The Law surname
In the 2010 U.S. Census, 32,122 people carried this name — #1,089 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 9,180 people counted. That is up 4% from 30,900 in 2000.
What the name means
The meaning of the Law surname
A topographic surname from Old English, perhaps originally meaning someone who lives near a burial mound.
From Old English hlaw (“a hill or burial mound”).
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Law» (English), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.
In Ireland’s birth registers, 1890
Ireland registered 19 births for the Law name in 1890.
Most were registered in Ulster. By the Registrar-General’s own method — births multiplied by 44.38 — that is about 800 people bearing the name in Ireland at the time. One of them was indexed under another spelling of the name. The Registrar-General’s note on the name: “Antrim.”
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they were born, 1890
Registrar-General for Ireland, «Special Report on Surnames in Ireland» (R. E. Matheson, 1894), births index of 1890 — public domain.
In Switzerland’s population statistics
50 people named Law live in Switzerland.
They live in 9 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Bern.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they live today
Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO), «Surnames of the permanent resident population by canton», 2025, opendata.swiss/en/dataset/nachnamen-der-standigen-wohnbevolkerung-nach-kanton3 · names with fewer than 3 bearers in a canton are not published.
In France’s civil register
France’s register of deaths holds 47 people named Law.
Most of them — 35 — were born outside France. Those born in France came from 6 départements, most often Paris.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they were born
Fichier des personnes décédées, INSEE — Licence Ouverte 2.0 · deaths recorded in France since 1970, by place of birth.
In the Nordic population registers
149 people named Law are counted in Sweden and Finland.
Sweden’s figure is from 31 December 2022, the last count Statistics Sweden published. Finland counts its citizens, at home or abroad.
Counted, by country
Own calculations based on data from Statistics Sweden (SCB), surnames with at least two bearers, 31 December 2022 — CC BY 4.0 (names with 20 or more bearers shown) · Digital and Population Data Services Agency (DVV), Finland, surname statistics, August 2026 — CC BY 4.0.
Among the farmers of England and Wales, 1880s
Law was found among the farmers of 5 counties.
It was most frequent in Northamptonshire: 18 in every 10,000 farmers there — about 1 in 556. 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 mapPer 10,000 farmers, by county
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 Scotland, 1880s
Law was 10 in every 10,000 names in Scotland.
That is about 1 in 1,000. Its home there, in Guppy’s words: “Scattered.” He counted the more than 20,000 names in Halliburton’s County Directory of Scotland, taking Scotland as a whole, and listed only the names that reached 10 in every 10,000.
H. B. Guppy, «Homes of Family Names in Great Britain» (London, 1890), appendix: alphabetical list of the most frequent Scottish names, p. 591 — public domain · names in Halliburton’s County Directory of Scotland, per 10,000 for the whole country.
In Scotland’s registers today
Law was recorded 95 times in Scotland’s registers of births, marriages and deaths in 2025.
That made it the 270th most common name in those registers, shared with others on the same count. In 1975, the first year of the series, the count was 153. Each birth counts the child’s surname, each marriage both partners’ and each death the surname of the person who died — a yearly count of registrations, not of the people who live in Scotland.
National Records of Scotland, «Most Common Surnames, 2025» (published 26 May 2026): every surname recorded 10 or more times in the 2025 registers, and the series from 1975 · different spellings are counted separately — © Crown copyright 2026. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
In the first U.S. census, 1790
104 families named Law, or a close spelling, were counted in 1790.
Each family is counted by its head. About 552 people lived in those households, 5.3 to a family on average. The census counted these spellings together: Law, Lahr, Laer, Lar, Lauer, Laur, Laws, Lehr, Loar, Loher, Lore, Lorr, Lours, Lowar, Lower, Lowers. 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
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. 249 — public domain · names carried by at least 100 white persons in 1790.
In print
Law in American newspapers,
1904–1914.
Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 24,083 pages in all carry the name.
In print
Law in Australian newspapers,
1810s–2010s.
212,383 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Law. The most, 74,413, date from the 1910s. 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 Tasmania, at 1.3 times its expected share.
Articles, by state
Trove, National Library of Australia (trove.nla.gov.au) · articles in its digitised newspapers that name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Law.
Who carried it
People named Law,
with a public archive behind them.
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Mary Helen Augusta Law d. 1926 · painter -
John B. Law d. 1962 · head coach -
Jackie Law, Sr d. 1959 · association football player
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Lex Law d. 2022 · association football player
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Jackie Law, Jr d. 1996 · association football player
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Robert Law d. 1686 · preacher
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 Law,
in the records of 8 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 States3,380 records
- U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 951
- New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 749
- Other U.S. records 1,680
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Example: U.S. registration card, 1942 Military record James O. LawBorn 1916 in Illinois. Enlisted 1941 at Houston, Texas; accountant from Smith County, Texas. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1984, buried at Houston National Cemetery, Texas.
U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) -
Example: U.S. registration card, 1942 Military record Hugh R. LawBorn 1906 in Missouri. Enlisted 1945 at Utica, New York; statistician. U.S. Army veteran of World War II and the Korean War; died 1971, buried at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery, Missouri.
U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) -
Example: passenger manifest, 1903 Passenger record Annie LawArrived at New York in 1892 aboard the Teutonic from Liverpool and Queenstown, aged 18; servant. From Glasgow, Scotland; bound for New York.
U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)
Showing 3 of 3,380 records for Law in the United States.
Counts: U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · 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) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain) · 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).
