Waters
Usually a surname from a place by water, though some historical writers also linked it to Walter and its variants.
The #491 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 4,545 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The strongest historical explanation is locational: Middle English atte water meant “at the water,” referring to someone who lived beside a stream, lake, or river. In some cases the ending -s was added or fixed as the name developed from earlier forms like Attewater, later shortened to Waters. A few 19th-century writers also suggested influence from French forms of Walter, but that explanation is less secure and seems secondary at most.
History
Medieval records show early forms such as Atte Water, and the name appears to have spread widely in England before later becoming common in North America. Some old ballads mention figures called Young Waters and Child Waters, which helped keep the name familiar in literary tradition. The surname is now well established in English-speaking countries, especially the United States.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Latinized forms of the surname included De Aqua and Ad Aquam, both meaning roughly “of/by the water.”
From the historical record
“and cp. Waters] WATERS, a form of Walters, q.v., the form doubtless being mainly due to the French homogetietic Wauter, Waut{h)ier. The occurrence of Waters as the name of noblemen in two ballads in (among others) the Percy collection, viz. 'Young Waters' and 'Child Waters' (see the quot. under ChMd(e), suggests…”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)Notable people named Waters
- Roger Waters (b. 1943)
- Sarah Waters (b. 1966)
- John Waters (b. 1946)
Sourced from Wikidata; linked to their Wikipedia page.