The Carmichael surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 19,628 people carried this name — #1,825 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 15,000 people counted. That is up 3% from 19,011 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Carmichael surname

A habitational surname from Scottish Gaelic.

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Carmichael» (English), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.

In Ireland’s birth registers, 1890

Ireland registered 19 births for the Carmichael name in 1890.

Most were registered in Ulster. By the Registrar-General’s own method — births multiplied by 44.38 — that is about 800 people bearing the name in Ireland at the time. The Registrar-General’s note on the name: “Antrim.”

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

Where they were born, 1890

Ulster 17
Leinster 2

Registrar-General for Ireland, «Special Report on Surnames in Ireland» (R. E. Matheson, 1894), births index of 1890 — public domain.

In France’s civil register

France’s register of deaths holds 26 people named Carmichael.

8 of them were born outside France. Those born in France came from 4 départements, most often Paris.

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

Where they were born

Born outside France 8
Paris 7
Somme 7
Hauts-de-Seine 3
Yvelines 1

Fichier des personnes décédées, INSEE — Licence Ouverte 2.0 · deaths recorded in France since 1970, by place of birth.

Among the farmers of England and Wales, 1880s

Carmichael was found among the farmers of Northumberland: 41 in every 10,000.

Guppy counted the farmers listed in each county’s directory and recorded a name only where it reached about 7 in every 10,000; where it does not appear, it was rarer than that, not absent.

Where it concentrates, on the map

Per 10,000 farmers, by county

Northumberland 41

H. B. Guppy, «Homes of Family Names in Great Britain» (London, 1890), alphabetical list of English and Welsh names — public domain · farmers in Kelly’s Post Office Directories of the 1880s, per 10,000 farmers in each county.

In Scotland, 1880s

Carmichael was 15 in every 10,000 names in Scotland.

That is about 1 in 667. Its home there, in Guppy’s words: “Dispersed over a large part of Scotland, but rare in the north.” He counted the more than 20,000 names in Halliburton’s County Directory of Scotland, taking Scotland as a whole, and listed only the names that reached 10 in every 10,000.

H. B. Guppy, «Homes of Family Names in Great Britain» (London, 1890), appendix: alphabetical list of the most frequent Scottish names, p. 587 — public domain · names in Halliburton’s County Directory of Scotland, per 10,000 for the whole country.

In Scotland’s registers today

Carmichael was recorded 69 times in Scotland’s registers of births, marriages and deaths in 2025.

That made it the 389th most common name in those registers, shared with others on the same count. In 1975, the first year of the series, the count was 139. Each birth counts the child’s surname, each marriage both partners’ and each death the surname of the person who died — a yearly count of registrations, not of the people who live in Scotland.

National Records of Scotland, «Most Common Surnames, 2025» (published 26 May 2026): every surname recorded 10 or more times in the 2025 registers, and the series from 1975 · different spellings are counted separately — © Crown copyright 2026. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

In the first U.S. census, 1790

36 families named Carmichael, or a close spelling, were counted in 1790.

Each family is counted by its head. About 196 people lived in those households, 5.4 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

Pennsylvania 11
North Carolina 10
Virginia 6
New York 4
South Carolina 3
Maryland 2

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

Carmichael in American newspapers,
1879–1924.

Newspaper page from The Kevin Review carrying the name Carmichael
The Kevin Review 1923-12-20
Newspaper page from Belt Valley Times carrying the name Carmichael
Belt Valley Times 1924-01-17
Newspaper page from Daily Kennebec Journal carrying the name Carmichael
Daily Kennebec Journal 1879-10-04

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 3,820 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Carmichael in Australian newspapers,
1820s–2000s.

56,116 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Carmichael. The most, 21,099, 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 New South Wales, at 1.4 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 26,193
Victoria 11,266
Queensland 6,540
South Australia 6,219
Western Australia 2,555
Tasmania 2,547
ACT (Canberra) 615
Northern Territory 82

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

Who carried it

People named Carmichael,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Thomas Carmichael, 5th Earl of Hyndford
    Thomas Carmichael, 5th Earl of Hyndford 1750–1811
  • Hugh Lyle Carmichael
    Hugh Lyle Carmichael 1764–1813 · military personnel
  • Richard Bennett Carmichael
    Richard Bennett Carmichael 1807–1884 · judge
  • Alexander Carmichael
    Alexander Carmichael 1832–1912 · writer
  • Robert Carmichael
    Robert Carmichael 1854–1920 · politician

Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped — Robert Carmichael: Political Graveyard from Ann Arbor, MI, CC BY 2.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0); the others are in the public domain or CC0 · 293 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Carmichael,
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 States1,928 records

1,928 records of the Carmichael name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 719
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 309
  • Other U.S. records 900
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Malachi Carmichael

    Born 1922 in Georgia. Enlisted 1942 at Camp Forrest, Tennessee; laundry worker. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1995, buried at Chattanooga National Cemetery, Tennessee.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (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 John C. Carmichael

    Born 1906 in Texas. Enlisted 1942 at Fort Sam Houston; engineer from Uvalde County. Veteran; died 1973, buried at Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery, Texas.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  3. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Donald M. Carmichael

    Born 1930; from Middlesex County, Massachusetts. U.S. Army, light weapons infantryman; killed in action 1950 in South Korea.

