The Cousins surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 9,380 people carried this name — #3,773 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 31,400 people counted. That is up 8% from 8,691 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Cousins surname

A Middle English surname from Norman terminology. From Anglo-Norman, from Old French cusin, cosin, cousin (“cousin”) (French cousin, cousine). Literally, “familial relative”.

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Cousins» (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

An early record he cites: Ricardus Cusson, 1379 — Poll Tax, West Riding of Yorkshire.

His entry covers Cousins and Cosens.

From Charles W. Bardsley, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with Special American Instances (London: Henry Frowde, 1901), p. 225 · public domain.

In Ireland’s birth registers, 1890

Ireland registered 18 births for the Cousins name in 1890.

Most were registered in Leinster. By the Registrar-General’s own method — births multiplied by 44.38 — that is about 800 people bearing the name in Ireland at the time.

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they were born, 1890

Leinster 8
Ulster 8
Munster 2

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

In the Nordic population registers

26 people named Cousins is counted in Sweden.

Sweden’s figure is from 31 December 2022, the last count Statistics Sweden published.

Counted, by country

Sweden (2022) 26

Own calculations based on data from Statistics Sweden (SCB), surnames with at least two bearers, 31 December 2022 — CC BY 4.0 (names with 20 or more bearers shown).

Among the farmers of England and Wales, 1880s

Cousins was found among the farmers of 6 counties.

It was most frequent in Somerset: 24 in every 10,000 farmers there — about 1 in 417. Guppy counted the farmers listed in each county’s directory and recorded a name only where it reached about 7 in every 10,000; where it does not appear, it was rarer than that, not absent. His list gives one count for the spellings Cousins, Cousens, Cozens and Cussins.

Where it concentrates, on the map

Per 10,000 farmers, by county

Somerset 24
Berkshire 20
Hampshire 17
Dorset 15
Essex 12
Yorkshire, North and East Ridings 11

H. B. Guppy, «Homes of Family Names in Great Britain» (London, 1890), alphabetical list of English and Welsh names — public domain · farmers in Kelly’s Post Office Directories of the 1880s, per 10,000 farmers in each county.

In Scotland’s registers today

Cousins was recorded 11 times in Scotland’s registers of births, marriages and deaths in 2025.

That made it the 1788th most common name in those registers, shared with others on the same count. 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

58 families named Cousins, or a close spelling, were counted in 1790.

Each family is counted by its head. About 333 people lived in those households, 5.7 to a family on average. The census counted these spellings together: Cousins, Cosine, Cosins, Cousens, Cousines, Couzins, Cozen, Cozens, Cozine, Cozzens, Cozzins, Cussens. 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

Maine 18
Rhode Island 13
Virginia 10
New York 7
Pennsylvania 5
Massachusetts 3
North Carolina 1
South Carolina 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

Cousins in American newspapers,
1901–1913.

Newspaper page from The Sun carrying the name Cousins
The Sun 1913-06-29
Newspaper page from The Portland Daily Press carrying the name Cousins
The Portland Daily Press 1904-05-05
Newspaper page from The Portland Daily Press carrying the name Cousins
The Portland Daily Press 1901-04-24

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 2,789 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Cousins in Australian newspapers,
1820s–1990s.

36,992 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Cousins. The most, 6,303, date from the 1930s. New South Wales 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 1.7 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 15,566
Victoria 5,711
Western Australia 5,386
Queensland 5,004
South Australia 3,137
Tasmania 1,866
ACT (Canberra) 212
Northern Territory 44

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

Who carried it

People named Cousins,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Samuel Cousins
    Samuel Cousins 1801–1887 · engraver
  • John Ward Cousins
    John Ward Cousins 1834–1921 · surgeon
  • Robert G. Cousins
    Robert G. Cousins 1859–1933 · lawyer
  • Harriet Madeline Cousins d. 1939
  • Richard Cousins d. 1829
  • Benjamin Davy Cousins 1795–1884 · printer

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 Cousins,
in the records of 8 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 States1,098 records

1,098 records of the Cousins name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 300
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 228
  • Other U.S. records 570
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Gordon G. Cousins

    Born 1915 in Maine. Enlisted 1942 at Bangor; filling station attendant from Piscataquis County. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 2000, buried at Lawn Cemetery, Guilford, Maine.

