The Maples surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 10,603 people carried this name — #3,367 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 27,900 people counted. About the same as in 2000 (10,559).

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What the name means

The meaning of the Maples surname

As an English and Welsh surname

Bardsley classes it as a local name, from where the family lived: ‘at the maples’.

An early record he cites: Robert de Mapeles, Yorkshire, 1273 — Hundred Rolls.

His entry covers Maples, Maiples, Marples and Mapples.

From Charles W. Bardsley, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with Special American Instances (London: Henry Frowde, 1901), p. 512 · public domain.

In the first U.S. census, 1790

23 families named Maples, or a close spelling, were counted in 1790.

Each family is counted by its head. About 149 people lived in those households, 6.5 to a family on average. The table counts it together with one other spelling. 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

Connecticut 7
Pennsylvania 5
North Carolina 5
South Carolina 3
Virginia 2
New York 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. 251 — public domain · names carried by at least 100 white persons in 1790.

In print

Maples in American newspapers,
1894–1915.

Newspaper page from The Minneapolis Journal carrying the name Maples
The Minneapolis Journal 1904-03-12
Newspaper page from The Springdale News carrying the name Maples
The Springdale News 1915-04-30
Newspaper page from The Green Forest Tribune carrying the name Maples
The Green Forest Tribune 1894-03-29

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

In print

Maples in Australian newspapers,
1840s–1990s.

2,507 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Maples. The most, 418, date from the 1950s. 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 Victoria, at 1.7 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 1,088
Victoria 849
South Australia 225
Tasmania 147
Queensland 118
Western Australia 61
ACT (Canberra) 16

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

Who carried it

People named Maples,
with a public archive behind them.

  • John Fordyce Maples 1768–1847 · naval officer
  • Luther W. Maples 1891–1971 · politician
  • Barbara Maples 1912–1999 · photographer
  • Butch Maples 1941–2014 · American football player
  • Bobby Maples 1942–1991 · American football player
  • John Maples, Baron Maples 1943–2012 · politician

Wikidata (CC0) · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Maples,
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 States647 records

647 records of the Maples name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 373
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 162
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 48
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 36
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 14
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 11
  • U.S. service members who died in the Vietnam War 2
  • U.S. service members who died in the Korean War 1
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Eual Maples

    Born 1915 in Missouri. Enlisted 1942 at Jefferson Barracks; driver from Lawrence County. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 2001, buried at Ioof Cemetery, Marionville, Missouri.

    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 Francis Leroy Maples

    Born 1947; from La Feria, Texas. U.S. Army, infantryman; killed in action 1967 in Kontum, South Vietnam.

    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 Rose Ann Maples

    Arrived at New York in 1884 aboard the America from Liverpool, aged 15; servant. From England.

    U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)

Showing 3 of 647 records for Maples 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, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain). 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).

Australia89 records

89 records of the Maples name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 48
  • Tasmanian Names Index 25
  • NSW convict, estate and railway indexes 7
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 6
  • Canberra cemetery and marriage records 1
  • State Library of Western Australia indexes 1
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 1
  1. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Hannah Maples

    Applied for permission to marry in Van Diemen's Land in 1837. Married 1838 in Hobart, Tasmania.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  2. 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 Thomas Maples

    Transported to New South Wales aboard the Earl Grey, arriving 1838; certificate of freedom 1845.

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

    Arrived in Victoria in 1852 aboard the Tulloch Castle, aged 41; English.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 89 records for Maples in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY) · ACT Government, Transport Canberra and City Services (CC BY 4.0) · State Library of Western Australia (CC BY 4.0) · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain); 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).

New Zealand5 records

5 records of the Maples name in New Zealand Christchurch City cemetery records
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record John Maples

    Died 1943, aged 63; buried at Sydenham Cemetery, Christchurch, Canterbury.

    Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record George Maples

    Died 1937, aged 89; buried at Sydenham Cemetery, Christchurch, Canterbury.

    Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Ann Maples

    Died 1902, aged 51; buried at Sydenham Cemetery, Christchurch, Canterbury.

    Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 5 records for Maples in New Zealand.

Counts: Christchurch City 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).

Canada4 records

4 records of the Maples name in Canada
  • Canadian Virtual War Memorial 2
  • Ontario immigration records, 1865–1883 1
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 1
  1. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Jas Maples

    Came to Ontario in 1875 aboard the Sarmatian, landing at Ptland, bound for Port Hope, Ontario; English.

    Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario.
  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 Charles Lewis Maples

    Died in service in 1918.

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

    Quebec Regiment. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1918.

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)

Showing 3 of 4 records for Maples in Canada.

Counts: Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. · Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario. · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Canadian First World War circumstances-of-death register (scan by Scottgraham87 via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Maples.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Maples 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 Maples volume
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