The Meek surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 14,970 people carried this name — #2,419 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 19,700 people counted. That is up 3% from 14,549 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Meek surname

As an English and Welsh surname

Bardsley classes it as a nickname: ‘the meek’.

An early record he cites: Alicia Meke, 1379 — Poll Tax, West Riding of Yorkshire.

From Charles W. Bardsley, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with Special American Instances (London: Henry Frowde, 1901), p. 526 · public domain.

In Ireland’s birth registers, 1890

Ireland registered 7 births for the Meek name in 1890.

Most were registered in Ulster. By the Registrar-General’s own method — births multiplied by 44.38 — that is about 300 people bearing the name in Ireland at the time.

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

Where they were born, 1890

Ulster 5
Leinster 1
Munster 1

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

In the Nordic population registers

291 people named Meek is counted in Norway.

Norway publishes only surnames with 200 or more bearers.

Counted, by country

Norway (2025) 291

Statistics Norway (SSB, ssb.no), table 12891, 2025 — CC BY 4.0.

Among the farmers of England and Wales, 1880s

Meek was found among the farmers of 3 counties.

It was most frequent in Durham: 20 in every 10,000 farmers there — about 1 in 500. 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 map

Per 10,000 farmers, by county

Durham 20
Herefordshire 14
Worcestershire 14

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’s registers today

Meek was recorded 31 times in Scotland’s registers of births, marriages and deaths in 2025.

That made it the 793rd most common name in those registers, shared with others on the same count. In 1975, the first year of the series, the count was 46. 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 print

Meek in American newspapers,
1896–1915.

Newspaper page from The Southern Herald carrying the name Meek
The Southern Herald 1896-09-11
Newspaper page from The Columbus Commercial carrying the name Meek
The Columbus Commercial 1915-04-25
Newspaper page from Wauwatosa News carrying the name Meek
Wauwatosa News 1907-10-26

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 13,403 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Meek in Australian newspapers,
1820s–1990s.

17,540 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Meek. The most, 2,776, 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 Victoria, at 1.5 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 6,678
Victoria 5,739
South Australia 1,945
Queensland 1,511
Western Australia 924
Tasmania 588
ACT (Canberra) 75
Northern Territory 7

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

Who carried it

People named Meek,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Joseph Meek
    Joseph Meek 1810–1875 · politician
  • Mary Meek d. 1883
  • Engela Starr Shaw d. 1941
  • Ada Frances Meek d. 1936
  • John Meek 1738–1802
  • James Meek 1739–1810 · philosopher

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 Meek,
in the records of 9 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 States1,281 records

1,281 records of the Meek name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 608
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 208
  • Other U.S. records 465
  1. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Frank Meek

    Born 1928; from Milam County, Texas. U.S. Army, light weapons infantryman; declared dead 1950 in North Korea. Buried at Corinth Cemetery, Buckholts, Texas.

    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 James R. Meek

    Born 1915 in Missouri. Enlisted 1943 at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas; salesman from Buchanan County. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1982, buried at Liberty Cemetery, Chapman, Kansas.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  3. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record George P. Meek

    Born 1894 in Missouri. Enlisted 1942 at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas; payroll clerk from Shawnee County, Kansas. U.S. Army veteran; died 1957, buried at Fort Leavenworth National Cemetery, Kansas.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)

Showing 3 of 1,281 records for Meek 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) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain) · Sacramento County, Historic Burials (CC BY 4.0). 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).

Netherlands907 records

907 records of the Meek name in the Netherlands
  • Dutch civil registers (births, marriages, deaths) 623
  • Dutch population registers 279
  • Dutch church registers before 1811 5
  1. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Pieter Meek

    Married in 1885 in Assen; teacher. Died 1942 in Assen, aged 91.

    Open Archives, Drents Archief (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Willem Meek

    Married in 1897 in Leek; baker. Died 1951 in Tolbert (Leek), aged 81.

    Open Archives, Groninger Archieven (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Baukjen Meek

    Married in 1835 in Opsterland. Died 1870 in Siegerswoude, aged 54; labourer.

    Open Archives, AlleFriezen (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 907 records for Meek 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).

Australia576 records

576 records of the Meek name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 337
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 114
  • Other Australian records 125
  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 Agnes Meek

    Transported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Cadet, sailing from London in 1847. Native of Edinburgh, Midlothian. Applied for permission to marry in Van Diemen's Land in 1850.

