The Files surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 3,744 people carried this name — #8,761 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 78,700 people counted. That is up 2% from 3,668 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Files surname

As an English and Welsh surname

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

His entry covers Fildes and Files.

From Charles W. Bardsley, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with Special American Instances (London: Henry Frowde, 1901), p. 288 · public domain.

In print

Files in American newspapers,
1911.

Newspaper page from The County Record carrying the name Files
The County Record 1911-05-11

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain.

In print

Files in Australian newspapers,
1830s–1990s.

1,302 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Files. The most, 192, 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 1.3 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 400
Victoria 341
Queensland 244
South Australia 112
Tasmania 98
Western Australia 65
ACT (Canberra) 16
Northern Territory 2

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

Who carried it

People named Files,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Glenn W. Files 1877–1945 · radiologist
  • Eddie Files 1883–1954 · baseball player

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

In the public record

People named Files,
in the records of 4 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 States314 records

314 records of the Files name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 118
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 86
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 60
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 20
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 18
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 8
  • Irish Famine arrivals at New York, 1846–1851 2
  • Sacramento County historic burials 1
  • 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 Joseph W. Files

    Born 1918 in Massachusetts. Enlisted 1941 at Cambridge; driver from Suffolk County. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1992, buried at Massachusetts National Cemetery, Massachusetts.

    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 Biddy Files

    Arrived at New York in 1848 aboard the Isaac Wright from Liverpool, aged 22; servant. From Ireland.

    U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain)
  3. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Albert Clifton Files

    Born 1941; from Sacramento, California. U.S. Army; killed in action 1967 in Tay Ninh, South Vietnam.

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

Showing 3 of 314 records for Files 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) · 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) · 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).

Australia85 records

85 records of the Files name in Australia
  • Tasmanian Names Index 47
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 24
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 9
  • Queensland State Archives indexes 4
  • NSW convict, estate and railway indexes 1
  1. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Minnie Matilda Files

    Born 1873 in Launceston, Tasmania. Married 1894 in Launceston, Tasmania, aged 21.

    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 Thos Files

    Arrived in Victoria in 1853 aboard the Atalanta, aged 25.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Clarence J. Files

    Farmer of Kotupna, Victoria; died 1955.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 85 records for Files in Australia.

Counts: Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) · Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (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).

Netherlands9 records

9 records of the Files name in the Netherlands
  • Dutch population registers 6
  • Dutch civil registers (births, marriages, deaths) 3
  1. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Sara Files

    Married in 1839 in Ijzendijke; maidservant.

    Open Archives, Zeeuws Archief (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Maria Files

    Married in 1815 in Leiden.

    Open Archives, Nationaal Archief Rijksarchief Zuid-Holland (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the 1910 United States census, Milwaukee
    Example: U.S. census, 1910
    Population register Gerard Herman Files

    In the population register of Deventer; born 1842 in Amsterdam N Holland.

    Open Archives, Collectie Overijssel, locatie Deventer (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 9 records for Files 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); U.S. census of 1910, Milwaukee (public domain).

Canada1 record

1 record of the Files name in Canada Nova Scotia Archives name indexes
  1. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Willis Edward Files

    Married 1904 in Pictou, Nova Scotia.

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

Counts: Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Files.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Files 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 Files volume
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