Watson is a

patronymic A patronymic, or patronym, is a component of a personal name based on the given name of one's father, grandfather (more specifically an avonymic), or an earlier male ancestor. It is the male equivalent of a matronymic. Patronymics are used, b ...

forename of English and Scottish origin. Meaning "Son of Walter" or "Son of Water", the name originated in

Old English Old English ( or , or ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. It developed from the languages brought to Great Britain by Anglo-S ...

because in medieval times the usual pronunciation of Walter was Water. Notable people with the name include: * Watson Boas (born 1994), Papua New Guinean rugby league footballer *

Watson Cheyne Rear admiral Sir William Watson Cheyne, 1st Baronet, (14 December 1852 – 19 April 1932) was a Scottish surgeon and bacteriologist who pioneered the use of antiseptic surgical methods in the United Kingdom. Early life and education Cheyne was ...

(1852–1932), Scottish surgeon and bacteriologist * Watson Forbes (1909–1997), Scottish violinist and classical music arranger *

Watson Fothergill Watson Fothergill (12 July 1841 – 6 March 1928) was a British architect who designed over 100 unique buildings in Nottingham in the East Midlands of England. His influences were mainly from the Gothic Revival and Old English vernacular archite ...

(1841–1928), English architect *

Watson Khupe Watson Khupe (1962/1963 – 17 July 2022) was a Zimbabwean disability activist and politician who served in the Senate of Zimbabwe from 2018 to 2022 as a member of the Zimbabwe African National Union – Patriotic Front. Khupe represented a spec ...

(1962/1963–2022), Zimbabwean politician *

Watson Kirkconnell Watson Kirkconnell, (16 May 1895 – 26 February 1977) was a Canadian literary scholar, poet, playwright, linguist, satirist, and translator. Kirkconnell was born in Port Hope, Ontario into a proudly Scottish-Canadian family descended from Uni ...

(1895–1977), Canadian scholar, university administrator and translator *

Watson Nyambek Watson Nyambek (born 27 February 1976) from Miri, Sarawak is a Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarch ...

(born 1976), Malaysian sprinter * Watson Parker (1924–2013), American historian, author and academic * Watson Reid (1827–1891), Scottish Episcopalian priest *

Watson Spoelstra Watson N. "Waddy" Spoelstra (April 5, 1910 – July 20, 1999) was an American sportswriter for ''The Detroit News'' from 1945 to 1973. He served as the president of the Baseball Writers' Association of America in 1968. After retiring from ''The ...

(1910–1999), American sportswriter * Watson C. Squire (1838–1926), American Civil War veteran and politician * Watson Washburn (1894–1973), American tennis player

References

{{given name Given names originating from a surname Masculine given names

See also

References