Waterhouse
A locational English surname meaning someone who lived at or near a house by the water.
The #9,129 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 86,314 Americans shares it.
Etymology
This surname is built from Old English words for 'water' and 'house.' In the old naming pattern, it originally described a person who lived by a house near water, rather than a modern occupational connection. Some early forms also point to places called Waterhouse or Waterhouses, which helped the surname become established as a local or habitation name.
History
The name is recorded in medieval English forms, and one source links an early bearer to Lincolnshire in the thirteenth century. It was later found in several English regions, including Staffordshire and Durham, where place-names of the same type reinforced its use as a surname. Like many English locational surnames, it likely arose independently in more than one place.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
A medieval Latinized form of the name appears as 'ab Aqua Domo,' literally 'of the water house.'
From the historical record
“Field [O.E. wceter + feld] WATERHOUSE (Eng.) Dweller at the House by the Water [O.E. wceter + htis] There is a place called Waterhouses in Durham. WATERLEADER (Eng.) Water-Carrier [M.E. waterleder ; f, O.E. wceter + a der. of Udan (M.E. leden), to lead, carry]”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)Notable people named Waterhouse
- John William Waterhouse (1849–1917)
Sourced from Wikidata; linked to their Wikipedia page.