The Dover surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 9,742 people carried this name — #3,651 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 30,300 people counted. That is up 6% from 9,191 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Dover surname

As an English and Welsh surname

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

An early record he cites: John de Dovere, Huntingdonshire, 1273 — Hundred Rolls.

From Charles W. Bardsley, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with Special American Instances (London: Henry Frowde, 1901), p. 250 · public domain.

In national population registers

40 people named Dover is counted in Slovenia.

Slovenia counts its residents on 1 January 2026.

Counted, by country

Slovenia (2026) 40

Source: Statistical Office of the Republic of Slovenia (SURS), SiStat tables 05X1015S–05X1018S, family names of the population, 1 January 2026 (names with 20 or more bearers shown).

Among the farmers of England and Wales, 1880s

Dover was found among the farmers of Buckinghamshire: 20 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

Buckinghamshire 20

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 print

Dover in American newspapers,
1911–1922.

Newspaper page from The Birmingham Age-herald carrying the name Dover
The Birmingham Age-herald 1911-07-02
Newspaper page from The Times Dispatch carrying the name Dover
The Times Dispatch 1911-07-02
Newspaper page from The Birmingham Age-herald carrying the name Dover
The Birmingham Age-herald 1922-07-12

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 4,976 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Dover in Australian newspapers,
1830s–1990s.

12,237 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Dover. The most, 2,076, 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 Tasmania, at 2.0 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 4,263
Queensland 3,551
Tasmania 1,464
Victoria 1,334
South Australia 988
Western Australia 567
ACT (Canberra) 52
Northern Territory 8

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

Who carried it

People named Dover,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Henry Dover
    Henry Dover d. 1855
  • Felicia Dorothea Kate Dover
    Felicia Dorothea Kate Dover 1855–1925 · housekeeper
  • Horace Walter Dover
    Horace Walter Dover 1859–1933 · mayor
  • Elmer Clayton Dover
    Elmer Clayton Dover 1873–1940 · politician
  • Gabriel Dover d. 2018 · university teacher
  • Margaret H. Dover d. 1952

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 Dover,
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 States599 records

599 records of the Dover name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 293
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 82
  • Other U.S. records 224
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record John C. Dover

    Born 1911 in Georgia. Enlisted 1945 at Orlando Air Base, Florida; laboratory technician. U.S. Air Force veteran of World War II; died 1989, buried at Florida National Cemetery, Florida.

    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 George Richard Dover

    Born 1933; from Indianapolis, Indiana. U.S. Marine Corps; killed in action 1969 in Phuoc Tuy, South Vietnam. Buried at Wilmington National Cemetery, North Carolina.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (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 Max A. Dover

    Arrived at New York in 1889 aboard the P. Caland from Boulogne, aged 21; merchant. From Holland, the Netherlands; bound for New York.

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

Showing 3 of 599 records for Dover 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) · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain) · Sacramento County, Historic Burials (CC BY 4.0). 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).

Australia171 records

171 records of the Dover name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 74
  • Tasmanian Names Index 43
  • Other Australian records 54
  1. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record John Dover

    Applied for permission to marry in Van Diemen's Land in 1853. Married 1854 in Launceston, Tasmania.

    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 John Dover

    Transported to New South Wales aboard the Asia, arriving 1822; ticket of leave 1845. Native of Herts.

    Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY)
  3. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Wilson Dover

    Arrived in Victoria in 1858 aboard the Royal Charter, aged 23; English.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 171 records for Dover 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) · State Library of Western Australia (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: 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); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

Canada32 records

32 records of the Dover name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 19
  • City of Calgary cemetery records 6
  • Other Canadian records 7
  1. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Mary Julia Dover

    Buried in 1994 at Burnsland Cemetery, Calgary, Alberta, aged 88.

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

    Died 1948 in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia.

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

    Died in service in 1915.

    Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada.

Showing 3 of 32 records for Dover 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. · City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver. · Halifax Regional Municipality. Contains information licenced under the Open Government Licence—Halifax. · City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg. 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); Canadian First World War circumstances-of-death register (scan by Scottgraham87 via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0).

United Kingdom15 records

15 records of the Dover name in the United Kingdom
  • St James's burial ground, Euston (London), 1789–1853 8
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 7
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Ann Dover

    Buried in 1797 at St James's burial ground, Euston, London, aged 55.

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

    Lancashire Fusiliers. 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 H. Dover

    Devonshire Regiment. 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 15 records for Dover 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). 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).

Netherlands5 records

5 records of the Dover name in the Netherlands
  • Dutch church registers before 1811 4
  • Dutch population registers 1
  1. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Willem Dover

    Married in 1614 in Utrecht.

    Open Archives, Het Utrechts Archief (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Civil record Gerrit Dover

    Baptised in 1609 in Grave.

    Open Archives, Brabants Historisch Informatie Centrum (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the 1910 United States census, Milwaukee
    Example: U.S. census, 1910
    Population register Franciena Dover

    In the population register of Zaandijk.

    Open Archives, Gemeentearchief Zaanstad (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 5 records for Dover in the Netherlands.

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); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0); U.S. census of 1910, Milwaukee (public domain).

France2 records

2 records of the Dover 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 Dover

    Born 1894 in Maisons-Laffitte; died 1987 in Le Mesnil-le-Roi (Yvelines).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)
  2. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Marie Dover

    Born 1910 in Motreff; died 1978 in Motreff (Finistère).

    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).

Belgium1 record

1 record of the Dover name in Belgium Belgian population registers
  1. A page of the 1910 United States census, Milwaukee
    Example: U.S. census, 1910
    Population register Sophie Dover

    In the population register of Aalst; servant, born 1808 in Nieuwenhove.

    Open Archives, Stadsarchief Aalst (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 Dover.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Dover is.
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