The Armstead surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 7,919 people carried this name — #4,480 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 37,300 people counted. That is up 11% from 7,162 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Armstead surname

Reduced variant of Armistead.

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Armstead» (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 local name, from where the family lived: ‘at the Hermitstead’.

An early record he cites: Laurencius del Armetsted, 1379 — Poll Tax, West Riding of Yorkshire.

His entry covers Armistead and Armstead.

From Charles W. Bardsley, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with Special American Instances (London: Henry Frowde, 1901), p. 59 · public domain.

In print

Armstead in American newspapers,
1894–1897.

Newspaper page from Santa Fe Daily New Mexican carrying the name Armstead
Santa Fe Daily New Mexican 1894-10-12
Newspaper page from Santa Fe Daily New Mexican carrying the name Armstead
Santa Fe Daily New Mexican 1896-12-21
Newspaper page from Santa Fe Daily New Mexican carrying the name Armstead
Santa Fe Daily New Mexican 1897-04-23

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 22,966 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Armstead in Australian newspapers,
1830s–1980s.

646 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Armstead. The most, 128, date from the 1920s. 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 Northern Territory, at 20.3 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 242
Victoria 184
Western Australia 99
Queensland 38
South Australia 30
Northern Territory 24
ACT (Canberra) 14
Tasmania 11

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

Who carried it

People named Armstead,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Samuel Armstead
    Samuel Armstead 1804–1908 · politician
  • Izora Armstead
    Izora Armstead 1942–2004 · singer
  • Gertrude Armstead d. 1760
  • Hugh Wells Armstead 1865–1943 · general practitioner
  • Tim Armstead 1965–2025 · politician

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 Armstead,
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 States509 records

509 records of the Armstead name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 209
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 148
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 101
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 26
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 15
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 6
  • U.S. service members who died in the Vietnam War 4
  1. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Gregory Van Armstead

    Born 1947; from Baltimore, Maryland. U.S. Army, infantryman; killed in action 1966 in South Vietnam. Buried at Baltimore National Cemetery, Maryland.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Cary T. Armstead

    Born 1906 in Virginia. Enlisted 1942 at Fort George G Meade, Maryland; electrician. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1979, buried at Philadelphia National Cemetery, Pennsylvania.

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

    Arrived at New York in 1866 aboard the Erin from Liverpool and Queenstown, aged 41; matron. From England.

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

Showing 3 of 509 records for Armstead 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, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Vietnam Veterans Memorial, photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, 2009 (public domain); U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

Australia60 records

60 records of the Armstead name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 34
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 18
  • Tasmanian Names Index 5
  • NSW convict, estate and railway indexes 3
  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 Henry Armstead

    Transported to New South Wales aboard the Randolph, arriving 1849; ticket of leave 1849.

    Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY)
  2. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record John P. Armstead

    Mariner of Emerald Hill, Victoria; died 1872.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Elma Armstead

    Arrived in Victoria in 1921 aboard the Persic, aged 15.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 60 records for Armstead in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY). 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); Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

Canada5 records

5 records of the Armstead name in Canada
  • City of Calgary cemetery records 3
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 2
  1. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Seward Algernon Armstead

    Buried in 1986 at Queen's Park Cemetery, Calgary, Alberta, aged 61.

    City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary.
  2. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Samuel Armstead

    Married 1903 in Sydney, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.
  3. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Mary Eliz Armstead

    Buried in 1964 at Queen's Park Cemetery, Calgary, Alberta.

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

Showing 3 of 5 records for Armstead in Canada.

Counts: 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. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0); Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain).

United Kingdom4 records

4 records of the Armstead name in the United Kingdom
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 2
  • St James's burial ground, Euston (London), 1789–1853 2
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Sarah Armstead

    Buried in 1833 at St James's burial ground, Euston, London, aged 80.

    MOLA and HS2, St James's burial ground data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
  2. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record E. Armstead

    Rifle Brigade. 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 page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record John Armstead

    Buried in 1826 at St James's burial ground, Euston, London, aged 72.

    MOLA and HS2, St James's burial ground data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Showing 3 of 4 records for Armstead in the United Kingdom.

Counts: National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · 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: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0); C. & E. Morton Ltd roll of honour, 1914–1919, photo by Adrian S Pye via Geograph (CC BY-SA 2.0).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Armstead.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Armstead 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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