The Reaves surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 15,550 people carried this name — #2,344 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 19,000 people counted. That is up 8% from 14,465 in 2000.

Look up another surname

Share

What the name means

The meaning of the Reaves surname

A surname originating as an occupation.

A patronymic form of the occupational name Reeve.

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

In print

Reaves in American newspapers,
1922.

Newspaper page from Oxford Eagle carrying the name Reaves
Oxford Eagle 1922-06-15
Newspaper page from Oxford Eagle carrying the name Reaves
Oxford Eagle 1922-05-25
Newspaper page from Oxford Eagle carrying the name Reaves
Oxford Eagle 1922-06-08

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 56,138 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Reaves in Australian newspapers,
1830s–1960s.

1,057 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Reaves. The most, 187, date from the 1910s. New South Wales has the most articles, but weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, the name stands out most in Queensland, at 1.3 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 317
Victoria 269
Queensland 238
South Australia 121
Western Australia 66
Tasmania 38
ACT (Canberra) 4
Northern Territory 1

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

Who carried it

People named Reaves,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Kelsie L. Reaves
    Kelsie L. Reaves 1911–1994 · military officer
  • Michael Reaves 1950–2023 · screenwriter
  • Joe Reaves 1950–2021 · basketball player
  • John Reaves 1950–2017 · American football player

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 Reaves,
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 States789 records

789 records of the Reaves name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 515
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 186
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 43
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 16
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 12
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 5
  • U.S. service members who died in the Korean War 4
  • U.S. service members who died in the Vietnam War 4
  • Irish Famine arrivals at New York, 1846–1851 2
  • Sacramento County historic burials 2
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record John W. Reaves

    Born 1902 in Georgia. Enlisted 1942 at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; garage worker. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1953, buried at Beverly National Cemetery, New Jersey.

    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 James Louis Reaves

    Born 1947; from Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. U.S. Marine Corps, field radio operator; killed in action 1967 in Quang Tri, 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 Ann Reaves

    Arrived at New York in 1869 aboard the France from Liverpool and Queenstown, aged 20; servant. From Ireland.

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

Showing 3 of 789 records for Reaves 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, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (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); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

Australia15 records

15 records of the Reaves name in Australia
  • Tasmanian Names Index 8
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 6
  • Queensland State Archives indexes 1
  1. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record George Reaves

    Arrived in Victoria in 1854 aboard the James Lumsden, aged 25; British subject.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)
  2. The first page of an emigration file from Gündlingen, Baden, 1883
    Example: German emigration file, 1883
    Emigration record Henry Reaves

    Left Launceston in 1850 aboard the William, bound for Sydney, as a seaman.

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

    Born 1863 in Launceston, Tasmania.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 15 records for Reaves in Australia.

Counts: Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) · Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Emigration file, Gündlingen, 1883, Landesarchiv Baden-Württemberg, Staatsarchiv Freiburg B 694/1 Nr. 1389 (CC BY 4.0); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0).

Canada6 records

6 records of the Reaves name in Canada Nova Scotia Archives name indexes
  1. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Grace Pauline Reaves

    Died 1928 in Cambridge, Kings, Nova Scotia.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.
  2. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Sarah Reaves

    Married 1865 in Gaspereau, Kings, Nova Scotia.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.
  3. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Birth record Arlph Greywood Reaves

    Born 1905 in Stellarton, Pictou, Nova Scotia.

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

Showing 3 of 6 records for Reaves 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: Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0); Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Reaves.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Reaves 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 Reaves volume
Scroll to Top