First found in the county of Rutland, where they were Lords of the manor of Rockingham, from ancient times.

For many English families, the political and religious disarray that shrouded England made the far away New World an attractive prospect. On cramped disease-ridden ships, thousands migrated to those British colonies that would eventually become Canada and the United States. Those hardy settlers that survived the journey often went on to make important contributions to the emerging nations in which they landed. Analysis of immigration records indicates that some of the first North American immigrants bore the name Watson or a variant listed above: John Watson who settled in Virginia in 1620; the same year as the "Mayflower"; Abraham, Alice, Elizabeth, Francis, Joe, Margaret, and William Watson, all settled in Virginia in 1635.

Motto Translated: Fidelity is my glory.

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