The Durden surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 7,007 people carried this name — #5,014 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 42,000 people counted. That is up 10% from 6,389 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Durden surname

As an English and Welsh surname

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

His entry covers Dearden and Durden.

From Charles W. Bardsley, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with Special American Instances (London: Henry Frowde, 1901), p. 234 · public domain.

Among the farmers of England and Wales, 1880s

Durden was found among the farmers of Dorset: 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

Dorset 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

Durden in American newspapers,
1898–1905.

Newspaper page from The Camden Chronicle carrying the name Durden
The Camden Chronicle 1905-01-13
Newspaper page from The Salt Lake Herald carrying the name Durden
The Salt Lake Herald 1898-06-12
Newspaper page from The Bolivar Bulletin carrying the name Durden
The Bolivar Bulletin 1899-10-20

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 8,186 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Durden in Australian newspapers,
1850s–1980s.

467 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Durden. The most, 81, 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 South Australia, at 3.2 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

South Australia 179
Queensland 158
Victoria 68
New South Wales 48
Tasmania 6
Western Australia 3
ACT (Canberra) 2

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

Who carried it

People named Durden,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Tommy Durden
    Tommy Durden 1919–1999 · composer
  • James Durden 1878–1964 · illustrator

Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped, in the public domain or CC0 · 8 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Durden,
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 States332 records

332 records of the Durden name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 234
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 71
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 12
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 7
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 3
  • Irish Famine arrivals at New York, 1846–1851 2
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 2
  • U.S. service members who died in the Vietnam War 1
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Charlie W. Durden

    Born 1925 in Florida. Enlisted 1945 at Camp Blanding; driver from Putnam County. U.S. Army veteran; died 1997, buried at Palatka Memorial Gardens, Florida.

    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 Elizabeth Durden

    Arrived at Boston in 1885 aboard the Cephalonia from Liverpool and Queenstown, aged 45; matron. From England; bound for Lawrence.

    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 Troy Durden

    Born 1951; from Orlando, Florida. U.S. Army, infantryman; killed in action 1970 in Quang Ngai, South Vietnam.

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

Showing 3 of 332 records for Durden in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · 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, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · 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).

Australia27 records

27 records of the Durden name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 18
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 6
  • NSW convict, estate and railway indexes 2
  • Tasmanian Names Index 1
  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 Joseph Durden

    Transported to New South Wales aboard the Heroine, arriving 1833; certificate of freedom 1840.

    Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY)
  2. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Cyril Henshaw Durden

    Retired farmer of Swan Hill, Victoria; died 1998.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Jane Durden

    Arrived in Victoria in 1851 as an assisted immigrant aboard the Statesman, aged 33.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 27 records for Durden in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY) · 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); Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

Canada3 records

3 records of the Durden name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 2
  • Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver 1
  1. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Michael Durden

    Died 1958; buried at Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver, British Columbia.

    City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver.
  2. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Birth record Anna May Durden

    Born 1913 in Truro, Colchester, Nova Scotia.

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

Showing 2 of 3 records for Durden in Canada.

Counts: Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. · 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); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0).

United Kingdom1 record

1 record of the Durden 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 G. J. Durden

    Gunner, Worcestershire Regiment. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1918.

    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).

Belgium1 record

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

    In the population register of Hofstade; farmer, born 1794 in Hofstade.

    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 Durden.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Durden 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 Durden volume
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