The Baldwin surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 80,742 people carried this name — #395 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 3,650 people counted. That is up 2% from 79,151 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Baldwin surname

A surname originating as a patronymic.

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Baldwin» (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 baptismal name, from a given name: ‘the son of Baldwin’.

An early record he cites: Johannes Bawdwyn, 1379 — Poll Tax, West Riding of Yorkshire.

From Charles W. Bardsley, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with Special American Instances (London: Henry Frowde, 1901), p. 74 · public domain.

In Ireland’s birth registers, 1890

Ireland registered 10 births for the Baldwin name in 1890.

Most were registered in Munster. By the Registrar-General’s own method — births multiplied by 44.38 — that is about 400 people bearing the name in Ireland at the time. The Registrar-General’s note on the name: “Waterford.”

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

Where they were born, 1890

Munster 7
Leinster 3

Registrar-General for Ireland, «Special Report on Surnames in Ireland» (R. E. Matheson, 1894), births index of 1890 — public domain.

In Switzerland’s population statistics

35 people named Baldwin live in Switzerland.

They live in 4 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Zurich.

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

Where they live today

Zurich 14
Geneva 9
Vaud 9
Appenzell Innerrhoden 3

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 France’s civil register

France’s register of deaths holds 20 people named Baldwin.

Most of them — 18 — were born outside France. Those born in France came from 2 départements, most often Haute-Savoie.

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

Where they were born

Born outside France 18
Haute-Savoie 1
Somme 1

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

In the Nordic population registers

57 people named Baldwin is counted in Sweden.

Sweden’s figure is from 31 December 2022, the last count Statistics Sweden published.

Counted, by country

Sweden (2022) 57

Own calculations based on data from Statistics Sweden (SCB), surnames with at least two bearers, 31 December 2022 — CC BY 4.0 (names with 20 or more bearers shown).

Among the farmers of England and Wales, 1880s

Baldwin was found among the farmers of 7 counties.

It was most frequent in Gloucestershire: 33 in every 10,000 farmers there — about 1 in 303. Guppy counted the farmers listed in each county’s directory and recorded a name only where it reached about 7 in every 10,000; where it does not appear, it was rarer than that, not absent.

Where it concentrates, on the map

Per 10,000 farmers, by county

Gloucestershire 33
Buckinghamshire 24
Hertfordshire 18
Suffolk 16
Warwickshire 15
Lancashire 12
Norfolk 11

H. B. Guppy, «Homes of Family Names in Great Britain» (London, 1890), alphabetical list of English and Welsh names — public domain · farmers in Kelly’s Post Office Directories of the 1880s, per 10,000 farmers in each county.

In Scotland’s registers today

Baldwin was recorded 18 times in Scotland’s registers of births, marriages and deaths in 2025.

That made it the 1248th most common name in those registers, shared with others on the same count. In 1975, the first year of the series, the count was 10. Each birth counts the child’s surname, each marriage both partners’ and each death the surname of the person who died — a yearly count of registrations, not of the people who live in Scotland.

National Records of Scotland, «Most Common Surnames, 2025» (published 26 May 2026): every surname recorded 10 or more times in the 2025 registers, and the series from 1975 · different spellings are counted separately — © Crown copyright 2026. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

In the first U.S. census, 1790

446 families named Baldwin, or a close spelling, were counted in 1790.

Each family is counted by its head. About 2,623 people lived in those households, 5.9 to a family on average. The table counts it together with 12 other spellings. 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 187
New York 59
Massachusetts 58
Pennsylvania 32
Vermont 28
North Carolina 24
Virginia 22
New Hampshire 20
Maryland 12
South Carolina 4

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

Baldwin in American newspapers,
1894–1898.

Newspaper page from The Anaconda Standard carrying the name Baldwin
The Anaconda Standard 1898-02-03
Newspaper page from The Philipsburg Mail carrying the name Baldwin
The Philipsburg Mail 1898-11-18
Newspaper page from The Anaconda Standard carrying the name Baldwin
The Anaconda Standard 1894-03-09

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 26,109 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Baldwin in Australian newspapers,
1810s–2010s.

195,553 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Baldwin. The most, 78,614, 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 Queensland, at 1.3 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 60,719
Queensland 53,457
Victoria 28,126
Western Australia 20,148
South Australia 17,000
Tasmania 13,963
ACT (Canberra) 1,458
Northern Territory 223

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

Who carried it

People named Baldwin,
with a public archive behind them.

  • David Baldwin d. 1997 · writer
  • John Baldwin d. 1691 · politician
  • Samuel Baldwin d. 1645 · sculptor
  • Christopher Baldwin d. 1805 · merchant
  • Anthony Hugh Baldwin d. 1915 · military personnel
  • William Baldwin d. 1895 · politician

Wikidata (CC0) · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Baldwin,
in the records of 7 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 States7,994 records

7,994 records of the Baldwin name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 2,661
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 2,119
  • Other U.S. records 3,214
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Paul E. Baldwin

    Born 1922 in Mississippi. Enlisted 1944 at Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia; machinist. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1997, buried at West Tennessee Veterans Cemetery, Memphis, Tennessee.

