The Waddell surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 21,301 people carried this name — #1,691 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 13,900 people counted. That is up 2% from 20,885 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Waddell surname

As an English and Welsh surname

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

An early record he cites: Robert de Wadhulle, Bedfordshire, 1273 — Hundred Rolls.

His entry covers Waddell and Waddle.

From Charles W. Bardsley, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with Special American Instances (London: Henry Frowde, 1901), p. 786 · public domain.

In Ireland’s birth registers, 1890

Ireland registered 12 births for the Waddell name in 1890.

Most were registered in Ulster. By the Registrar-General’s own method — births multiplied by 44.38 — that is about 500 people bearing the name in Ireland at the time.

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they were born, 1890

Ulster 12

Registrar-General for Ireland, «Special Report on Surnames in Ireland» (R. E. Matheson, 1894), births index of 1890 — public domain.

In Scotland, 1880s

Waddell was 12 in every 10,000 names in Scotland.

That is about 1 in 833. Its home there, in Guppy’s words: “Principally around Airdrie in Lanarkshire.” He counted the more than 20,000 names in Halliburton’s County Directory of Scotland, taking Scotland as a whole, and listed only the names that reached 10 in every 10,000.

H. B. Guppy, «Homes of Family Names in Great Britain» (London, 1890), appendix: alphabetical list of the most frequent Scottish names, p. 595 — public domain · names in Halliburton’s County Directory of Scotland, per 10,000 for the whole country.

In Scotland’s registers today

Waddell was recorded 56 times in Scotland’s registers of births, marriages and deaths in 2025.

That made it the 461st most common name in those registers, shared with others on the same count. In 1975, the first year of the series, the count was 113. Each birth counts the child’s surname, each marriage both partners’ and each death the surname of the person who died — a yearly count of registrations, not of the people who live in Scotland.

National Records of Scotland, «Most Common Surnames, 2025» (published 26 May 2026): every surname recorded 10 or more times in the 2025 registers, and the series from 1975 · different spellings are counted separately — © Crown copyright 2026. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

In print

Waddell in American newspapers,
1891–1929.

Newspaper page from The Bossier Banner carrying the name Waddell
The Bossier Banner 1891-10-15
Newspaper page from The Producers News carrying the name Waddell
The Producers News 1929-11-29
Newspaper page from The Browning Review carrying the name Waddell
The Browning Review 1925-02-13

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 119,023 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Waddell in Australian newspapers,
1820s–2000s.

80,609 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Waddell. The most, 31,305, date from the 1900s. Weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, it stands out most in New South Wales, at 2.0 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 55,553
Queensland 7,674
Victoria 7,211
Tasmania 3,562
South Australia 3,197
Western Australia 3,179
ACT (Canberra) 148
Northern Territory 12

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

Who carried it

People named Waddell,
with a public archive behind them.

  • William Coventry Henry Waddell
    William Coventry Henry Waddell 1802–1884 · lawyer
  • William B. Waddell
    William B. Waddell 1807–1872
  • Peter Hately Waddell
    Peter Hately Waddell 1817–1891 · author
  • William W. Waddell
    William W. Waddell 1818–1875 · businessperson
  • Anne Waddell 1750–1821
  • George Waddell 1772–1816

Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped, in the public domain or CC0 · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Waddell,
in the records of 6 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 States1,705 records

1,705 records of the Waddell name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 767
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 294
  • Other U.S. records 644
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record James L. Waddell

    Born 1911 in Pennsylvania. Enlisted 1944 at New Cumberland; craneman from Dauphin County. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1995, buried at Indiantown Gap National Cemetery, Pennsylvania.

    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 Annie Waddell

    Arrived at New York in 1892 aboard the Furnessia from Glasgow and Londonderry, aged 29; servant. From Perth, Scotland; bound for Chicago.

    U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)
  3. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Robert Douglas Waddell

    Born 1946; from Batavia, Ohio. U.S. Army, infantryman; killed in action 1967 in Quang Tin, South Vietnam.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain)

Showing 3 of 1,705 records for Waddell in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain) · City of Asheville (public domain, PDDL) · 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); Vietnam Veterans Memorial, photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, 2009 (public domain).

