The Pilgrim surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 6,275 people carried this name — #5,535 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 46,900 people counted. That is up 2% from 6,157 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Pilgrim surname

As an English and Welsh surname

Bardsley classes it as an occupational name: ‘the pilgrim’.

An early record he cites: Henry Pelrim, Cambridgeshire, 1273 — Hundred Rolls.

From Charles W. Bardsley, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with Special American Instances (London: Henry Frowde, 1901), p. 605 · public domain.

In the Nordic population registers

22 people named Pilgrim is counted in Sweden.

Sweden’s figure is from 31 December 2022, the last count Statistics Sweden published.

Counted, by country

Sweden (2022) 22

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).

Among the farmers of England and Wales, 1880s

Pilgrim was found among the farmers of Essex: 18 in every 10,000.

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 map

Per 10,000 farmers, by county

Essex 18

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 print

Pilgrim in American newspapers,
1877–1886.

Newspaper page from Wheeling Sunday Register carrying the name Pilgrim
Wheeling Sunday Register 1886-02-14
Newspaper page from Illinois Staats-zeitung carrying the name Pilgrim
Illinois Staats-zeitung 1877-08-20
Newspaper page from Illinois Staats-zeitung carrying the name Pilgrim
Illinois Staats-zeitung 1877-07-16

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 694 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Pilgrim in Australian newspapers,
1840s–1990s.

19,462 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Pilgrim. The most, 4,444, date from the 1940s. Weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, it stands out most in New South Wales, at 1.4 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 9,504
Victoria 3,117
South Australia 2,733
Western Australia 2,194
Queensland 1,338
Tasmania 488
ACT (Canberra) 46
Northern Territory 21

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

Who carried it

People named Pilgrim,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Adolph Pilgrim
    Adolph Pilgrim 1821–1909 · politician
  • James Pilgrim
    James Pilgrim 1825–1879 · actor
  • Charles Winfield Pilgrim
    Charles Winfield Pilgrim 1855–1934 · psychiatrist
  • William L. Abingdon
    William L. Abingdon 1859–1918 · stage actor
  • Paul Pilgrim
    Paul Pilgrim 1883–1958 · long-distance runner
  • Mario Pilgrim Roa d. 1973 · chauffeur

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 Pilgrim,
in the records of 8 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 States622 records

622 records of the Pilgrim name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 217
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 113
  • Other U.S. records 292
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Euver L. Pilgrim

    Born 1913 in Georgia. Enlisted 1942 at Fort McPherson Atlanta; welder from Douglas County. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1997, buried at Turkey Branch Umc Cemetery, Springfield, Georgia.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (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 Eugene G. Pilgrim

    Born 1922 in Ohio. Enlisted 1942 at Indianapolis, Indiana; miller from Wabash County, Indiana. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 2001, buried at Mississinewa Cemetery, Wabash, Indiana.

    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 Johannes Pilgrim

    Arrived at New York in 1897 aboard the Pennsylvania from Hamburg, aged 22; laborer. From Germany; bound for New York.

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

Showing 3 of 622 records for Pilgrim in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · 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, 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); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

Australia294 records

294 records of the Pilgrim name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 129
  • Tasmanian Names Index 72
  • Other Australian records 93
  1. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record John Pilgrim

    Applied for permission to marry in Van Diemen's Land in 1847. Married 1847 in Launceston, Tasmania, aged 29.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  2. An 1829 etching of convicts being rowed out to the prison ship York in Portsmouth Harbour
    Pictured: convicts going on board a prison ship, 1829
    Transportation record Thomas Pilgrim

    Transported to New South Wales aboard the General Stewart, arriving 1818; ticket of leave 1825. Native of London.

    Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY)
  3. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record James Pilgrim

    Arrived in Victoria in 1858 aboard the Lady Milton, aged 22; English.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 294 records for Pilgrim in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY) · Queensland State Archives (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) · State Library of Western Australia (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain); Prison-ship in Portsmouth Harbour, with the convicts going on board, etching by Edward William Cooke, 1829, Royal Museums Greenwich (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

Netherlands100 records

100 records of the Pilgrim name in the Netherlands
  • Dutch civil registers (births, marriages, deaths) 64
  • Dutch population registers 29
  • Dutch church registers before 1811 7
  1. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Aletta Amelia Louise Pilgrim

    Married in 1919 in Arnhem; pharmacist. Died 1920 in Renkum, aged 50; "apothekeres".

    Open Archives, Gelders Archief (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Johan Fredrik Cornelis Pilgrim

    Born 1821 in Huissen. Married in 1868 in Delft.

