The Wathen surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 3,432 people carried this name — #9,479 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 86,200 people counted. That is up 5% from 3,266 in 2000.

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In the Nordic population registers

224 people named Wathen is counted in Finland.

Finland counts its citizens, at home or abroad.

Counted, by country

Finland (2026) 224

Digital and Population Data Services Agency (DVV), Finland, surname statistics, August 2026 — CC BY 4.0.

In print

Wathen in American newspapers,
1925–1926.

Newspaper page from Ventnor News carrying the name Wathen
Ventnor News 1926-03-31
Newspaper page from Torrington Telegram carrying the name Wathen
Torrington Telegram 1926-08-05
Newspaper page from Torrington Telegram carrying the name Wathen
Torrington Telegram 1925-10-29

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 10,136 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Wathen in Australian newspapers,
1830s–1990s.

3,439 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Wathen. The most, 787, 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 Tasmania, at 10.2 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

Tasmania 2,420
Victoria 617
New South Wales 232
Queensland 80
South Australia 36
Western Australia 32
ACT (Canberra) 8

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

Who carried it

People named Wathen,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Samuel Wathen
    Samuel Wathen 1720–1787 · physician
  • James Wathen d. 1828 · artist
  • James Wathen d. 1828 · artist
  • Harriet Louisa Blunt d. 1866
  • Elizabeth Martha Wathen d. 1828
  • Rosemary Hartridge d. 2006

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 Wathen,
in the records of 5 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 States158 records

158 records of the Wathen name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 100
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 40
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 8
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 4
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 3
  • Irish Famine arrivals at New York, 1846–1851 2
  • U.S. service members who died in the Vietnam War 1
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record George L. Wathen

    Born 1905 in Kentucky. Enlisted 1942 at Louisville; farmer from Grayson County. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1959, buried at Zachary Taylor National Cemetery, Kentucky.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Frederick Allen Wathen

    Born 1947; from Springfield, Ohio. U.S. Navy, seaman; died in an accident 1966 in Quang Nam, South Vietnam.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain)
  3. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Alexander Wathen

    Arrived at New York in 1851 aboard the Eudocia from Liverpool, aged 28; laborer. From Ireland.

    U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain)

Showing 3 of 158 records for Wathen in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (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); Vietnam Veterans Memorial, photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, 2009 (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

Australia188 records

188 records of the Wathen name in Australia
  • Tasmanian Names Index 97
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 48
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 36
  • NSW convict, estate and railway indexes 5
  • Queensland State Archives indexes 2
  1. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record William Fowler Wathen

    Died 1899 in Launceston, Tasmania, aged 77. Will registered in Tasmania in 1899.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  2. 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 Joseph Wathen

    Transported to New South Wales aboard the Asia, arriving 1837.

    Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY)
  3. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record James Wathen

    Arrived in Queensland in 1882 aboard the Compta.

    Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 188 records for Wathen in Australia.

Counts: Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) · Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY) · Queensland State Archives (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); Prison-ship in Portsmouth Harbour, with the convicts going on board, etching by Edward William Cooke, 1829, Royal Museums Greenwich (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

Canada9 records

9 records of the Wathen name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 8
  • City of Calgary cemetery records 1
  1. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Phyllis Eva Wathen

    Buried in 1973 at Queen's Park Cemetery, Calgary, Alberta, aged 57.

    City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary.
  2. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Ella Robb Wathen

    Died 1960 in Amherst, Cumberland, Nova Scotia.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.
  3. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record George A. Wathen

    Married 1901 in Cumberland, Nova Scotia.

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

Showing 3 of 9 records for Wathen in Canada.

Counts: Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. · City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0); Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain).

Finland3 records

3 records of the Wathen name in Finland Finland's war dead, 1914–1922
  1. A page of the Livre d’or of the French war dead, Paris
    Example: roll of the war dead
    War record Kaarlo Fredrik Wathen

    Born 1893 in Pyhäjärvi Ul; foundryman. Died in 1918 in Hämeenlinna, one of the dead of Finland's wars of 1914–1922.

    Kansallisarkisto, via Sotasurmasampo (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the Livre d’or of the French war dead, Paris
    Example: roll of the war dead
    War record Väinö Fredrik Wathén

    Born 1892 in Helsinki; typesetter. Died in 1918 in Tammisaari, one of the dead of Finland's wars of 1914–1922.

    Kansallisarkisto, via Sotasurmasampo (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 Klaus Teodor Wathén

    Born 1890 in Helsinki; "sähkötyöläinen". Died in 1918 in Tampere, one of the dead of Finland's wars of 1914–1922.

    Kansallisarkisto, via Sotasurmasampo (CC BY 4.0)

Counts: Kansallisarkisto, via Sotasurmasampo (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Livre d’or of the war dead, Paris, Ministère des pensions, Archives nationales (CC0).

United Kingdom1 record

1 record of the Wathen 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 A. C. Wathen

    Sapper, Royal Engineers. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1918.

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

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).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Wathen.

When the index is not enough

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

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