    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 Major Cousins

    Arrived at New York in 1892 aboard the Teutonic from Liverpool and Queenstown, aged 39; army officer. 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 Merritt Thomas Cousins

    Born 1947; from Clinton, Iowa. U.S. Marine Corps, field radio operator; killed in action 1967 in Quang Tri, South Vietnam.

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

Showing 3 of 1,098 records for Cousins 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. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · 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); 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).

Australia1,303 records

1,303 records of the Cousins name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 573
  • Tasmanian Names Index 328
  • Other Australian records 402
  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 Emma Cousins

    Transported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Arab, sailing from London in 1835. Native of Hitchin, Hertfordshire. Applied for permission to marry in Van Diemen's Land in 1841. Married 1841 in Launceston, Tasmania, aged 28.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Frederick Cousins

    Died 1922 in Public Hospital, Hobart, Tasmania. Will registered in Tasmania in 1922.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Alice Maud Cousins

    Born 1881 in Hobart, Tasmania. Married 1899 in Hobart, Tasmania, aged 18.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 1,303 records for Cousins in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY) · State Library of Western Australia (CC BY 4.0) · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · City of Ballarat, Avenue of Honour Plaques (CC BY 3.0 AU). 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); Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain); Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain).

Canada219 records

219 records of the Cousins name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 133
  • Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver 28
  • Other Canadian records 58
  1. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record J.c Cousins

    Came to Ontario in 1870 aboard the Ganges, landing at Quebec, 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 James William Cousins

    Buried in 1963 at Queen's Park Cemetery, Calgary, Alberta, aged 54.

    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 Gertrude Cousins

    Died 1965 in Bridgewater, Lunenburg, Nova Scotia.

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

Showing 3 of 219 records for Cousins in Canada.

Counts: Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. · City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver. · City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg. · Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario. · 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. · Halifax Regional Municipality. Contains information licenced under the Open Government Licence—Halifax. 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).

United Kingdom76 records

76 records of the Cousins name in the United Kingdom
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 50
  • St James's burial ground, Euston (London), 1789–1853 20
  • Other British records 6
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Alexander Cousins

    Buried in 1912 at Ballengeich Cemetery, Stirling, Scotland, aged 73.

    Stirling Council. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
  2. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record John Henry Cousins

    Will proved in 1935; of Carnarvon, Carnarvon.

    National Library of Wales, Wills Index Cards (CC0)
  3. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record Andrew A. Cousins

    Died 1917. Named in the roll of honour (1926).

    National Library of Scotland, Rolls of Honour (public domain)

Showing 3 of 76 records for Cousins in the United Kingdom.

Counts: National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · MOLA and HS2, St James's burial ground data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. · National Library of Wales, Wills Index Cards (CC0) · Stirling Council. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. · National Library of Scotland, Rolls of Honour (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0); Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain); C. & E. Morton Ltd roll of honour, 1914–1919, photo by Adrian S Pye via Geograph (CC BY-SA 2.0).

Netherlands16 records

16 records of the Cousins name in the Netherlands
  • Dutch church registers before 1811 8
  • Dutch civil registers (births, marriages, deaths) 5
  • Dutch population registers 3
  1. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Jacobus Cousins

    Married in 1875 in Hillegersberg. Died 1881 in Rotterdam, aged 36.

    Open Archives, Stadsarchief Rotterdam (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Altjen Cousins

    Married in 1628 in Gennep.

    Open Archives, Brabants Historisch Informatie Centrum (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Barent Cousins

    Married in 1676 in Willemstad.

    Open Archives, West Brabants Archief (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 16 records for Cousins in the Netherlands.

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).

New Zealand10 records

10 records of the Cousins name in New Zealand
  • Christchurch City cemetery records 9
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 1
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Peter Cousins

    Died 1987, aged 24; 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 J. Cousins

    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)
  3. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Ellen Hilda G. Cousins

    Died 1990, aged 86; buried at Linwood Cemetery, Christchurch, Canterbury.

    Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 10 records for Cousins in New Zealand.

Counts: Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0) · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). 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).

France1 record

1 record of the Cousins 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 Isabel Constance Cousins

    Born 1905 in Great Britain; died 1997 in Ivry-sur-Seine (Val-de-Marne).

    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).

Belgium1 record

1 record of the Cousins name in Belgium Belgian civil registers (births, marriages, deaths)
  1. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Birth record Gustavus Cousins

    Born 1911 in Gent.

    Open Archives, Archief Gent (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).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Cousins.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Cousins 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.

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