The Nixon surname
In the 2010 U.S. Census, 38,147 people carried this name — #907 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 7,730 people counted. That is up 6% from 36,037 in 2000.
What the name means
The meaning of the Nixon surname
An English surname transferred from the given name.
From Nick + -son, an alteration of Nickson, originally a patronymic meaning "son of Nicholas".
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Nixon» (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 47 births for the Nixon name in 1890.
Most were registered in Ulster. By the Registrar-General’s own method — births multiplied by 44.38 — that is about 2,100 people bearing the name in Ireland at the time. One of them was indexed under another spelling of the name. The Registrar-General’s note on the name: “Antrim, Cavan, and Fermanagh.”
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they were born, 1890
Registrar-General for Ireland, «Special Report on Surnames in Ireland» (R. E. Matheson, 1894), births index of 1890 — public domain.
In France’s civil register
France’s register of deaths holds 25 people named Nixon.
Most of them — 18 — were born outside France. Those born in France came from 3 départements, most often Paris.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they were born
Fichier des personnes décédées, INSEE — Licence Ouverte 2.0 · deaths recorded in France since 1970, by place of birth.
In Switzerland’s population statistics
24 people named Nixon live in Switzerland.
They live in 4 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Geneva.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they live today
Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO), «Surnames of the permanent resident population by canton», 2025, opendata.swiss/en/dataset/nachnamen-der-standigen-wohnbevolkerung-nach-kanton3 · names with fewer than 3 bearers in a canton are not published.
In the Nordic population registers
73 people named Nixon are counted in Sweden and Finland.
Sweden’s figure is from 31 December 2022, the last count Statistics Sweden published. Finland counts its citizens, at home or abroad.
Counted, by country
Own calculations based on data from Statistics Sweden (SCB), surnames with at least two bearers, 31 December 2022 — CC BY 4.0 (names with 20 or more bearers shown) · Digital and Population Data Services Agency (DVV), Finland, surname statistics, August 2026 — CC BY 4.0.
Among the farmers of England and Wales, 1880s
Nixon was found among the farmers of 6 counties.
It was most frequent in Northumberland: 37 in every 10,000 farmers there — about 1 in 270. 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 mapPer 10,000 farmers, by county
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
Nixon was recorded 33 times in Scotland’s registers of births, marriages and deaths in 2025.
That made it the 744th most common name in those registers, shared with others on the same count. In 1975, the first year of the series, the count was 54. 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 the first U.S. census, 1790
66 families named Nixon, or a close spelling, were counted in 1790.
Each family is counted by its head. About 368 people lived in those households, 5.6 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
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
Nixon in American newspapers,
1870–1903.
Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 9,940 pages in all carry the name.
In print
Nixon in Australian newspapers,
1820s–2000s.
89,481 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Nixon. The most, 13,693, 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 the Australian Capital Territory, at 1.7 times its expected share.
Articles, by state
Trove, National Library of Australia (trove.nla.gov.au) · articles in its digitised newspapers that name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Nixon.
Who carried it
People named Nixon,
with a public archive behind them.
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John Nixon 1733–1808 · banker -
Maria Morris Nixon 1779–1852 -
Francis Nixon 1803–1879 · bishop -
Marmaduke Nixon 1814–1864 · politician -
John T. Nixon 1820–1889 · judge
Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped, in the public domain or CC0 · 270 lives in all are documented under this name.
In the public record
People named Nixon,
in the records of 7 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 States3,960 records
- U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 1,177
- New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 954
- Other U.S. records 1,829
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Example: U.S. war memorial War record Richard A. NixonBorn 1931; from Mineral County, Nevada. U.S. Army, field artillery liaison specialist; killed in action 1950 in North Korea. Buried at Golden Gate National Cemetery, California.
U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) -
Example: U.S. registration card, 1942 Military record Hugh E. NixonBorn 1924 in Tennessee. Enlisted 1944 at Camp Shelby, Mississippi; farm hand from Sumner County. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1999, buried at Cedar Grove Cemetery, Lebanon, Tennessee.
U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) -
Example: passenger manifest, 1903 Passenger record Maggie NixonArrived at New York in 1885 aboard the City of Berlin from Liverpool and Queenstown, aged 19; servant. From Co. Leitrim, Ireland; bound for New York.
U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)
Showing 3 of 3,960 records for Nixon 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. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · 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: 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).
