The Ledbetter surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 19,417 people carried this name — #1,847 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 15,200 people counted. That is up 1% from 19,222 in 2000.

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Where the name comes from

The origin of the Ledbetter surname

A surname. Variant of Leadbeater.

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

20 families named Ledbetter, or a close spelling, were counted in 1790.

Each family is counted by its head. About 106 people lived in those households, 5.3 to a family on average. The table counts it together with 2 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 13
Maine 4
South Carolina 2
Massachusetts 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. 249 — public domain · names carried by at least 100 white persons in 1790.

In print

Ledbetter in American newspapers,
1898–1910.

Newspaper page from The San Francisco Call carrying the name Ledbetter
The San Francisco Call 1898-10-16
Newspaper page from The Fargo Forum And Daily Republican carrying the name Ledbetter
The Fargo Forum And Daily Republican 1910-05-18
Newspaper page from Evening Star carrying the name Ledbetter
Evening Star 1898-10-08

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

In print

Ledbetter in Australian newspapers,
1850s–1960s.

116 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Ledbetter. The most, 16, date from the 1930s. Weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, it stands out most in Victoria, at 1.4 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

Victoria 37
New South Wales 28
Queensland 24
Western Australia 9
South Australia 7
Tasmania 7
ACT (Canberra) 1

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

Who carried it

People named Ledbetter,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Lead Belly
    Lead Belly 1885–1949 · accordionist
  • Lead Belly
    Lead Belly 1888–1949 · accordionist
  • Lead Belly
    Lead Belly 1889–1949 · accordionist
  • Mary Ledbetter d. 1729
  • Bud Ledbetter 1852–1937
  • Eleanor Ledbetter 1870–1954 · librarian

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 Ledbetter,
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 States1,043 records

1,043 records of the Ledbetter name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 724
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 245
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 17
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 16
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 14
  • Riverside Cemetery, Asheville (North Carolina) 12
  • U.S. service members who died in the Korean War 6
  • U.S. service members who died in the Vietnam War 6
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 1
  • Irish Famine arrivals at New York, 1846–1851 1
  • Sacramento County historic burials 1
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Harold G. Ledbetter

    Born 1921 in North Carolina. Enlisted 1942 at Fort Jackson Columbia, South Carolina; auto mechanic. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1963, buried at Mountain Home National Cemetery, Tennessee.

    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 Hugh G. Ledbetter

    Born 1931; from Overton County, Tennessee. U.S. Army, light weapons infantry leader; killed in action 1952 in North Korea.

    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 Henry Ledbetter

    Arrived at New York in 1851 aboard the Columbia from Liverpool, aged 18; baker. From Ireland.

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

Showing 3 of 1,043 records for Ledbetter in the United States.

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

Canada16 records

16 records of the Ledbetter name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 14
  • Canadian Virtual War Memorial 1
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 1
  1. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Jane Ledbetter

    Died 1870 in Midland, Tracadie, Antigonish, Nova Scotia.

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

    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 James Ledbetter

    Married 1893 in Cumberland, Nova Scotia.

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

Showing 3 of 16 records for Ledbetter in Canada.

Counts: Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. · Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0); 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).

Australia13 records

13 records of the Ledbetter name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 9
  • Tasmanian Names Index 2
  • 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 John Francis Warren Ledbetter

    Retired airline captain of Black Rock, Victoria; died 1996.

    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 J. F. Mast Ledbetter

    Arrived in Victoria in 1922 aboard the Ormonde, aged 5.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)
  3. The first page of an emigration file from Gündlingen, Baden, 1883
    Example: German emigration file, 1883
    Emigration record John Ledbetter

    Left George Town in 1846 aboard the Shamrock, bound for Port Phillip.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 13 records for Ledbetter in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (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); Emigration file, Gündlingen, 1883, Landesarchiv Baden-Württemberg, Staatsarchiv Freiburg B 694/1 Nr. 1389 (CC BY 4.0).

United Kingdom1 record

1 record of the Ledbetter 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 F. C. Ledbetter

    Royal Warwickshire Regiment. 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).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Ledbetter.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Ledbetter 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 Ledbetter volume
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