Watts History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms 

Origins Available: 
  England 
  Scotland 
  Ireland 


The surname Watts was derived from the common given name Watt, which was a short form of Walter. "Walter being one of the great fontal names of the 13th and 14th centuries, and Wat being the popular nick., it can scarcely be a matter for surprise that Watts and Watson are two of our most familiar surnames." 1

Early Origins of the Watts family

The surname Watts was first found in Worcestershire where they held a family seat from early times, and were descended from Simon Wathes, a soldier of fortune, who accompanied King Stephen into England in the year 1135.

The Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 had only one listing for the family, that of William Wattes in Oxfordshire and later the Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379 listed Johannes Watte as holding lands there at that time. 1

John Wathes was Lord of the manor of Eston in that county in 1347. His son, William Wathes, was father of Simon Wattys. Sir Richard Wattys, his son, fought under the banner of York at the Battle of Wakefield where he died leaving Thomas Wattys the manor of Whitefield in Northampton.

Sir Michael Wath (fl. 1314-1347), was an English judge who probably derived his surname from one of the three places of the name of Wath in Yorkshire. 2

"The family of Watts of Hawkesdale Hall, co. Cumberland, deduce themselves from Sir John le Fleming, Lord of Wath, on Dearn, co. York, who died 14. Edw. II. His second son Raynier assumed the territorial name De Wath, and his descendants gradually corrupted that designation to its present form. In temp. Edward II. it was De Wath or Wathes; temp. Henry VI., Wattys; temp. Henry VII., Wattes; temp. Charles I., and subsequently, Watts." 3

Early History of the Watts family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Watts research. Another 89 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1446, 1511, 1615, 1674, 1748 and 1890 are included under the topic Early Watts History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Watts Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Watts, Wathes, Wattys, Wath, Watt and others.

Early Notables of the Watts family

Notable amongst the family at this time was

Watts World Ranking

In the United States, the name Watts is the 294th most popular surname with an estimated 92,019 people with that name. 4 However, in Canada, the name Watts is ranked the 716th most popular surname with an estimated 7,467 people with that name. 5 And in Australia, the name Watts is the 144th popular surname with an estimated 19,782 people with that name. 6 New Zealand ranks Watts as 234th with 2,524 people. 7 The United Kingdom ranks Watts as 143rd with 35,592 people. 8

Migration of the Watts family to Ireland

Some of the Watts family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 59 words (4 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.


Watts migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Watts Settlers in United States in the 17th Century
Watts Settlers in United States in the 18th Century
Watts Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Watts migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Watts Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century
Watts Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century

Watts migration to Australia +

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

Watts Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century
Watts Settlers in Australia in the 20th Century

Watts 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:

Watts Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Watts 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. 19
Watts Settlers in West Indies in the 17th Century

Contemporary Notables of the name Watts (post 1700) +


Suggested Readings for the name Watts +
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