The Dorsett surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 5,208 people carried this name — #6,514 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 56,500 people counted. That is up 2% from 5,121 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Dorsett surname

As an English and Welsh surname

Bardsley classes it as a local name, from where the family lived: ‘of Dorset’.

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

His entry covers Dorset and Dorsett.

From Charles W. Bardsley, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with Special American Instances (London: Henry Frowde, 1901), p. 249 · public domain.

In print

Dorsett in American newspapers,
1912–1915.

Newspaper page from The Ward County Independent carrying the name Dorsett
The Ward County Independent 1915-05-06
Newspaper page from The Topeka State Journal carrying the name Dorsett
The Topeka State Journal 1912-02-03
Newspaper page from The Lamar Register carrying the name Dorsett
The Lamar Register 1915-01-20

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 27,207 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Dorsett in Australian newspapers,
1840s–1980s.

2,428 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Dorsett. The most, 590, date from the 1930s. Queensland 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 2.1 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

Queensland 975
New South Wales 475
Western Australia 408
Tasmania 262
South Australia 202
Victoria 68
ACT (Canberra) 31

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

Who carried it

People named Dorsett,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Jane Dorsett 1861–1916
  • Wilbur Dorsett 1912–1980 · university teacher
  • Cal Dorsett 1913–1970 · baseball player
  • Dicky Dorsett 1919–1999 · association football player
  • Clyde Dorsett 1925–2007 · architect
  • Katie G. Dorsett 1932–2020 · politician

Wikidata (CC0) · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Dorsett,
in the records of 4 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 States431 records

431 records of the Dorsett name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 182
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 86
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 77
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 69
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 13
  • U.S. service members who died in the Vietnam War 2
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 1
  • Irish Famine arrivals at New York, 1846–1851 1
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Theodore B. Dorsett

    Born 1913 in Indiana. Enlisted 1942 at Los Angeles, California; lineman from Los Angeles County, California. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1997, buried at Lancaster Cemetery, California.

    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 Roy Geread Dorsett

    Born 1947; from Superior, Arizona. U.S. Marine Corps, rifleman; died in an accident 1968 in Thua Thien, 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 Eliza Dorsett

    Arrived at New York in 1849 aboard the Naomi from Liverpool, aged 25; servant. From Ireland.

    U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain)

Showing 3 of 431 records for Dorsett 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, 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, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (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).

Australia76 records

76 records of the Dorsett name in Australia
  • Queensland State Archives indexes 24
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 21
  • Tasmanian Names Index 19
  • NSW convict, estate and railway indexes 7
  • Canberra cemetery and marriage records 2
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 2
  • State Library of Western Australia indexes 1
  1. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record John Dorsett

    Died 1891 in Hobart, Tasmania, aged 78. Will registered in Tasmania in 1891.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record John Dorsett

    Applied for permission to marry in Van Diemen's Land in 1849. Married 1849 in Longford, Tasmania, aged 34.

    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 James Dorsett

    Transported to New South Wales aboard the Marquis of Wellington, arriving 1815; ticket of leave 1833.

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

Showing 3 of 76 records for Dorsett in Australia.

Counts: Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0) · Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY) · ACT Government, Transport Canberra and City Services (CC BY 4.0) · State Library of Western Australia (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain); Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain); Prison-ship in Portsmouth Harbour, with the convicts going on board, etching by Edward William Cooke, 1829, Royal Museums Greenwich (public domain).

Canada22 records

22 records of the Dorsett name in Canada
  • City of Winnipeg cemetery records 13
  • Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver 6
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 2
  • City of Calgary cemetery records 1
  1. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Donald Dorsett

    Died 1990, aged 81; buried at St. Vital Cemetery, Winnipeg, Manitoba.

    City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg.
  2. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Joseph Dorsett

    Died 1955 in Liverpool, Queens, 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 Thomas Ranson Dorsett

    Married 1804 in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

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

Showing 3 of 22 records for Dorsett in Canada.

Counts: City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg. · City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver. · 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. 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).

United Kingdom9 records

9 records of the Dorsett name in the United Kingdom
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 6
  • St James's burial ground, Euston (London), 1789–1853 3
  1. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record T. Dorsett

    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)
  2. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record J. P. Dorsett

    Bedfordshire Regiment. 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 First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record T. J. Dorsett

    Bombardier. 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 9 records for Dorsett 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. 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).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Dorsett.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Dorsett 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 Dorsett volume
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