The Hoover surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 57,497 people carried this name — #580 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 5,130 people counted. That is up 3% from 56,068 in 2000.

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Where the name comes from

The origin of the Hoover surname

An American surname from German (shared by several famous people including J. Edgar Hoover and Herbert Hoover).

The surname is an anglicization of German Huber or Low German Hufer, originally designating a landowner or a prosperous small-scale farmer.

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

In the first U.S. census, 1790

147 families named Hoover, or a close spelling, were counted in 1790.

Each family is counted by its head. About 856 people lived in those households, 5.8 to a family on average. The table counts it together with 5 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

Pennsylvania 73
Maryland 27
North Carolina 18
Virginia 15
South Carolina 10
New York 4

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. 246 — public domain · names carried by at least 100 white persons in 1790.

In print

Hoover in American newspapers,
1928.

Newspaper page from The Carbon County News carrying the name Hoover
The Carbon County News 1928-10-11
Newspaper page from The Carbon County News carrying the name Hoover
The Carbon County News 1928-05-03
Newspaper page from The Carbon County News carrying the name Hoover
The Carbon County News 1928-04-26

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

In print

Hoover in Australian newspapers,
1850s–1990s.

35,839 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Hoover. The most, 11,858, date from the 1920s. 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 the Australian Capital Territory, at 2.0 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 10,099
Queensland 8,523
Western Australia 5,492
Victoria 4,318
South Australia 4,132
Tasmania 2,649
ACT (Canberra) 441
Northern Territory 64

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

Who carried it

People named Hoover,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Jacob Hoover
    Jacob Hoover 1843–1898 · politician
  • George M. Hoover
    George M. Hoover 1847–1914 · politician
  • Hulda Randall Minthorn
    Hulda Randall Minthorn 1848–1884
  • William Henry Hoover
    William Henry Hoover 1849–
  • Willis Collins Hoover Kirk
    Willis Collins Hoover Kirk 1858–1936 · pastor

Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped — Hulda Randall Minthorn: Original: Unknown authorUnknown author; rephotographed by Adelbert Bartlett, Los Angeles Times, CC BY 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0); William Henry Hoover: SilentMatt Psychedelic, CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0); the others are in the public domain or CC0 · 228 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Hoover,
in the records of 6 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 States3,217 records

3,217 records of the Hoover name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 2,070
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 690
  • Other U.S. records 457
  1. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Gordon Wood Hoover

    Born 1936; from Millport, New York. U.S. Marine Corps, warehouse clerk; killed in action 1968 in Thua Thien, South Vietnam. Buried at Woodlawn National Cemetery, New York.

    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 Nesbitt A. Hoover

    Born 1909 in Pennsylvania. Enlisted 1942 at Fort George G Meade, Maryland; mechanic. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1959, 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)
  3. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record John Hoover

    Arrived at New York in 1851 aboard the Washington from Liverpool, aged 34; shoemaker. From Great Britain.

    U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain)

Showing 3 of 3,217 records for Hoover 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, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · Sacramento County, Historic Burials (CC BY 4.0) · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain) · Ramsey County, Minnesota (public domain). 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).

Canada32 records

32 records of the Hoover name in Canada
  • City of Calgary cemetery records 11
  • City of Winnipeg cemetery records 9
  • Other Canadian records 12
  1. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Mabel Bertha Hoover

    Buried in 1989 at Queen's Park Cemetery, Calgary, Alberta, aged 70.

    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 Robert John Hoover

    Died in service in 1918.

    Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada.
  3. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Gladys Frances Hoover

    Married 1915 in New Glasgow, Pictou, Nova Scotia.

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

Showing 3 of 32 records for Hoover in Canada.

Counts: City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary. · City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg. · Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. · City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver. · Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. · 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); Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain).

Australia22 records

22 records of the Hoover name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 20
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 2
  1. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Herbert Woodroe Hoover

    Retired of Ferntree Gully, Victoria; died 1991.

    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 Theo J. Hoover

    Arrived in Victoria in 1908 aboard the Ormuz, aged 32.

    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 Elisabeth L. Hoover

    Divorcee of London, Eng; died 1969.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 22 records for Hoover 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).

Netherlands13 records

13 records of the Hoover name in the Netherlands
  • Dutch civil registers (births, marriages, deaths) 7
  • Dutch population registers 5
  • Dutch church registers before 1811 1
  1. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Charles Henry Hoover

    Married in 1945 in Arnhem; printer.

    Open Archives, Gelders Archief (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Maria Catharina Hoover

    Died 1861 in Budel.

    Open Archives, Brabants Historisch Informatie Centrum (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the 1910 United States census, Milwaukee
    Example: U.S. census, 1910
    Population register Pieternella Dorothea Hoover

    In the population register of Goes; born 1837 in Goes.

    Open Archives, Gemeentearchief Goes (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 13 records for Hoover in the Netherlands.

Counts: Open Archives (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0); U.S. census of 1910, Milwaukee (public domain).

New Zealand1 record

1 record of the Hoover 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 Diane Hoover

    Died 1982, aged 23; 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).

France1 record

1 record of the Hoover 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 Mickael Serge Richard Hoover

    Born 1980 in Évreux (Eure); died 2000 in Bezons (Val-d'Oise).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)

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).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Hoover.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Hoover 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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