The Abbey surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 5,150 people carried this name — #6,574 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 57,100 people counted. That is up 3% from 4,994 in 2000.

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Where the name comes from

The origin of the Abbey surname

As an English and Welsh surname

An early record he cites: Henry le Abbé, Shropshire, 1273 — Hundred Rolls.

His entry covers Abbey, Abbee and Abbe.

From Charles W. Bardsley, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with Special American Instances (London: Henry Frowde, 1901), p. 37 · public domain.

In France’s civil register

France’s register of deaths holds 40 people named Abbey.

13 of them were born outside France. Those born in France came from 7 départements, most often Haute-Saône.

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they were born

Born outside France 13
Haute-Saône 13
Paris 6
Haut-Rhin 3
Seine-et-Marne 2
Allier 1
Gironde 1
Var 1

Fichier des personnes décédées, INSEE — Licence Ouverte 2.0 · deaths recorded in France since 1970, by place of birth.

In Switzerland’s population statistics

25 people named Abbey live in Switzerland.

They live in 2 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Vaud.

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they live today

Vaud 14
Valais 11

Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO), «Surnames of the permanent resident population by canton», 2025, opendata.swiss/en/dataset/nachnamen-der-standigen-wohnbevolkerung-nach-kanton3 · names with fewer than 3 bearers in a canton are not published.

In print

Abbey in American newspapers,
1896–1925.

Newspaper page from The Browning Review carrying the name Abbey
The Browning Review 1925-02-13
Newspaper page from The Daily Missoulian carrying the name Abbey
The Daily Missoulian 1912-11-11
Newspaper page from Daily Kennebec Journal carrying the name Abbey
Daily Kennebec Journal 1896-10-19

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 4,312 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Abbey in Australian newspapers,
1830s–2000s.

10,442 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Abbey. The most, 1,465, date from the 1930s. New South Wales has the most articles, but weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, the name stands out most in Western Australia, at 3.1 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 3,535
Western Australia 2,658
Victoria 2,150
South Australia 842
Queensland 761
Tasmania 350
ACT (Canberra) 127

Trove, National Library of Australia (trove.nla.gov.au) · articles in its digitised newspapers that name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Abbey.

Who carried it

People named Abbey,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Peter Abbey
    Peter Abbey 1769–1857
  • Seth Alden Abbey
    Seth Alden Abbey 1798–1880 · judge
  • Maria Abbey
    Maria Abbey 1816–1903
  • Milton Abbey
    Milton Abbey 1819– · politician
  • Wallace Abbey d. 1977 · sports journalist
  • Noel Roland Abbey d. 1918

Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped, in the public domain or CC0 · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Abbey,
in the records of 6 countries.

Soldiers, farmers, migrants and neighbours who carried the name and left a trace in public archives. Everyone shown here died long ago or was born more than a century ago.

United States617 records

617 records of the Abbey name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 165
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 122
  • Other U.S. records 330
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Michael J. Abbey

    Born 1907 in New York. Enlisted 1942 at Fort Jay Governors Island; bartender from Bronx County. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1969, buried at Long Island National Cemetery, New York.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Richard E. Abbey

    Born 1930; from Sangamon County, Illinois. U.S. Army, light weapons infantryman; killed in action 1950 in South Korea.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain)
  3. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Mary Abbey

    Arrived at New York in 1864 aboard the Kedar from Liverpool, aged 45; matron. From Ireland.

    U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)

Showing 3 of 617 records for Abbey in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain) · Sacramento County, Historic Burials (CC BY 4.0) · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain) · City of Asheville (public domain, PDDL) · New York State, Open NY (police and firefighter memorial rolls). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Vietnam Veterans Memorial, photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, 2009 (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

Australia186 records

186 records of the Abbey name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 93
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 42
  • Other Australian records 51
  1. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record George Abbey

    Applied for permission to marry in Van Diemen's Land in 1839. Married 1839 in Hobart, Tasmania, aged 28.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  2. An 1829 etching of convicts being rowed out to the prison ship York in Portsmouth Harbour
    Pictured: convicts going on board a prison ship, 1829
    Transportation record Edward Abbey

    Transported to New South Wales aboard the Eliza, arriving 1832; ticket of leave 1850.

    Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY)
  3. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Elizab Abbey

    Arrived in Victoria in 1889 aboard the Hohenzollern, aged 25; Scottish.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 186 records for Abbey in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) · State Library of Western Australia (CC BY 4.0) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain); Prison-ship in Portsmouth Harbour, with the convicts going on board, etching by Edward William Cooke, 1829, Royal Museums Greenwich (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

France14 records

14 records of the Abbey name in France France's national death register, 1970–2001
  1. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Marie Louise Virginie Abbey

    Born 1902 in La Résie-Saint-Martin; died 1992 in La Résie-Saint-Martin (Haute-Saône).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)
  2. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Marcel Henri Abbey

    Born 1919 in La Résie-Saint-Martin (Haute-Saône); died 2000 in Dijon (Côte-d'Or).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)
  3. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Louis Gilbert Frederic Abbey

    Born 1899 in Vichy (Allier); died 1978 in Toulon (Var).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)

Showing 3 of 14 records for Abbey in France.

Counts: Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Death register of Nice, 1930, Archives départementales des Alpes-Maritimes (public domain).

United Kingdom13 records

13 records of the Abbey name in the United Kingdom
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 9
  • Welsh wills index cards 2
  • St James's burial ground, Euston (London), 1789–1853 2
  1. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record John Ebenezer Abbey

    Will proved in 1937; of Llantysilio, Denbigh.

    National Library of Wales, Wills Index Cards (CC0)
  2. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record F. Abbey

    Royal Fusiliers. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1917.

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)
  3. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Elizabeth Abbey

    Will proved in 1933; of Sowerby Thirsk, York.

    National Library of Wales, Wills Index Cards (CC0)

Showing 3 of 13 records for Abbey in the United Kingdom.

Counts: National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · National Library of Wales, Wills Index Cards (CC0) · MOLA and HS2, St James's burial ground data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain); C. & E. Morton Ltd roll of honour, 1914–1919, photo by Adrian S Pye via Geograph (CC BY-SA 2.0).

Canada11 records

11 records of the Abbey name in Canada
  • Canadian Virtual War Memorial 6
  • City of Niagara Falls (Ontario) cemetery records 2
  • Other Canadian records 3
  1. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record William Jefferson Abbey

    Died 1993, aged 56; buried at St. Vital Cemetery, Winnipeg, Manitoba.

    City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg.
  2. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record James Abbey

    Buried in 1910 at Drummond Hill Cemetery, Niagara Falls, Ontario.

    City of Niagara Falls. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Niagara Falls.
  3. A Canadian First World War grave register card for a soldier who died of wounds in 1917
    Example: Canadian war grave register, 1917
    War record Francis Richard Abbey

    Died in service in 1944.

    Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada.

Showing 3 of 11 records for Abbey in Canada.

Counts: Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. · City of Niagara Falls. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Niagara Falls. · City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg. · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0); Canadian First World War circumstances-of-death register (scan by Scottgraham87 via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0).

Netherlands1 record

1 record of the Abbey name in the Netherlands Dutch population registers
  1. A page of the 1910 United States census, Milwaukee
    Example: U.S. census, 1910
    Population register Julia Helena Abbey

    In the population register of Amsterdam; born 1836 in Parijs.

    Open Archives, Stadsarchief Amsterdam (CC BY 4.0)

Counts: Open Archives (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: U.S. census of 1910, Milwaukee (public domain).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Abbey.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Abbey is.
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