The Kersey surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 8,459 people carried this name — #4,189 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 34,800 people counted. That is up 5% from 8,021 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Kersey surname

A habitational surname from Old English.

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Kersey» (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 local name, from where the family lived: ‘of Kersey’.

An early record he cites: Selvestre de Kereseye, Suffolk, 1273 — Hundred Rolls.

From Charles W. Bardsley, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with Special American Instances (London: Henry Frowde, 1901), p. 446 · public domain.

Among the farmers of England and Wales, 1880s

Kersey was found among the farmers of Suffolk: 14 in every 10,000.

Guppy counted the farmers listed in each county’s directory and recorded a name only where it reached about 7 in every 10,000; where it does not appear, it was rarer than that, not absent.

Where it concentrates, on the map

Per 10,000 farmers, by county

Suffolk 14

H. B. Guppy, «Homes of Family Names in Great Britain» (London, 1890), alphabetical list of English and Welsh names — public domain · farmers in Kelly’s Post Office Directories of the 1880s, per 10,000 farmers in each county.

In the first U.S. census, 1790

32 families named Kersey, or a close spelling, were counted in 1790.

Each family is counted by its head. About 133 people lived in those households, 4.2 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

North Carolina 11
Maryland 9
Virginia 5
South Carolina 5
Massachusetts 1
Pennsylvania 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. 248 — public domain · names carried by at least 100 white persons in 1790.

In print

Kersey in American newspapers,
1902.

Newspaper page from The Colfax Gazette carrying the name Kersey
The Colfax Gazette 1902-10-31
Newspaper page from The Ellensburg Dawn carrying the name Kersey
The Ellensburg Dawn 1902-10-04
Newspaper page from The Ellensburg Dawn carrying the name Kersey
The Ellensburg Dawn 1902-09-20

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 202,731 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Kersey in Australian newspapers,
1830s–1990s.

1,626 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Kersey. The most, 393, 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 Queensland, at 1.7 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 601
Queensland 534
Victoria 207
South Australia 113
Western Australia 102
Tasmania 54
ACT (Canberra) 7
Northern Territory 3

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

Who carried it

People named Kersey,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Thomas Kersey
    Thomas Kersey 1847–1888
  • Ken Kersey
    Ken Kersey 1916–1983 · composer
  • George Kersey 1702–1753
  • Mary Kersey 1727–1772
  • John Avery Kersey 1848– · writer
  • Ellen R. Kersey 1861–

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 Kersey,
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 States495 records

495 records of the Kersey name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 295
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 108
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 30
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 23
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 14
  • Irish Famine arrivals at New York, 1846–1851 11
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 9
  • U.S. service members who died in the Vietnam War 4
  • Sacramento County historic burials 1
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record William H. Kersey

    Born 1917 in Massachusetts. Enlisted 1942 at Boston; driver from Barnstable County. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1993, buried at Massachusetts National Cemetery, Massachusetts.

    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 Arden Ellsworth Kersey

    Born 1949; from Abilene, Texas. U.S. Marine Corps, rifleman; killed in action 1970 in Quang Nam, 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 James Kersey

    Arrived at New York in 1882 aboard the Rotterdam from Rotterdam, aged 18; boot and shoe maker. From England.

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

Showing 3 of 495 records for Kersey in the United States.

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

Australia77 records

77 records of the Kersey name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 37
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 24
  • Tasmanian Names Index 7
  • Queensland State Archives indexes 6
  • State Library of Western Australia indexes 2
  • NSW convict, estate and railway indexes 1
  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 John Kersey

    Transported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the William Jardine, sailing from Portland (Dorset) in 1850. Native of Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (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 Henry Kersey

    Arrived in Victoria in 1852 aboard the Admiral, aged 19; English.

    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 Arthur Oliver Kersey

    Secretary of Silverstream, New Zealand; died 1962.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 77 records for Kersey in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0) · State Library of Western Australia (CC BY 4.0) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY). 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); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain).

Canada15 records

15 records of the Kersey name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 7
  • Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver 3
  • Canadian Virtual War Memorial 2
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 2
  • City of Calgary cemetery records 1
  1. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Benjamin Joseph Kersey

    Died 1924 in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

    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 Claude Kersey

    Buried in 1918 at Union Cemetery, Calgary, Alberta.

    City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary.
  3. 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 Stewart Kersey

    Died in service in 1917.

    Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada.

Showing 3 of 15 records for Kersey 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. · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0); 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).

United Kingdom4 records

4 records of the Kersey 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 J. S. Kersey

    Gloucestershire Regiment. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1918.

    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 W. H. Kersey

    Rifle Brigade. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1918.

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

    Northumberland Fusiliers. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1917.

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

Showing 3 of 4 records for Kersey in the United Kingdom.

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 Kersey.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Kersey 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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