The Fishman surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 6,962 people carried this name — #5,040 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 42,400 people counted. That is up 3% from 6,777 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Fishman surname

As an English and Welsh surname

Bardsley classes it as an occupational name: ‘the fishman’.

From Charles W. Bardsley, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with Special American Instances (London: Henry Frowde, 1901), p. 289 · public domain.

In Switzerland’s population statistics

28 people named Fishman live in Switzerland.

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

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

Where they live today

Vaud 13
Zurich 8
Valais 4
Geneva 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.

In Argentina’s national register

At least 25 people named Fishman live in Argentina.

RENAPER only publishes a name in a province when more than ten people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in City of Buenos Aires.

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

Where they live today

City of Buenos Aires 25

RENAPER (National Registry of Persons, Argentina), surnames of residents by province, December 2021 — CC BY 4.0.

In print

Fishman in American newspapers,
1915–1919.

Newspaper page from Great Falls Daily Tribune carrying the name Fishman
Great Falls Daily Tribune 1919-03-19
Newspaper page from Great Falls Daily Tribune carrying the name Fishman
Great Falls Daily Tribune 1919-03-14
Newspaper page from The Seattle Star carrying the name Fishman
The Seattle Star 1915-07-21

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 6,284 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Fishman in Australian newspapers,
1890s–2000s.

328 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Fishman. The most, 56, date from the 1920s. Weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, it stands out most in Victoria, at 3.7 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

Victoria 174
New South Wales 116
Queensland 15
ACT (Canberra) 9
Western Australia 4
Tasmania 3
South Australia 2

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

Who carried it

People named Fishman,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Max Fishman
    Max Fishman 1915–1985 · composer
  • Max Fishman
    Max Fishman 1915–1985 · composer
  • Yakov Fishman 1887–1961 · chemist
  • Duke Fishman 1906–1977 · actor
  • Natan Fishman 1909–1986 · musicologist
  • Ivan Rasputin 1912–1976 · professional wrestler

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 Fishman,
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 States2,040 records

2,040 records of the Fishman name in the United States
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 1,156
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 413
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 365
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 62
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 35
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 9
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Morris Fishman

    Born 1909 in New York. Enlisted 1941 at Jamaica; office clerk from Kings County. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1988, buried at Calverton National Cemetery, New York.

    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 Milly Fishman

    Arrived at New York in 1879 aboard the France from London, aged 16; fur worker. 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 William Fishman

    U.S. Army veteran of World War I. Born 1888, died 1987; buried at Los Angeles National Cemetery, California.

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

Showing 3 of 2,040 records for Fishman in the United States.

Counts: NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · 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).

Canada10 records

10 records of the Fishman name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 5
  • City of Calgary cemetery records 2
  • City of Niagara Falls (Ontario) cemetery records 2
  • Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver 1
  1. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Ethel Fishman

    Buried in 1983 at Queen's Park Cemetery, Calgary, Alberta, aged 76.

    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 Celia Fishman

    Died 1943 in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.
  3. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Benjamin Fishman

    Buried in 1976 at Lundys Lane Cemetery, Niagara Falls, Ontario.

    City of Niagara Falls. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Niagara Falls.

Showing 3 of 10 records for Fishman 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. · City of Niagara Falls. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Niagara Falls. · 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).

Australia9 records

9 records of the Fishman name in Australia
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 6
  • NSW convict, estate and railway indexes 1
  • Tasmanian Names Index 1
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 1
  1. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Josef Fishman

    Toolmaker of Israel, Victoria; died 1975.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)
  2. The first page of an emigration file from Gündlingen, Baden, 1883
    Example: German emigration file, 1883
    Emigration record Robert Fishman

    Left Hobart in 1824 aboard the Hibernia, bound for Port Jackson, as a seaman.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Edith Fishman

    Of Marrickville, New South Wales; died 1919.

    Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY)

Showing 3 of 9 records for Fishman 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: Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain); Emigration file, Gündlingen, 1883, Landesarchiv Baden-Württemberg, Staatsarchiv Freiburg B 694/1 Nr. 1389 (CC BY 4.0); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0).

France2 records

2 records of the Fishman 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 Eva Fishman

    Born 1909 in Israel; died 1991 in Paris.

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

    Born 1957 in the United States; died 1991 in Lyon (Rhône).

    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 Fishman.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Fishman 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 Fishman volume
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