The Outlaw surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 8,901 people carried this name — #3,991 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 33,100 people counted. That is up 6% from 8,365 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Outlaw surname

A surname transferred from the nickname.

From outlaw, a nickname for someone who no longer had the protection of the law.

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Outlaw» (English), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.

As an English and Welsh surname

Bardsley classes it as a name of office: ‘one out of protection of the civil law’.

An early record he cites: Richard Utlawe, Bedfordshire, 1273 — Hundred Rolls.

From Charles W. Bardsley, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with Special American Instances (London: Henry Frowde, 1901), p. 576 · public domain.

In the first U.S. census, 1790

26 Outlaw families were counted in 1790.

Each family is counted by its head. About 161 people lived in those households, 6.2 to a family on average. 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

North Carolina 24
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. 256 — public domain · names carried by at least 100 white persons in 1790.

In print

Outlaw in American newspapers,
1887–1918.

Newspaper page from The Birmingham Age-herald carrying the name Outlaw
The Birmingham Age-herald 1918-01-27
Newspaper page from The Washington Bee carrying the name Outlaw
The Washington Bee 1887-08-13
Newspaper page from The Washington Bee carrying the name Outlaw
The Washington Bee 1890-01-11

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 878 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Outlaw in Australian newspapers,
1850s–1980s.

800 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Outlaw. The most, 128, date from the 1900s. Weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, it stands out most in South Australia, at 3.0 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

South Australia 298
New South Wales 250
Victoria 120
Western Australia 50
Queensland 44
Tasmania 26
ACT (Canberra) 7
Northern Territory 1

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

Who carried it

People named Outlaw,
with a public archive behind them.

  • George Outlaw 1771–1825 · politician
  • David Outlaw 1806–1868 · politician
  • Jimmy Outlaw 1913–2006 · baseball player

Wikidata (CC0) · 8 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Outlaw,
in the records of 4 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 States427 records

427 records of the Outlaw name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 266
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 116
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 32
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 5
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 4
  • Riverside Cemetery, Asheville (North Carolina) 1
  • U.S. service members who died in the Korean War 1
  • Sacramento County historic burials 1
  • U.S. service members who died in the Vietnam War 1
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Willie H. Outlaw

    Born 1917 in North Carolina. Enlisted 1944 at Camp Upton Yaphank, New York; cook. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1988, buried at Calverton 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 Charles Reuben Outlaw

    Born 1949; from West Palm Beach, Florida. U.S. Army, cannon fire direction specialist; killed in action 1969 in Hua Nghia, South Vietnam.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain)
  3. A U.S. Army record of death and interment, Camp Nelson, Kentucky, 1864
    Example: U.S. burial record, 1864
    Burial record James W. Outlaw

    U.S. Navy veteran of the Vietnam War. Born 1935, died 1990; buried at Memphis National Cemetery, Tennessee.

    U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)

Showing 3 of 427 records for Outlaw 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) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · City of Asheville (public domain, PDDL) · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (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); Vietnam Veterans Memorial, photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, 2009 (public domain); Record of death and interment, Camp Nelson, Kentucky, 1864, U.S. National Archives (public domain).

Australia8 records

8 records of the Outlaw name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 4
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 2
  • NSW convict, estate and railway indexes 1
  • Queensland State Archives indexes 1
  1. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Constance L. Outlaw

    Arrived in Queensland in 1929 aboard the Orama, aged 25.

    Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Frederick Vaughan Outlaw

    Retired of Bundoora, Victoria; died 1993.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Jane Outlaw

    Of Glebe, New South Wales; died 1931.

    Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY)

Showing 3 of 8 records for Outlaw in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (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: 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); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0).

United Kingdom1 record

1 record of the Outlaw 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 F. Outlaw

    Loyal North Lancashire Regiment. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1918.

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)

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 Outlaw 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 Peter John Outlaw

    Born 1956 in Germany; died 1994 in Hérépian (Hérault).

    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 Outlaw.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Outlaw is.
A volume says what happened to it.

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