The Bayless surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 6,171 people carried this name — #5,632 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 47,800 people counted. About the same as in 2000 (6,145).

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What the name means

The meaning of the Bayless surname

A surname, a spelling variant of Bayliss.

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Bayless» (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 name of office: ‘the bailie’.

An early record he cites: Alvered Ballivus, Lincolnshire, 1273 — Hundred Rolls.

His entry covers Bailey, Baillie, Bailly, Baily, Bayley, Baylie, Bayly, Baylis, Bayliss, Bayles and Bayless.

From Charles W. Bardsley, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with Special American Instances (London: Henry Frowde, 1901), p. 73 · public domain.

In the first U.S. census, 1790

In 1790, Bayless was counted together with Baylis: 39 families in all.

Each family is counted by its head. About 222 people lived in those households, 5.7 to a family on average. The census counted these spellings together: Baylis, Bailes, Bailess, Bailies, Bailis, Baleas, Balis, Bayles, Bayless, Baylies, Bayliss. 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

Virginia 10
New York 7
Massachusetts 6
Pennsylvania 5
North Carolina 5
Maryland 4
Rhode Island 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. 229 — public domain · names carried by at least 100 white persons in 1790.

In print

Bayless in American newspapers,
1908–1911.

Newspaper page from The Hattiesburg News carrying the name Bayless
The Hattiesburg News 1908-06-25
Newspaper page from The Tupelo Journal carrying the name Bayless
The Tupelo Journal 1908-06-26
Newspaper page from The Hattiesburg News carrying the name Bayless
The Hattiesburg News 1911-04-03

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 18,107 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Bayless in Australian newspapers,
1860s–1960s.

1,292 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Bayless. The most, 723, date from the 1870s. Weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, it stands out most in Victoria, at 1.5 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

Victoria 579
New South Wales 344
South Australia 161
Tasmania 99
Queensland 83
Western Australia 23
ACT (Canberra) 3

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

Who carried it

People named Bayless,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Bill Bayless
    Bill Bayless 1925– · athletics competitor
  • William F. Bayless d. 1873 · politician
  • Raymond Bayless 1920–2004 · illustrator
  • Raymond Bayless 1920–2004 · illustrator
  • Jean Bayless 1931–2021 · actor

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 Bayless,
in the records of 3 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 States408 records

408 records of the Bayless name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 235
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 111
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 26
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 12
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 11
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 8
  • Sacramento County historic burials 3
  • Irish Famine arrivals at New York, 1846–1851 2
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Charles R. Bayless

    Born 1924 in Tennessee. Enlisted 1943 at Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia; painter from Washington County. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1979, buried at Mountain Home 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 Harriet Bayless

    Arrived at New York in 1892 aboard the City of Rome from Glasgow and Moville, aged 20; tourist. From Glasgow; bound for Illinois.

    U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)
  3. A U.S. Army record of death and interment, Camp Nelson, Kentucky, 1864
    Example: U.S. burial record, 1864
    Burial record Conway Bayless

    U.S. Army veteran. Born 1888, died 1949; buried at Chattanooga National Cemetery, Tennessee.

    U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)

Showing 3 of 408 records for Bayless in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · Sacramento County, Historic Burials (CC BY 4.0) · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (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); Record of death and interment, Camp Nelson, Kentucky, 1864, U.S. National Archives (public domain).

Australia26 records

26 records of the Bayless name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 20
  • Queensland State Archives indexes 4
  • State Library of Western Australia indexes 2
  1. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Philip Bayless

    Arrived in Victoria in 1885 aboard the Liguria, aged 55; English.

    Public Record Office Victoria (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 Robert Bayless

    Arrived in Queensland in 1883 aboard the Duke of Westminster, aged 21.

    Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Biographical index Charles Frederick Bayless

    In the Western Australian Biographical Index.

    State Library of Western Australia (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 26 records for Bayless in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0) · State Library of Western Australia (CC BY 4.0). 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).

Canada5 records

5 records of the Bayless name in Canada
  • City of Winnipeg cemetery records 2
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 1
  • Ontario immigration records, 1865–1883 1
  • Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver 1
  1. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record John Bayless

    Came to Ontario in 1871 aboard the Severn, bound for Hamilton, Ontario; English.

    Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario.
  2. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Henry John Bayless

    Buried in 1915 at Brookside Cemetery, Winnipeg, Manitoba.

    City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg.
  3. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Birth record George Alfred Bayless

    Born 1868 in Barneys River, Pictou, Nova Scotia.

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

Showing 3 of 5 records for Bayless in Canada.

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

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Bayless.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Bayless 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 Bayless volume
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