The Boatman surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 5,899 people carried this name — #5,854 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 50,000 people counted. That is up 10% from 5,359 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Boatman surname

A surname originating as an occupation for a boatman.

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Boatman» (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 an occupational name: ‘the boatman’.

An early record he cites: Jeffry Boteman, rector of Wood Norton, Norfolk, 1320 — History of Norfolk (Blomefield and Parkin).

From Charles W. Bardsley, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with Special American Instances (London: Henry Frowde, 1901), p. 114 · public domain.

In print

Boatman in American newspapers,
1910.

Newspaper page from Wallowa County Chieftain carrying the name Boatman
Wallowa County Chieftain 1910-10-06

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

In print

Boatman in Australian newspapers,
1840s–1990s.

1,234 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Boatman. The most, 336, date from the 1910s. Weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, it stands out most in Victoria, at 2.7 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

Victoria 768
Queensland 197
New South Wales 192
South Australia 28
Tasmania 25
Western Australia 18
ACT (Canberra) 4

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

In the public record

People named Boatman,
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 States266 records

266 records of the Boatman name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 173
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 73
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 7
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 4
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 3
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 2
  • Sacramento County historic burials 2
  • U.S. service members who died in the Vietnam War 2
  1. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Elmer Lee Boatman

    Born 1945; from Wayland, Missouri. U.S. Marine Corps, administrative man; died of wounds 1966 in Quang Tri, South Vietnam. Buried at Keokuk National Cemetery, Iowa.

    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 Edgar L. Boatman

    Born 1910 in Oklahoma. Enlisted 1942 at Oklahoma City; farm hand from Tillman County. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 2000, buried at Tipton Cemetery, Oklahoma.

    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 Thomas Boatman

    Arrived at New York in 1869 aboard the City of Antwerp from Liverpool, aged 27; miner. From England.

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

Showing 3 of 266 records for Boatman 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, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · 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, 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: 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).

Australia23 records

23 records of the Boatman name in Australia
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 18
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 3
  • Queensland State Archives indexes 1
  • Tasmanian Names Index 1
  1. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Mary Boatman

    Arrived in Victoria in 1854 aboard the Jeannette, aged 30; British subject.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record William Boatman

    Farmer of Glenlofty, Victoria; died 1942.

    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 James Boatman

    Left Launceston in 1854 aboard the Dobsons, bound for Melbourne, as crew.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 23 records for Boatman 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). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: 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); Emigration file, Gündlingen, 1883, Landesarchiv Baden-Württemberg, Staatsarchiv Freiburg B 694/1 Nr. 1389 (CC BY 4.0).

Canada7 records

7 records of the Boatman name in Canada
  • Canadian Virtual War Memorial 2
  • Ontario immigration records, 1865–1883 2
  • City of Waterloo (Ontario) cemetery records 2
  • City of Niagara Falls (Ontario) cemetery records 1
  1. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Andrew Boatman

    Came to Ontario in 1879 aboard the Peruvian, landing at Quebec, bound for Richwood, 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 Elnora Boatman

    Buried in 1945 at Mount Hope Cemetery, Waterloo, Ontario.

    Contains information provided by the City of Waterloo under licence
  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 Percy Boatman

    Died in service in 1942.

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

Showing 3 of 7 records for Boatman in Canada.

Counts: Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. · Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario. · Contains information provided by the City of Waterloo under licence · City of Niagara Falls. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Niagara Falls. 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); Canadian First World War circumstances-of-death register (scan by Scottgraham87 via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0).

United Kingdom1 record

1 record of the Boatman name in the United Kingdom War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead
  1. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record T. J. Boatman

    North Staffordshire 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). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: 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 Boatman.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Boatman 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 Boatman volume
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