The Waddle surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 4,167 people carried this name — #7,940 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 70,900 people counted. That is up 1% from 4,143 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Waddle 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 Argentina’s national register

At least 26 people named Waddle live in Argentina.

RENAPER only publishes a name in a province when more than ten people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in City of Buenos Aires.

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

Where they live today

City of Buenos Aires 16
Buenos Aires Province 10

RENAPER (National Registry of Persons, Argentina), surnames of residents by province, December 2021 — CC BY 4.0.

In the first U.S. census, 1790

59 families named Waddle, or a close spelling, were counted in 1790.

Each family is counted by its head. About 365 people lived in those households, 6.2 to a family on average. The table counts it together with 6 other spellings. The table lists white heads of families only, in the twelve states whose 1790 records survive; Virginia’s figures come from state lists of 1782–1785.

Families, by state

Pennsylvania 14
Virginia 12
North Carolina 11
South Carolina 6
Maryland 5
New York 4
New Hampshire 3
Massachusetts 3
Vermont 1

U.S. Census Bureau, «A Century of Population Growth from the First Census of the United States to the Twelfth, 1790–1900» (Washington, 1909), table 111, p. 267 — public domain · names carried by at least 100 white persons in 1790.

In print

Waddle in American newspapers,
1908–1929.

Newspaper page from Fergus County Democrat carrying the name Waddle
Fergus County Democrat 1908-03-10
Newspaper page from The Montgomery Advertiser carrying the name Waddle
The Montgomery Advertiser 1927-03-20
Newspaper page from Evening Star carrying the name Waddle
Evening Star 1929-06-28

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 45,524 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Waddle in Australian newspapers,
1810s–1980s.

4,975 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Waddle. The most, 1,012, date from the 1880s. South Australia 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 Tasmania, at 3.0 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

South Australia 1,688
Tasmania 1,194
Queensland 1,175
Victoria 478
New South Wales 321
Western Australia 114
ACT (Canberra) 2

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

Who carried it

People named Waddle,
with a public archive behind them.

  • William Waddle 1811–1895 · physician
  • Hugh William Waddle 1845–1906
  • Harry Waddle 1915–2006 · artist

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

In the public record

People named Waddle,
in the records of 4 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 States313 records

313 records of the Waddle name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 137
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 79
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 61
  • Irish Famine arrivals at New York, 1846–1851 14
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 12
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 8
  • U.S. service members who died in the Vietnam War 2
  1. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Sammie Wayne Waddle

    Born 1943; from Bremen, Alabama. U.S. Army, infantryman; killed in action 1969 in Binh Dinh, South Vietnam. Buried at Mount Pleasant Cemetery, Fulton, Mississippi.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Don J. Waddle

    Born 1918 in Oklahoma. Enlisted 1942 at Fort Sill; farm hand from Dewey County. U.S. Army veteran; died 1999, buried at Munice Cemetery, Seiling, Oklahoma.

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

    Arrived at New York in 1864 aboard the North America from Liverpool, aged 22; servant. From Ireland.

    U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)

Showing 3 of 313 records for Waddle in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain) · 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, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Vietnam Veterans Memorial, photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, 2009 (public domain); U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

Australia343 records

343 records of the Waddle name in Australia
  • Tasmanian Names Index 188
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 101
  • Queensland State Archives indexes 35
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 14
  • NSW convict, estate and railway indexes 3
  • State Library of Western Australia indexes 2
  1. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Margaret Jane Waddle

    Died 1926 in National Park, Tasmania. Will registered in Tasmania in 1927.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Percy Chas Emmanuel Waddle

    Born 1882 in Launceston, Tasmania. Married 1912 in Launceston, Tasmania, aged 29.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  3. 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 Alexander Waddle

    Transported to New South Wales aboard the Indefatigable, arriving 1812.

    Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY)

Showing 3 of 343 records for Waddle in Australia.

Counts: Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) · Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY) · State Library of Western Australia (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain); Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain); Prison-ship in Portsmouth Harbour, with the convicts going on board, etching by Edward William Cooke, 1829, Royal Museums Greenwich (public domain).

Canada5 records

5 records of the Waddle name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 2
  • Canadian Virtual War Memorial 1
  • Ontario immigration records, 1865–1883 1
  • City of Waterloo (Ontario) cemetery records 1
  1. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Pauline Waddle

    Buried in 1989 at Parkview Cemetery, Waterloo, Ontario.

    Contains information provided by the City of Waterloo under licence
  2. 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 Ward Ralph Waddle

    Died in service in 1942.

    Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada.
  3. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Robert Waddle

    Married 1859 in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.

Showing 3 of 5 records for Waddle 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. · Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario. · Contains information provided by the City of Waterloo under licence. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: 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); Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain).

United Kingdom4 records

4 records of the Waddle name in the United Kingdom
  • St James's burial ground, Euston (London), 1789–1853 3
  • Welsh wills index cards 1
  1. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Eleanor Grace Waddle

    Will proved in 1930; of Llanelly.

    National Library of Wales, Wills Index Cards (CC0)
  2. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record John Waddle

    Buried in 1802 at St James's burial ground, Euston, London, aged 40.

    MOLA and HS2, St James's burial ground data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Showing 2 of 4 records for Waddle in the United Kingdom.

Counts: MOLA and HS2, St James's burial ground data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. · National Library of Wales, Wills Index Cards (CC0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain); Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Waddle.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Waddle 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 Waddle volume
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