The Parsons surname
In the 2010 U.S. Census, 67,310 people carried this name — #498 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 4,380 people counted. That is up 2% from 66,203 in 2000.
What the name means
The meaning of the Parsons surname
A surname originating as an occupation.
An occupational surname for a child or a servant of a parson.
In the United States adopted by bearers of one or more similar sounding Jewish surnames, and of the Swedish surnames Pärsson and Persson.
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Parsons» (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 12 births for the Parsons name in 1890.
They were registered in all four provinces, most of all in Connacht. By the Registrar-General’s own method — births multiplied by 44.38 — that is about 500 people bearing the name in Ireland at the time.
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 Argentina’s national register
At least 326 people named Parsons live in Argentina.
RENAPER only publishes a name in a province when more than ten people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in Buenos Aires Province.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they live today
RENAPER (National Registry of Persons, Argentina), surnames of residents by province, December 2021 — CC BY 4.0.
In France’s civil register
France’s register of deaths holds 48 people named Parsons.
Most of them — 37 — were born outside France. Those born in France came from 6 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
34 people named Parsons live in Switzerland.
They live in 3 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Zurich.
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 Poland’s population register
21 people named Parsons have a registered home in Poland.
Of the 92 in Poland’s national register, these are the ones with a permanent address on file. They live in 6 of Poland’s 16 voivodeships, most of all in Masovian.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they live today
PESEL register, Ministry of Digital Affairs of Poland (dane.gov.pl) — CC0 · living people by voivodeship of permanent residence, 20 January 2026.
In the Nordic population registers
82 people named Parsons 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
Parsons was found among the farmers of 16 counties.
It was most frequent in Wiltshire: 80 in every 10,000 farmers there — about 1 in 125. 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
And 8 more counties.
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
Parsons was recorded 27 times in Scotland’s registers of births, marriages and deaths in 2025.
That made it the 912th most common name in those registers, shared with others on the same count. In 1975, the first year of the series, the count was 24. 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
413 families named Parsons, or a close spelling, were counted in 1790.
Each family is counted by its head. About 2,277 people lived in those households, 5.5 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. 256 — public domain · names carried by at least 100 white persons in 1790.
In print
Parsons in American newspapers,
1903–1926.
Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 1,031,667 pages in all carry the name.
In print
Parsons in Australian newspapers,
1810s–2010s.
148,720 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Parsons. The most, 24,496, date from the 1930s. South Australia 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 Northern Territory, at 2.6 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 Parsons.
Who carried it
People named Parsons,
with a public archive behind them.
-
Humphrey Parsons 1676–1741 · politician -
James Parsons 1705–1770 · writer -
Anne Maynard 1735–1810 · courtesan -
William Parsons 1736–1795 · actor -
William Parsons 1745–1817 · composer
Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped, in the public domain or CC0 · 170 lives in all are documented under this name.
In the public record
People named Parsons,
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 States6,367 records
- U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 2,377
- New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 1,007
- Other U.S. records 2,983
-
Example: U.S. war memorial War record Douglas Blanchard ParsonsBorn 1947; from Arvada, Colorado. U.S. Navy, hospital corpsman; killed in action 1968 in Quang Tri, South Vietnam. Buried at Fort Logan National Cemetery, Colorado.
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 Clarence ParsonsBorn 1914 in Connecticut. Enlisted 1944 at Fort Devens, Massachusetts; filling station attendant. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 2000, buried at Ellsworth Cemtery, Connecticut.
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 Annie ParsonsArrived at New York in 1892 aboard the Adriatic from Liverpool and Queenstown, aged 20; servant. From Cork, Ireland; bound for New York.
U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)
Showing 3 of 6,367 records for Parsons 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. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · 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). 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).
Australia4,617 records
- Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 2,142
- Tasmanian Names Index 1,152
- Other Australian records 1,323
-
Pictured: convicts going on board a prison ship, 1829 Transportation record William ParsonsTransported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Stakesby, sailing from Portsmouth in 1833. Native of Edenbridge, Kent. Applied for permission to marry in Van Diemen's Land in 1846. Married 1846 in Port Sorell, Tasmania, aged 29.
Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) -
Pictured: convicts going on board a prison ship, 1829 Transportation record Richard ParsonsTransported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Prince Regent, sailing from London in 1829. Native of Stroud, Gloucestershire. Applied for permission to marry in Van Diemen's Land in 1835.
Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) -
Pictured: convicts going on board a prison ship, 1829 Transportation record Moses ParsonsTransported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Rodney, sailing from Portland (Dorset) in 1850. Native of Somerset. Applied for permission to marry in Van Diemen's Land in 1855. Married 1855 in Brighton, Tasmania, aged 37.
Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
Showing 3 of 4,617 records for Parsons in Australia.
Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY) · State Library of Western Australia (CC BY 4.0) · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · 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).
Canada1,137 records
- Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 857
- Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver 73
- Other Canadian records 207
-
Example: passenger manifest, 1903 Passenger record Thomas ParsonsCame to Ontario in 1869 aboard the Cleopatra, landing at Quebec, bound for Paris, Ontario; English.
Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario. -
Example: civil register, 1880 Civil record William T. ParsonsKilled in 1917 at the Dominion No. 12 mine, Nova Scotia.
Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. -
Example: Canadian cemetery Burial record Joseph Arthur ParsonsBuried in 1979 at Queen's Park Cemetery, Calgary, Alberta, aged 71.
City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary.
Showing 3 of 1,137 records for Parsons 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 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: 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).
United Kingdom191 records
- War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 124
- St James's burial ground, Euston (London), 1789–1853 54
- Other British records 13
-
Example: burial register, 1858 Burial record Donald Campbell ParsonsDied 1996, aged 78; buried at St Thomas Cemetery, Stirling, Scotland.
Stirling Council. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. -
Example: burial register, 1858 Burial record Richard ParsonsBuried in 1800 at St James's burial ground, Euston, London, aged 52.
MOLA and HS2, St James's burial ground data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. -
Example: probate petition, 1848 Probate record William James ParsonsWill proved in 1939; of Llandudno, Carnarvon.
National Library of Wales, Wills Index Cards (CC0)
Showing 3 of 191 records for Parsons in the United Kingdom.
Counts: National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · 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) · Stirling Council. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. 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).
New Zealand89 records
- Christchurch City cemetery records 63
- Marlborough District cemetery records 13
- Other New Zealand records 13
-
Example: burial register, 1858 Burial record Eliza Susan Honor ParsonsDied 1985, aged 74; buried at Ruru Lawn, Christchurch, Canterbury.
Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0) -
Example: burial register, 1858 Burial record George Harold ParsonsDied 1966, aged 82; buried at Ward Cemetery, Marlborough.
Marlborough District Council (CC BY 4.0) -
Example: burial register, 1858 Burial record Leonard Walter ParsonsBuried in 1924 at Shortland Cemetery, Thames-Coromandel District, Waikato, aged 63.
Thames-Coromandel District Council (CC BY 4.0)
Showing 3 of 89 records for Parsons in New Zealand.
Counts: Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0) · Marlborough District Council (CC BY 4.0) · Thames-Coromandel District Council (CC BY 4.0) · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · Waimakariri 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).
Netherlands30 records
- Dutch civil registers (births, marriages, deaths) 14
- Dutch population registers 9
- Dutch church registers before 1811 7
-
Example: marriage register, 1911 Marriage record Leslie Horace ParsonsMarried in 1945 in Eindhoven. Died 1971 in Eindhoven.
Open Archives, Brabants Historisch Informatie Centrum (CC BY 4.0) -
Example: marriage register, 1911 Marriage record William ParsonsMarried in 1877 in Haarlem; overseer.
Open Archives, Noord-Hollands Archief (CC BY 4.0) -
Example: civil register, 1880 Death record John ParsonsDied 1840 in Rotterdam, aged 22.
Open Archives, Stadsarchief Rotterdam (CC BY 4.0)
Showing 3 of 30 records for Parsons in the Netherlands.
Counts: Open Archives (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0).
France10 records
-
Example: French death register, 1930 Death record Adelaide ParsonsBorn 1909 in Canada; died 2000 in Saint-Pierre.
Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte) -
Example: French death register, 1930 Death record Royston Herbert ParsonsBorn 1943 in Great Britain; died 1993 in Lourdes (Hautes-Pyrénées).
Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)
Showing 2 of 10 records for Parsons 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).
Nearby in the index
Surnames next to Parsons.
- Parrott 13,753 · U.S. census
- Parry 10,555 · U.S. census
- Parseghian 326 · U.S. census
- Parsi 292 · U.S. census
- Parsley 6,315 · U.S. census
- Parson 13,209 · U.S. census
- Part 103 · U.S. census
- Partain 3,737 · U.S. census
- Partida 8,878 · U.S. census
- Partin 8,296 · U.S. census
- Partlow 3,623 · U.S. census
- Parton 6,039 · U.S. census
When the index is not enough
This page says where Parsons 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.