The Craig surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 92,507 people carried this name — #332 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 3,190 people counted. That is up 3% from 89,591 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Craig surname

From craig (“rock”).

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Craig» (English), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.

In Ireland’s birth registers, 1890

Ireland registered 120 births for the Craig name in 1890.

They were registered in all four provinces, most of all in Ulster. By the Registrar-General’s own method — births multiplied by 44.38 — that is about 5,300 people bearing the name in Ireland at the time. The Registrar-General’s note on the name: “Antrim, Londonderry, and Tyrone.”

Where it concentrates, on the map

Where they were born, 1890

Ulster 111
Leinster 7
Connacht 1
Munster 1

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

In Argentina’s national register

At least 155 people named Craig 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 Buenos Aires Province.

Where it concentrates, on the map

Where they live today

Buenos Aires Province 96
City of Buenos Aires 45
Santa Fe 14

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

In Switzerland’s population statistics

54 people named Craig live in Switzerland.

They live in 6 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Vaud.

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

Where they live today

Vaud 21
Zurich 12
Geneva 11
Zug 4
Lucerne 3
Valais 3

Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO), «Surnames of the permanent resident population by canton», 2025, opendata.swiss/en/dataset/nachnamen-der-standigen-wohnbevolkerung-nach-kanton3 · names with fewer than 3 bearers in a canton are not published.

In France’s civil register

France’s register of deaths holds 26 people named Craig.

Most of them — 23 — were born outside France. Those born in France came from 3 départements, most often Gironde.

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

Where they were born

Born outside France 23
Gironde 1
Indre 1
Nord 1

Fichier des personnes décédées, INSEE — Licence Ouverte 2.0 · deaths recorded in France since 1970, by place of birth.

In the Nordic population registers

81 people named Craig are counted in Sweden and Finland.

Sweden’s figure is from 31 December 2022, the last count Statistics Sweden published. Finland counts its citizens, at home or abroad.

Counted, by country

Sweden (2022) 59
Finland (2026) 22

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) · Digital and Population Data Services Agency (DVV), Finland, surname statistics, August 2026 — CC BY 4.0.

Among the farmers of England and Wales, 1880s

Craig was found among the farmers of Northumberland: 11 in every 10,000.

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.

Where it concentrates, on the map

Per 10,000 farmers, by county

Northumberland 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, 1880s

Craig was 45 in every 10,000 names in Scotland.

That is about 1 in 222. Its home there, in Guppy’s words: “South of the Forth and the Clyde.” He counted the more than 20,000 names in Halliburton’s County Directory of Scotland, taking Scotland as a whole, and listed only the names that reached 10 in every 10,000.

H. B. Guppy, «Homes of Family Names in Great Britain» (London, 1890), appendix: alphabetical list of the most frequent Scottish names, p. 587 — public domain · names in Halliburton’s County Directory of Scotland, per 10,000 for the whole country.

In Scotland’s registers today

Craig was recorded 274 times in Scotland’s registers of births, marriages and deaths in 2025.

That made it the 63rd most common name in those registers. In 1975, the first year of the series, the count was 472. 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

217 families named Craig, or a close spelling, were counted in 1790.

Each family is counted by its head. About 1,105 people lived in those households, 5.1 to a family on average. The table counts it together with 17 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

Pennsylvania 81
North Carolina 31
South Carolina 24
Virginia 19
Maryland 15
New York 12
New Hampshire 11
Maine 9
Massachusetts 8
Vermont 4
Connecticut 2
Rhode Island 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

Craig in American newspapers,
1900–1921.

Newspaper page from The Greenville Times carrying the name Craig
The Greenville Times 1900-09-15
Newspaper page from The Wolf Point Herald carrying the name Craig
The Wolf Point Herald 1921-09-08
Newspaper page from New Iberia Enterprise And Independent Observer carrying the name Craig
New Iberia Enterprise And Independent Observer 1919-12-20

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 11,799 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Craig in Australian newspapers,
1820s–2010s.

172,999 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Craig. The most, 29,300, 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 2.2 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 53,841
Victoria 36,631
Western Australia 30,098
Queensland 26,922
South Australia 18,584
Tasmania 4,797
ACT (Canberra) 1,334
Northern Territory 166

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

Who carried it

People named Craig,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Thomas Craig
    Thomas Craig 1538–1608 · judge
  • Elijah Craig
    Elijah Craig 1743–1808 · pastor
  • James Gibson Craig
    James Gibson Craig 1765–1850 · lawyer
  • James Craig
    James Craig 1823–1874 · politician
  • William Craig
    William Craig 1828–1897 · politician

Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped, in the public domain or CC0 · 209 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Craig,
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 States8,959 records

8,959 records of the Craig name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 3,140
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 1,436
  • Other U.S. records 4,383
  1. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Edward Joseph Craig

    Born 1948; from Willingboro, New Jersey. U.S. Army, field artillery basic; killed in action 1968 in Tay Ninh, South Vietnam. Buried at Beverly National Cemetery, New Jersey.

