The Pettis surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 7,354 people carried this name — #4,807 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 40,200 people counted. That is up 5% from 7,036 in 2000.

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In Argentina’s national register

At least 48 people named Pettis 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 City of Buenos Aires.

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they live today

City of Buenos Aires 25
Buenos Aires Province 23

RENAPER (National Registry of Persons, Argentina), surnames of residents by province, December 2021 — CC BY 4.0.

In the first U.S. census, 1790

57 families named Pettis, or a close spelling, were counted in 1790.

Each family is counted by its head. About 328 people lived in those households, 5.8 to a family on average. The table counts it together with 6 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 15
Rhode Island 13
Virginia 8
New York 7
Connecticut 5
Maine 3
South Carolina 3
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. 257 — public domain · names carried by at least 100 white persons in 1790.

In print

Pettis in American newspapers,
1870–1898.

Newspaper page from Freeland Tribune carrying the name Pettis
Freeland Tribune 1898-08-01
Newspaper page from Freeland Tribune carrying the name Pettis
Freeland Tribune 1898-10-13
Newspaper page from The Petroleum Centre Daily Record carrying the name Pettis
The Petroleum Centre Daily Record 1870-02-19

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 146,551 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Pettis in Australian newspapers,
1850s–1950s.

163 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Pettis. The most, 45, date from the 1940s. 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 Victoria, at 1.7 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 58
Victoria 58
Queensland 18
South Australia 15
Western Australia 9
Tasmania 3

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

Who carried it

People named Pettis,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Solomon Newton Pettis
    Solomon Newton Pettis 1827–1900 · judge
  • Jerry Pettis
    Jerry Pettis 1916–1975 · politician
  • Shirley Neil Pettis
    Shirley Neil Pettis 1924–2016 · politician
  • Spencer Darwin Pettis 1802–1831 · lawyer
  • Jack Pettis 1902–1963 · saxophonist
  • Andrew Pettis 1906–1987

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 Pettis,
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 States467 records

467 records of the Pettis name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 202
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 139
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 54
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 36
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 15
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 14
  • U.S. service members who died in the Vietnam War 4
  • U.S. service members who died in the Korean War 2
  • Ramsey County (Minnesota) Memorial Hall, war dead 1
  1. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Thomas Edwin Pettis

    Born 1941; from Mobile, Alabama. U.S. Navy, pilot; killed in action 1967 in North Vietnam. Buried at Mobile National Cemetery, Alabama.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record David W. Pettis

    Born 1921 in Alabama. Enlisted 1940 at Montgomery; farm hand from Dale County. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1994, buried at Florida National Cemetery, Florida.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  3. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Francesco Pettis

    Arrived at New York in 1906 aboard the Republic from Naples and Palermo, aged 26; laborer. From Sant'Agata Dei Goti, Benevento, Italy; bound for Brooklyn.

    U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)

Showing 3 of 467 records for Pettis 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, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain) · Ramsey County, Minnesota (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).

Canada160 records

160 records of the Pettis name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 154
  • City of Calgary cemetery records 3
  • Halifax municipal cemeteries 1
  • Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver 1
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 1
  1. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Agnes E. Pettis

    Buried in 1979 at Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, Nova Scotia, aged 91.

    Halifax Regional Municipality. Contains information licenced under the Open Government Licence—Halifax.
  2. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Clarence Pettis

    Died 1931 in Parrsboro, Cumberland, 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 W. A. Pettis

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

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

Showing 3 of 160 records for Pettis in Canada.

Counts: Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. · City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary. · Halifax Regional Municipality. Contains information licenced under the Open Government Licence—Halifax. · City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver. · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). 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).

Australia10 records

10 records of the Pettis name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 6
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 4
  1. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record John Pettis

    Arrived in Victoria in 1863 aboard the Thomas Fletcher, aged 28; British subject.

    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 George Edward Pettis

    Storeman of Sth Melb, Victoria; died 1985.

    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 Lillian M. Pettis

    Forewoman of W Brunswick, Victoria; died 1952.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 10 records for Pettis in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (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).

Netherlands1 record

1 record of the Pettis name in the Netherlands Dutch church registers before 1811
  1. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Civil record Lijsbeth Pettis

    Baptised in 1640 in Amersfoort.

    Open Archives, Het Utrechts Archief (CC BY 4.0)

Counts: Open Archives (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Pettis.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Pettis 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 Pettis volume
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