The Hemphill surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 13,495 people carried this name — #2,672 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 21,900 people counted. That is up 3% from 13,054 in 2000.

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In Ireland’s birth registers, 1890

Ireland registered 7 births for the Hemphill name in 1890.

Most were registered in Ulster. By the Registrar-General’s own method — births multiplied by 44.38 — that is about 300 people bearing the name in Ireland at the time. The Registrar-General’s note on the name: “Londonderry and Tyrone.”

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

Where they were born, 1890

Ulster 6
Connacht 1

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

In the first U.S. census, 1790

20 families named Hemphill, or a close spelling, were counted in 1790.

Each family is counted by its head. About 132 people lived in those households, 6.6 to a family on average. The table counts it together with 2 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

New Hampshire 7
North Carolina 5
South Carolina 4
Maryland 2
New York 1
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. 245 — public domain · names carried by at least 100 white persons in 1790.

In print

Hemphill in American newspapers,
1886–1921.

Newspaper page from Clarksville Weekly Chronicle carrying the name Hemphill
Clarksville Weekly Chronicle 1886-04-24
Newspaper page from Ladysmith News-budget carrying the name Hemphill
Ladysmith News-budget 1921-09-16
Newspaper page from The Democratic Leader carrying the name Hemphill
The Democratic Leader 1886-03-30

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

In print

Hemphill in Australian newspapers,
1840s–1990s.

4,700 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Hemphill. The most, 1,351, date from the 1930s. 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 Victoria, at 2.1 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 2,052
Victoria 1,982
Tasmania 205
Western Australia 165
Queensland 140
South Australia 117
ACT (Canberra) 18
Northern Territory 2

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

Who carried it

People named Hemphill,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Joseph Hemphill
    Joseph Hemphill 1770–1842 · lawyer
  • Samuel Hemphill d. 1741 · Christian minister
  • Barbara Hemphill d. 1858 · novelist
  • Edward Hemphill d. 1840
  • Mary Hemphill d. 1888
  • Malvina Elizabeth Hemphill d. 1891

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 Hemphill,
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 States929 records

929 records of the Hemphill name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 494
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 225
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 57
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 55
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 54
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 22
  • Irish Famine arrivals at New York, 1846–1851 11
  • Riverside Cemetery, Asheville (North Carolina) 3
  • U.S. service members who died in the Korean War 3
  • U.S. service members who died in the Vietnam War 3
  • Sacramento County historic burials 2
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Glenn B. Hemphill

    Born 1909 in Oregon. Enlisted 1942 at Sacramento, California; farm hand. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1969, 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)
  2. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Lizzie Hemphill

    Arrived at New York in 1883 aboard the Pavonia from Liverpool and Queenstown, aged 36; journalist. From Ireland; bound for Philadelphia.

    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 Fredrick H. Hemphill

    Born 1947; from Red Wing, Minnesota. U.S. Army, medical equipment repairer; died of wounds 1968 in Kontum, South Vietnam.

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

Showing 3 of 929 records for Hemphill 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) · City of Asheville (public domain, PDDL) · 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); Vietnam Veterans Memorial, photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, 2009 (public domain).

Australia209 records

209 records of the Hemphill name in Australia
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 89
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 71
  • Tasmanian Names Index 36
  • NSW convict, estate and railway indexes 8
  • Canberra cemetery and marriage records 2
  • Queensland State Archives indexes 2
  • State Library of Western Australia indexes 1
  1. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Clarence Hemphill

    Died 1927 in Springfield, Tasmania. Will registered in Tasmania in 1927.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Mary Lucretia Hemphill

    Born 1873 in Longford, Tasmania. Married 1898 in Launceston, Tasmania, aged 25.

    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 Hemphill

    Arrived in Victoria in 1857 aboard the Sardinian, as an infant; Irish.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 209 records for Hemphill in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY) · ACT Government, Transport Canberra and City Services (CC BY 4.0) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0) · State Library of Western Australia (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); Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

Canada43 records

43 records of the Hemphill name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 13
  • Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver 8
  • Canadian Virtual War Memorial 6
  • City of Winnipeg cemetery records 6
  • City of Waterloo (Ontario) cemetery records 5
  • Halifax municipal cemeteries 3
  • City of Niagara Falls (Ontario) cemetery records 1
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 1
  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 Carry Carter Hemphill

    Served in the No. 2 Construction Battalion in the First World War, sergeant; of Atlanta, Georgia.

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

    Buried in 1995 at Mount Hermon Cemetery, Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, aged 44.

    Halifax Regional Municipality. Contains information licenced under the Open Government Licence—Halifax.
  3. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Edna Hemphill

    Died 1928 in Pictou, Nova Scotia.

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

Showing 3 of 43 records for Hemphill 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. · City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg. · Contains information provided by the City of Waterloo under licence · Halifax Regional Municipality. Contains information licenced under the Open Government Licence—Halifax. · City of Niagara Falls. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Niagara Falls. · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). 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); Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0).

United Kingdom2 records

2 records of the Hemphill name in the United Kingdom
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 1
  • Stirling Council burial records 1
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Jean Hemphill

    Died 1939, aged 67; buried at Bannockburn Cemetery, Stirling, Scotland.

    Stirling Council. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
  2. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record S. Hemphill

    Gunner, South Wales Borderers. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1917.

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)

Counts: National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · Stirling Council. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0); C. & E. Morton Ltd roll of honour, 1914–1919, photo by Adrian S Pye via Geograph (CC BY-SA 2.0).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Hemphill.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Hemphill 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 Hemphill volume
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