The Griffey surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 3,035 people carried this name — #10,560 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 97,100 people counted. That is up 1% from 2,994 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Griffey surname

Reduced Anglicized form of Irish Ó Gríobhtha (“descendant of Gríobhtha”), a personal name which derives from gríobh (“griffin”).

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Griffey» (English), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.

In print

Griffey in American newspapers,
1909–1921.

Newspaper page from The Washington Times carrying the name Griffey
The Washington Times 1921-04-25
Newspaper page from The Caucasian carrying the name Griffey
The Caucasian 1909-04-04
Newspaper page from River Falls Journal carrying the name Griffey
River Falls Journal 1916-02-17

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 4,662 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Griffey in Australian newspapers,
1870s–1960s.

678 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Griffey. The most, 143, 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 New South Wales, at 2.0 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 470
South Australia 70
Victoria 62
Queensland 57
Western Australia 10
Tasmania 6
Northern Territory 3

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

Who carried it

People named Griffey,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Dick Griffey
    Dick Griffey 1938–2010 · composer
  • Carlo Griffey 1895– · engineer

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 Griffey,
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 States187 records

187 records of the Griffey name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 103
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 46
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 15
  • Irish Famine arrivals at New York, 1846–1851 6
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 5
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 5
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 3
  • U.S. service members who died in the Vietnam War 2
  • U.S. service members who died in the Korean War 1
  • Sacramento County historic burials 1
  1. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record James Ray Griffey

    Born 1946; from Harvey, Illinois. U.S. Army, wireman; killed in action 1966 in South Vietnam. Buried at Camp Butler National Cemetery, Illinois.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record John E. Griffey

    Born 1907 in Kansas. Enlisted 1943 at Portland, Oregon; driver from Multnomah County, Oregon. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1996, buried at Willamette National Cemetery, Oregon.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (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 Eliza Griffey

    Arrived at New York in 1883 aboard the Erin from Liverpool and Queenstown, aged 22; servant. From Ireland; bound for Rhode Island.

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

Showing 3 of 187 records for Griffey 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) · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (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. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain) · Sacramento County, Historic Burials (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Vietnam Veterans Memorial, photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, 2009 (public domain); U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

Australia37 records

37 records of the Griffey name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 14
  • Queensland State Archives indexes 10
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 9
  • Tasmanian Names Index 3
  • NSW convict, estate and railway indexes 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 John Griffey

    Transported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the British Sovereign, sailing from London & Dublin in 1840. Native of Clare.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Patrick Joseph Griffey

    Retired factory assistant of Ballarat, Victoria; died 1988.

    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 Harry Griffey

    Arrived in Queensland in 1910 aboard the Oswestry Grange.

    Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 37 records for Griffey 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) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY). 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).

New Zealand2 records

2 records of the Griffey name in New Zealand Christchurch City cemetery records
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Anthony Griffey

    Died 1971, aged 65; buried at Memorial Park Cemetery, Christchurch, Canterbury.

    Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Lily Mary Griffey

    Died 1988, aged 83; buried at Memorial Park Cemetery, Christchurch, Canterbury.

    Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0)

Counts: Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0).

Canada1 record

1 record of the Griffey name in Canada Canadian Virtual War Memorial
  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 Kenneth William Griffey

    Died in service in 1945.

    Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada.

Counts: Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. 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).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Griffey.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Griffey 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 Griffey volume
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