The Duck surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 4,521 people carried this name — #7,367 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 65,400 people counted. That is up 7% from 4,242 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Duck surname

A surname transferred from the nickname.

The surname is originally a nickname from Middle English doke (“duck”).

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

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

From Charles W. Bardsley, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with Special American Instances (London: Henry Frowde, 1901), p. 255 · public domain.

In France’s civil register

France’s register of deaths holds 33 people named Duck.

15 of them were born outside France. Those born in France came from 10 départements, most often Haut-Rhin.

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they were born

Born outside France 15
Haut-Rhin 4
Moselle 3
Val-d’Oise 3
Paris 2
Savoie 1
Yvelines 1
Territoire de Belfort 1
Val-de-Marne 1

Fichier des personnes décédées, INSEE — Licence Ouverte 2.0 · deaths recorded in France since 1970, by place of birth.

In Switzerland’s population statistics

22 people named Duck live in Switzerland.

They live in 4 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Zurich.

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they live today

Zurich 12
Aargau 4
Schaffhausen 3
Vaud 3

Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO), «Surnames of the permanent resident population by canton», 2025, opendata.swiss/en/dataset/nachnamen-der-standigen-wohnbevolkerung-nach-kanton3 · names with fewer than 3 bearers in a canton are not published.

Among the farmers of England and Wales, 1880s

Duck was found among the farmers of Yorkshire, North and East Ridings: 11 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

Yorkshire, North and East Ridings 11

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 the first U.S. census, 1790

27 Duck families were counted in 1790.

Each family is counted by its head. About 150 people lived in those households, 5.6 to a family on average. 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 12
Pennsylvania 8
Virginia 5
Massachusetts 1
South Carolina 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. 238 — public domain · names carried by at least 100 white persons in 1790.

In print

Duck in American newspapers,
1919.

Newspaper page from The Lusk Herald And The Van Tassell Pioneer carrying the name Duck
The Lusk Herald And The Van Tassell Pioneer 1919-10-28
Newspaper page from Iron County Record carrying the name Duck
Iron County Record 1919-08-15
Newspaper page from The Brattleboro Daily Reformer carrying the name Duck
The Brattleboro Daily Reformer 1919-08-28

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 2,063 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Duck in Australian newspapers,
1830s–2000s.

15,528 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Duck. The most, 2,869, 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 Victoria, at 1.4 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 6,065
Victoria 3,870
Queensland 2,104
South Australia 2,016
Western Australia 753
Tasmania 583
ACT (Canberra) 88
Northern Territory 7

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

Who carried it

People named Duck,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Jonathan Duck d. 2020 · basketball player
  • Nicholas Duck 1570–1628 · politician
  • Arthur Duck 1580–1649 · politician
  • Arthur Duck 1580–1648 · politician
  • Jacob Duck 1600–1667 · painter
  • Richard Duck 1603–

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

In the public record

People named Duck,
in the records of 8 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 States579 records

579 records of the Duck name in the United States
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 140
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 138
  • Other U.S. records 301
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Glen F. Duck

    Born 1921 in Oklahoma. Enlisted 1942 at Tulsa; driver from Pawnee County. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1996, buried at Oak Hill Cemetery, Mounds, Oklahoma.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Nancy Duck

    Arrived at New York in 1836 aboard the Emulous from Liverpool, aged 24; laborer. From Manan, Ireland; bound for New York.

    U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)
  3. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Curtis Lamar Duck

    Born 1947; from National City, California. U.S. Army, infantryman; killed in action 1967 in Kontum, South Vietnam.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain)

Showing 3 of 579 records for Duck in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain) · Sacramento County, Historic Burials (CC BY 4.0) · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Vietnam Veterans Memorial, photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, 2009 (public domain).

Australia289 records

289 records of the Duck name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 156
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 75
  • Other Australian records 58
  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 Duck

    Transported to New South Wales aboard the Bencoolen, arriving 1819; certificate of freedom 1825.

    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 Elizabeth Duck

    Arrived in Queensland in 1887 aboard the Waroonga, aged 14.

    Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Harold Arthur Duck

    Farmer of Seville, Victoria; died 1966.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 289 records for Duck in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY) · State Library of Western Australia (CC BY 4.0) · ACT Government, Transport Canberra and City Services (CC BY 4.0) · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). 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).

Netherlands115 records

115 records of the Duck name in the Netherlands
  • Dutch church registers before 1811 97
  • Dutch civil registers (births, marriages, deaths) 11
  • Dutch population registers 7
  1. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Pieter Josef Duck

    Married in 1826 in Maastricht; dragoon, born 1798 in Antwerpen, Belgium.

    Open Archives, Regionaal Historisch Centrum Limburg (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Käthe Dück

    Died 1972 in Woerden; born 1913 in Niederchortitza in Rusland.

    Open Archives, Het Utrechts Archief (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Johann Duck

    Married in 1840 in Amsterdam; shoemaker.

    Open Archives, Noord-Hollands Archief (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 115 records for Duck 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).

Germany66 records

66 records of the Duck name in Germany Germany's First World War casualty lists, 1914–1919
  1. A page of the German First World War casualty lists, 18 April 1918
    Example: German casualty list, 1918
    Casualty list Heinrich Dück

    From Limbug, Cottbus. Reported missing in the Prussian casualty list of 13 November 1916 (Reserve Infantry Regiment No. 208).

    Verein für Computergenealogie e.V. (2026). Deutsche Verlustlisten des Ersten Weltkriegs – Datensammlung (Version 1.0), DOI 10.5281/zenodo.18330751 (CC0)

Showing 1 of 66 records for Duck in Germany.

Counts: Verein für Computergenealogie e.V. (2026). Deutsche Verlustlisten des Ersten Weltkriegs – Datensammlung (Version 1.0), DOI 10.5281/zenodo.18330751 (CC0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Deutsche Verlustlisten, Prussian list 1116, 18 April 1918 (scan via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0).

Canada31 records

31 records of the Duck name in Canada
  • Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver 12
  • City of Calgary cemetery records 8
  • Other Canadian records 11
  1. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Pamela Duck

    Died 1990, aged 23; buried at Brookside Cemetery, Winnipeg, Manitoba.

    City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg.
  2. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record James Lindsay Duck

    Buried in 1975 at Queen's Park Cemetery, Calgary, Alberta, aged 67.

    City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary.
  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 Allan Alexander Elroy Duck

    Died in service in 1944.

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

Showing 3 of 31 records for Duck in Canada.

Counts: City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver. · City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary. · City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg. · Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. · Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario. · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). 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).

Belgium23 records

23 records of the Duck name in Belgium Belgian civil registers (births, marriages, deaths)
  1. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Adélaïde Duck

    Died 1876 in Kortijk.

    Open Archives, Stadsarchief Kortrijk (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Ferdinand Duck

    Died 1905 in Kortijk.

    Open Archives, Stadsarchief Kortrijk (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Magdalena Duck

    Died 1899 in Kortijk.

    Open Archives, Stadsarchief Kortrijk (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 23 records for Duck in Belgium.

Counts: Open Archives (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0).

France12 records

12 records of the Duck 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 Eugene Duck

    Born 1912 in Magstatt-le-Haut (Haut-Rhin); died 1981 in Sarrebourg (Moselle).

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

    Born 1903 in Poland; died 1991 in Saint-Étienne-au-Mont (Pas-de-Calais).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)
  3. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Heide Rose Ingeborg Duck

    Born 1944 in Austria; died 2000 in Germany.

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)

Showing 3 of 12 records for Duck in France.

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).

United Kingdom11 records

11 records of the Duck name in the United Kingdom
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 6
  • Welsh wills index cards 2
  • Other British records 3
  1. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Frederick James Duck

    Will proved in 1931; of Hoole, Prestatyn, Chester, Flint.

    National Library of Wales, Wills Index Cards (CC0)
  2. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record John W. Duck

    Died 1916. Named in the roll of honour (1926).

    National Library of Scotland, Rolls of Honour (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 W. J. Duck

    Royal Army Medical Corps. 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 11 records for Duck in the United Kingdom.

Counts: National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · National Library of Wales, Wills Index Cards (CC0) · 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, Rolls of Honour (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain); 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 Duck.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Duck is.
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