The Nevins surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 5,052 people carried this name — #6,688 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 58,500 people counted. That is up 3% from 4,927 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Nevins surname

As an English and Welsh surname

Bardsley classes it as a baptismal name, from a given name: ‘the son of Niven’.

His entry covers Nevin, Nevins, Nevinson, Nevison, Niven, Nivison and Neaverson.

From Charles W. Bardsley, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with Special American Instances (London: Henry Frowde, 1901), p. 554 · public domain.

Among the farmers of England and Wales, 1880s

Nevins was found among the farmers of Northumberland: 18 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. His list gives one count for the spellings Nevin and Nevins.

Where it concentrates, on the map

Per 10,000 farmers, by county

Northumberland 18

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

18 families named Nevins, or a close spelling, were counted in 1790.

Each family is counted by its head. About 134 people lived in those households, 7.4 to a family on average. The table counts it together with 3 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

New Hampshire 8
North Carolina 3
Connecticut 2
Maine 1
Vermont 1
Massachusetts 1
Pennsylvania 1
Maryland 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

Nevins in American newspapers,
1899–1915.

Newspaper page from The Day Book carrying the name Nevins
The Day Book 1915-05-17
Newspaper page from Audubon County Journal carrying the name Nevins
Audubon County Journal 1899-02-16
Newspaper page from Audubon County Journal carrying the name Nevins
Audubon County Journal 1899-05-25

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 86,661 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Nevins in Australian newspapers,
1840s–1980s.

2,351 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Nevins. The most, 654, date from the 1850s. Weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, it stands out most in Victoria, at 2.2 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

Victoria 1,172
New South Wales 645
Queensland 353
Tasmania 95
South Australia 45
Western Australia 24
ACT (Canberra) 15

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

Who carried it

People named Nevins,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Sylvester Nevins d. 1901 · politician
  • David Nevins Sr. 1809–1881
  • John Birkbeck Nevins 1818–1903 · physician
  • Richard Nevins 1831–1897
  • Mary L. Nevins 1832–1892
  • David Nevins, Jr. 1839–1898 · businessperson

Wikidata (CC0) · 9 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Nevins,
in the records of 5 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 States1,333 records

1,333 records of the Nevins name in the United States
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 844
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 159
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 113
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 73
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 67
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 52
  • Irish Famine arrivals at New York, 1846–1851 19
  • Sacramento County historic burials 2
  • U.S. service members who died in the Vietnam War 2
  • U.S. service members who died in the Korean War 1
  • New York State police and firefighter memorial rolls 1
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record John T. Nevins

    Born 1909 in New York. Enlisted 1942 at Camp Upton Yaphank; hospital attendant from Suffolk County. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1978, buried at Long Island National Cemetery, New York.

    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 Floyd Charles Nevins

    Born 1947; from Valley Falls, Kansas. U.S. Army, indirect fire infantryman; killed in action 1969 in Binh Thuan, 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 Terrence Nevins

    Arrived at New York in 1892 aboard the Majestic from Liverpool and Queenstown, aged 21; laborer. From Liverpool, Ireland; bound for New York.

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

Showing 3 of 1,333 records for Nevins in the United States.

Counts: NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · 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, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain) · Sacramento County, Historic Burials (CC BY 4.0) · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain) · New York State, Open NY (police and firefighter memorial rolls). 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).

Australia82 records

82 records of the Nevins name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 39
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 32
  • Queensland State Archives indexes 4
  • Tasmanian Names Index 4
  • NSW convict, estate and railway indexes 3
  1. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Ths Nevins

    Arrived in Victoria in 1857 aboard the James Baines, aged 22; Irish.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Teresa Maria Nevins

    Stenographer of E Melbourne, Victoria; died 1981.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)
  3. The first page of an emigration file from Gündlingen, Baden, 1883
    Example: German emigration file, 1883
    Emigration record Thomas Nevins

    Left Launceston in 1836 aboard the Industry, bound for Port Phillip, as crew.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 82 records for Nevins in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: 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); Emigration file, Gündlingen, 1883, Landesarchiv Baden-Württemberg, Staatsarchiv Freiburg B 694/1 Nr. 1389 (CC BY 4.0).

Canada13 records

13 records of the Nevins name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 9
  • Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver 2
  • Canadian Virtual War Memorial 1
  • City of Winnipeg cemetery records 1
  1. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Beatrice Nevins

    Died 1960; buried at Brookside Cemetery, Winnipeg, Manitoba.

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

    Died 1947 in Antigonish, 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 John Edmund Nevins

    Died in service in 1944.

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

Showing 3 of 13 records for Nevins 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. · Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. · City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg. 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).

United Kingdom4 records

4 records of the Nevins name in the United Kingdom War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead
  1. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record C. R. Nevins

    Corporal, Royal Dublin Fusiliers. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1918.

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)
  2. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record J. Nevins

    Royal Munster Fusiliers. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1919.

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)
  3. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record T. F. Nevins

    Royal Warwickshire 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 Nevins in the United Kingdom.

Counts: National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (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).

France1 record

1 record of the Nevins 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 Daniel Nevins

    Born 1956 in Lens; died 2001 in Wingles (Pas-de-Calais).

    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 Nevins.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Nevins 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 Nevins volume
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