The Cover surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 3,699 people carried this name — #8,858 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 80,000 people counted. About the same as in 2000 (3,707).

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What the name means

The meaning of the Cover surname

As an English and Welsh surname

Bardsley classes it as an occupational name: ‘le cuver’.

An early record he cites: Adam le Cuver, Cambridgeshire, 1273 — Hundred Rolls.

His entry covers Cover and Cuverer.

From Charles W. Bardsley, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with Special American Instances (London: Henry Frowde, 1901), p. 210 · public domain.

In Argentina’s national register

At least 42 people named Cover live in Argentina.

RENAPER only publishes a name in a province when more than ten people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in Córdoba.

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

Where they live today

Córdoba 42

RENAPER (National Registry of Persons, Argentina), surnames of residents by province, December 2021 — CC BY 4.0.

In print

Cover in American newspapers,
1884–1910.

Newspaper page from Sun River Sun carrying the name Cover
Sun River Sun 1884-10-30
Newspaper page from The Farmer And Mechanic carrying the name Cover
The Farmer And Mechanic 1910-12-20
Newspaper page from The Bozeman Weekly Chronicle carrying the name Cover
The Bozeman Weekly Chronicle 1886-01-06

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 1,233 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Cover in Australian newspapers,
1830s–2000s.

5,521 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Cover. The most, 777, date from the 1910s. 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 1.6 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 1,736
Queensland 1,521
Victoria 859
Western Australia 684
South Australia 378
Tasmania 190
ACT (Canberra) 44
Northern Territory 3

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

Who carried it

People named Cover,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Franklin Cover
    Franklin Cover 1928–2006 · actor
  • James Fleet Cover 1762–1834 · Christian minister
  • Claude Cover 1870–1944 · organist
  • Jack Cover 1920–2009 · inventor
  • Thomas M. Cover 1938–2012 · engineer
  • Robert Cover 1943–1986 · legal scholar

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 Cover,
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 States251 records

251 records of the Cover name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 136
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 40
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 32
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 27
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 7
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 6
  • U.S. service members who died in the Vietnam War 2
  • U.S. service members who died in the Korean War 1
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record John E. Cover

    Born 1909 in Pennsylvania. Enlisted 1942 at Harrisburg; driver from Cumberland County. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1991, buried at Indiantown Gap National Cemetery, Pennsylvania.

    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 Lawrence Leroy Cover

    Born 1937; from Culver City, California. U.S. Navy, pilot; killed in action 1971 in Bien Hoa, 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 Bernard Cover

    Arrived at Boston in 1846 aboard the Collector, aged 20; carpenter. From Ireland; bound for Boston.

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

Showing 3 of 251 records for Cover in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · 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, 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).

Australia67 records

67 records of the Cover name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 41
  • NSW convict, estate and railway indexes 10
  • Queensland State Archives indexes 7
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 5
  • Canberra cemetery and marriage records 2
  • State Library of Western Australia indexes 1
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 1
  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 Edward Cover

    Transported to New South Wales aboard the Katherine Stewart Forbes, arriving 1830; ticket of leave 1834.

    Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY)
  2. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Emily Cover

    Arrived in Victoria in 1887 aboard the Aberdeen, 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 William T. Cover

    Business manager of Glen Iris, Victoria; died 1947.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 67 records for Cover in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0) · ACT Government, Transport Canberra and City Services (CC BY 4.0) · State Library of Western Australia (CC BY 4.0) · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). 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).

Netherlands13 records

13 records of the Cover name in the Netherlands
  • Dutch population registers 7
  • Dutch church registers before 1811 4
  • Dutch civil registers (births, marriages, deaths) 2
  1. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Hessel Cover

    Died 1856 in Medemblik, aged 81.

    Open Archives, Noord-Hollands Archief (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Michiel Cover

    Married in 1668 in Breda.

    Open Archives, Stadsarchief Breda (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the 1910 United States census, Milwaukee
    Example: U.S. census, 1910
    Population register Maria Catharina Petronella Cover

    In the population register of Utrecht; born 1879 in Mr. Cornelis.

    Open Archives, Het Utrechts Archief (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 13 records for Cover in the Netherlands.

Counts: Open Archives (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0); Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain); U.S. census of 1910, Milwaukee (public domain).

Canada2 records

2 records of the Cover name in Canada
  • Canadian Virtual War Memorial 1
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 1
  1. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Amy Cover

    Died 1912 in Sydney, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia.

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

    Died in service in 1941.

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

Counts: Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. · 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); Canadian First World War circumstances-of-death register (scan by Scottgraham87 via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0).

United Kingdom1 record

1 record of the Cover 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. L. Cover

    Gunner, Royal Field Artillery. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1917.

    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).

France1 record

1 record of the Cover 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 Giacomo Lino Cover

    Born 1945 in Italy; died 2001 in Bordeaux (Gironde).

    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).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Cover.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Cover 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 Cover volume
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