The Rankins surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 3,809 people carried this name — #8,634 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 77,500 people counted. That is up 10% from 3,450 in 2000.

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In print

Rankins in American newspapers,
1883.

Newspaper page from The Dawson Journal carrying the name Rankins
The Dawson Journal 1883-01-04

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain.

In print

Rankins in Australian newspapers,
1820s–1980s.

912 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Rankins. The most, 179, 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 450
Victoria 205
Queensland 173
South Australia 40
Western Australia 18
Tasmania 15
ACT (Canberra) 10
Northern Territory 1

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

In the public record

People named Rankins,
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 States206 records

206 records of the Rankins name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 88
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 52
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 37
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 15
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 9
  • U.S. service members who died in the Vietnam War 3
  • Irish Famine arrivals at New York, 1846–1851 1
  • U.S. service members who died in the Korean War 1
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record William T. Rankins

    Born 1924 in Tennessee. Enlisted 1943 at Camp Forrest; salesman from Shelby County. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1966, buried at Memphis National Cemetery, Tennessee.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Samual Kaye Rankins

    Born 1949; from Chicago, Illinois. U.S. Army, field artillery basic; killed in action 1970 in Binh Thuy, South Vietnam.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain)
  3. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Jane Rankins

    Arrived at New York in 1872 aboard the Adriatic from Liverpool, aged 25; servant. From Ireland.

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

Showing 3 of 206 records for Rankins 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) · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain). 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); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

Australia21 records

21 records of the Rankins name in Australia
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 10
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 6
  • Queensland State Archives indexes 2
  • Tasmanian Names Index 2
  • NSW convict, estate and railway indexes 1
  1. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Ernest E. Rankins

    Soldier of France, Victoria; died 1917.

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

    Arrived in Tasmania in 1833 aboard the Lady East.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record David Rankins

    Of Bexhill, New South Wales; died 1919.

    Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY)

Showing 3 of 21 records for Rankins in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: 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); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0).

Canada2 records

2 records of the Rankins name in Canada Nova Scotia Archives name indexes
  1. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Ann Rankins

    Married 1870 in Inverness, Nova Scotia.

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

Showing 1 of 2 records for Rankins in Canada.

Counts: Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain).

Germany1 record

1 record of the Rankins 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 Gustav Rankins

    From Berlin. Reported wounded in the Prussian casualty list of 14 September 1914 (Landwehr Infantry Regiment No. 18).

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

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).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Rankins.

When the index is not enough

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