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

Watrous, 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 Watrous surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Watrous in America

Watrous is the 14312th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Watrous surname appeared 2,091 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Watrous.

We can also compare 2010 data for Watrous 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 Watrous

The surname Watrous is of French origin, derived from the Old French words "wate" and "rous," meaning "wet" and "russet" or "reddish-brown," respectively. It likely originated as a descriptive surname for someone with a reddish-brown complexion or hair color, or perhaps someone who lived near a body of water.

The earliest known record of the Watrous surname dates back to the 13th century in the Normandy region of France. It was occasionally spelled as "Watrous," "Watrouse," or "Watrowse" in ancient documents and records.

One of the earliest recorded individuals with the Watrous surname was Jehan Watrous, a landowner in the village of Carentan, Normandy, in the late 13th century. Another notable early bearer of the name was Guillaume Watrous, a merchant in the city of Rouen, France, who lived from approximately 1320 to 1395.

The Watrous surname is also found in some ancient English records, suggesting that it may have been brought over to England by Norman settlers after the Norman Conquest in 1066. For instance, the Domesday Book, a comprehensive survey of landowners in England commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086, includes a reference to a landholder named Radulfus Watrous in the county of Wiltshire.

Over the centuries, the Watrous surname has been associated with several notable individuals, including:

1. Robert Watrous (c. 1592 - 1670), one of the earliest English settlers in the Connecticut Colony and a founder of the town of Farmington.

2. John Watrous (1647 - 1737), an American colonial militia officer and member of the Connecticut General Assembly.

3. Ebenezer Watrous (1706 - 1770), a prominent early American clockmaker and silversmith from Connecticut.

4. Gideon Watrous (1776 - 1852), an American politician and judge who served as the 4th Lieutenant Governor of Connecticut from 1825 to 1826.

5. Harry Whittier Watrous (1857 - 1940), an American painter and illustrator known for his landscapes and depictions of the American West.

While the Watrous surname has its roots in France, it has been widely dispersed across many countries and regions, including England, the United States, Canada, and Australia, over the course of several centuries.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Watrous

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

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

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

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