Water Coat of Arms and Surname Origin

Genealogists group Water with Waters. Name scholars give the meaning as “Son of Walter, or one who lived by the water”. Without the “s” of Waters, Water is a simpler written form of the same name. Spellings drifted because names were written down by ear in parish books, tax rolls and passenger lists. Related forms: Waterson.

In the 2010 US Census, 363 Americans gave Water as their last name (rank 56,310). That is enough to place it in the top 100,000 American surnames.

A coat of arms belongs to a particular family line rather than to everyone named Water, so the heraldry linked to Waters is a starting point, not an automatic right. Research your Water family history with a full surname report and painted coat of arms.