# Waite (surname)

Source: https://namelineage.com/surname/waite/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. Counts from the US Census Bureau; origin and etymology from Wiktionary; bearers from Wikidata. Data updated 2026-11-11.

A surname originating as an occupation for a watchman.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Origin | not recorded |
| Type | occupational, named after the work an ancestor did |
| People in the US (2010 Census) | 18,664 |
| US rank (2010) | 1,936 of 162,253 |
| How often | about 1 in every 16,542 people |
| Change since 2000 | +7.2% (17,415 in 2000) |
| Pronunciation | not recorded |
| Variant spellings | Waight, Waitt |

## Etymology

English surname for a watchman of Norman origin, from the verb wait. Sometimes confused with White or Wheat.

## Who carries it

Share of people named Waite in the 2010 US Census by the Census's own race and ethnicity groups. The Census suppresses a share when the count behind it is small.

| Group | Share |
|---|---|
| White (not Hispanic) | 86% |
| Black (not Hispanic) | 8.4% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 2.4% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 0.7% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 0.6% |
| Two or more races | 1.8% |

## Where

Wikidata records people named Waite in the United States and Australia.

## People named Waite

- Ralph Waite, American actor (1928–2014)
- Morrison Waite, American jurist (1816–1888); Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court from 1874 to
- Malcolm Waite, American actor (1892-1949)
- Davis Hanson Waite, American politician (1825-1901)
- Edgar Ravenswood Waite, Australian ichthyologist (1866-1928)

## Similar surnames

White, Wade, Watt, Witte, Waid, Wait, Withey, Wood, Wyatt, Witt, Woody, Whitt.

## How to read these numbers

A Census count is people alive and counted in 2010, not births, and names occurring fewer than 100 times are not published at all. Ethnicity shares are the Census's own categories.