Australia1,667 records
- Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 787
- Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 329
- Other Australian records 551
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Pictured: convicts going on board a prison ship, 1829 Transportation record Ann NixonTransported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Garland Grove, sailing from Woolwich in 1842. Native of Cumberland. Applied for permission to marry in Van Diemen's Land in 1846. Married 1846 in Hobart, Tasmania, aged 35.
Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) -
Example: marriage register, 1911 Marriage record John NixonApplied for permission to marry in Van Diemen's Land in 1847. Married 1847 in Tasman, Tasmania, aged 24.
Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) -
Example: passenger manifest, 1903 Passenger record Wm M. NixonArrived in Victoria in 1854 aboard the Champion of the Seas, aged 40; English.
Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)
Showing 3 of 1,667 records for Nixon 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) · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · State Library of Western Australia (CC BY 4.0) · ACT Government, Transport Canberra and City Services (CC BY 4.0) · City of Ballarat, Avenue of Honour Plaques (CC BY 3.0 AU). 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); Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).
Canada439 records
- Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 269
- Canadian Virtual War Memorial 39
- Other Canadian records 131
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Example: Canadian cemetery Burial record Joseph NixonKilled in the Halifax Explosion of 1917, aged 42; buried at St John's Cemetery, Halifax.
Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. -
Example: passenger manifest, 1903 Passenger record Robt NixonCame to Ontario in 1869 aboard the Hibernian, landing at Quebec, bound for Hamilton, Ontario; English.
Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario. -
Example: Canadian cemetery Burial record Louise Jane NixonBuried in 1981 at Queen's Park Cemetery, Calgary, Alberta, aged 67.
City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary.
Showing 3 of 439 records for Nixon in Canada.
Counts: Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. · Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. · 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. · 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. · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · City of Niagara Falls. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Niagara Falls. · Contains information provided by the City of Waterloo under licence. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).
United Kingdom83 records
- War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 61
- Stirling Council burial records 11
- Other British records 11
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Example: burial register, 1858 Burial record Williamina NixonDied 1991, aged 87; buried at Kippen Cemetery, Stirling, Scotland.
Stirling Council. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. -
Example: probate petition, 1848 Probate record Albert NixonWill proved in 1939; of Rhyl, Flint.
National Library of Wales, Wills Index Cards (CC0) -
Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919 War record A. NixonLancashire Fusiliers. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1919.
National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)
Showing 3 of 83 records for Nixon 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 Wales, Wills Index Cards (CC0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0); Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain); C. & E. Morton Ltd roll of honour, 1914–1919, photo by Adrian S Pye via Geograph (CC BY-SA 2.0).
New Zealand45 records
- Christchurch City cemetery records 39
- Thames-Coromandel District cemetery records 5
- Marlborough District cemetery records 1
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Example: burial register, 1858 Burial record Alice Beatrice NixonDied 1911, aged 38; buried at Linwood Cemetery, Christchurch, Canterbury.
Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0) -
Example: burial register, 1858 Burial record Prudence Ethel Maud NixonBuried in 1974 at Totara Memorial Park Cemetery, Thames-Coromandel District, Waikato, aged 84.
Thames-Coromandel District Council (CC BY 4.0) -
Example: burial register, 1858 Burial record Gordon William NixonDied 1979; buried at Fairhall Cemetery, Marlborough.
Marlborough District Council (CC BY 4.0)
Showing 3 of 45 records for Nixon in New Zealand.
Counts: Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0) · Thames-Coromandel District Council (CC BY 4.0) · Marlborough 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).
France6 records
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Example: French death register, 1930 Death record Raymonde Marie NixonBorn 1904 in Toulouse; died 1998 in Belberaud (Haute-Garonne).
Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte) -
Example: French death register, 1930 Death record Charles Julien NixonBorn 1932 in Le Havre; died 1986 in Dieppe (Seine-Maritime).
Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)
Showing 2 of 6 records for Nixon 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).
Netherlands6 records
- Dutch civil registers (births, marriages, deaths) 5
- Dutch church registers before 1811 1
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Example: civil register, 1880 Death record Jan NixonDied 1833 in Den Haag, aged 30.
Open Archives, Nationaal Archief Rijksarchief Zuid-Holland (CC BY 4.0) -
Example: marriage register, 1911 Marriage record Nancy Elizabeth NixonMarried in 1940 in Zeist.
Open Archives, Het Utrechts Archief (CC BY 4.0)
Showing 2 of 6 records for Nixon in the Netherlands.
Counts: Open Archives (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0); Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain).
Nearby in the index
Surnames next to Nixon.
When the index is not enough
This page says where Nixon 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.