at 53.3%. The next largest groups are Black (34.2%) and Two or More Races (6.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Waldon 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 Waldon surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White53.3% · 2,086
- Black or African American34.2% · 1,336
- Two or more races6.4% · 250
- Hispanic or Latino4.0% · 158
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.3% · 49
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 33
Timeline
Historical Census data for Waldon
Waldon 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
#7,900
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,190
+117 bearers (+2.9%)
Per 100,000 1.42
Rank movement Down 368 places
2020
#8,111
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,912
-278 bearers (-6.6%)
Per 100,000 1.31
Rank movement Down 211 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #7,532 | 4,073 | 1.51 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #7,900 | 4,190 | 1.42 | +117 bearers (+2.9%) | Down 368 places |
| 2020 | #8,111 | 3,912 | 1.31 | -278 bearers (-6.6%) | Down 211 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 Waldon 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 | #7,900 | #8,111 | -2.7% |
| Count | 4,190 | 3,912 | -6.6% |
| Per 100K | 1.42 | 1.31 | -7.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Waldon bearers went from 4,190 to 3,912 (-6.6% change). The surname moved down 211 positions in the national ranking, going from #7,900 to #8,111.
FAQ
Waldon surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Waldon?
Name Census estimates that about 4,486 living Americans carry the surname Waldon. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 76,405 residents.
How common is Waldon?
Waldon ranks #8,111 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.31 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 3,912 people with the surname Waldon. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (4,486), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.31 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.31 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 Waldon.
Has Waldon become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Waldon went from 4,190 recorded bearers to 3,912. That is a decrease of 278 (-6.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #7,900 to #8,111.
What does the Census say about the background of Waldon?
Among Census respondents with the surname Waldon, the largest self-reported group is White at 53.3%. The next largest groups are Black (34.2%) and Two or More Races (6.4%). 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?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Waldon in the 2020 Census, accounting for 53.3% (2,086 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Waldon appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (53.3%), Black (34.2%), Two or More Races (6.4%). 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 Waldon (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 Waldon mean?
A habitational surname derived from various Old English place names meaning "valley hill" or "valley down." 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 Waldon (1.31 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 Waldon?
For a quick modern take, check how many people have the last name Waldon on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.