2000
#85,643
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 203
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.08
Very Rare Last name
Waterston
An English surname derived from a place name referring to a town located near water.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 267 Americans carry the last name Waterston. That puts it at #86,153 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.08 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 1,283,724 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Waterston 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 Waterston with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
267
1 in 1,283,724
Census rank
#86,153
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
233
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 233 bearers of the surname Waterston in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.08 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 86153rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Waterston, the largest self-reported group is White at 79.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (14.6%) and Two or More Races (3.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Waterston
The surname Waterston is of English origin, deriving from a locational name for someone who lived near a settlement with a stream or river. It likely emerged in the late medieval period, around the 13th or 14th century. The name is a combination of the Old English words "waeter" meaning water, and "tun" meaning an enclosure or settlement.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name is found in the Hundred Rolls of Oxfordshire from 1273, where a Richard de Waterton is mentioned. This suggests the name may have originated in areas like Oxfordshire or nearby counties where watercourses were prevalent.
In the 14th century, variations of the name like Waterton appear in records across England, such as the Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379. This indicates the name had spread to different regions by that time.
The Waterstones were a notable family from Westmorland (now part of Cumbria) in the 16th century. Edward Waterston (c.1540-1592) was a member of this family and served as a Justice of the Peace.
Robert Waterston (1599-1677) was a Scottish minister who served as the Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland in 1642. He was a prominent figure during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms.
George Waterston (1684-1766) was a Scottish merchant and judge who served as a Baillie (magistrate) of Edinburgh in the early 18th century.
William Waterston (1811-1886) was a Scottish architect who designed several notable buildings in Edinburgh, including St. Mary's Episcopal Cathedral.
Edward Lewis Waterston (1834-1916) was a British naturalist and writer, best known for his works on natural history and taxidermy.
The name Waterston has been associated with various place names over the centuries, often reflecting its locational origins. Examples include Waterton in Yorkshire, Watertown in Oxfordshire, and Waterton in Cumbria.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Waterston
Among Census respondents with the surname Waterston, the largest self-reported group is White at 79.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (14.6%) and Two or More Races (3.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Waterston 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 Waterston surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White79.8% · 186
- Hispanic or Latino14.6% · 34
- Two or more races3.0% · 7
- Black or African American1.3% · 3
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 2
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.4% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Waterston
Waterston 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
#89,403
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 207
+4 bearers (+2.0%)
Per 100,000 0.07
Rank movement Down 3,760 places
2020
#86,153
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 233
+26 bearers (+12.6%)
Per 100,000 0.08
Rank movement Up 3,250 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #85,643 | 203 | 0.08 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #89,403 | 207 | 0.07 | +4 bearers (+2.0%) | Down 3,760 places |
| 2020 | #86,153 | 233 | 0.08 | +26 bearers (+12.6%) | Up 3,250 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 Waterston 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 | #89,403 | #86,153 | 3.6% |
| Count | 207 | 233 | 12.6% |
| Per 100K | 0.07 | 0.08 | 11.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Waterston bearers went from 207 to 233 (+12.6% change). The surname moved up 3,250 positions in the national ranking, going from #89,403 to #86,153.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Waterston
FAQ
Waterston surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Waterston?
Name Census estimates that about 267 living Americans carry the surname Waterston. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 1,283,724 residents.
How common is Waterston?
Waterston ranks #86,153 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.08 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 233 people with the surname Waterston. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (267), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.08 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.08 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Waterston.
Has Waterston become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Waterston went from 207 recorded bearers to 233. That is an increase of 26 (+12.6%). In the national ranking it rose from #89,403 to #86,153.
What does the Census say about the background of Waterston?
Among Census respondents with the surname Waterston, the largest self-reported group is White at 79.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (14.6%) and Two or More Races (3.0%). 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 Waterston in the 2020 Census, accounting for 79.8% (186 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Waterston appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (79.8%), Hispanic (14.6%), Two or More Races (3.0%). 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 Waterston (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 Waterston mean?
An English surname derived from a place name referring to a town located near water. 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 Waterston (0.08 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 Waterston?
For a quick modern take, check how many people have the surname Waterston on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.