The Dorsey surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 43,631 people carried this name — #793 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 6,760 people counted. That is up 6% from 41,104 in 2000.

Look up another surname

Share

What the name means

The meaning of the Dorsey surname

Habitational surname from Norman de (“of”) + Orsay, a town in France.

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

In the first U.S. census, 1790

104 families named Dorsey, or a close spelling, were counted in 1790.

Each family is counted by its head. About 603 people lived in those households, 5.8 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

Maryland 86
Pennsylvania 7
North Carolina 4
South Carolina 3
Virginia 2
Massachusetts 1
Connecticut 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

Dorsey in American newspapers,
1914.

Newspaper page from Northern Wisconsin Advertiser carrying the name Dorsey
Northern Wisconsin Advertiser 1914-11-20
Newspaper page from Orange County Observer carrying the name Dorsey
Orange County Observer 1914-11-19
Newspaper page from Ladysmith News-budget carrying the name Dorsey
Ladysmith News-budget 1914-11-20

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 248,404 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Dorsey in Australian newspapers,
1840s–1980s.

1,525 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Dorsey. The most, 393, date from the 1910s. 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 560
Victoria 411
New South Wales 390
South Australia 64
Western Australia 51
Tasmania 21
ACT (Canberra) 12
Northern Territory 2

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

Who carried it

People named Dorsey,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Billy Dorsey d. 1920 · musician
  • Anne Dorsey d. 1698
  • Lillian Dorsey d. 1953
  • Albert Ramon Dorsey d. 2018
  • Edward Dorsey 1615–1659
  • Edward Dorsey 1619–1659

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

In the public record

People named Dorsey,
in the records of 7 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 States3,624 records

3,624 records of the Dorsey name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 1,506
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 845
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 828
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 136
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 130
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 88
  • Irish Famine arrivals at New York, 1846–1851 58
  • U.S. service members who died in the Vietnam War 14
  • Sacramento County historic burials 13
  • U.S. service members who died in the Korean War 5
  • Riverside Cemetery, Asheville (North Carolina) 1
  1. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Gardner Dorsey

    Born 1951; from Crownsville, Maryland. U.S. Marine Corps, rifleman; died of wounds 1970 in Quang Nam, South Vietnam. Buried at Baltimore National Cemetery, Maryland.

    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 William R. Dorsey

    Born 1918 in Maryland. Enlisted 1941 at Baltimore; athlete from Baltimore City. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1983, buried at Crownsville Veterans Cemetery, 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 Eliza Dorsey

    Arrived at New York in 1850 aboard the Princeton from Liverpool, aged 12; domestic. From Westmeath, Ireland.

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

Showing 3 of 3,624 records for Dorsey 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, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · 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) · 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).

Australia70 records

70 records of the Dorsey name in Australia
  • Queensland State Archives indexes 50
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 15
  • Tasmanian Names Index 5
  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 John Dorsey

    Transported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Triton, sailing from London in 1842. Native of Southwark, Surrey.

    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 Michael Dorsey

    Arrived in Victoria in 1860 aboard the British Trident, aged 50; Irish.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Civil record Alexander Dorsey

    Appointed a justice of the peace in Queensland in 1873.

    Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 70 records for Dorsey 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). 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).

Canada22 records

22 records of the Dorsey name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 15
  • City of Calgary cemetery records 5
  • Canadian Virtual War Memorial 1
  • Ontario immigration records, 1865–1883 1
  1. 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 Joseph Mellivan Dorsey

    Served in the No. 2 Construction Battalion in the First World War, private; of St. Catherines, Ontario.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.
  2. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Eileen Dorsey

    Buried in 1970 at Queen's Park Cemetery, Calgary, Alberta, aged 50.

    City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary.
  3. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Birth record Martha Ann Dorsey

    Born 1868 in Big Bras D'Or, Victoria, Nova Scotia.

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

Showing 3 of 22 records for Dorsey in Canada.

Counts: 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. · Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. · Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Canadian First World War circumstances-of-death register (scan by Scottgraham87 via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0); Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0).

New Zealand2 records

2 records of the Dorsey name in New Zealand Christchurch City cemetery records
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record James Allen Dorsey

    Died 1985, aged 57; buried at Yaldhurst Cemetery, Christchurch, Canterbury.

    Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 1 of 2 records for Dorsey in New Zealand.

Counts: Christchurch City 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).

United Kingdom1 record

1 record of the Dorsey 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 E. Dorsey

    Labour Corps. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1919.

    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 Dorsey 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 Georges Dorsey

    Born 1956 in Paris; died 1999 in Germany.

    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).

Netherlands1 record

1 record of the Dorsey name in the Netherlands Dutch population registers
  1. A page of the 1910 United States census, Milwaukee
    Example: U.S. census, 1910
    Population register Ellen Maud Dorsey

    In the population register of 's-Gravenhage; born 1883 in Utica.

    Open Archives, Haags Gemeentearchief (CC BY 4.0)

Counts: Open Archives (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: U.S. census of 1910, Milwaukee (public domain).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Dorsey.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Dorsey 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 Dorsey volume
Scroll to Top