The Mains surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 4,010 people carried this name — #8,266 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 73,500 people counted. That is up 4% from 3,854 in 2000.

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In print

Mains in American newspapers,
1918–1920.

Newspaper page from Montgomery County Sentinel carrying the name Mains
Montgomery County Sentinel 1918-07-05
Newspaper page from The Idaho Republican carrying the name Mains
The Idaho Republican 1920-09-15
Newspaper page from The Tomahawk carrying the name Mains
The Tomahawk 1918-06-20

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 1,402 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Mains in Australian newspapers,
1840s–1980s.

2,233 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Mains. The most, 580, date from the 1860s. Weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, it stands out most in Victoria, at 2.1 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

Victoria 1,170
New South Wales 435
Queensland 232
South Australia 193
Tasmania 109
Western Australia 81
ACT (Canberra) 11
Northern Territory 1

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

Who carried it

People named Mains,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Willard Mains
    Willard Mains 1868–1923 · baseball player
  • John Mains 1851–1901 · politician
  • Mary Esther Elder 1883–1972 · botanical collector
  • Edwin Butterworth Mains 1890–1968 · botanical collector
  • Jim Mains 1922–1969 · baseball player
  • Gil Mains 1929–2009 · professional wrestler

Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped, in the public domain or CC0 · 8 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Mains,
in the records of 6 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 States350 records

350 records of the Mains name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 148
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 70
  • Other U.S. records 132
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Andrew J. Mains

    Born 1920 in California. Enlisted 1940 at Chanute Filed, Illinois; farm hand. U.S. Air Force veteran of World War II; died 1995, buried at River Hills Memorial Park, Batavia, Illinois.

    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 Susana Mains

    Arrived at New York in 1854 aboard the Nicholas from Havre, aged 30; farmer. From Bavaria, Germany.

    U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)
  3. A U.S. Army record of death and interment, Camp Nelson, Kentucky, 1864
    Example: U.S. burial record, 1864
    Burial record Harold Dean Mains

    U.S. Army veteran of the Korean War. Born 1930, died 1993; buried at Willamette National Cemetery, Oregon.

    U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)

Showing 3 of 350 records for Mains 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) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · Sacramento County, Historic Burials (CC BY 4.0) · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (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); Record of death and interment, Camp Nelson, Kentucky, 1864, U.S. National Archives (public domain).

Australia63 records

63 records of the Mains name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 28
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 18
  • Other Australian records 17
  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 Phillip Mains

    Transported to New South Wales aboard the James Pattison, arriving 1837; ticket of leave 1842.

    Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY)
  2. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record John Mains

    Arrived in Victoria in 1855 aboard the New Great Britain, aged 39; 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 Rachel O. Mains

    Gentleman of N Zealand, Victoria; died 1943.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 63 records for Mains 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). 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).

Netherlands52 records

52 records of the Mains name in the Netherlands
  • Dutch civil registers (births, marriages, deaths) 41
  • Dutch church registers before 1811 7
  • Dutch population registers 4
  1. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Jan Mains

    Married in 1903 in Susteren; "leidekker". Died 1945 in Vlodrop, aged 74.

    Open Archives, Regionaal Historisch Centrum Limburg (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Joseph Jean Emile Mains

    Born 1910 in Echt. Died 1910 in Echt.

    Open Archives, Regionaal Historisch Centrum Limburg (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Christiaan Mains

    Born 1901 in Susteren. Married in 1924 in Susteren; workman. Died 1948 in Born, aged 46.

    Open Archives, Regionaal Historisch Centrum Limburg (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 52 records for Mains 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); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0).

United Kingdom24 records

24 records of the Mains name in the United Kingdom
  • Stirling Council burial records 18
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 6
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Michael Mains

    Died 1913, aged 72; buried at Bannockburn Cemetery, Stirling, Scotland.

    Stirling Council. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
  2. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record J. R. Mains

    Duke of Wellington's Regiment. 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 page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record John Henry Mains

    Buried in 1933 at Mar Place Cemetery, Stirling, Scotland, aged 56.

    Stirling Council. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Showing 3 of 24 records for Mains in the United Kingdom.

Counts: Stirling Council. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. · 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); C. & E. Morton Ltd roll of honour, 1914–1919, photo by Adrian S Pye via Geograph (CC BY-SA 2.0).

Canada12 records

12 records of the Mains name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 7
  • Canadian Virtual War Memorial 2
  • Other Canadian records 3
  1. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Richard G. Mains

    Died 1871 in Ellershouse, Hants, 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 Robert Mains

    Buried in 1913 at Fairview Cemetery, Niagara Falls, Ontario.

    City of Niagara Falls. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Niagara Falls.
  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 Mark Lorne Mains

    Died in service in 1917.

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

Showing 3 of 12 records for Mains 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. · City of Niagara Falls. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Niagara Falls. · City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver. · 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); 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).

Germany9 records

9 records of the Mains name in Germany Germany's First World War casualty lists, 1914–1919
  1. A page of the German First World War casualty lists, 18 April 1918
    Example: German casualty list, 1918
    Casualty list Hermann Mains

    From Hammelwarden, Jever. Reported dead in the Prussian casualty list of 3 December 1915 (Reserve Infantry Regiment No. 79).

    Verein für Computergenealogie e.V. (2026). Deutsche Verlustlisten des Ersten Weltkriegs – Datensammlung (Version 1.0), DOI 10.5281/zenodo.18330751 (CC0)
  2. A page of the German First World War casualty lists, 18 April 1918
    Example: German casualty list, 1918
    Casualty list Otto Mains

    From Hamburg. Reported wounded in the Prussian casualty list of 1 February 1915 (Guard Reserve Regiment No. 1).

    Verein für Computergenealogie e.V. (2026). Deutsche Verlustlisten des Ersten Weltkriegs – Datensammlung (Version 1.0), DOI 10.5281/zenodo.18330751 (CC0)
  3. A page of the German First World War casualty lists, 18 April 1918
    Example: German casualty list, 1918
    Casualty list Heinrich Mains

    From Hammelwerden, Amt Brake. Reported dead in the Prussian casualty list of 11 October 1914.

    Verein für Computergenealogie e.V. (2026). Deutsche Verlustlisten des Ersten Weltkriegs – Datensammlung (Version 1.0), DOI 10.5281/zenodo.18330751 (CC0)

Showing 3 of 9 records for Mains in Germany.

Counts: Verein für Computergenealogie e.V. (2026). Deutsche Verlustlisten des Ersten Weltkriegs – Datensammlung (Version 1.0), DOI 10.5281/zenodo.18330751 (CC0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Deutsche Verlustlisten, Prussian list 1116, 18 April 1918 (scan via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Mains.

When the index is not enough

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