The Hastings surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 28,015 people carried this name — #1,253 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 10,500 people counted. That is up 3% from 27,201 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Hastings surname

A habitational surname from Old English.

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Hastings» (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 baptismal name, from a given name: ‘the son of Hasting’ — the first of the origins he gives.

An early record he cites: Henry de Hastinge, Bedfordshire, 1273 — Hundred Rolls.

His entry covers Hasting and Hastings.

From Charles W. Bardsley, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with Special American Instances (London: Henry Frowde, 1901), p. 365 · public domain.

In Ireland’s birth registers, 1890

Ireland registered 22 births for the Hastings name in 1890.

They were registered in all four provinces, most of all in Connacht. By the Registrar-General’s own method — births multiplied by 44.38 — that is about 1,000 people bearing the name in Ireland at the time. The Registrar-General’s note on the name: “8 in Mayo and 5 in Clare.”

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

Where they were born, 1890

Connacht 9
Munster 6
Leinster 4
Ulster 3

Registrar-General for Ireland, «Special Report on Surnames in Ireland» (R. E. Matheson, 1894), births index of 1890 — public domain.

In France’s civil register

France’s register of deaths holds 35 people named Hastings.

17 of them were born outside France. Those born in France came from 4 départements, most often Loire-Atlantique.

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

Where they were born

Born outside France 17
Loire-Atlantique 9
Nord 5
Paris 3
Meurthe-et-Moselle 1

Fichier des personnes décédées, INSEE — Licence Ouverte 2.0 · deaths recorded in France since 1970, by place of birth.

In Argentina’s national register

At least 26 people named Hastings 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 Buenos Aires Province.

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

Where they live today

Buenos Aires Province 26

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

In Scotland’s registers today

Hastings was recorded 39 times in Scotland’s registers of births, marriages and deaths in 2025.

That made it the 655th most common name in those registers, shared with others on the same count. In 1975, the first year of the series, the count was 52. Each birth counts the child’s surname, each marriage both partners’ and each death the surname of the person who died — a yearly count of registrations, not of the people who live in Scotland.

National Records of Scotland, «Most Common Surnames, 2025» (published 26 May 2026): every surname recorded 10 or more times in the 2025 registers, and the series from 1975 · different spellings are counted separately — © Crown copyright 2026. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

In the first U.S. census, 1790

153 families named Hastings, or a close spelling, were counted in 1790.

Each family is counted by its head. About 858 people lived in those households, 5.6 to a family on average. The table counts it together with 3 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

Massachusetts 82
New Hampshire 22
North Carolina 13
Pennsylvania 10
Connecticut 8
Vermont 7
Virginia 5
Maine 3
Rhode Island 1
New York 1
Maryland 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. 244 — public domain · names carried by at least 100 white persons in 1790.

In print

Hastings in American newspapers,
1894–1903.

Newspaper page from The Portland Daily Press carrying the name Hastings
The Portland Daily Press 1894-03-17
Newspaper page from Foster's Daily Democrat carrying the name Hastings
Foster's Daily Democrat 1898-01-07
Newspaper page from The San Juan Islander carrying the name Hastings
The San Juan Islander 1903-07-02

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 10,635 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Hastings in Australian newspapers,
1810s–2000s.

40,982 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Hastings. The most, 6,904, date from the 1900s. 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 South Australia, at 1.6 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 11,475
Victoria 8,839
South Australia 7,726
Queensland 7,546
Western Australia 3,737
Tasmania 1,286
ACT (Canberra) 222
Northern Territory 53

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

Who carried it

People named Hastings,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Hugh Hastings d. 1369 · military personnel
  • Ralph Hastings d. 1495 · politician
  • Ralph Hastings d. 1405
  • Audra Hastings d. 1307
  • James Hastings d. 1965
  • John Hastings d. 1541

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

In the public record

People named Hastings,
in the records of 8 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 States3,245 records

3,245 records of the Hastings name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 994
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 738
  • Other U.S. records 1,513
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Zilmon Hastings

    Born 1917 in Texas. Enlisted 1941 at Fort Sam Houston; motion picture projectionist. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1988, buried at Fort Sam 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 Charlotte Hastings

    Arrived at New York in 1892 aboard the Majestic from Liverpool and Queenstown, aged 17; servant. From Cork, Ireland; bound for New York.

    U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)
  3. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Steven Morris Hastings

    Born 1948; from Baldwin Park, California. U.S. Army, utility helicopter repairer; declared dead 1968 in Phuoc Long, South Vietnam.

