The McCurdy surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 12,463 people carried this name — #2,880 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 23,600 people counted. That is up 3% from 12,044 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the McCurdy surname

Anglicized form of Irish and Scottish Gaelic Mac Mhuircheartaigh (“son of Muircheartach”), a personal named based on muir (“sea”) + ceartach (“ruler”).

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «McCurdy» (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 McCurdy 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. 4 of them were indexed under other spellings of the name. The Registrar-General’s note on the name: “17 in Antrim and 2 in Londonderry.”

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they were born, 1890

Ulster 19

Registrar-General for Ireland, «Special Report on Surnames in Ireland» (R. E. Matheson, 1894), births index of 1890 — public domain.

In the first U.S. census, 1790

54 families named McCurdy, or a close spelling, were counted in 1790.

Each family is counted by its head. About 312 people lived in those households, 5.8 to a family on average. The census counted these spellings together: McCurdy, McCurday, McCurdey, McCurdie. 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

Pennsylvania 30
New York 5
South Carolina 5
Maine 3
Connecticut 3
North Carolina 3
New Hampshire 2
Maryland 2
Rhode Island 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. 252 — public domain · names carried by at least 100 white persons in 1790.

In print

McCurdy in American newspapers,
1890–1905.

Newspaper page from The Evening Statesman carrying the name McCurdy
The Evening Statesman 1905-11-25
Newspaper page from Daily Tobacco Leaf-chronicle carrying the name McCurdy
Daily Tobacco Leaf-chronicle 1890-08-08
Newspaper page from Evening Bulletin carrying the name McCurdy
Evening Bulletin 1905-11-04

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

In print

McCurdy in Australian newspapers,
1840s–1990s.

2,842 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss McCurdy. The most, 814, date from the 1920s. Weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, it stands out most in Victoria, at 2.3 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

Victoria 1,278
New South Wales 781
Queensland 231
Western Australia 215
South Australia 201
Tasmania 108
ACT (Canberra) 21
Northern Territory 4

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

Who carried it

People named McCurdy,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Elmer McCurdy
    Elmer McCurdy 1880–1911 · bank robber
  • John Alexander Douglas McCurdy
    John Alexander Douglas McCurdy 1886–1961 · aircraft pilot
  • Charles J. McCurdy
    Charles J. McCurdy 1797–1891 · diplomat
  • Mary A. McCurdy
    Mary A. McCurdy 1852–1934 · suffragist
  • Ed McCurdy 1919–2000 · songwriter

Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped, in the public domain or CC0.

In the public record

People named McCurdy,
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 States1,168 records

1,168 records of the McCurdy name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 441
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 209
  • Other U.S. records 518
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Fred E. McCurdy

    Born 1918 in Illinois. Enlisted 1942 at Evansville, Indiana; plumber. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 2000, buried at Sunset Memorial Park Cemetery, Evansville, Indiana.

    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 Bella McCurdy

    Arrived at New York in 1892 aboard the City of Rome from Moville, aged 19; servant. From Antrim, Ireland; bound for New York.

    U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)
  3. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Robert Lowell McCurdy

    Born 1938; from Tekoa, Washington. U.S. Army, infantry unit commander; killed in action 1970 in Quang Tin, South Vietnam.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain)

Showing 3 of 1,168 records for McCurdy 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) · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · 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); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Vietnam Veterans Memorial, photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, 2009 (public domain).

Canada402 records

402 records of the McCurdy name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 356
  • City of Winnipeg cemetery records 12
  • Other Canadian records 34
  1. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Flemming B. McCurdy

    Buried in 1952 at Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, Nova Scotia, aged 77.

    Halifax Regional Municipality. Contains information licenced under the Open Government Licence—Halifax.
  2. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Matilda McCurdy

    Died 1934 in Wallace, Cumberland, Nova Scotia.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.
  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 Roger Eugene George McCurdy

    Died in service in 1944.

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

Showing 3 of 402 records for McCurdy in Canada.

Counts: 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. · City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary. · Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. · Halifax Regional Municipality. Contains information licenced under the Open Government Licence—Halifax. · 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: Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0); 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).

Australia215 records

215 records of the McCurdy name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 104
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 91
  • Other Australian records 20
  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 Elspet McCurdy

    Transported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Elizabeth & Henry, sailing from London in 1848. Native of Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (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 Saml McCurdy

    Arrived in Victoria in 1857 aboard the Gipsy Bride, aged 18; Irish.

    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 Anthony F. P. McCurdy

    Foreman of Gardenvale, Victoria; died 1947.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 215 records for McCurdy 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) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0). 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).

New Zealand9 records

9 records of the McCurdy name in New Zealand
  • Thames-Coromandel District cemetery records 7
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 1
  • Christchurch City cemetery records 1
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record John McCurdy

    Buried in 1903 at Shortland Cemetery, Thames-Coromandel District, Waikato, aged 68.

    Thames-Coromandel District Council (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Alexander Wilfred Ferguson McCurdy

    Died 1963, aged 67; buried at Ruru Lawn, Christchurch, Canterbury.

    Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the Livre d’or of the French war dead, Paris
    Example: roll of the war dead
    War record A. McCurdy

    New Zealand Infantry. 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 9 records for McCurdy in New Zealand.

Counts: Thames-Coromandel District Council (CC BY 4.0) · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · 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); Livre d’or of the war dead, Paris, Ministère des pensions, Archives nationales (CC0).

United Kingdom1 record

1 record of the McCurdy name in the United Kingdom Welsh wills index cards
  1. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Lizzie Johana McCurdy

    Will proved in 1941; of Nevin, Carnarvon.

    National Library of Wales, Wills Index Cards (CC0)

Counts: National Library of Wales, Wills Index Cards (CC0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain).

Netherlands1 record

1 record of the McCurdy name in the Netherlands Dutch civil registers (births, marriages, deaths)
  1. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Daniel Gerald Mc Curdy

    Married in 1947 in Boxtel.

    Open Archives, Brabants Historisch Informatie Centrum (CC BY 4.0)

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).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to McCurdy.

When the index is not enough

This page says where McCurdy 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.

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