The Peabody surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 5,345 people carried this name — #6,367 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 55,200 people counted. That is up 1% from 5,310 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Peabody surname

A surname transferred from the nickname.

From Middle English Pebody, equivalent to pea (“peacock”) + body (“body, person”).

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

In the first U.S. census, 1790

86 families named Peabody, or a close spelling, were counted in 1790.

Each family is counted by its head. About 466 people lived in those households, 5.4 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

Massachusetts 39
New Hampshire 20
Rhode Island 8
Maine 6
Connecticut 5
New York 5
Vermont 2
North Carolina 1

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

Peabody in American newspapers,
1869–1873.

Newspaper page from The Bloomfield Times carrying the name Peabody
The Bloomfield Times 1873-06-24
Newspaper page from The Evening Telegraph carrying the name Peabody
The Evening Telegraph 1869-11-05

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain.

In print

Peabody in Australian newspapers,
1840s–1990s.

5,105 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Peabody. The most, 1,355, date from the 1860s. 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 Western Australia, at 1.3 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 1,867
Victoria 1,110
Queensland 760
South Australia 573
Tasmania 386
Western Australia 329
ACT (Canberra) 37
Northern Territory 1

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

Who carried it

People named Peabody,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Nathaniel Peabody
    Nathaniel Peabody 1741–1823 · politician
  • Joseph Peabody
    Joseph Peabody 1757–1844 · businessperson
  • Leslie Marshall Peabody d. 2026
  • Hannah Peabody 1643–1727
  • Lydia Peabody 1667–1748
  • Oliver Peabody 1698–1752 · Christian minister

Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped, in the public domain or CC0 · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Peabody,
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 States698 records

698 records of the Peabody name in the United States
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 197
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 186
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 119
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 103
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 56
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 33
  • Sacramento County historic burials 2
  • Irish Famine arrivals at New York, 1846–1851 1
  • 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 Robert M. Peabody

    Born 1925 in Oregon. Enlisted 1943 at Portland; chemist from Multnomah County. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 2000, buried at Willamette National Cemetery, Oregon.

    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 Susan Peabody

    Arrived at New York in 1892 aboard the Aurania from Liverpool and Queenstown, aged 30; teacher. From London; bound for New York.

    U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)
  3. A U.S. Army record of death and interment, Camp Nelson, Kentucky, 1864
    Example: U.S. burial record, 1864
    Burial record Terrance Alton Peabody

    U.S. Army veteran of the Vietnam War. Born 1947, died 1999; buried at Jordan Cemetery, Waterford, Connecticut.

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

Showing 3 of 698 records for Peabody in the United States.

Counts: NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · Sacramento County, Historic Burials (CC BY 4.0) · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (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); Record of death and interment, Camp Nelson, Kentucky, 1864, U.S. National Archives (public domain).

Canada21 records

21 records of the Peabody name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 10
  • City of Winnipeg cemetery records 6
  • Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver 3
  • Canadian Virtual War Memorial 1
  • Ontario immigration records, 1865–1883 1
  1. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record George Augustus Peabody

    Died 1934; buried at Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver, British Columbia.

    City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver.
  2. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Emily Bell Peabody

    Died 1876 in Port Hawkesbury, Inverness, Nova Scotia.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.
  3. A Canadian First World War grave register card for a soldier who died of wounds in 1917
    Example: Canadian war grave register, 1917
    War record Harold Sherman Peabody

    Died in service in 1944.

    Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada.

Showing 3 of 21 records for Peabody in Canada.

Counts: Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. · City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg. · City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver. · Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. · Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0); Canadian First World War circumstances-of-death register (scan by Scottgraham87 via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0).

Australia16 records

16 records of the Peabody name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 13
  • Queensland State Archives indexes 3
  1. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record John Peabody

    Arrived in Victoria in 1886 aboard the Duke of Devonshire, aged 6; English.

    Public Record Office Victoria (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 Mary Peabody

    Arrived in Victoria in 1886 aboard the Duke of Devonshire, aged 11; English.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Civil record W. H. Peabody

    Seaman aboard the Lucknow, Queensland in 1896.

    Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 16 records for Peabody in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · 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); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0).

United Kingdom3 records

3 records of the Peabody 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 H. G. Peabody

    Lance Corporal, Middlesex Regiment, Attached London Regiment. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1918.

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)
  2. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record W. A. Peabody

    Lincolnshire Regiment. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1918.

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)
  3. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record W. Peabody

    Suffolk Regiment. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1917.

    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).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Peabody.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Peabody 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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