The Dobbins surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 15,076 people carried this name — #2,407 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 19,600 people counted. That is up 3% from 14,615 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Dobbins surname

A surname originating as a patronymic.

Dobbin + -s (“patronymic suffix”)

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

An early record he cites: Matilda Dobin, Oxfordshire, 1273 — Hundred Rolls.

His entry covers Dobbin, Dobbing, Dobbings, Dobbyn, Dobbyns, Dobinson and Dobbins.

From Charles W. Bardsley, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with Special American Instances (London: Henry Frowde, 1901), p. 245 · public domain.

In the first U.S. census, 1790

56 families named Dobbins, or a close spelling, were counted in 1790.

Each family is counted by its head. About 301 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

North Carolina 20
Virginia 11
Pennsylvania 10
South Carolina 7
New York 6
Massachusetts 1
Maryland 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

Dobbins in American newspapers,
1879–1910.

Newspaper page from The Colfax Chronicle carrying the name Dobbins
The Colfax Chronicle 1904-11-12
Newspaper page from The Ouachita Telegraph carrying the name Dobbins
The Ouachita Telegraph 1879-05-16
Newspaper page from The Western News carrying the name Dobbins
The Western News 1910-12-16

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 134,257 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Dobbins in Australian newspapers,
1830s–2000s.

3,376 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Dobbins. The most, 841, date from the 1930s. Weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, it stands out most in Queensland, at 2.4 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

Queensland 1,614
New South Wales 516
South Australia 493
Western Australia 463
Victoria 231
Tasmania 45
ACT (Canberra) 8
Northern Territory 4

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

Who carried it

People named Dobbins,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Daniel Dobbins
    Daniel Dobbins 1776–1856 · military officer
  • Samuel A. Dobbins
    Samuel A. Dobbins 1814–1886 · politician
  • Archibald S. Dobbins
    Archibald S. Dobbins 1827– · farmer
  • Archibald S. Dobbins
    Archibald S. Dobbins 1827– · farmer
  • Horace Dobbins
    Horace Dobbins 1868–1962 · politician
  • Richard James Dobbins 1832–1893

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 Dobbins,
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 States1,483 records

1,483 records of the Dobbins name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 575
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 394
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 309
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 84
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 53
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 41
  • Irish Famine arrivals at New York, 1846–1851 19
  • U.S. service members who died in the Korean War 5
  • U.S. service members who died in the Vietnam War 3
  1. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Isaiah Anthony Dobbins

    Born 1944; from Magnolia, New Jersey. U.S. Army, o-1/u-6 airplane repairman; died in an accident 1967 in 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 Howard C. Dobbins

    Born 1923 in West Virginia. Enlisted 1943 at Fort Hayes Columbus, Ohio; driver from Summit County, Ohio. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 2000, buried at Quantico National Cemetery, Virginia.

    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 Dobbins

    Arrived at New York in 1854 aboard the Dewitt Clinton from Liverpool, aged 20; servant. From Wales.

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

Showing 3 of 1,483 records for Dobbins 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) · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (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).

Australia148 records

148 records of the Dobbins name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 74
  • Tasmanian Names Index 29
  • Queensland State Archives indexes 26
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 10
  • NSW convict, estate and railway indexes 9
  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 Sarah Dobbins

    Transported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Gilbert Henderson, sailing from London in 1839. Native of Liverpool, Lancashire.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Mary Dobbins

    Arrived in Victoria in 1855 aboard the Shalimar, aged 32; Irish.

    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 Alfred Dobbins

    Builder of Nunawading, Victoria; died 1959.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 148 records for Dobbins 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). 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).

Canada9 records

9 records of the Dobbins name in Canada
  • Canadian Virtual War Memorial 3
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 3
  • City of Calgary cemetery records 2
  • Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver 1
  1. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record William Arnold Dobbins

    Buried in 1985 at Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver, British Columbia.

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

    Died in service in 1916.

    Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada.
  3. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Lizzie Dobbins

    Married 1902 in Glace Bay, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia.

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

Showing 3 of 9 records for Dobbins in 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. · City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary. · City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0); Canadian First World War circumstances-of-death register (scan by Scottgraham87 via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0); Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain).

United Kingdom8 records

8 records of the Dobbins name in the United Kingdom
  • St James's burial ground, Euston (London), 1789–1853 4
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 3
  • Stirling Council burial records 1
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Jane Dobbins

    Buried in 1922 at Ballengeich Cemetery, Stirling, Scotland, aged 36.

    Stirling Council. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
  2. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Mary Ann Dobbins

    Buried in 1819 at St James's burial ground, Euston, London, aged 40.

    MOLA and HS2, St James's burial ground data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
  3. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record R. Dobbins

    Household Battalion. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1917.

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)

Showing 3 of 8 records for Dobbins in the United Kingdom.

Counts: MOLA and HS2, St James's burial ground data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · Stirling Council. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0); 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 Dobbins 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 Donald Burton Dobbins

    Born 1909 in the United States; died 1997 in Paris.

    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 Dobbins.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Dobbins is.
A volume says what happened to it.

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