The Atwater surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 4,289 people carried this name — #7,739 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 69,000 people counted. That is up 5% from 4,067 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Atwater surname

From at + water, a toponymic surname for someone who lived by a river or lake.

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Atwater» (English), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.

As an English and Welsh surname

Bardsley classes it as a local name, from where the family lived: ‘at the water’.

His entry covers Atwater and Attwater.

From Charles W. Bardsley, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with Special American Instances (London: Henry Frowde, 1901), p. 67 · public domain.

In print

Atwater in American newspapers,
1921–1922.

Newspaper page from The Wolf Point Herald carrying the name Atwater
The Wolf Point Herald 1921-12-29
Newspaper page from The Wolf Point Herald carrying the name Atwater
The Wolf Point Herald 1921-12-08
Newspaper page from Vernon Parish Democrat carrying the name Atwater
Vernon Parish Democrat 1922-02-09

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain.

In print

Atwater in Australian newspapers,
1870s–1950s.

558 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Atwater. The most, 158, date from the 1880s. Queensland has the most articles, but weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, the name stands out most in Western Australia, at 2.7 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

Queensland 159
New South Wales 138
Western Australia 116
Victoria 84
South Australia 41
Tasmania 16
ACT (Canberra) 3

Trove, National Library of Australia (trove.nla.gov.au) · articles in its digitised newspapers that name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Atwater.

Who carried it

People named Atwater,
with a public archive behind them.

  • John Atwater d. 1499 · politician
  • Robert Atwater d. 1857
  • Susannah Macomber d. 1831
  • William Atwater 1440–1521 · writer
  • Mary Atwater 1527–1620
  • David Atwater 1615–1692

Wikidata (CC0) · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Atwater,
in the records of 3 countries.

Soldiers, farmers, migrants and neighbours who carried the name and left a trace in public archives. Everyone shown here died long ago or was born more than a century ago.

United States534 records

534 records of the Atwater name in the United States
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 176
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 162
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 77
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 65
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 34
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 19
  • U.S. service members who died in the Korean War 1
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Sammie L. Atwater

    Born 1922 in Tennessee. Enlisted 1942 at Camp Forrest; farm hand from Shelby County. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1972, buried at Memphis National Cemetery, Tennessee.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Matthew Atwater

    Arrived at New York in 1852 aboard the American Congress from London, aged 35; laborer. From England.

    U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)
  3. A U.S. Army record of death and interment, Camp Nelson, Kentucky, 1864
    Example: U.S. burial record, 1864
    Burial record Charlie Howard Atwater

    U.S. Army veteran. Born 1931, died 2000; buried at Southview Cemetery, Thomaston, Georgia.

    U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)

Showing 3 of 534 records for Atwater in the United States.

Counts: NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Record of death and interment, Camp Nelson, Kentucky, 1864, U.S. National Archives (public domain).

Canada156 records

156 records of the Atwater name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 154
  • Canadian Virtual War Memorial 1
  • Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver 1
  1. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Howard H. Atwater

    Died 1945 in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.
  2. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Roy Lamont Atwater

    Died 1941; buried at Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver, British Columbia.

    City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver.
  3. A Canadian First World War grave register card for a soldier who died of wounds in 1917
    Example: Canadian war grave register, 1917
    War record Howard Herbert Atwater

    Died in service in 1945.

    Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada.

Showing 3 of 156 records for Atwater in Canada.

Counts: Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. · Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. · City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0); Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0); Canadian First World War circumstances-of-death register (scan by Scottgraham87 via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0).

Australia12 records

12 records of the Atwater name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 7
  • Tasmanian Names Index 5
  1. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Fanny M. Atwater

    Arrived in Victoria in 1881 aboard the Orient, aged 37.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Margaret Wilson Atwater

    Died 1887 in Launceston, Tasmania, aged 22.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record George William Atwater

    Married 1889 in Launceston, Tasmania, aged 42.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 12 records for Atwater in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0); Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Atwater.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Atwater is.
A volume says what happened to it.

Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.

See the Atwater volume
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