    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 William Meek

    Transported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Richmond, sailing from Downs in 1821. Applied for permission to marry in Van Diemen's Land in 1835.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record George Meek

    Arrived in Victoria in 1857 aboard the True Briton, aged 60; English.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 576 records for Meek in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) · Queensland State Archives (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). 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).

Norway162 records

162 records of the Meek name in Norway Norway's 1910 census
  1. A page of the 1910 United States census, Milwaukee
    Example: U.S. census, 1910
    Census record Knut Sigvald Meek

    Census of 1910: Storgaten, Kristiansund; fisherman, born 1891 in Kværnæs Prgj.

    Arkivverket, Digitalarkivet, 1910 census (CC BY 3.0 NO)
  2. A page of the 1910 United States census, Milwaukee
    Example: U.S. census, 1910
    Census record Knudt Meek

    Census of 1910: Baatnes (plads), Edø; fisherman, born 1878 in Kvernes.

    Arkivverket, Digitalarkivet, 1910 census (CC BY 3.0 NO)
  3. A page of the 1910 United States census, Milwaukee
    Example: U.S. census, 1910
    Census record Anders Meek

    Census of 1910: Meek, Kvernes; fisherman, born 1888 in Kvernes.

    Arkivverket, Digitalarkivet, 1910 census (CC BY 3.0 NO)

Showing 3 of 162 records for Meek in Norway.

Counts: Arkivverket, Digitalarkivet, 1910 census (CC BY 3.0 NO). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: U.S. census of 1910, Milwaukee (public domain).

Canada141 records

141 records of the Meek name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 97
  • Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver 18
  • Other Canadian records 26
  1. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Jane Meek

    Buried in 1974 at Queen's Park Cemetery, Calgary, Alberta, aged 75.

    City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary.
  2. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record John G. Meek

    Buried in 2000 at Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, Nova Scotia, aged 58.

    Halifax Regional Municipality. Contains information licenced under the Open Government Licence—Halifax.
  3. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Richard Meek

    Died 1915; buried at Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver, British Columbia.

    City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver.

Showing 3 of 141 records for Meek 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. · 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. · City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg. · Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario. · Halifax Regional Municipality. Contains information licenced under the Open Government Licence—Halifax. · City of Niagara Falls. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Niagara Falls. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0).

United Kingdom38 records

38 records of the Meek name in the United Kingdom
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 23
  • Stirling Council burial records 6
  • Other British records 9
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Charles Meek

    Died 1898, aged 69; buried at Kippen Cemetery, Stirling, Scotland.

    Stirling Council. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
  2. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record William Meek

    Buried in 1845 at St James's burial ground, Euston, London, aged 30.

    MOLA and HS2, St James's burial ground data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
  3. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record Alexander Meek

    Private; died 1916. Named in the roll of honour, Arbroath and district, 1914-1919.

    National Library of Scotland, Rolls of Honour (public domain)

Showing 3 of 38 records for Meek in the United Kingdom.

Counts: National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · Stirling Council. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. · MOLA and HS2, St James's burial ground data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. · National Library of Scotland, Rolls of Honour (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).

New Zealand16 records

16 records of the Meek name in New Zealand
  • Christchurch City cemetery records 13
  • Thames-Coromandel District cemetery records 3
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Annie Meek

    Died 1931, aged 60; buried at Bromley 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 Clyde William Lawson Meek

    Died 1992, aged 78; buried at Totara Memorial Park Cemetery, Thames-Coromandel District, Waikato.

    Thames-Coromandel District Council (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 2 of 16 records for Meek in New Zealand.

Counts: Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0) · Thames-Coromandel District 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).

Germany2 records

2 records of the Meek name in Germany
  • German emigration and citizenship files 1
  • Germany's First World War casualty lists, 1914–1919 1
  1. A page of the German First World War casualty lists, 18 April 1918
    Example: German casualty list, 1918
    Casualty list Christ Meek

    From Wattenscheid. Reported wounded in the Prussian casualty list of 2 December 1914; then reported dead in the list of 12 January 1915 (Reserve Infantry Regiment No. 209).

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

Showing 1 of 2 records for Meek in Germany.

Counts: Deutsche Digitale Bibliothek (CC0) · 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).

France1 record

1 record of the Meek name in France France's national death register, 1970–2001
  1. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Alfreda Marie Meek

    Born 1924 in Rennes (Ille-et-Vilaine); died 1992 in Bourg-la-Reine (Hauts-de-Seine).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)

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).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Meek.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Meek is.
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