The Gaylord surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 5,159 people carried this name — #6,567 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 57,100 people counted. About the same as in 2000 (5,151).

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What the name means

The meaning of the Gaylord surname

An American surname from Old French.

Derived from the Old French surname Gaillard (from gaillard (“strong”)), via Anglo-Norman. Shaped by folk etymology into gay + lord.

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Gaylord» (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 nickname: ‘the gaillard’ — the first of the origins he gives.

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

His entry covers Gallard, Gaylard, Gaylord and Gillard.

From Charles W. Bardsley, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with Special American Instances (London: Henry Frowde, 1901), p. 305 · public domain.

In the first U.S. census, 1790

74 families named Gaylord, or a close spelling, were counted in 1790.

Each family is counted by its head. About 456 people lived in those households, 6.2 to a family on average. The table counts it together with 12 other spellings. 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

Connecticut 35
Massachusetts 8
New York 8
North Carolina 8
South Carolina 7
Pennsylvania 3
Vermont 2
Maryland 2
Virginia 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. 241 — public domain · names carried by at least 100 white persons in 1790.

In print

Gaylord in American newspapers,
1898–1906.

Newspaper page from The Midland Journal carrying the name Gaylord
The Midland Journal 1901-05-24
Newspaper page from The Watchman And Southron carrying the name Gaylord
The Watchman And Southron 1906-04-04
Newspaper page from Omaha Daily Bee carrying the name Gaylord
Omaha Daily Bee 1898-03-19

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 83,552 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Gaylord in Australian newspapers,
1850s–1980s.

671 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Gaylord. The most, 115, date from the 1880s. Victoria 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 Queensland, at 1.4 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

Victoria 184
New South Wales 155
Queensland 146
ACT (Canberra) 53
South Australia 43
Western Australia 32
Tasmania 25
Northern Territory 4

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

Who carried it

People named Gaylord,
with a public archive behind them.

  • James M. Gaylord
    James M. Gaylord 1811–1874 · judge
  • Emerson Gaylord
    Emerson Gaylord 1817–1899 · politician
  • William Miner Gaylord
    William Miner Gaylord 1821–1900 · politician
  • Joseph Gaylord 1649–1711
  • Willis Gaylord 1792–1844 · agronomist
  • Sarah Brownell Gaylord 1823–1899

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 Gaylord,
in the records of 3 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 States541 records

541 records of the Gaylord name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 186
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 111
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 104
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 96
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 22
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 15
  • Sacramento County historic burials 4
  • U.S. service members who died in the Vietnam War 2
  • U.S. service members who died in the Korean War 1
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record John W. Gaylord

    Born 1907 in Virginia. Enlisted 1942 at Fort Dix, New Jersey; housekeeper. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1962, buried at Beverly National Cemetery, New Jersey.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record William A. Gaylord

    Born 1930; from Hawaii. U.S. Army; killed in action 1950 in South Korea. Buried at National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, Honolulu, Hawaii.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  3. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Mary Gaylord

    Arrived at New York in 1904 aboard the Moltke from Cherbourg, aged 43. From England; bound for New York.

    U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)

Showing 3 of 541 records for Gaylord 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) · 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) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (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); Vietnam Veterans Memorial, photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, 2009 (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

Australia11 records

11 records of the Gaylord name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 9
  • Queensland State Archives indexes 1
  • Tasmanian Names Index 1
  1. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Edward Jno Gaylord

    Arrived in Queensland in 1888 aboard the Duke of Argyll, aged 20.

    Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Dorothy Muriel Gaylord

    Died 1908 in Hobart, Tasmania.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (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 P. J. Gaylord

    Arrived in Victoria in 1900 aboard the Himalaya, aged 30.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 11 records for Gaylord 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). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0).

Canada2 records

2 records of the Gaylord name in Canada
  • City of Calgary cemetery records 1
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 1
  1. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record George S. Gaylord

    Buried in 1960 at Burnsland Cemetery, Calgary, Alberta.

    City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary.
  2. 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 C. Gaylord

    Central Ontario 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: City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary. · 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).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Gaylord.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Gaylord is.
A volume says what happened to it.

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