The Alderman surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 10,119 people carried this name — #3,528 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 29,200 people counted. That is up 4% from 9,734 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Alderman surname

An English surname originating as an occupation.

Occupational surname for a member of the governing body of a city, from alderman.

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Alderman» (English), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.

As an English and Welsh surname

Bardsley classes it as a name of office: ‘the alderman’.

An early record he cites: Jukel Alderman, Sheriff of London, 1194 — Chronicles of the Mayors and Sheriffs of London, 1188–1274.

From Charles W. Bardsley, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with Special American Instances (London: Henry Frowde, 1901), p. 44 · public domain.

In the first U.S. census, 1790

23 families named Alderman, or a close spelling, were counted in 1790.

Each family is counted by its head. About 133 people lived in those households, 5.8 to a family on average. The table counts it together with one other spelling. The table lists white heads of families only, in the twelve states whose 1790 records survive; Virginia’s figures come from state lists of 1782–1785.

Families, by state

Connecticut 15
North Carolina 4
New York 2
Massachusetts 1
Pennsylvania 1

U.S. Census Bureau, «A Century of Population Growth from the First Census of the United States to the Twelfth, 1790–1900» (Washington, 1909), table 111, p. 227 — public domain · names carried by at least 100 white persons in 1790.

In print

Alderman in American newspapers,
1909–1921.

Newspaper page from Vernon County Censor carrying the name Alderman
Vernon County Censor 1921-03-16
Newspaper page from The Telegraph-courier carrying the name Alderman
The Telegraph-courier 1909-03-18

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain.

In print

Alderman in Australian newspapers,
1820s–1980s.

68,055 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Alderman. The most, 11,114, date from the 1880s. 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 Tasmania, at 1.5 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 29,055
South Australia 13,875
Queensland 8,823
Tasmania 8,465
Victoria 6,412
Western Australia 1,274
ACT (Canberra) 68
Northern Territory 59

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

Who carried it

People named Alderman,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Edwin Alderman
    Edwin Alderman 1861–1931 · writer
  • George P. B. Alderman
    George P. B. Alderman 1862–1929 · architect
  • Sidney Alderman
    Sidney Alderman 1892–1973 · lawyer
  • Pauline Alderman
    Pauline Alderman 1893–1983 · composer
  • Richard John Alderman d. 2021 · barrister
  • John Thomas Alderman 1853–1932 · educator

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 Alderman,
in the records of 5 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 States746 records

746 records of the Alderman name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 378
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 118
  • Other U.S. records 250
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Roy T. Alderman

    Born 1905 in North Carolina. Enlisted 1942 at Fort Bragg; metal worker from New Hanover County. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1983, buried at Wilmington National Cemetery, North Carolina.

    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 Andrew Albert Alderman

    Born 1944; from Coffeyville, Kansas. U.S. Navy, hospital corpsman; killed in action 1967 in Quang Tri, South Vietnam.

    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 Johanna Alderman

    Arrived at New York in 1873 aboard the Idaho from Liverpool and Queenstown, aged 59; matron. From France.

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

Showing 3 of 746 records for Alderman in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · Sacramento County, Historic Burials (CC BY 4.0) · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain). 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).

Australia147 records

147 records of the Alderman name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 66
  • Queensland State Archives indexes 41
  • Other Australian records 40
  1. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Ann Alderman

    Applied for permission to marry in Van Diemen's Land in 1846. Married 1846 in Launceston, Tasmania, aged 22.

    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 Thomas Alderman

    Transported to New South Wales aboard the Royal George, arriving 1828; ticket of leave 1837.

    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 John Alderman

    Arrived in Victoria in 1852 aboard the Ballengiech, aged 35; English.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 147 records for Alderman in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY) · State Library of Western Australia (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).

Canada20 records

20 records of the Alderman name in Canada
  • Ontario immigration records, 1865–1883 5
  • Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver 5
  • Other Canadian records 10
  1. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Civil record George E. Alderman

    Killed in the Halifax Explosion of 1917.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.
  2. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Thos Alderman

    Came to Ontario in 1873 aboard the Caspian, bound for Bracebridge, Ontario; English.

    Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario.
  3. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Fred Earl Alderman

    Buried in 1976 at Queen's Park Cemetery, Calgary, Alberta, aged 68.

    City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary.

Showing 3 of 20 records for Alderman in Canada.

Counts: Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario. · City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver. · City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary. · Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. · City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg. · City of Niagara Falls. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Niagara Falls. · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0).

United Kingdom8 records

8 records of the Alderman name in the United Kingdom War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead
  1. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record P. Alderman

    Gordon Highlanders. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1918.

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)
  2. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record W. Alderman

    Gloucestershire Regiment. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1918.

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)
  3. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record F. G. Alderman

    Sapper, Royal Field Artillery. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1918.

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)

Showing 3 of 8 records for Alderman in the United Kingdom.

Counts: National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: C. & E. Morton Ltd roll of honour, 1914–1919, photo by Adrian S Pye via Geograph (CC BY-SA 2.0).

Netherlands3 records

3 records of the Alderman name in the Netherlands
  • Dutch church registers before 1811 2
  • Dutch civil registers (births, marriages, deaths) 1
  1. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record George Alderman

    Died 1815 in Maastricht, aged 22.

    Open Archives, Regionaal Historisch Centrum Limburg (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Civil record Joannes Alderman

    Baptised in 1788 in Nijmegen.

    Open Archives, Regionaal Archief Nijmegen (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Civil record Joanna Alderman

    Baptised in 1635 in Roosendaal.

    Open Archives, Brabants Historisch Informatie Centrum (CC BY 4.0)

Counts: Open Archives (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Alderman.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Alderman is.
A volume says what happened to it.

Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.

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