Explore the Family Name Waterworth

The meaning of Waterworth

English (Lancashire and Yorkshire): occupational name from Middle English water ‘water’ + ward ‘guard’, probably for an officer in charge of an area of water. All the early examples occur on the banks of Martin Mere, a large freshwater lake (now drained) in western Lancashire.

Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.

How common is the last name Waterworth in the United States?

Based on data from the Decennial U.S. Census, the surname Waterworth has seen a slight dip in popularity over the past decade. In 2000, it ranked 37,429th in terms of prevalence and by 2010, it had slipped to the 37,993rd position. This represented a decrease of 1.51%. However, the actual number of people bearing this name increased during the same period, rising from 560 in 2000 to 584 in 2010, a growth of 4.29%. Meanwhile, the proportion per 100,000 people dropped by 4.76%, going from 0.21 to 0.2.

	2000	2010	Change
Rank	#37,429	#37,993	-1.51%
Count	560	584	4.29%
Proportion per 100k	0.21	0.2	-4.76%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Waterworth

In terms of ethnicity, the majority of the individuals with the Waterworth surname identify as White according to the Decennial U.S. Census data. In 2000, this group accounted for 97.14% of all Waterworths and by 2010, the figure had risen slightly to 97.43%. The Census recorded no persons of Asian/Pacific Islander, Black, or American Indian and Alaskan Native ethnicity bearing this surname in either year. The Hispanic representation also dropped from 1.25% in 2000 to none in 2010. On the other hand, those identifying with two or more ethnicities saw an increase from 0.89% to 1.03%, showing a change of 15.73%.

	2000	2010	Change
White	97.14%	97.43%	0.3%
Two or More Races	0.89%	1.03%	15.73%
Asian/Pacific Islander	0%	0%	0%
Hispanic	1.25%	0%	0%
Black	0%	0%	0%
American Indian and Alaskan Native	0%	0%	0%