The Rockwell surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 12,360 people carried this name — #2,902 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 23,900 people counted. That is up 2% from 12,099 in 2000.

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In the first U.S. census, 1790

101 families named Rockwell, or a close spelling, were counted in 1790.

Each family is counted by its head. About 578 people lived in those households, 5.7 to a family on average. The table counts it together with one other spelling. 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

Connecticut 65
New York 17
Massachusetts 8
Vermont 7
New Hampshire 2
Pennsylvania 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. 259 — public domain · names carried by at least 100 white persons in 1790.

In print

Rockwell in American newspapers,
1845–1850.

Newspaper page from Jeffersonian Republican carrying the name Rockwell
Jeffersonian Republican 1845-09-18
Newspaper page from American Republican And Baltimore Daily Clipper carrying the name Rockwell
American Republican And Baltimore Daily Clipper 1845-09-03
Newspaper page from Gallipolis Journal carrying the name Rockwell
Gallipolis Journal 1850-08-15

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 7,603 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Rockwell in Australian newspapers,
1840s–1990s.

6,178 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Rockwell. The most, 1,880, date from the 1930s. 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 Tasmania, at 2.8 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 3,952
Tasmania 981
Victoria 520
Queensland 291
Western Australia 258
South Australia 99
ACT (Canberra) 12
Northern Territory 2

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

Who carried it

People named Rockwell,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Julius Rockwell
    Julius Rockwell 1805–1888 · judge
  • Porter Rockwell
    Porter Rockwell 1813–1878 · bodyguard
  • Susanna Capen 1602–1666
  • Samuel Rockwell 1631–1711
  • Abraham John Rockwell 1749–1818
  • John A. Rockwell 1803–1861 · judge

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 Rockwell,
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 States1,328 records

1,328 records of the Rockwell name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 462
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 370
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 208
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 195
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 46
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 36
  • Sacramento County historic burials 5
  • Irish Famine arrivals at New York, 1846–1851 3
  • U.S. service members who died in the Korean War 2
  • Riverside Cemetery, Asheville (North Carolina) 1
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Sammie L. Rockwell

    Born 1922 in Georgia. Enlisted 1942 at Fort Benning; farmer from Worth County. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 2000, buried at St James Cemetery, Sylvester, Georgia.

    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 Jackie H. Rockwell

    Born 1930; from Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania. U.S. Army, light weapons infantryman; killed in action 1952 in North Korea.

    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 Franziska Rockwell

    Arrived at New York in 1853 aboard the Friedrich der Grosse from Bremen, aged 24; farmer. From Baden, Germany; bound for New York.

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

Showing 3 of 1,328 records for Rockwell in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · Sacramento County, Historic Burials (CC BY 4.0) · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain) · City of Asheville (public domain, PDDL). 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).

Canada503 records

503 records of the Rockwell name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 489
  • Halifax municipal cemeteries 6
  • Canadian Virtual War Memorial 5
  • City of Calgary cemetery records 1
  • Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver 1
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 1
  1. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Bertha Rockwell

    Buried in 1963 at Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, Nova Scotia, aged 86.

    Halifax Regional Municipality. Contains information licenced under the Open Government Licence—Halifax.
  2. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Eliza L. Rockwell

    Died 1909 in Brooklyn Station, Kings, Nova Scotia.

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

    Died in service in 1918.

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

Showing 3 of 503 records for Rockwell in Canada.

Counts: Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. · Halifax Regional Municipality. Contains information licenced under the Open Government Licence—Halifax. · Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. · City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary. · City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver. · 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); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0); Canadian First World War circumstances-of-death register (scan by Scottgraham87 via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0).

Australia78 records

78 records of the Rockwell name in Australia
  • Tasmanian Names Index 59
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 17
  • NSW convict, estate and railway indexes 2
  1. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Katherine Rockwell

    Died 1916 in Tasmania, aged 70. Will registered in Tasmania in 1917.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  2. 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 Robert Rockwell

    Transported to New South Wales aboard the John Barry, arriving 1819; certificate of freedom 1825.

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

    Arrived in Victoria in 1883 aboard the Garonne, aged 31.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 78 records for Rockwell in Australia.

Counts: Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) · Public Record Office Victoria (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); 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).

United Kingdom1 record

1 record of the Rockwell name in the United Kingdom War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead
  1. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record H. Rockwell

    Durham Light Infantry. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1918.

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)

Counts: National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: C. & E. Morton Ltd roll of honour, 1914–1919, photo by Adrian S Pye via Geograph (CC BY-SA 2.0).

France1 record

1 record of the Rockwell 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 Robert Beekman Rockwell

    Born 1922 in the United States; died 2000 in the United States.

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)

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).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Rockwell.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Rockwell is.
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