The Poe surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 23,563 people carried this name — #1,522 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 12,500 people counted. That is up 3% from 22,865 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Poe surname

A surname from Old Norse:.

A nickname from Old Norse pái (“peacock”). This surname is also well established in Ireland.

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

As an English and Welsh surname

Bardsley classes it as a nickname: ‘the peacock’.

From Charles W. Bardsley, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with Special American Instances (London: Henry Frowde, 1901), p. 612 · public domain.

In the Nordic population registers

22 people named Poe is counted in Finland.

Finland counts its citizens, at home or abroad.

Counted, by country

Finland (2026) 22

Digital and Population Data Services Agency (DVV), Finland, surname statistics, August 2026 — CC BY 4.0.

In the first U.S. census, 1790

34 families named Poe, or a close spelling, were counted in 1790.

Each family is counted by its head. About 192 people lived in those households, 5.7 to a family on average. The table counts it together with 2 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

North Carolina 14
Pennsylvania 9
Maryland 5
Virginia 4
South Carolina 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

Poe in American newspapers,
1902–1908.

Newspaper page from The Roswell Daily Record carrying the name Poe
The Roswell Daily Record 1908-07-11
Newspaper page from The Roswell Daily Record carrying the name Poe
The Roswell Daily Record 1906-01-17
Newspaper page from The Columbus Commercial carrying the name Poe
The Columbus Commercial 1902-06-03

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 3,349 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Poe in Australian newspapers,
1830s–1980s.

1,930 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Poe. The most, 376, date from the 1970s.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 455
Victoria 347
Queensland 259
South Australia 256
Western Australia 122
Tasmania 102
ACT (Canberra) 25
Northern Territory 1

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

Who carried it

People named Poe,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Rosalie Mackenzie Poe
    Rosalie Mackenzie Poe d. 1874 · poet
  • Steven C. Poe d. 2007 · professor
  • John Poe d. 1941
  • James Poe d. 1784
  • Leonard Poe 1590–1631 · physician
  • Anne Poe 1632–1698

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 Poe,
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 States1,206 records

1,206 records of the Poe name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 821
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 289
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 33
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 19
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 16
  • U.S. service members who died in the Vietnam War 11
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 8
  • U.S. service members who died in the Korean War 4
  • Irish Famine arrivals at New York, 1846–1851 2
  • Sacramento County historic burials 2
  • New York State police and firefighter memorial rolls 1
  1. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record John Raymond Poe

    Born 1939; from Laurel, Maryland. U.S. Navy, url no warfare specialty; died of illness 1970 in Gia Dinh, South Vietnam. Buried at Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery, California.

    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 Jay P. Poe

    Born 1918 in Oklahoma. Enlisted 1942 at Tulsa; insurance salesman from Latimer County. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1997, buried at Wilburton City Cemetery, Oklahoma.

    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 Isaac Poe

    Arrived at New York in 1848 aboard the Dromahair from Sligo, aged 21; carpenter. From Ireland.

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

Showing 3 of 1,206 records for Poe 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, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (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) · New York State, Open NY (police and firefighter memorial rolls). 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).

Australia15 records

15 records of the Poe name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 5
  • NSW convict, estate and railway indexes 4
  • Tasmanian Names Index 3
  • Queensland State Archives indexes 2
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 1
  1. 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 Joseph Poe

    Transported to New South Wales aboard the Calcutta, arriving 1837; certificate of freedom 1845.

    Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY)
  2. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Louey Poe

    Cook of Ballarat, Victoria; died 1970.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record R.w Poe

    Arrived in Tasmania in 1831 aboard the Merope from China.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 15 records for Poe in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0). 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); Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

France9 records

9 records of the Poe 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 Lucienne Marie Poe

    Born 1906 in Montcy-Notre-Dame; died 1985 in Charleville-Mézières (Ardennes).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)
  2. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Robert Marie Jules Poe

    Born 1924 in Ambonville; died 2001 in Chaumont (Haute-Marne).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)
  3. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Jean-Luc Charles Marcel Poe

    Born 1967 in Saint-Dizier; died 1995 in Saint-Dizier (Haute-Marne).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)

Showing 3 of 9 records for Poe 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).

Canada7 records

7 records of the Poe name in Canada
  • Canadian Virtual War Memorial 4
  • Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver 2
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 1
  1. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Vernon Lorne Poe

    Died 1961 in At Sea, Kings, Nova Scotia.

    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 Ralph Grant Poe

    Died 1949; buried at Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver, British Columbia.

    City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver.
  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 John Prentice Poe

    Died in service in 1915.

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

Showing 3 of 7 records for Poe in Canada.

Counts: Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. · City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver. · 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); Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0); Canadian First World War circumstances-of-death register (scan by Scottgraham87 via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0).

Netherlands1 record

1 record of the Poe name in the Netherlands Dutch church registers before 1811
  1. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Leendert Poe

    Married in 1730 in Idaarderadeel.

    Open Archives, AlleFriezen (CC BY 4.0)

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).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Poe.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Poe 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 Poe volume
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