Atwater
A topographic surname meaning “at the water,” originally given to someone who lived by a river, stream, or other body of water.
The #7,739 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 71,985 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Atwater comes from the Middle English phrase atte water, meaning “at the water.” It belongs to the common medieval surname pattern built from a place-description plus atte (“at the”), which later fused into a single hereditary surname. The literal sense is straightforward: a person who lived by the water or by a named water feature.
History
Historical surname writers consistently treat Atwater as one of the old English local or topographic names formed from atte + water. Over time the preposition was dropped in many related surnames, and Atwater survived as a fixed family name. In English records it appears alongside related forms such as Attwater and is especially well established in England and later in North America.
Origin
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Fun fact
This surname is part of the same medieval naming pattern that produced names like Atwood, Atwell, and Attree.
From the historical record
“thur. ATWATER. See V/aters. ATWELL. See Wells. ATWICK. See Wick. ATWOOD. ATTWOOD. See Wood. ATWORTIL See Worth. AUBERVILLE. Roger de Auberville came in with the Conqueror and is men-”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom