How common is the surname Watterson?

3,690 people in the United States had the surname Watterson in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 83,671 Americans. It ranked 8,873rd of 162,253 surnames.

Who is the most famous person named Watterson?

Bill Watterson, American comic artist.

Where is the surname Watterson most common?

Wikidata records people named Watterson in the United States.

Is the surname Watterson getting more or less common?

More common. 3,425 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 3,690 in 2010, up 7.7%.

The surname Watterson

A surname, carried by 3,690 people in the United States.

3 syllables Soundex W362

Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). Watterson is more common than 94.5% of them.

Origin

Derived from an altered form of the given name Walter, which comes from Waltheri, a Germanic name that is derived from walt (power, authority) and heri (army).

Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

How common it is

2010 US Census

There were 3,690 people named Watterson in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 83,671 Americans. That is up 7.7% since 2000, when the Census counted 3,425.

#8,873

rank among US surnames

3,690

people in 2010

1.3

per 100,000 Americans

+7.7%

change since 2000 (was #8,806)

Rank	Surname	People	1 in
#8,867	Bretz	3,693	83,603
#8,870	Cirillo	3,692	83,626
#8,872	Phares	3,691	83,648
#8,873	Gailey	3,690	83,671
#8,875	Laflamme	3,689	83,694
#8,878	Stanger	3,688	83,716

Who is named Watterson

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

87% of people named Watterson identified as white (not Hispanic), 6.4% as Black (not Hispanic) and 2.8% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).

White (not Hispanic) 87%
Black (not Hispanic) 6.4%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 2.8%
Two or more races 1.6%
American Indian and Alaska Native 1.6%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.3%

Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

Famous Wattersons

1 notable person on Wikidata, most written-about first

Bill Watterson
American comic artist, born 1958

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Surnames that sound like Watterson

Watterson has the Soundex code W362, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code W362.

Questions

Where does the surname Watterson come from?: Derived from an altered form of the given name Walter, which comes from Waltheri, a Germanic name that is derived from walt (power, authority) and heri (army).
How common is the surname Watterson?: 3,690 people in the United States had the surname Watterson in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 83,671 Americans. It ranked 8,873rd of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname Watterson?: In the 2010 Census, 87% of people named Watterson identified as white (not Hispanic), and 6.4% as Black (not Hispanic).
Who is the most famous person named Watterson?: Bill Watterson, American comic artist.
Where is the surname Watterson most common?: Wikidata records people named Watterson in the United States.
Is the surname Watterson getting more or less common?: More common. 3,425 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 3,690 in 2010, up 7.7%.