The Comfort surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 3,564 people carried this name — #9,155 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 82,600 people counted. About the same as in 2000 (3,571).

Look up another surname

Share

What the name means

The meaning of the Comfort surname

From the English word comfort.

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Comfort» (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 classes it as a local name, from where the family lived: ‘of Comport’.

An early record he cites: Richard Cumfort, Oxfordshire, 1273 — Hundred Rolls.

His entry covers Comfort, Comford, Comport and Comeford.

From Charles W. Bardsley, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with Special American Instances (London: Henry Frowde, 1901), p. 198 · public domain.

In the first U.S. census, 1790

20 families named Comfort, or a close spelling, were counted in 1790.

Each family is counted by its head. About 123 people lived in those households, 6.2 to a family on average. The table counts it together with one other spelling. 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 10
Pennsylvania 10

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. 234 — public domain · names carried by at least 100 white persons in 1790.

In print

Comfort in American newspapers,
1895.

Newspaper page from Daily Kennebec Journal carrying the name Comfort
Daily Kennebec Journal 1895-07-25
Newspaper page from Daily Kennebec Journal carrying the name Comfort
Daily Kennebec Journal 1895-07-26
Newspaper page from Daily Kennebec Journal carrying the name Comfort
Daily Kennebec Journal 1895-07-24

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

In print

Comfort in Australian newspapers,
1830s–1990s.

3,006 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Comfort. The most, 644, date from the 1920s. Victoria 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 Western Australia, at 2.0 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

Victoria 847
New South Wales 708
Queensland 466
Western Australia 456
South Australia 337
Tasmania 115
ACT (Canberra) 50
Northern Territory 17

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

Who carried it

People named Comfort,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Electus Comfort
    Electus Comfort d. 1894 · Sandy Hook pilot
  • John W. Comfort
    John W. Comfort 1844–1893 · military personnel
  • Charles Comfort
    Charles Comfort 1900–1994 · writer
  • Simeon Jones Comfort 1855– · politician
  • Randall Comfort 1871–1959 · photographer
  • Howard Comfort 1904–1993 · university teacher

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 Comfort,
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 States437 records

437 records of the Comfort name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 128
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 100
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 78
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 67
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 44
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 13
  • Irish Famine arrivals at New York, 1846–1851 4
  • Sacramento County historic burials 2
  • U.S. service members who died in the Vietnam War 1
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Wilson E. Comfort

    Born 1920 in Delaware. Enlisted 1942 at Fort Dix, New Jersey; carpenter. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1996, buried at Delaware Veterans Memorial Cemetery, Bear, Delaware.

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

    Born 1950; from Northumberland, Pennsylvania. U.S. Marine Corps, rifleman; killed in action 1968 in Thua Thien, South Vietnam.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain)
  3. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Catherine Comfort

    Arrived at New York in 1870 aboard the France from Liverpool and Queenstown, aged 26; servant. From Ireland.

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

Showing 3 of 437 records for Comfort 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) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · 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) · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain) · Sacramento County, Historic Burials (CC BY 4.0) · 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); Vietnam Veterans Memorial, photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, 2009 (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

Australia45 records

45 records of the Comfort name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 31
  • Tasmanian Names Index 11
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 3
  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 Henry Comfort

    Transported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Marquis of Hastings, sailing from London in 1842. Native of Southwark, Surrey.

    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 Michael Comfort

    Arrived in Victoria in 1857 aboard the Orient, aged 21; English.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Albert E. Comfort

    Storeman of Reservoir, Victoria; died 1947.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 45 records for Comfort in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0). 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); 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).

Canada18 records

18 records of the Comfort name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 7
  • City of Niagara Falls (Ontario) cemetery records 4
  • City of Winnipeg cemetery records 4
  • City of Calgary cemetery records 1
  • Canadian Virtual War Memorial 1
  • Ontario immigration records, 1865–1883 1
  1. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record G'o Comfort

    Came to Ontario in 1869 aboard the N Scotian, landing at Portland, bound for Hamilton, Ontario; English.

    Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario.
  2. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Norma Loraine Comfort

    Buried in 1991 at Queen's Park Cemetery, Calgary, Alberta, aged 60.

    City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary.
  3. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Olive Comfort

    Died 1923 in Sydney, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia.

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

Showing 3 of 18 records for Comfort in Canada.

Counts: Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. · City of Niagara Falls. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Niagara Falls. · City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg. · City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary. · Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. · Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: 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); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0).

New Zealand2 records

2 records of the Comfort name in New Zealand Christchurch City cemetery records
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Thomas Comfort

    Died 1934, aged 73; buried at Waimairi Cemetery, Christchurch, Canterbury.

    Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Emily Comfort

    Died 1946, aged 78; buried at Waimairi Cemetery, Christchurch, Canterbury.

    Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0)

Counts: 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).

United Kingdom1 record

1 record of the Comfort 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 C. Comfort

    Lance Corporal, 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)

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).

Netherlands1 record

1 record of the Comfort 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 Andries Comfort

    Married in 1699 in Empel.

    Open Archives, Regionaal Archief Rivierenland (CC BY 4.0)

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 Comfort.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Comfort 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 Comfort volume
Scroll to Top