The Means surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 16,203 people carried this name — #2,247 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 18,200 people counted. That is up 2% from 15,808 in 2000.

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In the first U.S. census, 1790

46 families named Means, or a close spelling, were counted in 1790.

Each family is counted by its head. About 299 people lived in those households, 6.5 to a family on average. The table counts it together with 5 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

Pennsylvania 17
South Carolina 10
North Carolina 7
Maine 4
Maryland 4
Virginia 2
New Hampshire 1
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. 253 — public domain · names carried by at least 100 white persons in 1790.

In print

Means in American newspapers,
1857–1903.

Newspaper page from The Republican Journal carrying the name Means
The Republican Journal 1878-06-27
Newspaper page from The Portland Daily Press carrying the name Means
The Portland Daily Press 1903-10-28
Newspaper page from The Daily Manchester American carrying the name Means
The Daily Manchester American 1857-05-27

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 3,880 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Means in Australian newspapers,
1820s–2000s.

17,521 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Means. The most, 3,149, date from the 1910s. 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 Western Australia, at 2.2 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 5,235
Victoria 3,481
Western Australia 2,971
Queensland 2,681
South Australia 2,077
Tasmania 823
ACT (Canberra) 162
Northern Territory 21

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

Who carried it

People named Means,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Thomas Means
    Thomas Means 1767–1828
  • Abby Kent-Means
    Abby Kent-Means 1802–1857
  • Thomas Williamson Means
    Thomas Williamson Means 1803–1890 · businessperson
  • John Hugh Means
    John Hugh Means 1812–1862 · politician
  • John Means
    John Means 1829–1910 · politician
  • Mary Means 1752–1838

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 Means,
in the records of 3 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 States981 records

981 records of the Means name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 590
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 264
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 38
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 29
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 24
  • Irish Famine arrivals at New York, 1846–1851 18
  • U.S. service members who died in the Vietnam War 8
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 6
  • Riverside Cemetery, Asheville (North Carolina) 4
  1. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Vernon Means

    Born 1945; from Cordele, Georgia. U.S. Army, infantryman; killed in action 1967 in Kontum, South Vietnam. Buried at Andersonville National Cemetery, Georgia.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record John W. Means

    Born 1918 in Missouri. Enlisted 1941 at Santa Fe, New Mexico; office clerk. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1986, buried at Santa Fe National Cemetery, New Mexico.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  3. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Susan Means

    Arrived at New York in 1892 aboard the State of California from Glasgow and Moville, aged 23; music teacher. From Ireland; bound for Chicago.

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

Showing 3 of 981 records for Means 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, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (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).

Australia27 records

27 records of the Means name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 11
  • NSW convict, estate and railway indexes 5
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 5
  • Queensland State Archives indexes 4
  • Tasmanian Names Index 2
  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 Mary Means

    Transported to New South Wales aboard the Asia, arriving 1830; certificate of freedom 1835.

    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 William Means

    Arrived in Queensland in 1865 aboard the Golconda, aged 3.

    Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Henry William G. Means

    Retired of Newport, Victoria; died 1980.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 27 records for Means in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (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).

Netherlands1 record

1 record of the Means name in the Netherlands Dutch population registers
  1. A page of the 1910 United States census, Milwaukee
    Example: U.S. census, 1910
    Population register Isabel Harper Means

    In the population register of 's-Gravenhage; born 1899 in Charleston.

    Open Archives, Haags Gemeentearchief (CC BY 4.0)

Counts: Open Archives (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: U.S. census of 1910, Milwaukee (public domain).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Means.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Means 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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