The Barrows surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 7,773 people carried this name — #4,561 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 37,900 people counted. That is up 4% from 7,493 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Barrows surname

As an English and Welsh surname

Bardsley classes it as a local name, from where the family lived: ‘of the barrow’.

An early record he cites: Richard de Barewe, Suffolk, 1273 — Hundred Rolls.

His entry covers Barrow and Barrows.

From Charles W. Bardsley, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with Special American Instances (London: Henry Frowde, 1901), p. 81 · public domain.

In the first U.S. census, 1790

138 families named Barrows, or a close spelling, were counted in 1790.

Each family is counted by its head. About 812 people lived in those households, 5.9 to a family on average. The table counts it together with 2 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

Massachusetts 38
North Carolina 37
Connecticut 26
Maine 10
Vermont 7
New York 7
Maryland 6
South Carolina 3
New Hampshire 2
Rhode Island 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. 228 — public domain · names carried by at least 100 white persons in 1790.

In print

Barrows in American newspapers,
1903–1911.

Newspaper page from Omaha Daily Bee carrying the name Barrows
Omaha Daily Bee 1903-06-14
Newspaper page from The Kadoka Press And Kadoka Reporter carrying the name Barrows
The Kadoka Press And Kadoka Reporter 1911-02-24
Newspaper page from The Kadoka Press And Kadoka Reporter carrying the name Barrows
The Kadoka Press And Kadoka Reporter 1911-03-03

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

In print

Barrows in Australian newspapers,
1830s–1980s.

5,567 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Barrows. The most, 1,008, date from the 1890s. Weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, it stands out most in South Australia, at 2.5 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

South Australia 1,649
New South Wales 1,546
Victoria 1,493
Queensland 439
Western Australia 267
Tasmania 150
ACT (Canberra) 15
Northern Territory 3

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

Who carried it

People named Barrows,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Elijah Porter Barrows
    Elijah Porter Barrows 1807–1888 · writer
  • Henry Dwight Barrows
    Henry Dwight Barrows 1825–1914 · teacher
  • Frank Barrows
    Frank Barrows 1844–1922 · baseball player
  • Isabel Barrows
    Isabel Barrows 1845–1913 · physician
  • Samuel J. Barrows
    Samuel J. Barrows 1845–1909 · politician
  • Blake Barrows 1807–1881

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 Barrows,
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 States825 records

825 records of the Barrows name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 287
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 151
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 121
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 120
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 71
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 69
  • Irish Famine arrivals at New York, 1846–1851 4
  • New York State police and firefighter memorial rolls 1
  • U.S. service members who died in the Vietnam War 1
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record John J. Barrows

    Born 1918 in Connecticut. Enlisted 1941 at Hartford; shipping clerk from New London County. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1998, buried at St Mary Cemetery, Norwich, Connecticut.

    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 James Barrows

    Arrived at New York in 1892 aboard the City of Rome from Moville, aged 25; glass worker. From Glasgow, Scotland; bound for New York.

    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 Irving Donald Barrows

    Born 1947; from De Ridder, Louisiana. U.S. Marine Corps, rifleman; killed in action 1968 in Quang Tri, South Vietnam.

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

Showing 3 of 825 records for Barrows 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, 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) · New York State, Open NY (police and firefighter memorial rolls) · 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).

Australia126 records

126 records of the Barrows name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 94
  • Tasmanian Names Index 11
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 7
  • Queensland State Archives indexes 6
  • NSW convict, estate and railway indexes 4
  • State Library of Western Australia indexes 4
  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 Abraham Barrows

    Transported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Egyptian, sailing from London in 1839. Native of Spitalfields, Middlesex.

    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 Phoebe Barrows

    Arrived in Victoria in 1885 aboard the Garonne, aged 33; English.

    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 Richard Barrows

    Licensed victualler of Upper Hawthorn, Victoria; died 1906.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 126 records for Barrows 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) · 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: 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).

Canada22 records

22 records of the Barrows name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 14
  • Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver 3
  • City of Calgary cemetery records 2
  • Canadian Virtual War Memorial 1
  • City of Winnipeg cemetery records 1
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 1
  1. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Louisa Barrows

    Died 1918; buried at Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver, British Columbia.

    City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver.
  2. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Civil record Benjamin Barrows

    Listed at Liverpool, Queens, Nova Scotia in the census and tax rolls of 1794.

    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 Charles David Barrows

    Died in service in 1919.

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

Showing 3 of 22 records for Barrows 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. · 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 Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg. · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). 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).

United Kingdom2 records

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

    Buried in 1817 at St James's burial ground, Euston, London, aged 28.

    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 J. E. Barrows

    Royal West Kent Regiment. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1918.

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

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 Barrows.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Barrows 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 Barrows volume
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