The Carman surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 11,302 people carried this name — #3,198 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 26,100 people counted. That is up 2% from 11,048 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Carman surname

As an English and Welsh surname

Bardsley classes it as an occupational name: ‘the carman’.

An early record he cites: Henry Carman, Suffolk, 1273 — Hundred Rolls.

From Charles W. Bardsley, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with Special American Instances (London: Henry Frowde, 1901), p. 161 · public domain.

In Argentina’s national register

At least 127 people named Carman live in Argentina.

RENAPER only publishes a name in a province when more than ten people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in Buenos Aires Province.

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

Where they live today

Buenos Aires Province 98
City of Buenos Aires 29

RENAPER (National Registry of Persons, Argentina), surnames of residents by province, December 2021 — CC BY 4.0.

In Switzerland’s population statistics

20 people named Carman live in Switzerland.

They live in 5 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Neuchâtel.

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

Where they live today

Neuchâtel 6
Fribourg 4
Solothurn 4
Bern 3
Geneva 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 national population registers

437 people named Carman are counted in Slovenia and Sweden.

Sweden’s figure is from 31 December 2022, the last count Statistics Sweden published. Slovenia counts its residents on 1 January 2026. It is the 994th most common surname there.

Counted, by country

Slovenia (2026) 363
Sweden (2022) 74

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) · source: Statistical Office of the Republic of Slovenia (SURS), SiStat tables 05X1015S–05X1018S, family names of the population, 1 January 2026 (names with 20 or more bearers shown).

In the first U.S. census, 1790

82 families named Carman, or a close spelling, were counted in 1790.

Each family is counted by its head. About 530 people lived in those households, 6.5 to a family on average. The table counts it together with 6 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

New York 45
Maryland 13
North Carolina 10
Pennsylvania 9
Maine 2
Massachusetts 1
Connecticut 1
Virginia 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. 233 — public domain · names carried by at least 100 white persons in 1790.

In print

Carman in American newspapers,
1860–1914.

Newspaper page from The New Hampshire Gazette carrying the name Carman
The New Hampshire Gazette 1860-07-21
Newspaper page from The Union And Journal carrying the name Carman
The Union And Journal 1860-09-21
Newspaper page from The Daily Missoulian carrying the name Carman
The Daily Missoulian 1914-10-22

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 105,806 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Carman in Australian newspapers,
1820s–1990s.

10,723 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Carman. The most, 2,162, date from the 1930s. 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 South Australia, at 1.8 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 3,500
South Australia 2,209
Victoria 2,063
Queensland 1,818
Tasmania 549
Western Australia 439
ACT (Canberra) 104
Northern Territory 5

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

Who carried it

People named Carman,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Albert Carman
    Albert Carman 1833–1917 · bishop
  • Marius Carman d. 1911 · composer
  • Marius Carman d. 1911 · composer
  • Captain Carman d. 1645
  • Phineas Carman 1762–1827
  • Sarah Kent Carman 1790–1860

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 Carman,
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 States1,636 records

1,636 records of the Carman name in the United States
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 629
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 412
  • Other U.S. records 595
  1. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Robert Leon Carman

    Born 1942; from Monahans, Texas. U.S. Navy, hospital corpsman; killed in action 1968 in Quang Nam, South Vietnam. Buried at Fort Bliss National Cemetery, Texas.

    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 Walton P. Carman

    Born 1926 in Massachusetts. Enlisted 1945 at Fort Banks Boston; filling station attendant. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 2001, buried at Massachusetts National Cemetery, Massachusetts.

    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 Therese Carman

    Arrived at New York in 1894 aboard the La Champagne from Havre, aged 22; farmer. From France; bound for New York.

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

Showing 3 of 1,636 records for Carman in the United States.

Counts: NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · 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) · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain) · Sacramento County, Historic Burials (CC BY 4.0) · New York State, Open NY (police and firefighter memorial rolls). 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).

Australia268 records

268 records of the Carman name in Australia
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 84
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 82
  • Other Australian records 102
  1. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Vera Sylvia Carman

    Born 1896 in Ulverstone, Tasmania. Married 1916 in Hobart, Tasmania, aged 21.

    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 Thos Carman

    Arrived in Victoria in 1852 aboard the Prince Regent, aged 21; English.

    Public Record Office Victoria (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 Simon Carman

    Transported to New South Wales aboard the Lord Lyndoch, arriving 1838; ticket of leave 1842.

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

Showing 3 of 268 records for Carman in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY) · Queensland State Archives (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: Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Prison-ship in Portsmouth Harbour, with the convicts going on board, etching by Edward William Cooke, 1829, Royal Museums Greenwich (public domain).

Canada49 records

49 records of the Carman name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 31
  • Canadian Virtual War Memorial 6
  • Other Canadian records 12
  1. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Caroline Laura Carman

    Died 1866 in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.
  2. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Grace May Carman

    Died 1965; buried at Brookside Cemetery, Winnipeg, Manitoba.

    City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg.
  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 Arthur James Carman

    Died in service in 1915.

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

Showing 3 of 49 records for Carman in Canada.

Counts: Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. · Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. · City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg. · City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver. · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0); 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).

Netherlands13 records

13 records of the Carman name in the Netherlands
  • Dutch church registers before 1811 9
  • Dutch population registers 4
  1. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Berent Carman

    Married in 1735 in Breda; soldier.

    Open Archives, Stadsarchief Breda (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the 1910 United States census, Milwaukee
    Example: U.S. census, 1910
    Population register Dina Christina Josephina Carman

    In the population register of Nijmegen; nun, born 1869 in Vlijmen.

    Open Archives, Regionaal Archief Nijmegen (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Barbera Carman

    Married in 1804 in Rotterdam.

    Open Archives, Stadsarchief Rotterdam (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 13 records for Carman 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); U.S. census of 1910, Milwaukee (public domain).

France11 records

11 records of the Carman 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 Robert Jules Marius Carman

    Born 1911 in Fourmetot (Eure); died 1985 in Rouen (Seine-Maritime).

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

    Born 1900 in Créon-d'Armagnac (Landes); died 1995 in Arès (Gironde).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)
  3. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Jean-Marie Roger Francis Carman

    Born 1947 in Le Havre; died 2001 in Montivilliers (Seine-Maritime).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)

Showing 3 of 11 records for Carman 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).

United Kingdom9 records

9 records of the Carman name in the United Kingdom
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 5
  • St James's burial ground, Euston (London), 1789–1853 3
  • Welsh wills index cards 1
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Dorothy Carman

    Buried in 1852 at St James's burial ground, Euston, London, aged 70.

    MOLA and HS2, St James's burial ground data. 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 Ellen Carman

    Will proved in 1937; of St David's Vicarage, Liverpool.

    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. Carman

    Highland Light 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 9 records for Carman 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. · 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 Zealand2 records

2 records of the Carman name in New Zealand
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 1
  • Christchurch City cemetery records 1
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Philip James Carman

    Died 1918, aged 70; buried at Linwood Cemetery, Christchurch, Canterbury.

    Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the Livre d’or of the French war dead, Paris
    Example: roll of the war dead
    War record B. Carman

    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)

Counts: National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · Christchurch City 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).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Carman.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Carman 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 Carman volume
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