The Obryan surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 6,408 people carried this name — #5,433 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 46,100 people counted. That is up 3% from 6,192 in 2000.

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In print

Obryan in American newspapers,
1893–1909.

Newspaper page from The Advocate And Topeka Tribune carrying the name Obryan
The Advocate And Topeka Tribune 1893-01-18
Newspaper page from The Yakima Herald carrying the name Obryan
The Yakima Herald 1909-03-10
Newspaper page from The Providence News carrying the name Obryan
The Providence News 1901-04-26

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 16,968 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Obryan in Australian newspapers,
1820s–1990s.

17,609 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Obryan. The most, 5,591, date from the 1940s. Weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, it stands out most in Victoria, at 4.3 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

Victoria 13,044
New South Wales 2,382
Queensland 946
South Australia 419
Western Australia 348
Tasmania 318
ACT (Canberra) 128
Northern Territory 11

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

Who carried it

People named Obryan,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Ronald Clark O'Bryan
    Ronald Clark O'Bryan 1944–1984 · optician
  • Joseph Branch O'Bryan
    Joseph Branch O'Bryan 1838–1900 · military personnel
  • Arthur O'Bryan 1923–1990 · Australian rules football player
  • William O'Bryan 1778–1868
  • Norman O'Bryan 1894–1968 · barrister
  • Timothy O'Bryan 1966–1974

Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped, in the public domain or CC0.

In the public record

People named Obryan,
in the records of 3 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 States401 records

401 records of the Obryan name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 217
  • Irish Famine arrivals at New York, 1846–1851 103
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 37
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 19
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 18
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 6
  • Sacramento County historic burials 1
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Roy D. OBryan

    Born 1914 in Pennsylvania. Enlisted 1945 at Harrisburg; driver from Centre County.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain)
  2. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Mary OBryan

    Arrived at New York in 1851 aboard the Philadelphia from Liverpool, aged 14; laborer. From Ireland.

    U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain)
  3. The receipt card sent under the U.S. Alien Registration Act of 1940
    Example: U.S. alien registration card, 1940s
    Alien registration Lydia S. OBryan

    Born 1923 in Mexico. Registered as a foreign national in Los Angeles, California, under the Alien Registration Act of 1940.

    U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain)

Showing 3 of 401 records for Obryan in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · 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) · Sacramento County, Historic Burials (CC BY 4.0). 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); Alien Registration Receipt Card, Form AR-3, photo by Bobjgalindo via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0).

Australia133 records

133 records of the Obryan name in Australia
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 73
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 51
  • Tasmanian Names Index 7
  • NSW convict, estate and railway indexes 1
  • Queensland State Archives 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 Catherine OBryan

    Transported to New South Wales aboard the Brothers, arriving 1827.

    Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY)
  2. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Margaret OBryan

    Arrived in Victoria in 1857 aboard the Crimea, aged 56; 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 Robert OBryan

    Gentleman of Terang, Victoria; died 1902.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 133 records for Obryan 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). 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).

Canada5 records

5 records of the Obryan name in Canada Nova Scotia Archives name indexes
  1. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Civil record Rosanah OBryan

    Listed at Manudie, Cumberland, Nova Scotia in the census and tax rolls of 1827.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.
  2. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Civil record John OBryan

    Listed at Pictou, Nova Scotia in the census and tax rolls of 1793.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.
  3. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Civil record Nicholas OBryan

    Listed at Tangiers & Popes Harbour, Halifax, Nova Scotia in the census and tax rolls of 1838.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.

Showing 3 of 5 records for Obryan in Canada.

Counts: Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0).

When the index is not enough

This page says where Obryan 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.

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