Broadwater
A habitational surname for someone who came from a place called Broadwater, originally meaning “broad water” or a wide stretch of water.
The #8,925 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 84,196 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Broadwater is a place-name surname built from Old English roots: broad plus water, referring to a wide body or stretch of water. In England, Broadwater is the name of places in Sussex and Surrey, and the surname likely began as an identifier for someone who lived at or came from one of them. The meaning is straightforward and topographic rather than occupational or patronymic.
History
19th-century surname dictionaries treat Broadwater as a local name, especially from Broadwater in Sussex, near Worthing. The form appears in medieval-style records as de Brawatere, showing the surname’s long-standing connection to place. In later centuries it spread beyond England, and the historical excerpts also show bearers in Philadelphia and Canada.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Because the surname comes from a place-name, it preserves an old landscape description: a “broad water” was probably a notable water feature that made the location easy to identify.
From the historical record
“rip. Broadwater.— Local , ' of Broad - water,' a parish in co. Sussex, near Worthing. (DomiDDaJ dc Brawatere, co. Sbiki,”
— A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with special American instances