    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 Harvey J. Craig

    Born 1920 in New Mexico. Enlisted 1942 at Fort Bliss El Paso, Texas; driver. U.S. Army Air Forces veteran of World War II; died 1993, buried at Fort Bayard National Cemetery, New Mexico.

    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 Mary Craig

    Arrived at New York in 1892 aboard the Teutonic from Liverpool and Queenstown, aged 20; servant. From Castlecomer, Ireland; bound for Boston.

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

Showing 3 of 8,959 records for Craig 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, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · 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) · Sacramento County, Historic Burials (CC BY 4.0) · City of Asheville (public domain, PDDL). 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).

Australia4,639 records

4,639 records of the Craig name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 2,597
  • Queensland State Archives indexes 728
  • Other Australian records 1,314
  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 Mary Craig

    Transported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Lloyds, sailing from London in 1845. Native of Newton Stewart, Wigtownshire. Applied for permission to marry in Van Diemen's Land in 1847. Married 1847 in Launceston, Tasmania, aged 22.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  2. 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 Jane Craig

    Transported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Hector, sailing from Woolwich in 1835. Native of Glasgow, Lanarkshire. Applied for permission to marry in Van Diemen's Land in 1840. Married 1840 in Launceston, Tasmania, aged 26.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  3. 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 Ann Craig

    Transported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Tasmania, sailing from London in 1844. Native of Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire. Applied for permission to marry in Van Diemen's Land in 1846. Married 1847 in Oatlands, Tasmania, aged 23.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 4,639 records for Craig in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (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) · ACT Government, Transport Canberra and City Services (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).

Canada1,109 records

1,109 records of the Craig name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 617
  • Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver 143
  • Other Canadian records 349
  1. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Eliza Craig

    Came to Ontario in 1867 aboard the St Patrick, landing at Quebec, bound for Ontario, Ontario; Irish.

    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 Bernard Craig

    Buried in 1933 at Mount Hermon Cemetery, Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, aged 19.

    Halifax Regional Municipality. Contains information licenced under the Open Government Licence—Halifax.
  3. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Ronald Craig

    Buried in 1985 at Queen's Park Cemetery, Calgary, Alberta, aged 49.

    City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary.

Showing 3 of 1,109 records for Craig 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. · 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. · City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg. · Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario. · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · Halifax Regional Municipality. Contains information licenced under the Open Government Licence—Halifax. · City of Niagara Falls. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Niagara Falls. · Contains information provided by the City of Waterloo under licence. 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).

United Kingdom253 records

253 records of the Craig name in the United Kingdom
  • Stirling Council burial records 108
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 87
  • Other British records 58
  1. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record Alexander Henderson Craig

    Born 1893 at Willesden. Served in the First World War. Named in the University of Aberdeen roll of service in the Great War, 1914-1919.

    National Library of Scotland, Rolls of Honour (public domain)
  2. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record John Harkes Craig

    Buried in 1906 at Ballengeich Cemetery, Stirling, Scotland, aged 58.

    Stirling Council. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
  3. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Barbara Dickie Craig

    Will proved in 1926; of Blk, Blk.

    National Library of Wales, Wills Index Cards (CC0)

Showing 3 of 253 records for Craig in the United Kingdom.

Counts: Stirling Council. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · National Library of Scotland, Rolls of Honour (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). 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); Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0); Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain).

New Zealand118 records

118 records of the Craig name in New Zealand
  • Christchurch City cemetery records 88
  • Thames-Coromandel District cemetery records 18
  • Other New Zealand records 12
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Lucy Elizabeth Craig

    Died 1951, aged 92; buried at Tuamarina Cemetery, Marlborough.

    Marlborough District Council (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record William Westwood Craig

    Died 1921, aged 40; buried at Sydenham Cemetery, Christchurch, Canterbury.

    Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Alice Craig

    Buried in 1897 at Shortland Cemetery, Thames-Coromandel District, Waikato, aged 22.

    Thames-Coromandel District Council (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 118 records for Craig in New Zealand.

Counts: Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0) · Thames-Coromandel District Council (CC BY 4.0) · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · Marlborough District Council (CC BY 4.0) · Canterbury Maps (Environment Canterbury), Timaru and Mackenzie District Councils (CC BY 3.0 NZ). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0).

Netherlands28 records

28 records of the Craig name in the Netherlands
  • Dutch church registers before 1811 13
  • Dutch civil registers (births, marriages, deaths) 10
  • Dutch population registers 5
  1. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record William Craig

    Died 1922 in In zee, aged 51; stoker.

    Open Archives, Zeeuws Archief (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Clarance Wesley Craig

    Married in 1945 in Groningen; farmer.

    Open Archives, Groninger Archieven (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 2 of 28 records for Craig 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).

Ireland3 records

3 records of the Craig name in Ireland County Galway graveyard records
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Sarah Craig

    Died 1897, aged 62; buried at Kilcummin, Co. Galway.

    Galway County Council (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 1 of 3 records for Craig in Ireland.

Counts: Galway County 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).

France3 records

3 records of the Craig 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 Alice Craig

    Born 1912 in Great Britain; died 1996 in Paris.

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)

Showing 1 of 3 records for Craig in France.

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 Craig.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Craig 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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