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Waterman History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

United States Canada Australia New Zealand West Indies

Contemporary Notables Historic Events Related Stories Suggested Reading Citations

Waterman History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Germany
Israel

Early Origins of the Waterman family

The surname Waterman was first found in Devon where they held a family seat from very ancient times, before and after the Norman Conquest in 1066.

Early History of the Waterman family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Waterman research. Another 70 words (5 lines of text) covering the years 1339 and 1672 are included under the topic Early Waterman History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Waterman Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Waterman, Watermane and others.

Early Notables of the Waterman family

Notables of this surname at this time include:

George Waterman of the Barbados whose heiress, Mary, married into the distinguished family of Pennant, Baron Penrhyn of Penrhyn Castle, North Wales

Waterman Ranking

In the United States, the name Waterman is the 2,486^th most popular surname with an estimated 12,435 people with that name. 1 However, in Newfoundland, Canada, the name Waterman is ranked the 523^rd most popular surname with an estimated 88 people with that name. 2

Waterman migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Waterman Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Richard Waterman, who arrived in Massachusetts in 1629 3
Richard Waterman, who settled in Salem, Massachusetts in 1630
Katherin Waterman, aged 20, who arrived in Virginia in 1635 aboard the ship "Thomas & John" 3
Miss Ann Waterman, (b. 1617), aged 18, British settler traveling aboard the ship "Safety" arriving in Virginia in 1635 4
Robert Waterman, who landed in Salem, Massachusetts in 1636 3
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Waterman Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

George Waterman, who landed in Pennsylvania in 1743 3

Waterman Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

H Waterman, aged 1, who arrived in New York, NY in 1847 3
D Waterman, who landed in San Francisco, California in 1850 3
J R Waterman, who landed in San Francisco, California in 1851 3
R H Waterman, who landed in San Francisco, California in 1851 3
S S Waterman, who arrived in San Francisco, California in 1851 3
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Waterman migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Waterman Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century

Richard Waterman was a JP for Trinity District, Newfoundland in 1730 5
Joel Waterman, who landed in Halifax, Nova Scotia in 1749-1752

Waterman migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Waterman Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mr. Henry Waterman, British convict who was convicted in Somerset, England for life, transported aboard the "England" on 6th June 1835, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 6
Samuel Waterman, aged 25, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Samuel Boddington" in 1849 7
Mary Waterman, aged 25, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Samuel Boddington" in 1849 7
Samuel Waterman, aged 25, who arrived in South Australia in 1849 aboard the ship "Samuel Boddington" 7
John Waterman, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Thomas Chadwick" in 1850 8
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Waterman migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

Waterman Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Miss Mary Waterman, (b. 1863), aged 16, British settler travelling from Plymouth aboard the ship "Stad Haarlem" arriving in Wellington, New Zealand in 1879 9

Waterman migration to West Indies +

The British first settled the British West Indies around 1604. They made many attempts but failed in some to establish settlements on the Islands including Saint Lucia and Grenada. By 1627 they had managed to establish settlements on St. Kitts (St. Christopher) and Barbados, but by 1641 the Spanish had moved in and destroyed some of these including those at Providence Island. The British continued to expand the settlements including setting the First Federation in the British West Indies by 1674; some of the islands include Barbados, Bermuda, Cayman Island, Turks and Caicos, Jamaica and Belize then known as British Honduras. By the 1960's many of the islands became independent after the West Indies Federation which existed from 1958 to 1962 failed due to internal political conflicts. After this a number of Eastern Caribbean islands formed a free association. 10

Waterman Settlers in West Indies in the 17th Century

Mr. Thomas Waterman, (b. 1607), aged 27, British settler travelling from Gravesend, UK aboard the ship "Hopewell" arriving in Barbados on 17th February 1634 3
Mr. Nicholas Waterman, Cornish settler from Marazion, Cornwall, (b. 1619), aged 15, British settler travelling from Plymouth, England aboard the ship "Margarett" arriving in St Christopher (Saint Kitts) on 1st March 1634 11
Humphrey Waterman, who settled in Barbados in 1680 with his servants

Contemporary Notables of the name Waterman (post 1700) +

Stanton A. Waterman (1923-2023), American five-time Emmy Award winning cinematographer and underwater film producer, best known for The Deep (1977), The Lost Treasure of the Concepcion (1979) and The World of Survival (1971)
Robert H. Waterman Jr. (b. 1982), American author, best known for his co-authored bestselling work In Search of Excellence
Steve Waterman, American producer, best known for his work on Casper (1995) and as executive producer for Stuart Little (1999), Stuart Little 2 (2002)
Sterry Robinson Waterman (1901-1984), American lawyer and federal judge from Vermont, Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit (1955-1970)
John Barnett Waterman, American co-founder of the Waterman Steamship Corporation, an American deep sea ocean carrier in 1919
Waldo Waterman (1894-1976), American aviation pioneer who invented were the first tailless monoplane (the precursor to the flying wing)
Robert H. "Bully" Waterman (1808-1884), American merchant sea captain
Robert Whitney Waterman (1826-1891), American politician, Governor of California
Nixon Waterman (1859-1944), American poet and newspaperman
Lewis Waterman (1837-1901), American inventor of the capillary feed fountain pen and the founder of the Waterman pen company
... (Another 8 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Historic Events for the Waterman family +

HMS Hood

Mr. Albert D Waterman (b. 1922), English Able Seaman serving for the Royal Navy from Wymering, Hampshire, England, who sailed into battle and died in the HMS Hood sinking 12

HMS Royal Oak

Victor Patrick Waterman (d. 1939), British Marine with the Royal Marine aboard the HMS Royal Oak (1939) when she was torpedoed by U-47 and sunk; he died in the sinking 13

Citations +

"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
The order of Common Surnames in 1955 in Newfoundland retrieved on 20th October 2021 (retrieved from Family Names of the Island of Newfoundland by E.R. Seary corrected edition ISBN 0-7735-1782-0)
Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
Pilgrim Ship's of 1600's. Retrieved October 5th 2021 from https://www.packrat-pro.com/ships/shiplist.htm
Seary E.R., Family Names of the Island of Newfoundland, Montreal: McGill's-Queen's Universtity Press 1998 ISBN 0-7735-1782-0
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 28th April 2022). https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/england
State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) SAMUEL BODDINGTON 1849. Retrieved from http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1849SamuelBoddington.htm
State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) THOMAS CHADWICK 1850. Retrieved http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1850ThomasChadwick.gif
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 26th March 2019). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies
Cornish in the Caribbean (retrieved on 23rd September 2021). Retrieved from https://books.google.ca/books?id=gnSFDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA265&lpg=PA265&dq=wallen+lizard+cornwall&source=bl&ots=ARTnm6uRLv&sig=ACfU3U3ewicUaBkTuwC_Gpr0ic-
H.M.S. Hood Association-Battle Cruiser Hood: Crew Information - H.M.S. Hood Rolls of Honour, Men Lost in the Sinking of H.M.S. Hood, 24th May 1941. (Retrieved 2016, July 15) . Retrieved from http://www.hmshood.com/crew/memorial/roh_24may41.htm
Ships hit by U-boats crew list HMS Royal Oak (08) - (Retrieved 2018 February, 9th) - retrieved from https://uboat.net/allies/merchants/crews/ship68.html