The Watford surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 4,646 people carried this name — #7,194 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 63,300 people counted. That is up 9% from 4,270 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Watford surname

A habitational surname from Old English.

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Watford» (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: ‘of Watford’.

From Charles W. Bardsley, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with Special American Instances (London: Henry Frowde, 1901), p. 796 · public domain.

In print

Watford in American newspapers,
1890–1911.

Newspaper page from The Camden Chronicle carrying the name Watford
The Camden Chronicle 1911-04-21
Newspaper page from Fisherman & Farmer carrying the name Watford
Fisherman & Farmer 1890-08-22
Newspaper page from The Salt Lake Herald carrying the name Watford
The Salt Lake Herald 1902-12-31

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 8,846 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Watford in Australian newspapers,
1830s–1980s.

1,306 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Watford. The most, 182, date from the 1920s. 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 1.4 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 620
Victoria 281
Tasmania 150
South Australia 114
Queensland 100
Western Australia 28
ACT (Canberra) 6
Northern Territory 1

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

Who carried it

People named Watford,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Jerry Watford
    Jerry Watford 1930–1993 · American football player
  • Gwen Watford 1927–1994 · actor

Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped, in the public domain or CC0 · 9 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Watford,
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 States203 records

203 records of the Watford name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 134
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 41
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 12
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 7
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 5
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 3
  • 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 Rochell Watford

    Born 1912 in South Carolina. Enlisted 1944 at New York City; driver from Kings County, New York. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1964, buried at Long Island National Cemetery, New York.

    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 Arthur J. Watford

    Arrived at New York in 1881 aboard the Germanic from Liverpool, aged 21; 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 Rochell C. Watford

    U.S. Air Force veteran. Born 1938, died 1990; buried at Calverton National Cemetery, New York.

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

Showing 3 of 203 records for Watford 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) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · 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).

Australia52 records

52 records of the Watford name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 21
  • Tasmanian Names Index 19
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 10
  • Queensland State Archives indexes 2
  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 Jane Watford

    Transported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Woodbridge, sailing from London in 1843. Native of Hackney, Middlesex. Applied for permission to marry in Van Diemen's Land in 1845.

    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 Howard T. Watford

    Manufacturers rep of Ringwood North, Victoria; died 1958.

    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 Ethel Maud Watford

    Came to Queensland as an immigrant in 1922 aboard the Themistocles, aged 26.

    Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 52 records for Watford in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0). 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).

United Kingdom4 records

4 records of the Watford name in the United Kingdom War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead
  1. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record J. H. Watford

    Gunner, Royal Garrisun Artillery. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1918.

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)
  2. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record F. L. Watford

    Yeomanry. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1918.

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (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 A. Watford

    Royal Fusiliers. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1917.

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

Showing 3 of 4 records for Watford in the United Kingdom.

Counts: National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: C. & E. Morton Ltd roll of honour, 1914–1919, photo by Adrian S Pye via Geograph (CC BY-SA 2.0).

New Zealand1 record

1 record of the Watford name in New Zealand Christchurch City cemetery records
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Charles Watford

    Died 1935, aged 89; buried at Sydenham Cemetery, Christchurch, Canterbury.

    Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0)

Counts: Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Watford.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Watford 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 Watford volume
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