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

Showing 3 of 3,245 records for Hastings 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. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · 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) · Sacramento County, Historic Burials (CC BY 4.0) · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain) · City of Asheville (public domain, PDDL) · New York State, Open NY (police and firefighter memorial rolls). 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).

Australia973 records

973 records of the Hastings name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 478
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 197
  • Other Australian records 298
  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 Mary Ann Hastings

    Transported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Cadet, sailing from London in 1847. Native of Liverpool, Lancashire. Applied for permission to marry in Van Diemen's Land in 1850.

    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 John Hastings

    Died 1918 in General Hospital, Launceston, Tasmania. Will registered in Tasmania in 1919.

    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 John Hastings

    Arrived in Victoria in 1852 aboard the Thorwaldsen, aged 27; English.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 973 records for Hastings 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) · State Library of Western Australia (CC BY 4.0) · ACT Government, Transport Canberra and City Services (CC BY 4.0) · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). 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).

Canada144 records

144 records of the Hastings name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 57
  • Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver 32
  • Other Canadian records 55
  1. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Chas Hastings

    Came to Ontario in 1879 aboard the Polynesian, landing at Quebec, bound for Barrie, Ontario; English.

    Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario.
  2. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Alger Hastings

    Died 1965, aged 73; buried at St. Vital Cemetery, Winnipeg, Manitoba.

    City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg.
  3. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Mary Hastings

    Died 1924 in Pictou, Nova Scotia.

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

Showing 3 of 144 records for Hastings in Canada.

Counts: Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. · City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver. · Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. · Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario. · 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 Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg. · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0).

United Kingdom67 records

67 records of the Hastings name in the United Kingdom
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 32
  • Scottish rolls of honour, First World War 16
  • Other British records 19
  1. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record George Hastings

    Born 1899 at Forfar; butcher. Served in the First World War. Named in the Morayshire roll of honour (1921).

    National Library of Scotland, Rolls of Honour (public domain)
  2. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Marion Porter Hastings

    Buried in 1946 at Ballengeich Cemetery, Stirling, Scotland, aged 65.

    Stirling Council. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
  3. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Gwen Ellen Hastings

    Will proved in 1940; of High Wycombe, Buckingham.

    National Library of Wales, Wills Index Cards (CC0)

Showing 3 of 67 records for Hastings in the United Kingdom.

Counts: National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · National Library of Scotland, Rolls of Honour (public domain) · MOLA and HS2, St James's burial ground data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. · Stirling Council. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. · National Library of Wales, Wills Index Cards (CC0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: C. & E. Morton Ltd roll of honour, 1914–1919, photo by Adrian S Pye via Geograph (CC BY-SA 2.0); Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0); Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain).

New Zealand24 records

24 records of the Hastings name in New Zealand
  • Christchurch City cemetery records 18
  • Thames-Coromandel District cemetery records 6
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Leslie Paul Hastings

    Died 1954, aged 55; buried at Bromley 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 George Arthur Hastings

    Buried in 1944 at Totara Memorial Park Cemetery, Thames-Coromandel District, Waikato, aged 68.

    Thames-Coromandel District Council (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Ernest Alfred Hastings

    Died 1977, aged 74; buried at Sydenham Cemetery, Christchurch, Canterbury.

    Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 24 records for Hastings in New Zealand.

Counts: Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0) · Thames-Coromandel District 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).

France17 records

17 records of the Hastings 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 Maria Marie Hastings

    Born 1901 in Caudry; died 1982 in Cambrai (Nord).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)
  2. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Guy Marie Joseph Hastings

    Born 1914 in Bouguenais; died 1997 in Le Pouliguen (Loire-Atlantique).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)
  3. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Robert Henry Hastings

    Born 1896 in Great Britain; died 1995 in Roquebrune-Cap-Martin (Alpes-Maritimes).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)

Showing 3 of 17 records for Hastings in France.

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).

Netherlands5 records

5 records of the Hastings name in the Netherlands
  • Dutch civil registers (births, marriages, deaths) 3
  • Dutch church registers before 1811 2
  1. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Johanna Hastings

    Died 1844 in Rossum, aged 40.

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

    Married in 1706 in Bergen op Zoom; born in England.

    Open Archives, West Brabants Archief (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 2 of 5 records for Hastings in the Netherlands.

Counts: Open Archives (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0); Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain).

Ireland4 records

4 records of the Hastings name in Ireland County Galway graveyard records
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Agnes Hastings

    Died 1976; buried at Ballinakill, Co. Galway.

    Galway County Council (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Mary Hastings

    Died 1933; buried at Moylough, Co. Galway.

    Galway County Council (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 2 of 4 records for Hastings in Ireland.

Counts: Galway County 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).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Hastings.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Hastings 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.

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