The Gwin surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 4,781 people carried this name — #7,006 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 61,700 people counted. That is down 1% from 4,822 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Gwin surname

As an English and Welsh surname

Bardsley classes it as a nickname: ‘the white’.

His entry covers Gwinn, Gwyn, Gwynn, Gwynne and Gwin.

From Charles W. Bardsley, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with Special American Instances (London: Henry Frowde, 1901), p. 345 · public domain.

In the first U.S. census, 1790

95 families named Gwin, or a close spelling, were counted in 1790.

Each family is counted by its head. About 433 people lived in those households, 4.6 to a family on average. The table counts it together with 13 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

Virginia 33
North Carolina 18
Maryland 15
South Carolina 13
Pennsylvania 12
New York 2
Massachusetts 1
Rhode Island 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. 243 — public domain · names carried by at least 100 white persons in 1790.

In print

Gwin in American newspapers,
1901.

Newspaper page from The San Francisco Call carrying the name Gwin
The San Francisco Call 1901-06-27
Newspaper page from The Chickasha Daily Express carrying the name Gwin
The Chickasha Daily Express 1901-03-13

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

In print

Gwin in Australian newspapers,
1850s–1970s.

586 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Gwin. The most, 197, 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 Victoria, at 2.5 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

Victoria 328
Western Australia 98
New South Wales 60
South Australia 42
Queensland 32
Tasmania 22
ACT (Canberra) 4

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

Who carried it

People named Gwin,
with a public archive behind them.

  • William M. Gwin
    William M. Gwin 1805–1885 · physician
  • William Gwin
    William Gwin 1832–1863 · military officer
  • Robert Gwin 1540–1604 · Catholic priest
  • Samuel Gwin 1790–1838 · bretteur
  • Samuel Gwin 1794–1838 · bretteur
  • Margaret Gwin 1800–1863

Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped, in the public domain or CC0 · 7 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Gwin,
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 States320 records

320 records of the Gwin name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 209
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 65
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 17
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 14
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 6
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 5
  • Irish Famine arrivals at New York, 1846–1851 2
  • U.S. service members who died in the Korean War 1
  • Sacramento County historic burials 1
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Joe M. Gwin

    Born 1916 in Alabama. Enlisted 1941 at Houston, Texas; bank clerk from Harris County, Texas. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 2000, buried at Houston National Cemetery, Texas.

    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 Eliza J. Gwin

    Arrived at New York in 1870 aboard the Cambria from Glasgow, aged 23; servant. From Ireland.

    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 Morton Gwin

    U.S. Army veteran of World War I. Born 1889, died 1964; buried at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery, Missouri.

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

Showing 3 of 320 records for Gwin in the United States.

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

Australia12 records

12 records of the Gwin name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 6
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 6
  1. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Daniel Gwin

    Farmer of Jancourt, Victoria; died 1914.

    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 John Gwin

    Arrived in Victoria in 1904 aboard the Sophocles, aged 33.

    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 John H. Gwin

    Estate agent of Cobden, Victoria; died 1940.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 12 records for Gwin in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (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).

Canada2 records

2 records of the Gwin name in Canada Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver
  1. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Vera Marguerite Gwin

    Died 1908; buried at Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver, British Columbia.

    City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver.
  2. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Nellie Servoy Gwin

    Died 1919; buried at Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver, British Columbia.

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

Counts: 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).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Gwin.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Gwin 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 Gwin volume
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