The Oaks surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 7,182 people carried this name — #4,903 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 41,200 people counted. That is up 3% from 6,982 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Oaks surname

As an English and Welsh surname

Bardsley classes it as a local name, from where the family lived: ‘at the oak’.

An early record he cites: Adam at ye Ock, Shropshire, 1273 — Hundred Rolls.

His entry covers Oak, Oake, Oakes and Oaks.

From Charles W. Bardsley, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with Special American Instances (London: Henry Frowde, 1901), p. 565 · public domain.

In the first U.S. census, 1790

72 families named Oaks, or a close spelling, were counted in 1790.

Each family is counted by its head. About 421 people lived in those households, 5.8 to a family on average. The table counts it together with 6 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

Massachusetts 26
Virginia 12
Vermont 7
Connecticut 6
Pennsylvania 6
New York 5
Maine 4
New Hampshire 2
North Carolina 2
South Carolina 2

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

Oaks in American newspapers,
1912–1916.

Newspaper page from The Interior Journal carrying the name Oaks
The Interior Journal 1916-01-25
Newspaper page from Evening Times-republican carrying the name Oaks
Evening Times-republican 1912-01-08
Newspaper page from Evening Times-republican carrying the name Oaks
Evening Times-republican 1913-01-07

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 7,223 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Oaks in Australian newspapers,
1830s–1990s.

2,836 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Oaks. The most, 574, date from the 1920s. Weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, it stands out most in New South Wales, at 1.5 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 1,401
Victoria 499
Queensland 409
South Australia 245
Tasmania 151
Western Australia 86
ACT (Canberra) 37
Northern Territory 3

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

Who carried it

People named Oaks,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Ann Oaks 1929–2006 · university teacher

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

In the public record

People named Oaks,
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 States495 records

495 records of the Oaks name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 242
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 105
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 59
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 28
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 25
  • Irish Famine arrivals at New York, 1846–1851 20
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 10
  • U.S. service members who died in the Vietnam War 3
  • U.S. service members who died in the Korean War 2
  • Ramsey County (Minnesota) Memorial Hall, war dead 1
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Dee J. Oaks

    Born 1922 in Tennessee. Enlisted 1942 at Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia; textile mill worker. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 2001, buried at Chattanooga National Cemetery, Tennessee.

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

    Arrived at New York in 1890 aboard the Eider from Bremen and Southampton, aged 45; tourist. From Bremen; bound for New York.

    U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)
  3. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Paul N. Oaks

    Born 1932; from Uintah County, Utah. U.S. Army, light weapons infantryman; killed in action 1950 in North Korea.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain)

Showing 3 of 495 records for Oaks in the United States.

Counts: 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) · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain) · Ramsey County, Minnesota (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Vietnam Veterans Memorial, photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, 2009 (public domain).

Australia77 records

77 records of the Oaks name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 48
  • Tasmanian Names Index 23
  • NSW convict, estate and railway indexes 2
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 2
  • Queensland State Archives indexes 1
  • State Library of Western Australia indexes 1
  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 James Oaks

    Transported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Augusta Jessie, sailing from Portsmouth in 1834. Native of Sutton Mandeville, Wiltshire.

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

    Arrived in Victoria in 1852 aboard the Jas Carson, aged 24; English.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Michael Oaks

    Lod house keeper of West Melbne, Victoria; died 1927.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 77 records for Oaks 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) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0) · State Library of Western Australia (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).

Canada48 records

48 records of the Oaks name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 40
  • City of Calgary cemetery records 4
  • Canadian Virtual War Memorial 2
  • Ontario immigration records, 1865–1883 1
  • Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver 1
  1. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record William Oaks

    Came to Ontario in 1873 aboard the Circassian, bound for Clinton, Ontario; Irish.

    Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario.
  2. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Pearl Dorothy Oaks

    Died 1968 in Halifax, 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 Albert Hugh Oaks

    Buried in 1910 at Union Cemetery, Calgary, Alberta.

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

Showing 3 of 48 records for Oaks in Canada.

Counts: Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. · 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. · Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario. · City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0); Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0).

Netherlands2 records

2 records of the Oaks name in the Netherlands
  • Dutch population registers 1
  • Dutch civil registers (births, marriages, deaths) 1
  1. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record George Oaks

    Died 1846 in 's-Gravenhage, aged 54; "pikeur".

    Open Archives, Haags Gemeentearchief (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the 1910 United States census, Milwaukee
    Example: U.S. census, 1910
    Population register Elisabeth Sutton Oaks

    In the population register of Warnsveld; born 1853.

    Open Archives, Regionaal archief Zutphen (CC BY 4.0)

Counts: Open Archives (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0); U.S. census of 1910, Milwaukee (public domain).

France1 record

1 record of the Oaks 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 Andre Rene Oaks

    Born 1924 in Boulogne-sur-Mer; died 2000 in Saint-Martin-Boulogne (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 Oaks.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Oaks 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 Oaks volume
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