The Converse surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 4,400 people carried this name — #7,554 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 67,100 people counted. That is up 4% from 4,236 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Converse surname

As an English and Welsh surname

Bardsley classes it as a nickname: ‘the convert’.

An early record he cites: Roger le Convers, Gloucestershire, 1273 — Hundred Rolls.

From Charles W. Bardsley, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with Special American Instances (London: Henry Frowde, 1901), p. 200 · public domain.

In the first U.S. census, 1790

53 families named Converse, or a close spelling, were counted in 1790.

Each family is counted by its head. About 311 people lived in those households, 5.9 to a family on average. The table counts it together with 2 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

Massachusetts 31
Connecticut 8
New Hampshire 5
New York 4
Vermont 2
Rhode Island 2
Pennsylvania 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. 235 — public domain · names carried by at least 100 white persons in 1790.

In print

Converse in American newspapers,
1871–1918.

Newspaper page from Pine Bluff Daily Graphic carrying the name Converse
Pine Bluff Daily Graphic 1918-04-03
Newspaper page from The Central Presbyterian carrying the name Converse
The Central Presbyterian 1871-10-11
Newspaper page from Pine Bluff Daily Graphic carrying the name Converse
Pine Bluff Daily Graphic 1918-04-03

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

In print

Converse in Australian newspapers,
1850s–1950s.

413 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Converse. The most, 115, date from the 1940s. Weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, it stands out most in Queensland, at 1.5 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

Queensland 118
New South Wales 107
Victoria 73
South Australia 45
Western Australia 41
Tasmania 18
ACT (Canberra) 3

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

Who carried it

People named Converse,
with a public archive behind them.

  • John Phelps Converse
    John Phelps Converse 1792–1865 · judge
  • Amasa Converse
    Amasa Converse 1795–1872 · Christian minister
  • James Converse 1645–1706 · politician
  • Israel Converse 1743–1806
  • James Converse 1772–1839
  • Israel Converse Jr. 1772–1827

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 Converse,
in the records of 3 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 States497 records

497 records of the Converse name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 161
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 106
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 85
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 83
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 44
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 16
  • Sacramento County historic burials 1
  • 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 Eldon O. Converse

    Born 1922 in New York. Enlisted 1943 at Buffalo; mechanic from Erie County. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1997, buried at North Bloomfield Cemetery, West Bloomfield, New York.

    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 Sante Converse

    Arrived at New York in 1906 aboard the La Provence from Havre, aged 30; peasant. From Pesaro, Pesaro E Urbino, Italy; bound for Buffalo.

    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 Philip Howell Converse

    Born 1941; from Dallas, Texas. U.S. Navy, hospital corpsman; killed in action 1967 in Quang Tri, South Vietnam.

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

Showing 3 of 497 records for Converse 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) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (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); 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).

Canada5 records

5 records of the Converse name in Canada Nova Scotia Archives name indexes
  1. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Wilbert George Converse

    Died 1935 in Truro, Colchester, Nova Scotia.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.
  2. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Herbert Brigham Converse

    Died 1944 in Economy, Colchester, Nova Scotia.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.
  3. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Civil record Jesse Converse

    Listed at Cumberland, Nova Scotia in the census and tax rolls of 1785.

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

Showing 3 of 5 records for Converse in Canada.

Counts: Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0).

Australia1 record

1 record of the Converse name in Australia Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923
  1. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record G. S. Converse

    Arrived in Victoria in 1885 aboard the Hercules, aged 18.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Converse.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Converse 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 Converse volume
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