The Chestnut surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 7,924 people carried this name — #4,478 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 37,200 people counted. That is up 2% from 7,772 in 2000.

Look up another surname

Share

What the name means

The meaning of the Chestnut surname

As an English and Welsh surname

Bardsley classes it as a local name, from where the family lived: ‘at the chestnut’.

His entry covers Chestnut and Chesnut.

From Charles W. Bardsley, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with Special American Instances (London: Henry Frowde, 1901), p. 176 · public domain.

In print

Chestnut in American newspapers,
1903–1928.

Newspaper page from The Montgomery Advertiser carrying the name Chestnut
The Montgomery Advertiser 1907-03-10
Newspaper page from Pine Bluff Daily Graphic carrying the name Chestnut
Pine Bluff Daily Graphic 1903-05-25
Newspaper page from The Washington Tribune carrying the name Chestnut
The Washington Tribune 1928-04-06

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 1,245 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Chestnut in Australian newspapers,
1820s–1980s.

4,766 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Chestnut. The most, 735, date from the 1890s.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 1,661
Victoria 1,032
Queensland 774
South Australia 720
Western Australia 331
Tasmania 222
ACT (Canberra) 12
Northern Territory 11

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

Who carried it

People named Chestnut,
with a public archive behind them.

  • John Chesnut
    John Chesnut 1743–1818
  • Jacob Chestnut
    Jacob Chestnut 1940–1998 · police officer
  • George Chestnut 1911–1983 · basketball player
  • Jennings Chestnut 1942–2010 · luthier

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 Chestnut,
in the records of 4 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 States604 records

604 records of the Chestnut name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 278
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 110
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 95
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 40
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 37
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 25
  • Irish Famine arrivals at New York, 1846–1851 15
  • U.S. service members who died in the Korean War 2
  • U.S. service members who died in the Vietnam War 2
  1. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Joseph Lyons Chestnut

    Born 1934; from Murfreesboro, Tennessee. U.S. Air Force, pilot; declared dead 1970 in Laos. Buried at Barrancas National Cemetery, Florida.

    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 Howard D. Chestnut

    Born 1905 in Pennsylvania. Enlisted 1942 at Philadelphia; metal worker from Philadelphia County. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1955, 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)
  3. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Bessey Chestnut

    Arrived at New York in 1866 aboard the Isaac Webb from Liverpool, aged 21; servant. From Ireland.

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

Showing 3 of 604 records for Chestnut 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). 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).

Australia30 records

30 records of the Chestnut name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 17
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 12
  • NSW convict, estate and railway indexes 1
  1. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Alexander Chestnut

    Arrived in Victoria in 1885 aboard the Orient, aged 20; Irish.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Harry Samuel Chestnut

    Driver of Shepparton, Victoria; died 1961.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Harry Chestnut

    Of Balmain, New South Wales; died 1925.

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

Showing 3 of 30 records for Chestnut in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: 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); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0).

Canada15 records

15 records of the Chestnut name in Canada
  • City of Winnipeg cemetery records 5
  • Canadian Virtual War Memorial 4
  • City of Calgary cemetery records 3
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 3
  1. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Mary Helen Chestnut

    Died 1967; buried at Brookside Cemetery, Winnipeg, Manitoba.

    City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg.
  2. 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 John Albon Chestnut

    Died in service in 1915.

    Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada.
  3. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Birth record Helen Turnbull Chestnut

    Born 1920 in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

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

Showing 3 of 15 records for Chestnut 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. · Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: 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); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0).

United Kingdom1 record

1 record of the Chestnut name in the United Kingdom War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead
  1. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record J. Chestnut

    Driver, Royal Field Artillery. 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). 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).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Chestnut.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Chestnut 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 Chestnut volume
Scroll to Top