Australia2,043 records
- Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 1,043
- Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 313
- Other Australian records 687
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Pictured: convicts going on board a prison ship, 1829 Transportation record George LawTransported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Layton, sailing from London in 1839. Native of Woolwich, Kent. Applied for permission to marry in Van Diemen's Land in 1845.
Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) -
Pictured: convicts going on board a prison ship, 1829 Transportation record Mary Ann LawTransported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Duchess of Northumberland, sailing from Woolwich in 1852. Native of Leith, Midlothian. Applied for permission to marry in Van Diemen's Land in 1855. Married 1855 in Hobart, Tasmania, aged 34.
Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) -
Pictured: convicts going on board a prison ship, 1829 Transportation record Elizabeth LawTransported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Margaret, sailing from London in 1843. Native of Paisley, Renfrewshire. Applied for permission to marry in Van Diemen's Land in 1844.
Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
Showing 3 of 2,043 records for Law in Australia.
Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY) · State Library of Western Australia (CC BY 4.0) · ACT Government, Transport Canberra and City Services (CC BY 4.0) · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · City of Ballarat, Avenue of Honour Plaques (CC BY 3.0 AU). 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).
Canada280 records
- City of Calgary cemetery records 54
- Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver 53
- Other Canadian records 173
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Example: passenger manifest, 1903 Passenger record George LawCame to Ontario in 1876 aboard the Sarmatian, landing at Quebec, bound for Brampton, Ontario; English.
Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario. -
Example: Canadian cemetery Burial record Joyce Cairns LawBuried in 1952 at Queen's Park Cemetery, Calgary, Alberta, aged 32.
City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary. -
Example: Canadian cemetery Burial record Anne LawDied 1980; buried at Brookside Cemetery, Winnipeg, Manitoba.
City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg.
Showing 3 of 280 records for Law in Canada.
Counts: City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary. · City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver. · Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. · Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. · City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg. · Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario. · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · City of Niagara Falls. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Niagara Falls. · Halifax Regional Municipality. Contains information licenced under the Open Government Licence—Halifax. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0).
United Kingdom149 records
- War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 81
- Stirling Council burial records 36
- Other British records 32
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Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919 War record William George LawBorn 1893 at Forres; asylum attendant. Served in the First World War. Named in the Morayshire roll of honour (1921).
National Library of Scotland, Rolls of Honour (public domain) -
Example: burial register, 1858 Burial record David LawBuried in 1904 at Ballengeich Cemetery, Stirling, Scotland, aged 70.
Stirling Council. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. -
Example: probate petition, 1848 Probate record Harry LawWill proved in 1941; of Handsworth, Stafford.
National Library of Wales, Wills Index Cards (CC0)
Showing 3 of 149 records for Law in the United Kingdom.
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. · National Library of Scotland, Rolls of Honour (public domain) · MOLA and HS2, St James's burial ground data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. · National Library of Wales, Wills Index Cards (CC0). 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); Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0); Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain).
New Zealand41 records
- Christchurch City cemetery records 22
- Thames-Coromandel District cemetery records 10
- Other New Zealand records 9
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Example: burial register, 1858 Burial record Matthew Eric LawDied 1979, aged 70; buried at Waimairi Cemetery, Christchurch, Canterbury.
Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0) -
Example: burial register, 1858 Burial record Donald John LawBuried in 1939 at Totara Memorial Park Cemetery, Thames-Coromandel District, Waikato, aged 40.
Thames-Coromandel District Council (CC BY 4.0) -
Example: burial register, 1858 Burial record Joseph LawDied 1885, aged 62; buried at Tuamarina Cemetery, Marlborough.
Marlborough District Council (CC BY 4.0)
Showing 3 of 41 records for Law in New Zealand.
Counts: Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0) · Thames-Coromandel District Council (CC BY 4.0) · Marlborough District Council (CC BY 4.0) · Waimakariri District Council (CC BY 4.0) · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0).
Netherlands13 records
- Dutch civil registers (births, marriages, deaths) 8
- Dutch church registers before 1811 5
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Example: marriage register, 1911 Marriage record Hannah Landels LawMarried in 1902 in Amsterdam. Died 1963 in 's-Gravenhage, aged 90.
Open Archives, Noord-Hollands Archief (CC BY 4.0); Open Archives, Haags Gemeentearchief (CC BY 4.0) -
Example: marriage register, 1911 Marriage record John LawMarried in 1727 in Rotterdam; born in Alloa.
Open Archives, Stadsarchief Rotterdam (CC BY 4.0)
Showing 2 of 13 records for Law 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).
France10 records
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Example: French death register, 1930 Death record Alphonse Woung Fa LawBorn 1936 in Iles du Vent; died 2001 in Papeete.
Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte) -
Example: French death register, 1930 Death record Florence Marie LawBorn 1901 in Great Britain; died 1997 in Salouël (Somme).
Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)
Showing 2 of 10 records for Law in France.
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).
Ireland1 record
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Example: burial register, 1858 Burial record Kathleen LawDied 1982; buried at Dunmore, Co. Galway.
Galway County Council (CC BY 4.0)
Counts: Galway County 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).
Nearby in the index
Surnames next to Law.
- Lavina 198 · U.S. census
- Laviolette 1,965 · U.S. census
- Lavis 408 · U.S. census
- Lavoie 9,408 · U.S. census
- Lavole 253 · U.S. census
- Lavy 783 · U.S. census
- Lawhorn 5,465 · U.S. census
- Lawler 14,387 · U.S. census
- Lawless 9,093 · U.S. census
- Lawlor 5,729 · U.S. census
- Ławniczak 472 · U.S. census
- Lawrence 129,699 · U.S. census
When the index is not enough
This page says where Law 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.