The Canterbury surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 4,449 people carried this name — #7,488 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 66,200 people counted. That is up 3% from 4,332 in 2000.

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In print

Canterbury in American newspapers,
1894.

Newspaper page from The Buffalo Bulletin carrying the name Canterbury
The Buffalo Bulletin 1894-06-14
Newspaper page from The Buffalo Bulletin carrying the name Canterbury
The Buffalo Bulletin 1894-06-07
Newspaper page from The Buffalo Bulletin carrying the name Canterbury
The Buffalo Bulletin 1894-05-31

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 103,259 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Canterbury in Australian newspapers,
1830s–1990s.

6,619 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Canterbury. The most, 1,108, 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 Victoria, at 2.2 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

Victoria 3,272
New South Wales 2,768
Queensland 193
South Australia 142
Tasmania 106
Western Australia 66
ACT (Canberra) 58
Northern Territory 2

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

Who carried it

People named Canterbury,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Nathan Dexter Canterbury
    Nathan Dexter Canterbury 1837–1912 · politician
  • Skeets Canterbury 1878–1954 · ice hockey player

Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped, in the public domain or CC0 · 6 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Canterbury,
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 States241 records

241 records of the Canterbury name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 151
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 46
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 25
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 7
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 4
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 3
  • U.S. service members who died in the Korean War 3
  • Irish Famine arrivals at New York, 1846–1851 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 George Canterbury

    Born 1917 in Alabama. Enlisted 1942 at Fort McClellan; miner from Bibb County. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1977, buried at Mount Carmel Cemetery, West Blocton, Alabama.

    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 Marvin Dewayne Canterbury

    Born 1942; from Clendenin, West Virginia. U.S. Army, armor reconnaissance specialist; killed in action 1969 in Binh Duong, South Vietnam.

    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 Canterbury

    Arrived at New York in 1852 aboard the Continent from Liverpool, aged 32; butcher. From England.

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

Showing 3 of 241 records for Canterbury in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · 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, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain) · 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); 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).

Australia64 records

64 records of the Canterbury name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 38
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 19
  • Tasmanian Names Index 6
  • State Library of Western Australia indexes 1
  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 James Canterbury

    Transported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Sir Charles Forbes, sailing from London in 1830. Native of Exeter, Devon.

    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 Eliza Canterbury

    Arrived in Victoria in 1857 aboard the Mount Stuart Elphinstone, as an infant; 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 William J. Canterbury

    Flight lieutenant of Dandenong, Victoria; died 1943.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 64 records for Canterbury in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) · 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).

Canada1 record

1 record of the Canterbury name in Canada Nova Scotia Archives name indexes
  1. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record William Canterbury

    Married 1815 in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

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

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

When the index is not enough

This page says where Canterbury 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 Canterbury volume
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