The Poindexter surname
In the 2010 U.S. Census, 11,531 people carried this name — #3,129 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 25,600 people counted. That is up 3% from 11,201 in 2000.
What the name means
The meaning of the Poindexter surname
From Jersey Norman Poingdestre (literally “right fist”). Its first use appears c. 1981 in the publication University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill Slang.
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Poindexter» (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
24 families named Poindexter, or a close spelling, were counted in 1790.
Each family is counted by its head. About 141 people lived in those households, 5.9 to a family on average. The table counts it together with 4 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
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
Poindexter in American newspapers,
1849–1913.
Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain.
In print
Poindexter in Australian newspapers,
1860s–1980s.
158 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Poindexter. The most, 43, date from the 1910s. Weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, it stands out most in Victoria, at 1.5 times its expected share.
Articles, by state
Trove, National Library of Australia (trove.nla.gov.au) · articles in its digitised newspapers that name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Poindexter.
Who carried it
People named Poindexter,
with a public archive behind them.
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George Poindexter 1779–1853 · judge -
Miles Poindexter 1868–1946 · judge -
Joseph Poindexter 1869–1951 · judge -
Emmett H. Poindexter 1892–1945 · politician -
Robert W. Poindexter d. 1943 · botanist
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Gabriel Poindexter 1827–1890 · 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 Poindexter,
in the records of the United States.
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 States684 records
- U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 403
- U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 183
- New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 71
- New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 14
- U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 5
- Riverside Cemetery, Asheville (North Carolina) 4
- Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 1
- U.S. service members who died in the Korean War 1
- Sacramento County historic burials 1
- U.S. service members who died in the Vietnam War 1
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Example: U.S. registration card, 1942 Military record Cecil PoindexterBorn 1922 in North Carolina. Enlisted 1943 at Camp Croft, South Carolina; filling station attendant. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1998, buried at Holly Springs Baptist Cemetery, North Carolina.
U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) -
Example: U.S. war memorial War record Moses Leon PoindexterBorn 1946; from Danville, Virginia. U.S. Army, infantryman; killed in action 1967 in Quang Ngai, South Vietnam.
U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain) -
Example: U.S. burial record, 1864 Burial record William J. PoindexterU.S. Army veteran of the Vietnam War. Born 1952, died 1995; buried at Calverton National Cemetery, New York.
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
Showing 3 of 684 records for Poindexter 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) · City of Asheville (public domain, PDDL) · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · 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); Vietnam Veterans Memorial, photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, 2009 (public domain); Record of death and interment, Camp Nelson, Kentucky, 1864, U.S. National Archives (public domain).
Nearby in the index
Surnames next to Poindexter.
- Poggio 352 · U.S. census
- Poggioli 266 · U.S. census
- Pogoda 254 · U.S. census
- Pogue 7,493 · U.S. census
- Pohl 6,485 · U.S. census
- Pohlman 3,945 · U.S. census
- Poineau 104 · U.S. census
- Point 592 · U.S. census
- Pointe 110 · U.S. census
- Pointer 7,453 · U.S. census
- Poire 226 · U.S. census
- Poirier 9,453 · U.S. census
When the index is not enough
This page says where Poindexter 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.