Origins of the Watson surname

What does the name Watson mean?

Watson is an English and Scottish surname, where it is still popular as the 19th most common in Scotland, 46th most common in England. Watson is believed to have patronymic roots, referring to someone being the son of Walter or Wat (the diminutive form), this name being quite common in the 1200s and 1300s.

Alternative variations of the name Watson

Watson, Wattson, Watsone, Wattsone, Waltson

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Delve deeper into the Watson family's history

OrkneyShetlandHighlandsWestern IslesGrampianTaysideCentralStrathclydeFifeLothianBordersDumfriesNorth East 9455North West 1983Isle of Man 107Yorkshire 8880East Midlands 1901West Midlands 1492East 2586London 8518South East 3576South West 567South Wales 272Mid Wales 43West Wales 56North Wales 108Republic of IrelandNorthern Ireland

In 1921, most Watsons lived in north-east

Census records trace your ancestors through each generation, so you can follow where your relatives lived through each decade.

130,000 Watson Travel & migration records
650,000 Watsons found in all Census records

Interesting facts about Watson

How common is your surname?

36th most common surname in the UK

We have for the Watson surname. The oldest one dates back to 1100.

Who were Watsons most likely to marry?

Our tell us which families married Watsons.

What are the most common Watson first names?

John

William

Mary

Elizabeth

Our tell us the names of Watson family members
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Census records provide incredible detail on names, ages, marital statuses, occupations and more.

Common jobs for Watsons

Men and women often performed different types of jobs, so these are displayed by gender to maintain their historical accuracy.

Common female occupations for Watsons in 1921

Dressmaker

3,044

Domestic Servant

1,775

Cotton Weaver

1,392

General Servant Domestic

1,343

Housekeeper

1,280

Common male occupations for Watsons in 1921

Coal Miner

3,882

Farmer

2,510

General Labourer

2,101

Agricultural Labourer

2,061

Joiner

1,764

We found over 550,000 family trees with the Watson surname

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