The Nance surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 24,018 people carried this name — #1,487 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 12,300 people counted. That is up 5% from 22,900 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Nance surname

As a surname in the United Kingdom

Harrison classes it as a Celtic name: ‘Dweller in the Valley’.

Or from the place Nance, in Cornwall (Cornish nans).

From Henry Harrison, Surnames of the United Kingdom: A Concise Etymological Dictionary, vol. II (London: The Morland Press, 1918), p. 36 · public domain.

In France’s civil register

France’s register of deaths holds 21 people named Nance.

1 of them were born outside France. Those born in France came from 7 départements, most often Aube.

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

Where they were born

Born outside France 1
Aube 6
Bouches-du-Rhône 5
Vaucluse 5
Alpes-Maritimes 1
Mayenne 1
Nord 1
Puy-de-Dôme 1

Fichier des personnes décédées, INSEE — Licence Ouverte 2.0 · deaths recorded in France since 1970, by place of birth.

Among the farmers of England and Wales, 1880s

Nance was found among the farmers of Cornwall: 9 in every 10,000.

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

Cornwall 9

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 the first U.S. census, 1790

34 families named Nance, or a close spelling, were counted in 1790.

Each family is counted by its head. About 177 people lived in those households, 5.2 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

Virginia 16
North Carolina 14
South Carolina 2
New Hampshire 1
Massachusetts 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. 255 — public domain · names carried by at least 100 white persons in 1790.

In print

Nance in American newspapers,
1908–1925.

Newspaper page from The Mirror And Farmer carrying the name Nance
The Mirror And Farmer 1908-11-05
Newspaper page from The Harlem News carrying the name Nance
The Harlem News 1925-08-07

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 1,055,831 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Nance in Australian newspapers,
1830s–2000s.

29,164 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Nance. The most, 7,136, date from the 1930s. 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 1.4 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 11,259
Victoria 7,874
Queensland 3,804
South Australia 3,618
Western Australia 1,441
Tasmania 939
ACT (Canberra) 142
Northern Territory 11

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

Who carried it

People named Nance,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Albinus Nance
    Albinus Nance 1848–1911 · lawyer
  • Ray Nance
    Ray Nance 1913–1976 · singer
  • John Torrence Nance 1864–1938 · military personnel
  • Hayes Nance 1893–1964 · orthodontist
  • Walter Nance 1933–2021
  • Jack Nance 1935–2000 · composer

Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped, in the public domain or CC0 · 9 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Nance,
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 States1,227 records

1,227 records of the Nance name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 812
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 308
  • Other U.S. records 107
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record John A. Nance

    Born 1919 in Texas. Enlisted 1942 at Lubbock; secondary school teacher. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1999, buried at Adickes Addition of Oakwood Cemetery, Huntsville, Texas.

    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 Richard Alan Nance

    Born 1943; from Galveston, Texas. U.S. Air Force; died in an accident 1966 in Laos. Buried at Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery, Texas.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (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 Rebecca Nance

    Arrived at Philadelphia in 1879 aboard the Illinois from Liverpool and Queenstown, aged 38; servant. From England.

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

Showing 3 of 1,227 records for Nance 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, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · 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, Defense Casualty Analysis System (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); 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).

Australia166 records

166 records of the Nance name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 65
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 54
  • Other Australian records 47
  1. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Catherine Cambell Nance

    Born 1852 in Hobart, Tasmania. Married 1872 in Hobart, Tasmania, aged 21.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Richard Nance

    Died 1932 in Tasmania, aged 74. Will registered in Tasmania in 1932.

    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 James Nance

    Arrived in Victoria in 1854 aboard the Mermaid, aged 28; English.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 166 records for Nance 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) · Queensland State Archives (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); Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

France12 records

12 records of the Nance 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 Arthur Andre Raphael Nance

    Born 1935 in Voué; died 1989 in Troyes (Aube).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)
  2. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Michele Marthe Nance

    Born 1945 in Marseille; died 1997 in Marseille (Bouches-du-Rhône).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)
  3. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Jean Baptiste Louis Nance

    Born 1908 in Arles; died 1988 in Arles (Bouches-du-Rhône).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)

Showing 3 of 12 records for Nance in France.

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).

Canada9 records

9 records of the Nance name in Canada
  • City of Calgary cemetery records 8
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 1
  1. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Elizabeth Ann Nance

    Buried in 1990 at Queen's Park Cemetery, Calgary, Alberta, aged 83.

    City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary.
  2. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Miles Nance

    Died 1909 in North River, Colchester, Nova Scotia.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.
  3. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Alice Margaret Nance

    Buried in 1920 at Union Cemetery, Calgary, Alberta.

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

Showing 3 of 9 records for Nance in Canada.

Counts: City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary. · Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. 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).

New Zealand3 records

3 records of the Nance 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 Frederick Nance

    Died 1931, aged 37; 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 Marion Nance

    Died 1934, aged 81; 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 Frederick Nance

    Died 1932, aged 80; buried at Sydenham Cemetery, Christchurch, Canterbury.

    Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0)

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).

United Kingdom1 record

1 record of the Nance name in the United Kingdom Scottish rolls of honour, First World War
  1. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record Jack Nance

    Private; died 1916. Named in the roll of honour of Hillhead High School war memorial volume (1921).

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

Counts: National Library of Scotland, Rolls of Honour (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: C. & E. Morton Ltd roll of honour, 1914–1919, photo by Adrian S Pye via Geograph (CC BY-SA 2.0).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Nance.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Nance 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 Nance volume
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