The Waits surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 5,661 people carried this name — #6,059 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 52,100 people counted. About the same as in 2000 (5,644).

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What the name means

The meaning of the Waits surname

An English surname originating as an occupation, a variant of Waite.

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

In print

Waits in American newspapers,
1900–1901.

Newspaper page from The Weekly Corinthian carrying the name Waits
The Weekly Corinthian 1900-12-13
Newspaper page from The Weekly Corinthian carrying the name Waits
The Weekly Corinthian 1901-04-10

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 307,864 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Waits in Australian newspapers,
1830s–1990s.

4,493 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Waits. The most, 1,121, date from the 1870s. Weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, it stands out most in South Australia, at 2.7 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

South Australia 1,600
New South Wales 933
Victoria 929
Queensland 564
Western Australia 281
Tasmania 140
ACT (Canberra) 38
Northern Territory 3

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

Who carried it

People named Waits,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Alvin Waits 1920–1976 · politician
  • Freddie Waits 1940–1989 · drummer
  • Freddie Waits 1943–1989 · drummer

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

In the public record

People named Waits,
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 States344 records

344 records of the Waits name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 235
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 82
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 15
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 8
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 2
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 1
  • 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 Homer W. Waits

    Born 1923 in Texas. Enlisted 1943 at Houston; auto mechanic from Harris County. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1991, buried at Houston National Cemetery, Texas.

    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 Daniel Waits

    Arrived at New York in 1868 aboard the Isaac Webb from Liverpool, aged 26; pattern maker. 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 Albert W. Waits

    U.S. Air Force veteran of the Korean War. Born 1937, died 1995; buried at National Memorial Cemetery of Arizona, Phoenix, Arizona.

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

Showing 3 of 344 records for Waits 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, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · 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).

Australia8 records

8 records of the Waits name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 6
  • NSW convict, estate and railway indexes 1
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 1
  1. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Wm Waits

    Arrived in Victoria in 1854 aboard the Mermaid, aged 27; English.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record John Waits

    Farmer of Mandurang, Victoria; died 1860.

    Public Record Office Victoria (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 Daniel Waits

    Arrived in Victoria in 1854 aboard the Mermaid, aged 38; English.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 8 records for Waits in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain).

Canada1 record

1 record of the Waits name in Canada Nova Scotia Archives name indexes
  1. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record John C. Waits

    Married 1890 in Colchester, Nova Scotia.

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

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

When the index is not enough

This page says where Waits 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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