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

Waterland, 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 Waterland surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Waterland in America

Waterland is the 116829th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Waterland surname appeared 149 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 Waterland.

We can also compare 2010 data for Waterland 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 Waterland

The surname Waterland is of English origin, specifically from the areas surrounding the Norfolk Broads in East Anglia. It derives from the Old English words 'wæter' meaning water and 'land' meaning land or estate, referring to a person who lived near a body of water or owned land near water.

The earliest recorded spelling of the name appears to be Waterlande in the Pipe Rolls of Norfolk in 1186. Other early spellings include Waterlond in the Feet of Fines for Essex in 1285 and Waterland in the Court Rolls of the Manor of Wakefield in Yorkshire in 1317.

One of the earliest recorded bearers of the name was John Waterlande, mentioned in the Court Rolls of the Manor of Wakefield in 1317. Another early bearer was Robert de Waterlande, listed in the Feet of Fines for Essex in 1285.

The name Waterland is also found in the famous Domesday Book of 1086, which records landowners in England at the time of the Norman Conquest. The entry mentions a place called 'Waterlande' in Norfolk, likely the origin of the surname.

In terms of notable individuals with the surname, one of the earliest was Daniel Waterland (1683-1740), an English theologian and philosopher who wrote extensively on the doctrine of the Trinity. Another notable bearer was John William Waterland (1743-1816), an English politician and writer who served as a Member of Parliament.

Other individuals of note include Thomas Waterland (1824-1885), an English artist known for his landscape paintings, and George Robert Waterland (1805-1868), an English architect who designed several churches and public buildings in London.

A more recent example is Sir Sydney Waterlow Waterland (1822-1906), a British army officer and colonial administrator who served as the first Lieutenant-Governor of the North-West Territories in Canada from 1876 to 1878.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Waterland

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

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 Waterland 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 Waterland 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 Waterland was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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