    Open Archives, Gelders Archief (CC BY 4.0); Open Archives, Archief Delft (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Anna Maria Pilgrim

    Born 1834 in Slochteren. Married in 1863 in Slochteren.

    Open Archives, Groninger Archieven (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 100 records for Pilgrim 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).

Germany69 records

69 records of the Pilgrim name in Germany Germany's First World War casualty lists, 1914–1919
  1. A page of the German First World War casualty lists, 18 April 1918
    Example: German casualty list, 1918
    Casualty list Hermann Pilgrim

    Born 1880; from Bochum. Reported wounded in the Prussian casualty list of 12 February 1919 (Infantry Regiment No. 48).

    Verein für Computergenealogie e.V. (2026). Deutsche Verlustlisten des Ersten Weltkriegs – Datensammlung (Version 1.0), DOI 10.5281/zenodo.18330751 (CC0)
  2. A page of the German First World War casualty lists, 18 April 1918
    Example: German casualty list, 1918
    Casualty list Richard Pilgrim

    From Berlin. Reported wounded in the Prussian casualty list of 16 May 1916; then reported taken prisoner in the list of 13 September 1916 (Reserve Infantry Regiment No. 207).

    Verein für Computergenealogie e.V. (2026). Deutsche Verlustlisten des Ersten Weltkriegs – Datensammlung (Version 1.0), DOI 10.5281/zenodo.18330751 (CC0)
  3. A page of the German First World War casualty lists, 18 April 1918
    Example: German casualty list, 1918
    Casualty list Georg Pilgrim

    Born 1884; from Bissendorf, Osnabrück. Reported wounded in the Prussian casualty list of 30 November 1918.

    Verein für Computergenealogie e.V. (2026). Deutsche Verlustlisten des Ersten Weltkriegs – Datensammlung (Version 1.0), DOI 10.5281/zenodo.18330751 (CC0)

Showing 3 of 69 records for Pilgrim in Germany.

Counts: Verein für Computergenealogie e.V. (2026). Deutsche Verlustlisten des Ersten Weltkriegs – Datensammlung (Version 1.0), DOI 10.5281/zenodo.18330751 (CC0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Deutsche Verlustlisten, Prussian list 1116, 18 April 1918 (scan via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0).

Canada34 records

34 records of the Pilgrim name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 15
  • City of Winnipeg cemetery records 7
  • Other Canadian records 12
  1. 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 George Pilgrim

    Served in the No. 2 Construction Battalion in the First World War, private; of Barbadoes, British West Indies.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.
  2. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Ervin Cyril Pilgrim

    Buried in 1963 at Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, Nova Scotia, aged 35.

    Halifax Regional Municipality. Contains information licenced under the Open Government Licence—Halifax.
  3. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Bertie Pilgrim

    Died 1991, aged 86; buried at Brookside Cemetery, Winnipeg, Manitoba.

    City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg.

Showing 3 of 34 records for Pilgrim 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. · Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario. · Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. · Halifax Regional Municipality. Contains information licenced under the Open Government Licence—Halifax. · City of Niagara Falls. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Niagara Falls. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Canadian First World War circumstances-of-death register (scan by Scottgraham87 via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0); Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0).

United Kingdom13 records

13 records of the Pilgrim name in the United Kingdom
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 10
  • St James's burial ground, Euston (London), 1789–1853 2
  • Stirling Council burial records 1
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Frederick Pilgrim

    Died 1977, aged 49; buried at Bannockburn Cemetery, Stirling, Scotland.

    Stirling Council. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
  2. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Ann Pilgrim

    Buried in 1815 at St James's burial ground, Euston, London, aged 27.

    MOLA and HS2, St James's burial ground data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
  3. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record B. Pilgrim

    King's Royal Rifle Corps. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1919.

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

Showing 3 of 13 records for Pilgrim 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. · 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); C. & E. Morton Ltd roll of honour, 1914–1919, photo by Adrian S Pye via Geograph (CC BY-SA 2.0).

New Zealand3 records

3 records of the Pilgrim name in New Zealand Christchurch City cemetery records
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Elizabeth Pilgrim

    Died 1925, aged 41; buried at Sydenham Cemetery, Christchurch, Canterbury.

    Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 1 of 3 records for Pilgrim in New Zealand.

Counts: Christchurch City 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).

Belgium3 records

3 records of the Pilgrim name in Belgium Belgian civil registers (births, marriages, deaths)
  1. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Prosper Pilgrim

    Died 1964 in Gent.

    Open Archives, Archief Gent (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Prosper Pilgrim

    Married in 1905 in Gent.

    Open Archives, Archief Gent (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 2 of 3 records for Pilgrim in Belgium.

Counts: Open Archives (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0); Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Pilgrim.

When the index is not enough

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