    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 Robert Lanoue Baldwin

    Born 1933; from Tomah, Wisconsin. U.S. Air Force; killed in action 1967 in Laos. Buried at Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery, California.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (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 Kate Baldwin

    Arrived at New York in 1885 aboard the City of Richmond from Liverpool and Queenstown, aged 23; servant. From Cork, Ireland; bound for New York.

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

Showing 3 of 7,994 records for Baldwin 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) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · 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) · New York State, Open NY (police and firefighter memorial rolls) · City of Asheville (public domain, PDDL) · Ramsey County, Minnesota (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).

Australia1,863 records

1,863 records of the Baldwin name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 832
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 327
  • Other Australian records 704
  1. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record John Baldwin

    Died 1922 in Woodbridge, Tasmania. Will registered in Tasmania in 1922.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Rosanna Sarah Baldwin

    Born 1830 in Hobart, Tasmania. Married 1852 in Hobart, Tasmania, aged 21.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  3. 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 George Baldwin

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

    Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY)

Showing 3 of 1,863 records for Baldwin 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) · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · ACT Government, Transport Canberra and City Services (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain); 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).

Canada378 records

378 records of the Baldwin name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 183
  • City of Calgary cemetery records 47
  • Other Canadian records 148
  1. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Moses Baldwin

    Came to Ontario in 1871 aboard the European, landing at Quebec, bound for Scarboro, Ontario; English.

    Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario.
  2. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Civil record Philip Baldwin

    Killed in 1914 at the Dominion No. 4 mine, 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 Edith Gladys Baldwin

    Buried in 1991 at Queen's Park Cemetery, Calgary, Alberta, aged 71.

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

Showing 3 of 378 records for Baldwin in Canada.

Counts: Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. · City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary. · Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. · City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver. · 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) · Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario. · Halifax Regional Municipality. Contains information licenced under the Open Government Licence—Halifax. · Contains information provided by the City of Waterloo under licence. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0); Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0).

United Kingdom101 records

101 records of the Baldwin name in the United Kingdom
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 76
  • St James's burial ground, Euston (London), 1789–1853 22
  • Other British records 3
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Robert Reginald Baldwin

    Buried in 1965 at Callander Cemetery, Stirling, Scotland, aged 60.

    Stirling Council. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
  2. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Elizabeth Anne Baldwin

    Will proved in 1941; of Swansea, Glamorgan.

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

    Manchester Regiment. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1919.

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

Showing 3 of 101 records for Baldwin 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. · Stirling Council. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. · National Library of Wales, Wills Index Cards (CC0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0); 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).

New Zealand53 records

53 records of the Baldwin name in New Zealand
  • Christchurch City cemetery records 46
  • Marlborough District cemetery records 5
  • Other New Zealand records 2
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Arthur Baldwin

    Died 1965, aged 76; buried at Ruru Lawn, Christchurch, Canterbury.

    Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Gwenneth Erica Baldwin

    Died 2001, aged 78; buried at Fairhall Cemetery, Marlborough.

    Marlborough District Council (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the Livre d’or of the French war dead, Paris
    Example: roll of the war dead
    War record G. Baldwin

    New Zealand Infantry. 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 53 records for Baldwin in New Zealand.

Counts: Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0) · Marlborough District Council (CC BY 4.0) · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · Thames-Coromandel District Council (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0); Livre d’or of the war dead, Paris, Ministère des pensions, Archives nationales (CC0).

Netherlands48 records

48 records of the Baldwin name in the Netherlands
  • Dutch population registers 33
  • Dutch civil registers (births, marriages, deaths) 15
  1. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Benedictus Aloisius Baldwin

    Born 1902 in Rotterdam. Married in 1925 in Hedikhuizen.

    Open Archives, Stadsarchief Rotterdam (CC BY 4.0); Open Archives, Brabants Historisch Informatie Centrum (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Adriana Baldwin

    Born 1920 in Hedikhuizen. Married in 1950 in Tilburg.

    Open Archives, Streekarchief Langstraat Heusden Altena (CC BY 4.0); Open Archives, Brabants Historisch Informatie Centrum (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Leontine Wilhelmina Baldwin

    Born 1903 in Rotterdam. Married in 1929 in Hedikhuizen. Died 1972 in 's-Hertogenbosch.

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

Showing 3 of 48 records for Baldwin 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).

France6 records

6 records of the Baldwin 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 Ian Hugh Trevor Baldwin

    Born 1908 in the United Kingdom; died 1993 in Uzès (Gard).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)
  2. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Jean-Pierre Baldwin

    Born 1948 in the United States; died 2001 in Rousset (Bouches-du-Rhône).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)

Showing 2 of 6 records for Baldwin 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).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Baldwin.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Baldwin 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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