# Waite (name)

Waite is an English surname (of Norman origin) and rarely a given name. Its variant forms include Wait, Wayte, Waits and Waight. It is derived from the old high German wahten (to keep watch); it is common in the sense of guard or watchman to all the Teutonic languages, the German wacht, Dutch vaght, Swedish vakt and English watch. When used as a verb, its meaning is "to stay in expectation of"; as a noun, it denotes a minstrel watchmen.
Waite is an occupational name for a watchman either in a town or castle from Anglo-Norman French waite ‘watchman member of the watch’ (of ancient Germanic origin; compare Wachter / Wächter).
The following are named Waite.

## Surname

* Arthur Edward Waite (1857–1942), British poet and scholarly mystic
* Arthur Waite (racing driver) (1894–1991), Australian racing driver
* Catharine Van Valkenburg Waite, American author, lawyer and women's suffrage activist
* C. B. Waite (1861–1927), American photographer
* Charlie Waite (born 1949), English photographer
* Charles Burlingame Waite (1824–1909), American lawyer, jurist and author
* David Waite, Australian rugby league coach
* Davis Hanson Waite (1825–1901), governor of Colorado
* Edgar Ravenswood Waite, Australian zoologist
* Edward Wilkins Waite (1854–1924), English landscape painter
* Fred Waite (1853–1895), American cowboy, member of Billy the Kid's gang and later Chickasaw Nation legislator and attorney general
* Fred Waite (politician) (1885–1952), New Zealand soldier and politician
* Genevieve Waite (1948–2019), South African actress, singer and model
* Grant Waite (born 1964), New Zealand golfer
* Henry Waite (disambiguation)
* Jahmali Waite (born 1998), American soccer goalkeeper
* James Waite (footballer, born 1999), Welsh footballer
* Jamie Waite (born 1986), Thai football goalkeeper
* Jarrad Waite (born 1983), former Australian rules footballer
* Jimmy Waite (born 1969), Canadian ice hockey coach and goaltender
* John Waite (disambiguation)
* Joseph Waite (alive in 1893 in England), a Latin and Greek scholar who edited the book Latin and Greek verse by Thomas Saunders Evans
* Keith Waite (1927–2014), New Zealand-born English editorial cartoonist
* Linda Waite, American sociologist and social demographer
* Martin Waite (born 1971), Scottish former international rugby union player
* Matthew Waite (born 1995), English cricketer
* Mitchell Waite (born 1946), author of books on electronics and computing
* Morrison Waite (1816–1888), American attorney, jurist, politician, and chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court
* Nicholas Waite (died c. 1715), English governor of Bombay
* Norman Waite (1898–1970), English footballer
* P. B. Waite (1922–2020), Canadian historian
* Pete Waite, American volleyball coach
* Peter Waite (philanthropist) (1834–1922), South Australian pastoralist, businessman, company director and philanthropist
* Ralph Waite (1928–2014), American actor, best known for the role of John Walton on the TV series The Waltons
* Reginald Waite, Royal Air Force officer
* Ric Waite (1933–2012), American cinematographer
* Terry Waite (born 1939), British human rights activist and author
* Thomas Waite (regicide) (died 1688), English Member of Parliament and one of the regicides of King Charles I
* Thomas Waite (civil servant) (1718–1780), Under-Secretary for Ireland
* Tommy Waite (born 1972), Northern Irish boxer

## Given name

* Waite Hoyt (1899–1984), American Major League Baseball pitcher
* Waite Phillips (1883–1964), American petroleum businessman and philanthropist
* Waite Stirling (1829–1923), English missionary and first Anglican bishop of the Falkland Islands

## Fictional characters

* Asenath and Ephraim Waite, in "The Thing on the Doorstep", an H.P. Lovecraft short story