How common is the surname Waterman?

12,177 people in the United States had the surname Waterman in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 25,355 Americans. It ranked 2,947th of 162,253 surnames.

Who is the most famous person named Waterman?

Lewis Waterman, American inventor (1837–1901), followed by Willard Waterman.

Where is the surname Waterman most common?

Wikidata records people named Waterman in the United States.

Is the surname Waterman getting more or less common?

More common. 11,799 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 12,177 in 2010, up 3.2%.

The surname Waterman

An occupational surname, carried by 12,177 people in the United States.

3 syllables Soundex W365

Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). Waterman is more common than 98.2% of them.

Origin

From the occupation of waterman, from water + man.

Waterman is an occupational surname: named after the work an ancestor did.

Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

How common it is

2010 US Census

There were 12,177 people named Waterman in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 25,355 Americans. That is up 3.2% since 2000, when the Census counted 11,799.

#2,947

rank among US surnames

12,177

people in 2010

4.1

per 100,000 Americans

+3.2%

change since 2000 (was #2,797)

Rank	Surname	People	1 in
#2,943	Harley	12,186	25,336
#2,944	Talbert	12,181	25,346
#2,946	Hopson	12,180	25,349
#2,947	Waterman	12,177	25,355

Who is named Waterman

Race and Hispanic origin as people reported it in the 2010 Census

86% of people named Waterman identified as white (not Hispanic), 7.6% as Black (not Hispanic) and 2.7% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).

White (not Hispanic) 86%
Black (not Hispanic) 7.6%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 2.7%
Two or more races 1.8%
American Indian and Alaska Native 1.2%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.6%

Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

Famous Watermans

5 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

Lewis Waterman
American inventor (1837–1901)
Willard Waterman
American actor (1914-1995)
Michael Waterman
American scientist and professor at the University of Southern California, born 1942
Charles W. Waterman
American politician (1861-1932)
Ida Waterman
American actress (1852-1941)

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Surnames that sound like Waterman

Weatherman

Waterman has the Soundex code W365, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code W365.

Questions

Where does the surname Waterman come from?: From the occupation of waterman, from water + man.
How common is the surname Waterman?: 12,177 people in the United States had the surname Waterman in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 25,355 Americans. It ranked 2,947th of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname Waterman?: In the 2010 Census, 86% of people named Waterman identified as white (not Hispanic), and 7.6% as Black (not Hispanic).
Who is the most famous person named Waterman?: Lewis Waterman, American inventor (1837–1901), followed by Willard Waterman.
Where is the surname Waterman most common?: Wikidata records people named Waterman in the United States.
What type of surname is Waterman?: Waterman is an occupational surname, named after the work an ancestor did.
Is the surname Waterman getting more or less common?: More common. 11,799 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 12,177 in 2010, up 3.2%.