The Kitts surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 5,045 people carried this name — #6,694 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 58,500 people counted. That is up 18% from 4,279 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Kitts surname

As an English and Welsh surname

Bardsley classes it as a baptismal name, from a given name: ‘the son of Christopher’.

An early record he cites: Osbert Kyt, Somerset, 1327–28 (1 Edward III) — Kirby's Quest (Somerset).

His entry covers Kitt and Kitts.

From Charles W. Bardsley, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with Special American Instances (London: Henry Frowde, 1901), p. 458 · public domain.

In the first U.S. census, 1790

18 families named Kitts, or a close spelling, were counted in 1790.

Each family is counted by its head. About 112 people lived in those households, 6.2 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

Pennsylvania 12
New York 5
South Carolina 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

Kitts in American newspapers,
1900–1920.

Newspaper page from The Birmingham Age-herald carrying the name Kitts
The Birmingham Age-herald 1920-10-17
Newspaper page from The Denison Review carrying the name Kitts
The Denison Review 1900-06-19
Newspaper page from The Birmingham Age-herald carrying the name Kitts
The Birmingham Age-herald 1909-05-30

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 109,013 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Kitts in Australian newspapers,
1840s–1960s.

2,672 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Kitts. The most, 850, date from the 1860s. Victoria 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 Western Australia, at 1.6 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

Victoria 1,221
New South Wales 641
South Australia 389
Western Australia 159
Tasmania 135
Queensland 121
ACT (Canberra) 2

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

Who carried it

People named Kitts,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Frank Kitts
    Frank Kitts 1912–1979 · politician
  • Isaac Kitts 1896–1953 · military officer
  • James Kitts 1900–1952 · basketball coach
  • Hazel Kitts Wares 1903–1983
  • Iris May Kitts 1914–1984

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 Kitts,
in the records of 5 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 States318 records

318 records of the Kitts name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 170
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 57
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 38
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 24
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 14
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 11
  • Irish Famine arrivals at New York, 1846–1851 2
  • Sacramento County historic burials 1
  • U.S. service members who died in the Vietnam War 1
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Frank A. Kitts

    Born 1923 in Ohio. Enlisted 1943 at Fort Thomas Newport, Kentucky; driver from Lawrence County. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1991, buried at Woodland Cemetery, Ironton, Ohio.

    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 Thomas Kitts

    Arrived at New York in 1892 aboard the Teutonic from Liverpool and Queenstown, aged 34; laborer. From Liverpool, England; 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 Mario Clayton Kitts

    Born 1946; from Ft Wayne, Indiana. U.S. Marine Corps, machinegunner; killed in action 1966 in Quang Ngai, South Vietnam.

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

Showing 3 of 318 records for Kitts 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) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · 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). 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).

Australia103 records

103 records of the Kitts name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 74
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 14
  • Tasmanian Names Index 8
  • Queensland State Archives indexes 5
  • NSW convict, estate and railway indexes 1
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 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 Kitts

    Transported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Mangles, sailing from London in 1835. Native of Gwennap, Cornwall.

    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 John Kitts

    Arrived in Victoria in 1855 aboard the Surprise, aged 34; 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 Margaret H. Kitts

    Gentlewoman of St Kilda, Victoria; died 1973.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 103 records for Kitts 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) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY) · 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); 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).

Canada6 records

6 records of the Kitts name in Canada
  • Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver 3
  • Ontario immigration records, 1865–1883 2
  • Canadian Virtual War Memorial 1
  1. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Herbert Kitts

    Died 1903; buried at Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver, British Columbia.

    City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver.
  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 John Stephen Kitts

    Died in service in 1944.

    Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada.
  3. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Joseph Dale Kitts

    Died 1952; buried at Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver, British Columbia.

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

Showing 3 of 6 records for Kitts in Canada.

Counts: City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver. · Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario. · Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. 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).

United Kingdom2 records

2 records of the Kitts 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. Kitts

    Evonshire 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 F. J. Kitts

    Lance Bombardier, Royal Garrison Artillery. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1918.

    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).

France1 record

1 record of the Kitts 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 Jeanine Emilienne Kitts

    Born 1918 in Le Havre (Seine-Maritime); died 1999 in Pont-Audemer (Eure).

    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 Kitts.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Kitts 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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