2000
#1,952
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 16,908
First available Census row
Per 100,000 6.27
Uncommon Last name
Waldron
Derived from a place name meaning "valley of the Britons" in Old English, likely referring to an early settlement.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 19,275 Americans carry the last name Waldron. That puts it at #2,090 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 5.62 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 17,782 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Waldron 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 Waldron with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
19K
1 in 17,782
Census rank
#2,090
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
5.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
17K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 16,809 bearers of the surname Waldron in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 5.62 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 2090th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Waldron, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.5%. The next largest groups are Black (6.7%) and Hispanic (3.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Waldron
The surname Waldron is of English origin, derived from the Old English words "weald" meaning forest and "tun" meaning an enclosure or settlement. It was initially used to refer to someone who lived in or near a wooded area.
Waldron is believed to have originated in the counties of Sussex and Surrey in southern England, where the name was first recorded in the 13th century. The earliest known spelling variations include Waldrond, Waldryn, and Waldrene.
One of the earliest known references to the name Waldron can be found in the Subsidy Rolls of Sussex in 1296, where a William Waldrond is listed. The Waldron family is also mentioned in the Lay Subsidy Rolls of Wiltshire in 1333.
In the 14th century, the name Waldron appeared in the Feet of Fines records for Surrey, which documented the transfer of land. This suggests that the Waldron family held land and property during this period.
Notable individuals with the surname Waldron include:
1. Alexander Waldron (c. 1615-1694), an early settler and landowner in New Hampshire, who played a role in the Cocheco Massacre during King Philip's War.
2. Richard Waldron (c. 1615-1689), a military officer and early settler in New Hampshire, who was also involved in the Cocheco Massacre.
3. John Waldron (1740-1818), an American Revolutionary War soldier and early settler in Ohio.
4. James Waldron (1784-1859), an Irish-born American politician who served as a U.S. Representative from New York.
5. William Waldron (1776-1849), an English engraver and artist known for his work on topographical prints and illustrations.
The surname Waldron is also associated with several place names in England, including Waldron in East Sussex, Waldron's Gate in Hampshire, and Waldron's Fen in Cambridgeshire. These place names likely derived from the surname itself, reflecting the presence of Waldron families in those areas.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Waldron
Among Census respondents with the surname Waldron, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.5%. The next largest groups are Black (6.7%) and Hispanic (3.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Waldron 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 Waldron surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White84.5% · 14,209
- Black or African American6.7% · 1,124
- Hispanic or Latino3.9% · 660
- Two or more races3.7% · 621
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 123
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 72
Timeline
Historical Census data for Waldron
Waldron 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
#2,063
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 17,501
+593 bearers (+3.5%)
Per 100,000 5.93
Rank movement Down 111 places
2020
#2,090
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 16,809
-692 bearers (-4.0%)
Per 100,000 5.62
Rank movement Down 27 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #1,952 | 16,908 | 6.27 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #2,063 | 17,501 | 5.93 | +593 bearers (+3.5%) | Down 111 places |
| 2020 | #2,090 | 16,809 | 5.62 | -692 bearers (-4.0%) | Down 27 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 Waldron 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 | #2,063 | #2,090 | -1.3% |
| Count | 17,501 | 16,809 | -4.0% |
| Per 100K | 5.93 | 5.62 | -5.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Waldron bearers went from 17,501 to 16,809 (-4.0% change). The surname moved down 27 positions in the national ranking, going from #2,063 to #2,090.
FAQ
Waldron surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Waldron?
Name Census estimates that about 19,275 living Americans carry the surname Waldron. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 17,782 residents.
How common is Waldron?
Waldron ranks #2,090 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 5.62 per 100,000 residents, which is about 6 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 16,809 people with the surname Waldron. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (19,275), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 5.62 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 5.62 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 6 of them to have the surname Waldron.
Has Waldron become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Waldron went from 17,501 recorded bearers to 16,809. That is a decrease of 692 (-4.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #2,063 to #2,090.
What does the Census say about the background of Waldron?
Among Census respondents with the surname Waldron, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.5%. The next largest groups are Black (6.7%) and Hispanic (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 Waldron in the 2020 Census, accounting for 84.5% (14,209 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Waldron appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (84.5%), Black (6.7%), Hispanic (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 Waldron (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 Waldron mean?
Derived from a place name meaning "valley of the Britons" in Old English, likely referring to an early settlement. 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 Waldron (5.62 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 have the last name Waldron?
You can see how common the surname Waldron is on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.