The Diggs surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 14,467 people carried this name — #2,497 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 20,400 people counted. That is up 8% from 13,405 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Diggs surname

A surname originating as a patronymic.

From Dick + the patronymic suffix -s.

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Diggs» (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 baptismal name, from a given name: ‘the son of Richard’.

An early record he cites: Thomas Dighte, Somerset, 1327–28 (1 Edward III) — Kirby's Quest (Somerset).

His entry covers Diggs and Digges.

From Charles W. Bardsley, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with Special American Instances (London: Henry Frowde, 1901), p. 242 · public domain.

In the first U.S. census, 1790

29 families named Diggs, or a close spelling, were counted in 1790.

Each family is counted by its head. About 156 people lived in those households, 5.4 to a family on average. The table counts it together with 4 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

Virginia 19
Maryland 6
North Carolina 3
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. 237 — public domain · names carried by at least 100 white persons in 1790.

In print

Diggs in American newspapers,
1913.

Newspaper page from Daily Capital Journal carrying the name Diggs
Daily Capital Journal 1913-08-19
Newspaper page from Daily Capital Journal carrying the name Diggs
Daily Capital Journal 1913-09-02
Newspaper page from Daily Capital Journal carrying the name Diggs
Daily Capital Journal 1913-08-16

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 59,211 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Diggs in Australian newspapers,
1840s–1970s.

1,467 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Diggs. The most, 303, 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 New South Wales, at 1.9 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 982
Victoria 168
Queensland 130
Tasmania 66
South Australia 52
Western Australia 46
ACT (Canberra) 17

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

Who carried it

People named Diggs,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Annie Le Porte Diggs
    Annie Le Porte Diggs 1853–1916 · writer
  • Marshall R. Diggs
    Marshall R. Diggs 1888–1968
  • Charles C. Diggs, Sr.
    Charles C. Diggs, Sr. 1894–1967 · politician
  • Ellen Diggs
    Ellen Diggs 1906–1998 · anthropologist
  • Ernest D. Diggs
    Ernest D. Diggs 1914–2000 · military personnel
  • Elder Watson Diggs 1883–1947

Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped, in the public domain or CC0 · 9 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Diggs,
in the records of 5 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 States1,034 records

1,034 records of the Diggs name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 509
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 274
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 207
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 21
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 11
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 5
  • U.S. service members who died in the Vietnam War 3
  • Sacramento County historic burials 2
  • Irish Famine arrivals at New York, 1846–1851 1
  • U.S. service members who died in the Korean War 1
  1. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record John Francis Diggs

    Born 1946; from Atherton, California. U.S. Marine Corps, rifleman; killed in action 1968 in Quang Nam, South Vietnam. Buried at Golden Gate National Cemetery, California.

    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 Edward C. Diggs

    Born 1918 in Maryland. Enlisted 1942 at Baltimore; gardener from Baltimore City. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1984, buried at Garrison Forest Veterans Cemetery, Owings Mills, Maryland.

    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 William Diggs

    Arrived at New York in 1873 aboard the City of Richmond from Liverpool, aged 40; merchant. From Carribean Islands.

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

Showing 3 of 1,034 records for Diggs 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) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain) · Sacramento County, Historic Burials (CC BY 4.0) · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain). 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).

Canada63 records

63 records of the Diggs name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 62
  • Halifax municipal cemeteries 1
  1. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Harold Diggs

    Buried in 1980 at Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, Nova Scotia, aged 57.

    Halifax Regional Municipality. Contains information licenced under the Open Government Licence—Halifax.
  2. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Mary Diggs

    Died 1948 in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.
  3. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Sophia C. Diggs

    Married 1885 in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

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

Showing 3 of 63 records for Diggs in Canada.

Counts: Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. · Halifax Regional Municipality. Contains information licenced under the Open Government Licence—Halifax. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0); Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain).

Australia10 records

10 records of the Diggs name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 6
  • NSW convict, estate and railway indexes 4
  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 West Diggs

    Transported to New South Wales aboard the Herald; ticket of leave 1850.

    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 John Diggs

    Arrived in Victoria in 1841 as an assisted immigrant aboard the Royal Saxon, aged 20.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record John Diggs

    Of Kogarah, New South Wales; died 1932.

    Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY)

Showing 3 of 10 records for Diggs in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY). 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); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0).

New Zealand8 records

8 records of the Diggs name in New Zealand
  • Christchurch City cemetery records 7
  • 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 Edward Diggs

    Died 1918, aged 40; buried at Sydenham 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 H. Diggs

    New Zealand.Infantry. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1918.

    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 Amy Elizabeth Diggs

    Died 1920, aged 35; buried at Bromley Cemetery, Christchurch, Canterbury.

    Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 8 records for Diggs 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).

Netherlands1 record

1 record of the Diggs 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 Hannah Diggs

    Married in 1778 in Rotterdam; born in Dedham in England.

    Open Archives, Stadsarchief Rotterdam (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 Diggs.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Diggs 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 Diggs volume
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