The Edison surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 4,015 people carried this name — #8,250 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 73,500 people counted. That is up 4% from 3,860 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Edison surname

A surname originating as a patronymic, from Edward.

A name whose meaning is "son of Edward", equivalent to Eddie + -son.

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

Bardsley classes it as a baptismal name, from a given name: ‘the son of Ede’.

His entry covers Edis and Edison.

From Charles W. Bardsley, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with Special American Instances (London: Henry Frowde, 1901), p. 266 · public domain.

In print

Edison in American newspapers,
1896–1922.

Newspaper page from Okolona Messenger carrying the name Edison
Okolona Messenger 1921-05-19
Newspaper page from Vernon Parish Democrat carrying the name Edison
Vernon Parish Democrat 1922-02-16
Newspaper page from The Portland Daily Press carrying the name Edison
The Portland Daily Press 1896-02-15

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 32,545 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Edison in Australian newspapers,
1840s–2000s.

22,132 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Edison. The most, 5,232, date from the 1910s. 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 the Australian Capital Territory, at 1.7 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 6,430
Victoria 5,435
Queensland 4,026
South Australia 2,852
Western Australia 1,836
Tasmania 1,449
ACT (Canberra) 54
Northern Territory 21

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

Who carried it

People named Edison,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Thomas Edison
    Thomas Edison 1847–1931 · screenwriter
  • Mary Stilwell Edison
    Mary Stilwell Edison 1855–1884
  • Mina Miller
    Mina Miller 1865–1947
  • Thomas Alva Edison Jr.
    Thomas Alva Edison Jr. 1876–1935 · inventor
  • William Leslie Edison
    William Leslie Edison 1878–1937 · inventor
  • John Edison d. 1814

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 Edison,
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 States326 records

326 records of the Edison name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 121
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 91
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 66
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 38
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 8
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 2
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record John W. Edison

    Born 1905 in North Carolina. Enlisted 1942 at Camp Croft, South Carolina; textile mill worker. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1974, buried at Salisbury National Cemetery, North Carolina.

    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 Carlisle Edison

    Arrived at New York in 1882 aboard the Lake Winnipeg from Liverpool, aged 24; laborer. From England.

    U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)
  3. A U.S. Army record of death and interment, Camp Nelson, Kentucky, 1864
    Example: U.S. burial record, 1864
    Burial record Edward D. Edison

    Veteran. Born 1890, died 1961; buried at Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery, California.

    U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)

Showing 3 of 326 records for Edison 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. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted). 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); Record of death and interment, Camp Nelson, Kentucky, 1864, U.S. National Archives (public domain).

Australia18 records

18 records of the Edison name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 14
  • Tasmanian Names Index 2
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 1
  • State Library of Western Australia indexes 1
  1. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Robert Edison

    Gentleman of Elwood, Victoria; died 1955.

    Public Record Office Victoria (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 Charles Edison

    Arrived in Victoria in 1910 aboard the Ophir, aged 32.

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

    Listed at Hobart, Tasmania, in the census of 1848.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 18 records for Edison in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (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); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0).

Canada13 records

13 records of the Edison name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 11
  • Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver 1
  • City of Winnipeg cemetery records 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 Robert Alexander Edison

    Served in the No. 2 Construction Battalion in the First World War, private; of Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia.

    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 Arthur James Edison

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

    City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg.
  3. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Celia J. Edison

    Married 1893 in Digby, Nova Scotia.

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

Showing 3 of 13 records for Edison 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. · City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg. 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); Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain).

United Kingdom1 record

1 record of the Edison 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. Edison

    Driver, Royal West Kent Regiment. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1917.

    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 Edison 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 Isobel Eleanor Edison

    Born 1907 in Ireland; died 1991 in Ornex (Ain).

    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).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Edison.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Edison is.
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