The Isbell surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 9,905 people carried this name — #3,594 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 29,800 people counted. That is up 2% from 9,709 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Isbell surname

A surname originating as a matronymic.

From a Middle English diminutive of the given name Isabel.

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Isbell» (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 Isabel’.

An early record he cites: Walter Ysabelle, Oxfordshire, 1273 — Hundred Rolls.

His entry covers Isabell and Isbell.

From Charles W. Bardsley, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with Special American Instances (London: Henry Frowde, 1901), p. 420 · public domain.

In the first U.S. census, 1790

25 families named Isbell, or a close spelling, were counted in 1790.

Each family is counted by its head. About 133 people lived in those households, 5.3 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

North Carolina 9
Connecticut 5
Virginia 3
Massachusetts 2
New York 2
South Carolina 2
New Hampshire 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. 247 — public domain · names carried by at least 100 white persons in 1790.

In print

Isbell in American newspapers,
1908–1921.

Newspaper page from Putnam County Herald carrying the name Isbell
Putnam County Herald 1921-10-20
Newspaper page from The Hawaiian Star carrying the name Isbell
The Hawaiian Star 1908-11-25
Newspaper page from The Enterprise carrying the name Isbell
The Enterprise 1908-11-25

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 37,310 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Isbell in Australian newspapers,
1850s–1960s.

1,575 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Isbell. The most, 305, date from the 1890s. Weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, it stands out most in Queensland, at 4.5 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

Queensland 1,332
South Australia 114
New South Wales 55
Victoria 42
Western Australia 19
Tasmania 11
ACT (Canberra) 1
Northern Territory 1

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

Who carried it

People named Isbell,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Lottie Isbell Blake
    Lottie Isbell Blake d. 1976 · missionary
  • Frank Isbell
    Frank Isbell 1875–1941 · baseball player
  • James H. Isbell
    James H. Isbell 1914–2004 · military personnel
  • Claude M. Isbell 1884–1962
  • Henry Wyatt Isbell 1887–1971 · military officer
  • Horace S. Isbell 1898–1992 · chemist

Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped, in the public domain or CC0 · 9 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Isbell,
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 States545 records

545 records of the Isbell name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 357
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 126
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 21
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 21
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 6
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 6
  • U.S. service members who died in the Vietnam War 5
  • U.S. service members who died in the Korean War 3
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Gerald W. Isbell

    Born 1922 in New York. Enlisted 1941 at Dallas, Texas; farm hand from Red River County, Texas. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1944, buried at Highland Cemetery, Deport, Texas.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record James Russell Isbell

    Born 1947; from Kansas City, Missouri. U.S. Army, infantryman; died in an accident 1967 in South Vietnam.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain)
  3. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record John Isbell

    Arrived at New York in 1884 aboard the Celtic from Liverpool, aged 18; laborer. From England.

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

Showing 3 of 545 records for Isbell 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) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Vietnam Veterans Memorial, photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, 2009 (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

Australia47 records

47 records of the Isbell name in Australia
  • Queensland State Archives indexes 31
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 11
  • NSW convict, estate and railway indexes 3
  • Tasmanian Names Index 2
  1. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record James Isbell

    Arrived in Victoria in 1852 aboard the Gloriana, aged 21; English.

    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 Rebecca Isbell

    Arrived in Queensland in 1873 aboard the Countess Russell, aged 33.

    Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record George Henry Wylie Isbell

    Of Queensland, New South Wales; died 1934.

    Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY)

Showing 3 of 47 records for Isbell in Australia.

Counts: Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0) · Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0).

Canada5 records

5 records of the Isbell name in Canada City of Winnipeg cemetery records
  1. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Mary Hope Isbell

    Died 1987, aged 75; buried at Transcona Cemetery, Winnipeg, Manitoba.

    City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg.
  2. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Percy F. Isbell

    Buried in 1980 at Transcona Cemetery, Winnipeg, Manitoba, aged 93.

    City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg.
  3. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Gertrude E. Isbell

    Died 1986, aged 92; buried at Transcona Cemetery, Winnipeg, Manitoba.

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

Showing 3 of 5 records for Isbell in Canada.

Counts: City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0).

United Kingdom2 records

2 records of the Isbell name in the United Kingdom War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead
  1. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record W. G. Isbell

    Th Staffordshire Regiment. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1917.

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)
  2. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record G. Isbell

    Essex Regiment. 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). 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).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Isbell.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Isbell 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 Isbell volume
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