Australia1,063 records

1,063 records of the Waddell name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 536
  • Queensland State Archives indexes 191
  • Other Australian records 336
  1. An 1829 etching of convicts being rowed out to the prison ship York in Portsmouth Harbour
    Pictured: convicts going on board a prison ship, 1829
    Transportation record John Waddell

    Transported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Recovery, sailing from Downs in 1837. Native of Glasgow, Lanarkshire. Applied for permission to marry in Van Diemen's Land in 1842.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Hannah Waddell

    Died 1884 in Launceston, Tasmania, aged 72. Will registered in Tasmania in 1884.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Archd Waddell

    Arrived in Victoria in 1852 aboard the Wanata, aged 24; Scottish.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 1,063 records for Waddell in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY) · State Library of Western Australia (CC BY 4.0) · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Prison-ship in Portsmouth Harbour, with the convicts going on board, etching by Edward William Cooke, 1829, Royal Museums Greenwich (public domain); Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

Canada193 records

193 records of the Waddell name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 101
  • Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver 25
  • Other Canadian records 67
  1. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record John Waddell

    Came to Ontario in 1882 aboard the Peruvian, landing at Quebec, bound for London, Ontario; Scotch.

    Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario.
  2. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Helen Waddell

    Died 1976, aged 71; buried at Brookside Cemetery, Winnipeg, Manitoba.

    City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg.
  3. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Ernest Watson Waddell

    Buried in 1987 at St. Mary's Cemetery, Calgary, Alberta, aged 63.

    City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary.

Showing 3 of 193 records for Waddell in Canada.

Counts: Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. · City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver. · City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary. · Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. · City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg. · Halifax Regional Municipality. Contains information licenced under the Open Government Licence—Halifax. · Contains information provided by the City of Waterloo under licence · City of Niagara Falls. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Niagara Falls. · Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario. · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0).

United Kingdom46 records

46 records of the Waddell name in the United Kingdom
  • Stirling Council burial records 31
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 11
  • Scottish rolls of honour, First World War 4
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Agnes Jarvie Waddell

    Buried in 1957 at Callander Cemetery, Stirling, Scotland, aged 77.

    Stirling Council. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
  2. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record James Hamilton Waddell

    Born 1893. Died 1917. Named in the University of Edinburgh roll of honour, 1914-1919.

    National Library of Scotland, Rolls of Honour (public domain)
  3. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record T. C. Waddell

    North Staffordshire Regiment. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1918.

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)

Showing 3 of 46 records for Waddell in the United Kingdom.

Counts: Stirling Council. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · National Library of Scotland, Rolls of Honour (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0); C. & E. Morton Ltd roll of honour, 1914–1919, photo by Adrian S Pye via Geograph (CC BY-SA 2.0).

New Zealand26 records

26 records of the Waddell name in New Zealand
  • Christchurch City cemetery records 21
  • Thames-Coromandel District cemetery records 4
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 1
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record William Waddell

    Died 1982, aged 77; buried at Memorial Park Cemetery, Christchurch, Canterbury.

    Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Janet Brown Waddell

    Buried in 1924 at Shortland Cemetery, Thames-Coromandel District, Waikato, aged 86.

    Thames-Coromandel District Council (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the Livre d’or of the French war dead, Paris
    Example: roll of the war dead
    War record G. Waddell

    Corporal, New Zealand Camel Corps. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1918.

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)

Showing 3 of 26 records for Waddell in New Zealand.

Counts: Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0) · Thames-Coromandel District Council (CC BY 4.0) · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0); Livre d’or of the war dead, Paris, Ministère des pensions, Archives nationales (CC0).

Netherlands2 records

2 records of the Waddell name in the Netherlands Dutch church registers before 1811
  1. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Robbert Waddell

    Married in 1604 in Leeuwarden.

    Open Archives, AlleFriezen (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 1 of 2 records for Waddell in the Netherlands.

Counts: Open Archives (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Waddell.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Waddell 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.

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