The Raleigh surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 3,984 people carried this name — #8,317 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 74,100 people counted. That is up 4% from 3,831 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Raleigh surname

An English habitational surname from the manor in England.

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Raleigh» (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 local name, from where the family lived: ‘of Raleigh’.

An early record he cites: William de Raleigh, bishop of Norwich, 1239 — History of Norfolk (Blomefield and Parkin).

His entry covers Raleigh and Rawley.

From Charles W. Bardsley, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with Special American Instances (London: Henry Frowde, 1901), p. 634 · public domain.

In Ireland’s birth registers, 1890

Ireland registered 11 births for the Raleigh name in 1890.

Most were registered in Munster. By the Registrar-General’s own method — births multiplied by 44.38 — that is about 500 people bearing the name in Ireland at the time. The Registrar-General’s note on the name: “Limerick and Tipperary.”

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

Where they were born, 1890

Munster 9
Leinster 2

Registrar-General for Ireland, «Special Report on Surnames in Ireland» (R. E. Matheson, 1894), births index of 1890 — public domain.

In print

Raleigh in American newspapers,
1887–1893.

Newspaper page from The Helena Independent carrying the name Raleigh
The Helena Independent 1893-04-09
Newspaper page from The Helena Independent carrying the name Raleigh
The Helena Independent 1892-12-23
Newspaper page from Great Falls Tribune carrying the name Raleigh
Great Falls Tribune 1887-11-30

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 1,958 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Raleigh in Australian newspapers,
1830s–2000s.

16,133 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Raleigh. The most, 3,640, date from the 1900s. Weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, it stands out most in Victoria, at 2.1 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

Victoria 7,511
New South Wales 5,557
Queensland 1,764
South Australia 608
Western Australia 361
Tasmania 294
ACT (Canberra) 21
Northern Territory 1

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

Who carried it

People named Raleigh,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Walter Raleigh
    Walter Raleigh 1552–1618 · writer
  • Walter Raleigh
    Walter Raleigh 1554–1618 · writer
  • Arthur Raleigh d. 2011
  • Thomas Raleigh 1380–1404 · politician
  • Thomas Raleigh 1380–1404
  • Elizabeth Edgcombe 1485–

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 Raleigh,
in the records of 3 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 States481 records

481 records of the Raleigh name in the United States
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 134
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 134
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 81
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 66
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 24
  • Irish Famine arrivals at New York, 1846–1851 23
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 18
  • U.S. service members who died in the Vietnam War 1
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Victor L. Raleigh

    Born 1907 in New Hampshire. Enlisted 1942 at Fort Devens, Massachusetts; bartender. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1980, buried at Massachusetts National Cemetery, Massachusetts.

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

    Arrived at Boston in 1884 aboard the Aleppo from Liverpool, aged 60; matron. From England; bound for Boston.

    U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)
  3. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Louis Raymond Raleigh

    Born 1932; from Braintree, Massachusetts. U.S. Air Force; died in an accident 1965 in Bien Hoa, South Vietnam.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain)

Showing 3 of 481 records for Raleigh in the United States.

Counts: NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · 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, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · 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); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Vietnam Veterans Memorial, photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, 2009 (public domain).

Australia299 records

299 records of the Raleigh name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 163
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 70
  • Queensland State Archives indexes 54
  • NSW convict, estate and railway indexes 6
  • Tasmanian Names Index 6
  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 Richard Raleigh

    Transported to New South Wales aboard the Neptune, arriving 1838; ticket of leave 1842.

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

    Arrived in Victoria in 1857 aboard the Eastern City, aged 27; Irish.

    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 Viktoria Raleigh

    Gentlewoman of South Caulfield, Victoria; died 1995.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 299 records for Raleigh in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (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); 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).

Canada10 records

10 records of the Raleigh name in Canada
  • Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver 6
  • Canadian Virtual War Memorial 2
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 1
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 1
  1. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Grace Raleigh

    Died 1966; buried at Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver, British Columbia.

    City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver.
  2. 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 Samuel Raleigh

    Died in service in 1918.

    Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada.
  3. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Fanny Sophia Raleigh

    Married 1868 in Sherbrook, Guysborough, Nova Scotia.

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

Showing 3 of 10 records for Raleigh in Canada.

Counts: City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver. · Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. · Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. · 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); Canadian First World War circumstances-of-death register (scan by Scottgraham87 via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0); Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Raleigh.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Raleigh 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.

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