The Cathcart surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 4,716 people carried this name — #7,099 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 62,500 people counted. That is up 6% from 4,466 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Cathcart surname

A habitational surname from Scottish Gaelic.

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Cathcart» (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 explains it as ‘of Cathcart’.

From Charles W. Bardsley, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with Special American Instances (London: Henry Frowde, 1901), p. 164 · public domain.

In Ireland’s birth registers, 1890

Ireland registered 16 births for the Cathcart name in 1890.

Most were registered in Ulster. By the Registrar-General’s own method — births multiplied by 44.38 — that is about 700 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 13
Leinster 2
Connacht 1

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

In Scotland’s registers today

Cathcart was recorded 13 times in Scotland’s registers of births, marriages and deaths in 2025.

That made it the 1564th most common name in those registers, shared with others on the same count. In 1975, the first year of the series, the count was 15. 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 print

Cathcart in American newspapers,
1886–1914.

Newspaper page from The St. Mary Banner carrying the name Cathcart
The St. Mary Banner 1909-05-29
Newspaper page from The Dillon Tribune carrying the name Cathcart
The Dillon Tribune 1886-01-16
Newspaper page from The Hattiesburg News carrying the name Cathcart
The Hattiesburg News 1914-05-22

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

In print

Cathcart in Australian newspapers,
1820s–2010s.

15,864 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Cathcart. The most, 2,935, 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 2.5 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

Victoria 8,746
Queensland 2,474
New South Wales 2,362
Tasmania 1,027
South Australia 779
Western Australia 435
ACT (Canberra) 19
Northern Territory 7

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

Who carried it

People named Cathcart,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Isabel Cathcart d. 1856
  • Hugh Cathcart d. 1676
  • Rebecca Cathcart d. 1887
  • Alan Cathcart, Master of Cathcart d. 1513
  • Alan Cathcart, 3rd Lord Cathcart d. 1547
  • Hilda Renée Lee d. 1958

Wikidata (CC0) · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Cathcart,
in the records of 6 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 States554 records

554 records of the Cathcart name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 168
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 103
  • Other U.S. records 283
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Wildon W. Cathcart

    Born 1916 in California. Enlisted 1945 at San Francisco; baker from Butte County. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1957, buried at Golden Gate National Cemetery, California.

    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 Charles H. Cathcart

    Arrived at New York in 1885 aboard the Aurania from Liverpool and Queenstown, aged 28; stage driver. From London, England; bound for New York.

    U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)
  3. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Robert S. Cathcart

    Born 1930; from St Clair County, Illinois. U.S. Army, heavy weapons infantryman; killed in action 1951 in North Korea.

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

Showing 3 of 554 records for Cathcart 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. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · 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 · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain). 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); Vietnam Veterans Memorial, photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, 2009 (public domain).

Australia335 records

335 records of the Cathcart name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 188
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 71
  • Other Australian records 76
  1. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record John Connolly Cathcart

    Died 1900 in Invermay, Tasmania. Will registered in Tasmania in 1901.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Emily Mary Cathcart

    Born 1870 in Launceston, Tasmania. Married 1896 in Launceston, Tasmania, aged 26.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Robt Cathcart

    Arrived in Victoria in 1857 aboard the Sir William Eyre, aged 45; English.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 335 records for Cathcart 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) · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain); Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

Canada129 records

129 records of the Cathcart name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 96
  • City of Winnipeg cemetery records 13
  • Other Canadian records 20
  1. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Civil record Gordon Cathcart

    Killed in 1950 at the Dominion No. 20 mine, 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 Wesley Archer Cathcart

    Died 1999, aged 83; 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 Carlton Albany Cathcart

    Died in service in 1921.

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

Showing 3 of 129 records for Cathcart in Canada.

Counts: Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. · 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 Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver. · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary. 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).

United Kingdom6 records

6 records of the Cathcart name in the United Kingdom
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 3
  • Scottish rolls of honour, First World War 2
  • Stirling Council burial records 1
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record William Cathcart

    Buried in 1881 at Mar Place Cemetery, Stirling, Scotland, aged 80.

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

    Born 1894. Died 1916. Named in the University of Edinburgh roll of honour, 1914-1919.

    National Library of Scotland, Rolls of Honour (public domain)
  3. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record R. Cathcart

    Royal Irish Rifles. 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 6 records for Cathcart 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. 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 Zealand4 records

4 records of the Cathcart name in New Zealand
  • Christchurch City cemetery records 2
  • Thames-Coromandel District cemetery records 1
  • Waimakariri District cemetery records, Canterbury 1
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Robert Cathcart

    Buried in 1922 at Shortland Cemetery, Thames-Coromandel District, Waikato, aged 79.

    Thames-Coromandel District Council (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Rogers Cathcart

    Died 1887; buried at Addington Cemetery, Christchurch, Canterbury.

    Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Robert Dunlop Cathcart

    Died 1984; buried at Rangiora Lawn Cemetery, Canterbury.

    Waimakariri District Council (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 4 records for Cathcart in New Zealand.

Counts: Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0) · Thames-Coromandel District Council (CC BY 4.0) · Waimakariri 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).

Netherlands1 record

1 record of the Cathcart name in the Netherlands Dutch population registers
  1. A page of the 1910 United States census, Milwaukee
    Example: U.S. census, 1910
    Population register Frances M. Cathcart

    In the population register of Apeldoorn; born 1894 in St. Andrews.

    Open Archives, CODA (CC BY 4.0)

Counts: Open Archives (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: U.S. census of 1910, Milwaukee (public domain).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Cathcart.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Cathcart 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 Cathcart volume
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