The Arms surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 3,854 people carried this name — #8,541 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 76,300 people counted. That is down 1% from 3,877 in 2000.

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In the first U.S. census, 1790

30 families named Arms, or a close spelling, were counted in 1790.

Each family is counted by its head. About 205 people lived in those households, 6.8 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

Massachusetts 18
Virginia 6
Maryland 2
New Hampshire 1
Vermont 1
Pennsylvania 1
South Carolina 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

Arms in American newspapers,
1901–1928.

Newspaper page from The Vermont Watchman carrying the name Arms
The Vermont Watchman 1901-06-26
Newspaper page from The Daily Missoulian carrying the name Arms
The Daily Missoulian 1914-10-08
Newspaper page from The Kevin Review carrying the name Arms
The Kevin Review 1928-09-20

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 1,386 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Arms in Australian newspapers,
1820s–1990s.

7,244 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Arms. The most, 1,712, date from the 1890s. 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 the Australian Capital Territory, at 1.4 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 3,140
Victoria 1,911
Queensland 898
South Australia 638
Western Australia 307
Tasmania 251
ACT (Canberra) 62
Northern Territory 3

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

Who carried it

People named Arms,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Jennie Maria Arms Sheldon
    Jennie Maria Arms Sheldon 1852–1938 · zoologist
  • Russell Arms
    Russell Arms 1920–2012 · actor
  • Daniel Arms 1687–1753
  • Frank D. Arms 1872–1913 · architect
  • John Taylor Arms 1887–1953 · architect
  • Katharine Yale Fuller Arms 1891–1985

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 Arms,
in the records of 4 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 States248 records

248 records of the Arms name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 135
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 34
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 32
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 19
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 18
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 6
  • U.S. service members who died in the Korean War 2
  • U.S. service members who died in the Vietnam War 2
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Edgar B. Arms

    Born 1917 in Virginia. Enlisted 1940 at Fort McPherson Atlanta, Georgia; farm hand. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1996, buried at Chattanooga National Cemetery, Tennessee.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Madelaine Arms

    Arrived at New York in 1856 aboard the Middlesex from Havre, aged 29; farmer. From Switzerland; bound for Milwaukee.

    U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)
  3. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Willie Dewitt Arms

    Born 1948; from Columbia, Tennessee. U.S. Army, infantryman; killed in action 1970 in Cambodia.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain)

Showing 3 of 248 records for Arms 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) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · 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); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Vietnam Veterans Memorial, photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, 2009 (public domain).

Netherlands71 records

71 records of the Arms name in the Netherlands
  • Dutch population registers 42
  • Dutch civil registers (births, marriages, deaths) 17
  • Dutch church registers before 1811 12
  1. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Janna Arms

    Married in 1845 in Terneuzen; maidservant. Died 1902 in Terneuzen, aged 80.

    Open Archives, Zeeuws Archief (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Bart Arms

    Died 1890 in Veenhuizen (Norg); born 1817 in Terneuzen.

    Open Archives, Drents Archief (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Corstiaen Arms

    Buried in 1759 in 's Grevelduin-Capelle.

    Open Archives, Streekarchief Langstraat Heusden Altena (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 71 records for Arms in the Netherlands.

Counts: Open Archives (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0); Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0).

Australia32 records

32 records of the Arms name in Australia
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 19
  • NSW convict, estate and railway indexes 6
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 5
  • Queensland State Archives indexes 2
  1. 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 Arms

    Transported to New South Wales aboard the Earl St Vincent, arriving 1820; ticket of leave 1824. Native of Suffolk.

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

    Arrived in Victoria in 1861 aboard the Beverly, aged 28; British subject.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Walter Clarence Arms

    Retired of Frankston, Victoria; died 1975.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 32 records for Arms in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: 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); Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain).

Germany8 records

8 records of the Arms name in Germany Germany's First World War casualty lists, 1914–1919
  1. A page of the German First World War casualty lists, 18 April 1918
    Example: German casualty list, 1918
    Casualty list Alfred Arms

    From Königsberg. Reported dead in the Prussian casualty list of 12 October 1916 (Reserve Infantry Regiment No. 67).

    Verein für Computergenealogie e.V. (2026). Deutsche Verlustlisten des Ersten Weltkriegs – Datensammlung (Version 1.0), DOI 10.5281/zenodo.18330751 (CC0)
  2. A page of the German First World War casualty lists, 18 April 1918
    Example: German casualty list, 1918
    Casualty list Wilhelm Arms

    From Bisdorf, Calbe. Reported missing in the Prussian casualty list of 20 September 1916 (Foot Guards Regiment No. 2).

    Verein für Computergenealogie e.V. (2026). Deutsche Verlustlisten des Ersten Weltkriegs – Datensammlung (Version 1.0), DOI 10.5281/zenodo.18330751 (CC0)
  3. A page of the German First World War casualty lists, 18 April 1918
    Example: German casualty list, 1918
    Casualty list Friedrich Arms

    From Wolmirsleben, Wanzleben. Reported wounded in the Prussian casualty list of 11 September 1917.

    Verein für Computergenealogie e.V. (2026). Deutsche Verlustlisten des Ersten Weltkriegs – Datensammlung (Version 1.0), DOI 10.5281/zenodo.18330751 (CC0)

Showing 3 of 8 records for Arms in Germany.

Counts: Verein für Computergenealogie e.V. (2026). Deutsche Verlustlisten des Ersten Weltkriegs – Datensammlung (Version 1.0), DOI 10.5281/zenodo.18330751 (CC0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Deutsche Verlustlisten, Prussian list 1116, 18 April 1918 (scan via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Arms.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Arms 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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