Find out how popular the last name Wat is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Wat.

Wat, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Wat surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Wat in America

Wat is the 69392nd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Wat surname appeared 283 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Wat.

We can also compare 2010 data for Wat to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Wat

The surname "Wat" is believed to have originated in England during the late medieval period, likely as a shortened form of the name Walter. This name is derived from the Old Germanic elements "wald" meaning "rule" and "heri" meaning "army."

One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Wat appears in the 13th century, when a man named Richard Wat is mentioned in the Suffolk Hundred Rolls of 1275. These rolls were administrative records compiled during the reign of King Edward I.

The Wat surname was particularly prevalent in the counties of Norfolk, Suffolk, and Essex in the eastern part of England. It is possible that the name may have originated from a place name, as there are several locations with similar spellings, such as Watt's Green in Suffolk and Wat's Corner in Norfolk.

In the 14th century, during the Peasants' Revolt of 1381, a prominent figure named Wat Tyler emerged as a leader of the rebellion against the oppressive poll tax imposed by King Richard II. Tyler was eventually killed during negotiations with the king's men, but his legacy lived on as a symbol of resistance against unjust taxation.

Another notable individual with the surname Wat was Robert Wat, a 15th-century English philosopher and theologian who taught at the University of Oxford. He is known for his works on logic and ethics.

In the 16th century, the name Wat appears in various historical records, including the parish registers of St. Mary's Church in Bury St. Edmunds, where a man named John Wat was recorded as being buried in 1563.

During the 17th century, the Wat surname can be found in the records of the East India Company, where several individuals with this name served as merchants and sailors. One such person was William Wat, who was a member of the crew aboard the ship "Hopewell" in 1635.

In the 18th century, the surname Wat continued to be present in various parts of England, with notable individuals such as Thomas Wat, a landowner and philanthropist from Norfolk, who was born in 1712 and died in 1792.

As the centuries progressed, the Wat surname spread to other parts of the world, including North America and Australia, as a result of migration and colonization. However, the name's roots can be traced back to its origins in medieval England.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Wat

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Wat.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Wat was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Wat has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Wat was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Wat, please contact us.

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