The Little surname
In the 2010 U.S. Census, 105,936 people carried this name — #291 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 2,780 people counted. That is up 3% from 102,718 in 2000.
What the name means
The meaning of the Little surname
English surname, from the adjective little (“small, (ironic) big, not much, younger”).
Native American names such as Navajo hastiin yázhí (“little man”), see Yazzie.
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Little» (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 59 births for the Little name in 1890.
They were registered in all four provinces, most of all in Ulster. By the Registrar-General’s own method — births multiplied by 44.38 — that is about 2,600 people bearing the name in Ireland at the time. The count includes the spelling Lyttle. The Registrar-General’s note on the name: “Antrim, Dublin, and Fermanagh.”
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere 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 Argentina’s national register
At least 37 people named Little live in Argentina.
RENAPER only publishes a name in a province when more than ten people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in Buenos Aires Province.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they live today
RENAPER (National Registry of Persons, Argentina), surnames of residents by province, December 2021 — CC BY 4.0.
In Switzerland’s population statistics
35 people named Little live in Switzerland.
They live in 6 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Vaud.
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 24 people named Little.
Most of them — 19 — were born outside France. Those born in France came from 2 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
70 people named Little 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
Little was found among the farmers of 4 counties.
It was most frequent in Cumberland and Westmorland: 80 in every 10,000 farmers there — about 1 in 125. 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
Little was 12 in every 10,000 names in Scotland.
That is about 1 in 833. Its home there, in Guppy’s words: “Scotch border counties, especially Dumfriesshire.” 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
Little was recorded 129 times in Scotland’s registers of births, marriages and deaths in 2025.
That made it the 184th most common name in those registers, shared with others on the same count. In 1975, the first year of the series, the count was 176. 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
346 families named Little, or a close spelling, were counted in 1790.
Each family is counted by its head. About 1,988 people lived in those households, 5.7 to a family on average. The table counts it together with 6 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
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. 250 — public domain · names carried by at least 100 white persons in 1790.
In print
Little in American newspapers,
1892–1901.
Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 25,433 pages in all carry the name.
In print
Little in Australian newspapers,
1820s–2010s.
236,533 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Little. The most, 35,516, date from the 1930s. 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 the Northern Territory, at 3.2 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 Little.
Who carried it
People named Little,
with a public archive behind them.
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George Little d. 1940 · politician
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Valli Little d. 2017 · writer
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Valli Little d. 2017 · writer
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Francis Little d. 1631 · politician
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John B. Little d. 2020 · biologist
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Katherine D. Little d. 1958 · botanical collector
Wikidata (CC0) · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.
In the public record
People named Little,
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 States9,183 records
- U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 3,432
- New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 1,633
- Other U.S. records 4,118
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Example: U.S. war memorial War record Gary Dean LittleBorn 1944; from Leavenworth, Kansas. U.S. Army, armor crewman; died of wounds 1967 in Quang Tin, South Vietnam. Buried at Fort Leavenworth National Cemetery, Kansas.
U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) -
Example: U.S. registration card, 1942 Military record Lee H. LittleBorn 1919 in North Carolina. Enlisted 1941 at Camp Upton Yaphank, New York; auto mechanic. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1964, buried at Long Island National Cemetery, New York.
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 Susan LittleArrived at New York in 1882 aboard the Germanic from Liverpool and Queenstown, aged 18; servant. From Dumfries, Scotland; bound for New York.
U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)
Showing 3 of 9,183 records for Little 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. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · 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) · City of Asheville (public domain, PDDL). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Vietnam Veterans Memorial, photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, 2009 (public domain); U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).
Australia4,260 records
- Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 2,078
- Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 694
- Other Australian records 1,488
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Pictured: convicts going on board a prison ship, 1829 Transportation record Joshua LittleTransported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Rodney, sailing from Portland (Dorset) in 1850. Native of Shoreditch, Middlesex. Applied for permission to marry in Van Diemen's Land in 1854. Married 1854 in Longford, Tasmania, aged 22.
Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) -
Pictured: convicts going on board a prison ship, 1829 Transportation record Emma LittleTransported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Tasmania, sailing from London in 1844. Native of Hertfordshire. Applied for permission to marry in Van Diemen's Land in 1846. Married 1846 in Hamilton, Tasmania, aged 25.
Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) -
Pictured: convicts going on board a prison ship, 1829 Transportation record Elijah LittleTransported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the William Glen Anderson, sailing from London in 1831. Native of Trowbridge, Wiltshire. Applied for permission to marry in Van Diemen's Land in 1842. Married 1842 in Launceston, Tasmania, aged 29.
Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
Showing 3 of 4,260 records for Little 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) · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · ACT Government, Transport Canberra and City Services (CC BY 4.0) · 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).
Canada1,178 records
- Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 776
- Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver 104
- Other Canadian records 298
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Example: civil register, 1880 Civil record Bernard LittleKilled in the Halifax Explosion of 1917.
Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. -
Example: passenger manifest, 1903 Passenger record Robert LittleCame to Ontario in 1874 aboard the Scan, bound for Mount Forest, Ontario; Ireland.
Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario. -
Example: Canadian cemetery Burial record Ronald LittleBuried in 1988 at Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, Nova Scotia, aged 58.
Halifax Regional Municipality. Contains information licenced under the Open Government Licence—Halifax.
Showing 3 of 1,178 records for Little 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. · City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary. · City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg. · Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario. · City of Niagara Falls. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Niagara Falls. · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · Halifax Regional Municipality. Contains information licenced under the Open Government Licence—Halifax. · Contains information provided by the City of Waterloo under licence. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0); 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 Kingdom145 records
- War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 80
- St James's burial ground, Euston (London), 1789–1853 30
- Other British records 35
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Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919 War record William Aitken LittleBorn 1894 at Earnside; farm servant. Died 1914. Named in the Morayshire roll of honour (1921).
National Library of Scotland, Rolls of Honour (public domain) -
Example: burial register, 1858 Burial record Elizabeth McArthur Waugh LittleBuried in 1968 at Callander Cemetery, Stirling, Scotland, aged 51.
Stirling Council. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. -
Example: probate petition, 1848 Probate record Margaret Amelia LittleWill proved in 1936; of Carmarthen.
National Library of Wales, Wills Index Cards (CC0)
Showing 3 of 145 records for Little in the United Kingdom.
Counts: National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · MOLA and HS2, St James's burial ground data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. · Stirling Council. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. · National Library of Scotland, Rolls of Honour (public domain) · 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 Zealand66 records
- Christchurch City cemetery records 56
- Thames-Coromandel District cemetery records 4
- Other New Zealand records 6
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Example: burial register, 1858 Burial record George Michael LittleDied 1924, aged 72; buried at Bromley Cemetery, Christchurch, Canterbury.
Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0) -
Example: burial register, 1858 Burial record David John LittleDied 1995, aged 57; buried at Picton Cemetery, Marlborough.
Marlborough District Council (CC BY 4.0) -
Example: burial register, 1858 Burial record Mary Anne LittleBorn 1888, died 1973; buried at Rangiora Lawn Cemetery, Canterbury.
Waimakariri District Council (CC BY 4.0)
Showing 3 of 66 records for Little in New Zealand.
Counts: Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0) · Thames-Coromandel District Council (CC BY 4.0) · Waimakariri District Council (CC BY 4.0) · Marlborough 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) 7
- Dutch population registers 5
- Dutch church registers before 1811 1
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Example: marriage register, 1911 Marriage record Hugh Condor LittleMarried in 1918 in Groningen; commercial traveller.
Open Archives, Groninger Archieven (CC BY 4.0) -
Example: marriage register, 1911 Marriage record Margaret LittleMarried in 1905 in Delft.
Open Archives, Archief Delft (CC BY 4.0)
Showing 2 of 13 records for Little 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).
France5 records
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Example: French death register, 1930 Death record Jacqueline Armande LittleBorn 1920 in Clichy (Hauts-de-Seine); died 2000 in Rouen (Seine-Maritime).
Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte) -
Example: French death register, 1930 Death record Robert William LittleBorn 1919 in Paris; died 1993 in Montreuil (Seine-Saint-Denis).
Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)
Showing 2 of 5 records for Little 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 Francis Evelyn LittleDied 1859, aged 38; buried at White Chapel, 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 Little.
- Lister 8,350 · U.S. census
- Liston 4,888 · U.S. census
- Litalien 522 · U.S. census
- Litchfield 4,290 · U.S. census
- Litt 1,183 · U.S. census
- Littel 171 · U.S. census
- Littlefield 9,707 · U.S. census
- Littlejohn 12,047 · U.S. census
- Littleton 9,939 · U.S. census
- Littner 102 · U.S. census
- Litton 4,564 · U.S. census
- Littrell 5,111 · U.S. census
When the index is not enough
This page says where Little 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.