The Babcock surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 22,016 people carried this name — #1,638 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 13,400 people counted. That is up 1% from 21,769 in 2000.

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Where the name comes from

The origin of the Babcock surname

A pet form of the Middle English personal name Babb.

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

In the first U.S. census, 1790

196 families named Babcock, or a close spelling, were counted in 1790.

Each family is counted by its head. About 1,172 people lived in those households, 6 to a family on average. The census counted these spellings together: Babcock, Babcok, Babecock. 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

Rhode Island 76
New York 51
Massachusetts 41
Connecticut 16
Vermont 7
New Hampshire 5

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. 228 — public domain · names carried by at least 100 white persons in 1790.

In print

Babcock in American newspapers,
1914.

Newspaper page from The Manning Times carrying the name Babcock
The Manning Times 1914-02-18
Newspaper page from The Union Times carrying the name Babcock
The Union Times 1914-02-13
Newspaper page from Yorkville Enquirer carrying the name Babcock
Yorkville Enquirer 1914-02-20

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 320,232 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Babcock in Australian newspapers,
1850s–1970s.

1,313 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Babcock. The most, 821, date from the 1930s. Weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, it stands out most in Queensland, at 1.3 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

Queensland 362
New South Wales 334
Victoria 248
Western Australia 120
South Australia 91
Tasmania 81
ACT (Canberra) 9
Northern Territory 2

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

Who carried it

People named Babcock,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Joshua Babcock
    Joshua Babcock 1707–1783 · judge
  • Hannah Stanton Babcock
    Hannah Stanton Babcock 1714–1778
  • Henry Babcock
    Henry Babcock 1736–1800
  • Abigail Smith Babcock
    Abigail Smith Babcock 1744–1777
  • James Babcock 1612–1679
  • Rebecca Babcock 1678–1747

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 Babcock,
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 States2,781 records

2,781 records of the Babcock name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 801
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 744
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 555
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 409
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 176
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 78
  • Sacramento County historic burials 14
  • U.S. service members who died in the Vietnam War 3
  • U.S. service members who died in the Korean War 1
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Daniel M. Babcock

    Born 1917 in New York. Enlisted 1942 at Fort Jay Governors Island; machine shop worker. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1973, 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 Ronald Lester Babcock

    Born 1945; from Tucson, Arizona. U.S. Army, air observation pilot; killed in action 1971 in Laos.

    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 Frederick Babcock

    Arrived at New York in 1885 aboard the Celtic from Liverpool and Queenstown, aged 34; merchant. From Liverpool, England.

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

Showing 3 of 2,781 records for Babcock in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · 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).

Canada98 records

98 records of the Babcock name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 58
  • Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver 13
  • Canadian Virtual War Memorial 10
  • City of Winnipeg cemetery records 7
  • City of Calgary cemetery records 3
  • City of Niagara Falls (Ontario) cemetery records 3
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 3
  • Ontario immigration records, 1865–1883 1
  1. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Helen Babcock

    Died 1992, aged 81; buried at Brookside Cemetery, Winnipeg, Manitoba.

    City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg.
  2. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Elizabeth Jane Babcock

    Died 1972 in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.
  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 Elmer Bertie Babcock

    Died in service in 1943.

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

Showing 3 of 98 records for Babcock in Canada.

Counts: Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. · City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver. · Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. · City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg. · City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary. · 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) · Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0); Canadian First World War circumstances-of-death register (scan by Scottgraham87 via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0).

Australia20 records

20 records of the Babcock name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 13
  • Tasmanian Names Index 6
  • Queensland State Archives indexes 1
  1. The first page of an emigration file from Gündlingen, Baden, 1883
    Example: German emigration file, 1883
    Emigration record Henry A. Babcock

    Left Hobart in 1846 aboard the Hamilton, bound for Whaling Voyage, as crew.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record David S. Babcock

    Arrived in Victoria in 1858 aboard the Young America.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)
  3. The first page of an emigration file from Gündlingen, Baden, 1883
    Example: German emigration file, 1883
    Emigration record Job Babcock

    Left Hobart in 1846 aboard the Hamilton, bound for Whaling Voyage, as master.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 20 records for Babcock in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Emigration file, Gündlingen, 1883, Landesarchiv Baden-Württemberg, Staatsarchiv Freiburg B 694/1 Nr. 1389 (CC BY 4.0); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

Netherlands1 record

1 record of the Babcock name in the Netherlands Dutch civil registers (births, marriages, deaths)
  1. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Harold Charles Babcock

    Married in 1945 in Nijmegen; farmer.

    Open Archives, Gelders Archief (CC BY 4.0)

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).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Babcock.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Babcock 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.

See the Babcock volume
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