The Persons surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 3,606 people carried this name — #9,064 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 82,000 people counted. That is up 1% from 3,565 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Persons surname

A surname originating as a patronymic.

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Persons» (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

In 1790, Persons was counted together with Person: 128 families in all.

Each family is counted by its head. About 703 people lived in those households, 5.5 to a family on average. The census counted these spellings together: Person, Persen, Persons. 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

New York 23
North Carolina 23
Connecticut 19
New Hampshire 16
South Carolina 14
Massachusetts 11
Pennsylvania 9
Virginia 6
Vermont 5
Maine 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. 257 — public domain · names carried by at least 100 white persons in 1790.

In print

Persons in American newspapers,
1915–1926.

Newspaper page from The Broadus Independent carrying the name Persons
The Broadus Independent 1919-04-24
Newspaper page from The Evening World carrying the name Persons
The Evening World 1915-02-01
Newspaper page from The Montgomery Advertiser carrying the name Persons
The Montgomery Advertiser 1926-08-13

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 4,047 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Persons in Australian newspapers,
1830s–1990s.

3,567 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Persons. The most, 498, date from the 1910s. Victoria 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 South Australia, at 1.4 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

Victoria 1,026
New South Wales 986
South Australia 594
Queensland 409
Tasmania 272
Western Australia 224
ACT (Canberra) 30
Northern Territory 6

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

Who carried it

People named Persons,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Robert Persons
    Robert Persons 1546–1610 · writer
  • Henry Persons
    Henry Persons 1834–1910 · judge
  • John C. Persons
    John C. Persons 1888–1974 · military personnel
  • Wilton Persons
    Wilton Persons 1896–1977 · politician
  • Gordon Persons
    Gordon Persons 1902–1965 · politician
  • James H. Persons 1829–1895 · politician

Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped, in the public domain or CC0 · 9 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Persons,
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 States333 records

333 records of the Persons name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 136
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 76
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 68
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 33
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 8
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 5
  • Irish Famine arrivals at New York, 1846–1851 2
  • Sacramento County historic burials 2
  • U.S. service members who died in the Vietnam War 2
  • U.S. service members who died in the Korean War 1
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record James T. Persons

    Born 1904 in Missouri. Enlisted 1942 at San Francisco, California; store manager. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1964, buried at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery, Missouri.

    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 Henry Harvey Persons

    Born 1943; from Ft Wayne, Indiana. U.S. Marine Corps, infantry officer; killed in action 1968 in Thua Thien, South Vietnam.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain)
  3. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Jane Persons

    Arrived at New York in 1849 aboard the Fidelia from Liverpool, aged 20; servant. From Ireland.

    U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain)

Showing 3 of 333 records for Persons in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · 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, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · 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: 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); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

Netherlands254 records

254 records of the Persons name in the Netherlands
  • Dutch civil registers (births, marriages, deaths) 145
  • Dutch population registers 104
  • Dutch church registers before 1811 5
  1. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Joannes Martinus Persons

    Married in 1818 in Maastricht; "kleermakersgezel", born 1794 in Maastricht. Died 1876 in Maastricht, aged 82.

    Open Archives, Regionaal Historisch Centrum Limburg (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Josephina Gerarda Persons

    Born 1896 in Oss. Married in 1918 in Oss.

    Open Archives, Brabants Historisch Informatie Centrum (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Adrianus Persons

    Born 1920 in Venlo. Died 1927 in Sint-Oedenrode.

    Open Archives, Gemeentearchief Venlo (CC BY 4.0); Open Archives, Brabants Historisch Informatie Centrum (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 254 records for Persons 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).

Australia5 records

5 records of the Persons name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 3
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 2
  1. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Wilhelm Maria Persons

    Retired of Ringwood, Victoria; died 2000.

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

    Of Portarlington, Victoria; died 1996.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 2 of 5 records for Persons in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain).

Canada2 records

2 records of the Persons name in Canada Nova Scotia Archives name indexes
  1. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Civil record John Persons

    Listed at Granville, Annapolis, Nova Scotia in the census and tax rolls of 1770.

    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 Abner Persons

    Listed at Cornwallis, Kings, Nova Scotia in the census and tax rolls of 1791.

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

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).

France2 records

2 records of the Persons 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 Henri Joseph Persons

    Born 1904 in Lille (Nord); died 1974 in Bazoges-en-Paillers (Vendée).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)
  2. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Louis Leon Fernand Persons

    Born 1912 in Paris; died 1988 in Orléans (Loiret).

    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 Persons.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Persons 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 Persons volume
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