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

Watters, 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 Watters surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Watters in America

Watters is the 3113th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Watters surname appeared 11,569 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 4 people would have the surname Watters.

We can also compare 2010 data for Watters 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 Watters

The surname Watters has its origins in Scotland, dating back to the 12th century. It is believed to be a variant of the old Scottish name Walter, which is derived from the Germanic elements "wald" meaning ruler and "heri" meaning army.

The earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in various medieval charters and records from Scotland. One notable example is the mention of a Walter de Berclay in the Ragman Rolls of 1296, a document recording the swearing of fealty to Edward I of England by Scottish nobles and landowners.

During the 13th and 14th centuries, the name Watters became particularly prevalent in the Scottish Lowlands, particularly in the regions of Dumfriesshire and Lanarkshire. In these areas, the name is thought to have been associated with families who held positions of authority or had ties to the local nobility.

As the surname spread throughout Scotland, various spelling variations emerged, including Watt, Watters, Waters, and Watters. These variations often reflected local dialects and the preferences of individual scribes who recorded the name in official documents.

One of the earliest known bearers of the surname was Sir John Watters, a prominent Scottish knight who fought alongside Robert the Bruce during the Wars of Scottish Independence in the early 14th century. Another notable figure was William Watters, a 16th-century Scottish scholar and theologian who played a significant role in the Protestant Reformation.

In the 17th century, the Watters surname became associated with the Scottish Covenanters, a group of Presbyterians who opposed the religious reforms imposed by the Stuart monarchy. Several individuals with the surname, such as Alexander Watters and John Watters, were imprisoned or executed for their involvement in the Covenanter movement.

As the centuries passed, the Watters surname continued to be found throughout Scotland and eventually spread to other parts of the British Isles and beyond. Notable individuals bearing the name include the Irish-American minister and evangelist Billy Watters (1827-1908), who played a significant role in the Second Great Awakening, and the American artist and illustrator Bill Watters (1935-2020), known for his work on popular comic book series like Spiderman and The Avengers.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Watters

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

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

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

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