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

Showing 3 of 1,928 records for Carmichael 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) · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · 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) · City of Asheville (public domain, PDDL). 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).

Australia1,377 records

1,377 records of the Carmichael name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 614
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 285
  • Other Australian records 478
  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 Alexander Carmichael

    Transported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Manlius, sailing from London in 1828. Native of Perth, Perthshire. Applied for permission to marry in Van Diemen's Land in 1842. Married 1842 in Brighton, Tasmania, aged 28.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record William Carmichael

    Died 1888 in Hobart, Tasmania, aged 62. Will registered in Tasmania in 1888.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Ada Priscilla Carmichael

    Born 1870 in New Norfolk, Tasmania. Married 1897 in Hamilton, Tasmania, aged 26.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 1,377 records for Carmichael 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) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY) · State Library of Western Australia (CC BY 4.0) · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · City of Ballarat, Avenue of Honour Plaques (CC BY 3.0 AU). 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); Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain); Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain).

Canada841 records

841 records of the Carmichael name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 733
  • Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver 31
  • Other Canadian records 77
  1. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Civil record Andrew Carmichael

    Killed in 1891 at the Springhill Mine, Nova Scotia.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.
  2. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Jas Carmichael

    Came to Ontario in 1869 aboard the Serapis, landing at Quebec, bound for Goderich, Ontario; Irish.

    Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario.
  3. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Donald Campbell Carmichael

    Buried in 1978 at Queen's Park Cemetery, Calgary, Alberta, aged 71.

    City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary.

Showing 3 of 841 records for Carmichael 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. · Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. · City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary. · City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg. · Halifax Regional Municipality. Contains information licenced under the Open Government Licence—Halifax. · Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario. · 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); 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).

United Kingdom156 records

156 records of the Carmichael name in the United Kingdom
  • Stirling Council burial records 112
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 26
  • Scottish rolls of honour, First World War 18
  1. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record Robert Carmichael

    Born 1893 at Elgin; footman. Served in the First World War. Named in the Morayshire roll of honour (1921).

    National Library of Scotland, Rolls of Honour (public domain)
  2. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record David Kerr Carmichael

    Died 1949, aged 66; buried at Logie Cemetery, Stirling, Scotland.

    Stirling Council. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
  3. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record James William Carmichael

    Born 1876 at Elgin; wool warper. Served in the First World War. Named in the Morayshire roll of honour (1921).

    National Library of Scotland, Rolls of Honour (public domain)

Showing 3 of 156 records for Carmichael in the United Kingdom.

Counts: Stirling Council. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · National Library of Scotland, Rolls of Honour (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); Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0).

New Zealand44 records

44 records of the Carmichael name in New Zealand
  • Christchurch City cemetery records 39
  • Waimakariri District cemetery records, Canterbury 2
  • Other New Zealand records 3
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Ian Duncan Carmichael

    Born 1901, died 1993; buried at Oxford Cemetery, Canterbury.

    Waimakariri District Council (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record David Basil Carmichael

    Died 1991, aged 65; buried at Fairhall Cemetery, Marlborough.

    Marlborough District Council (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Cecelia Margaret Carmichael

    Died 1951, aged 60; buried at Ruru Lawn, Christchurch, Canterbury.

    Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 44 records for Carmichael in New Zealand.

Counts: Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0) · Waimakariri District Council (CC BY 4.0) · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · Marlborough District Council (CC BY 4.0) · Thames-Coromandel District 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).

France11 records

11 records of the Carmichael 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 Helene Marguerite Madeleine Carmichael

    Born 1902 in Ailly-sur-Somme; died 1984 in Ailly-sur-Noye (Somme).

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

    Born 1962 in New Amsterdam (Guyana); died 2001 in Saint-Martin (Guadeloupe).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)

Showing 2 of 11 records for Carmichael 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).

Netherlands3 records

3 records of the Carmichael name in the Netherlands Dutch church registers before 1811
  1. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Dougal Carmichael

    Married in 1756 in Rotterdam; born in Edenburgh in Scotland.

    Open Archives, Stadsarchief Rotterdam (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Robert Carmichael

    Married in 1727 in Rotterdam.

    Open Archives, Stadsarchief Rotterdam (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 2 of 3 records for Carmichael 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).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Carmichael.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Carmichael 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.

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