The Carswell surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 6,390 people carried this name — #5,448 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 46,100 people counted. That is up 6% from 6,039 in 2000.

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In Scotland’s registers today

Carswell was recorded 21 times in Scotland’s registers of births, marriages and deaths in 2025.

That made it the 1107th most common name in those registers, shared with others on the same count. In 1975, the first year of the series, the count was 35. 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

20 Carswell families were counted in 1790.

Each family is counted by its head. About 112 people lived in those households, 5.6 to a family on average. 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 17
North Carolina 2
Maryland 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

Carswell in American newspapers,
1854–1925.

Newspaper page from Canton Weekly Register carrying the name Carswell
Canton Weekly Register 1854-03-23
Newspaper page from Fort Worth Daily Gazette carrying the name Carswell
Fort Worth Daily Gazette 1890-08-19
Newspaper page from The Montgomery Advertiser carrying the name Carswell
The Montgomery Advertiser 1925-06-07

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 20,642 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Carswell in Australian newspapers,
1840s–1990s.

4,238 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Carswell. The most, 1,235, date from the 1930s. Queensland 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 Tasmania, at 5.4 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

Queensland 1,474
Tasmania 1,274
New South Wales 884
Victoria 245
Western Australia 150
South Australia 146
ACT (Canberra) 39
Northern Territory 2

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

Who carried it

People named Carswell,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Robert Carswell
    Robert Carswell 1838–1928 · publisher
  • Edward Carswell d. 1902 · painter
  • John Carswell 1782–1831
  • Ann Finnie 1788–1857
  • John Carswell 1819–1832
  • Janet Muir Carswell 1823–1899

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 Carswell,
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 States469 records

469 records of the Carswell name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 198
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 76
  • Other U.S. records 195
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record John H. Carswell

    Born 1918 in Pennsylvania. Enlisted 1942 at Fort George G Meade, Maryland; locomotive fireman. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1964, buried at Beverly National Cemetery, New Jersey.

    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 Elizabeth Carswell

    Arrived at New York in 1870 aboard the Anglia from Glasgow, aged 25; servant. From Scotland.

    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 James Adam Carswell

    U.S. Navy veteran of the Vietnam War. Born 1950, died 1999; buried at Mount Moriah, Troy, Alabama.

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

Showing 3 of 469 records for Carswell in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain) · City of Asheville (public domain, PDDL). 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).

Australia237 records

237 records of the Carswell name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 91
  • Queensland State Archives indexes 66
  • Other Australian records 80
  1. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Allan Carswell

    Died 1876 in Launceston, Tasmania, aged 75. Will registered in Tasmania in 1876.

    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 Mary Carswell

    Arrived in Victoria in 1860 aboard the Czar, as an infant; Scottish.

    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 William Carswell

    Transported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Equestrian, sailing from London in 1845. Native of Shropshire.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 237 records for Carswell 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) · ACT Government, Transport Canberra and City Services (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (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).

Canada52 records

52 records of the Carswell name in Canada
  • City of Winnipeg cemetery records 16
  • Canadian Virtual War Memorial 11
  • Other Canadian records 25
  1. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record John Carswell

    Buried in 1960 at St. Vital Cemetery, Winnipeg, Manitoba, aged 97.

    City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg.
  2. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Mary Amelia Carswell

    Died 1938 in Joggin Bridge, Digby, Nova Scotia.

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

    Died in service in 1944.

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

Showing 3 of 52 records for Carswell in Canada.

Counts: City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg. · 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 Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver. · 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. · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0); Canadian First World War circumstances-of-death register (scan by Scottgraham87 via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0).

United Kingdom10 records

10 records of the Carswell name in the United Kingdom
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 5
  • Scottish rolls of honour, First World War 2
  • Other British records 3
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record John Carswell

    Died 1949, aged 78; buried at Logie Cemetery, Stirling, Scotland.

    Stirling Council. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
  2. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record William Carswell

    Buried in 1797 at St James's burial ground, Euston, London, aged 34.

    MOLA and HS2, St James's burial ground data. 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 C. Carswell

    Lancashire Fusiliers. 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 10 records for Carswell in the United Kingdom.

Counts: National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · National Library of Scotland, Rolls of Honour (public domain) · Stirling Council. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. · MOLA and HS2, St James's burial ground data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0); C. & E. Morton Ltd roll of honour, 1914–1919, photo by Adrian S Pye via Geograph (CC BY-SA 2.0).

New Zealand3 records

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

    Died 1997; buried at Belfast 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 G. Carswell

    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)
  3. A page of the Livre d’or of the French war dead, Paris
    Example: roll of the war dead
    War record J. Carswell

    Lance Corporal, New Zealand Infantry. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1917.

    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).

Netherlands2 records

2 records of the Carswell name in the Netherlands
  • Dutch population registers 1
  • Dutch civil registers (births, marriages, deaths) 1
  1. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Richard Carswell

    Died 1942 in Ameland.

    Open Archives, AlleFriezen (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the 1910 United States census, Milwaukee
    Example: U.S. census, 1910
    Population register Sarah Carswell

    In the population register of Amsterdam; born 1844 in Manschester.

    Open Archives, Stadsarchief Amsterdam (CC BY 4.0)

Counts: Open Archives (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0); U.S. census of 1910, Milwaukee (public domain).

France1 record

1 record of the Carswell 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 Simonne Henriette Gladys Carswell

    Born 1906 in Paris; died 1988 in Château-Thierry (Aisne).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)

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).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Carswell.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Carswell 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 Carswell volume
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