Watson Family Crest, Coat of Arms & Watson Name Origin

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Origin of the Name Watson

The ancient history of the name Watson was found in the allfamilycrests.com archives. Watson is a baptismal name meaning 'son of Walter', a very old Norman personal name popular in the thirteenth century. Variants include Watt, Watts and Wattson. This name is of Anglo-Saxon descent spreading to the Celtic countries of Ireland, Scotland and Wales in early times and is found in many mediaeval manuscripts throughout the above islands. Examples of such are a William Watts, County Oxfordshire, who was recorded in the 'Hundred Rolls', England, in the year 1273 and a Johannes Watson who was recorded in the 'Poll Tax' of the West Riding of Yorkshire in the year 1379. A John Wattessone was recorded in the 'Close Rolls' in the reign of Edward III and a Thomas Chamberlaine and Jane Watts were married in Saint Mary, Aldermary, in the year 1598. In Ireland this name is an anglicized form of the Gaelic MacBhaididh Sept name, which was also anglicized as MacWhatty and MacQuatt. Watson is also often found in Ulster Province having been introduced there by settlers who arrived from Scotland, especially during the seventeenth century.