The Rumsey surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 5,226 people carried this name — #6,497 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 56,500 people counted. That is up 5% from 4,980 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Rumsey surname

As an English and Welsh surname

Bardsley classes it as a local name, from where the family lived: ‘of Romsey’.

An early record he cites: Walter de Romesy, Somerset, 1327–28 (1 Edward III) — Kirby's Quest (Somerset).

From Charles W. Bardsley, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with Special American Instances (London: Henry Frowde, 1901), p. 659 · public domain.

In the first U.S. census, 1790

30 Rumsey families were counted in 1790.

Each family is counted by its head. About 183 people lived in those households, 6.1 to a family on average. 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

Vermont 9
New York 9
Maryland 4
Connecticut 3
Virginia 3
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. 260 — public domain · names carried by at least 100 white persons in 1790.

In print

Rumsey in American newspapers,
1853–1910.

Newspaper page from Pierre Weekly Free Press carrying the name Rumsey
Pierre Weekly Free Press 1910-06-09
Newspaper page from The Cecil Whig carrying the name Rumsey
The Cecil Whig 1853-02-19
Newspaper page from The Philipsburg Mail carrying the name Rumsey
The Philipsburg Mail 1897-02-12

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 37,301 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Rumsey in Australian newspapers,
1850s–2000s.

2,446 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Rumsey. The most, 397, 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 New South Wales, at 1.7 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 1,359
Queensland 642
Victoria 225
Western Australia 77
South Australia 72
Tasmania 40
ACT (Canberra) 24
Northern Territory 1

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

Who carried it

People named Rumsey,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Charlotte Jane Bullus
    Charlotte Jane Bullus 1780–1869
  • Nina Rumsey d. 1951
  • Florence Rumsey d. 1935
  • Walter Rumsey 1584–1660 · judge
  • John Rumsey 1660–1686 · soldier
  • Benjamin Rumsey 1734–1808 · 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 Rumsey,
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 States528 records

528 records of the Rumsey name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 196
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 118
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 75
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 58
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 35
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 33
  • Irish Famine arrivals at New York, 1846–1851 10
  • U.S. service members who died in the Vietnam War 2
  • New York State police and firefighter memorial rolls 1
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Harold F. Rumsey

    Born 1907 in New York. Enlisted 1942 at Fort Jay Governors Island; ship captain from Sullivan County. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1978, buried at Calverton National Cemetery, New York.

    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 Melvin Darryl Rumsey

    Born 1950; from Marietta, Georgia. U.S. Marine Corps, rifleman; killed in action 1968 in Quang Nam, 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 Nelly Rumsey

    Arrived at New York in 1851 aboard the St. George from Liverpool, aged 12; servant. From Ireland.

    U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain)

Showing 3 of 528 records for Rumsey in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · 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, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain) · New York State, Open NY (police and firefighter memorial rolls). 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).

Australia128 records

128 records of the Rumsey name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 56
  • Queensland State Archives indexes 45
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 15
  • NSW convict, estate and railway indexes 6
  • Tasmanian Names Index 4
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 2
  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 William Rumsey

    Transported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Lord Lyndoch, sailing from Sheerness in 1831.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (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 Octavia Rumsey

    Arrived in Victoria in 1853 aboard the Fay Away, aged 26; British subject.

    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 Frederick Limon Rumsey

    Labourer of Bayswater, Victoria; died 1991.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 128 records for Rumsey 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) · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). 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).

Canada46 records

46 records of the Rumsey name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 39
  • Canadian Virtual War Memorial 3
  • Halifax municipal cemeteries 2
  • City of Calgary cemetery records 1
  • City of Winnipeg cemetery records 1
  1. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Rita Marion Rumsey

    Buried in 1983 at Mount Hermon Cemetery, Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, aged 52.

    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 James Rumsey

    Died 1908 in Clarence, Annapolis, 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 Frederick Charles Rumsey

    Died in service in 1918.

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

Showing 3 of 46 records for Rumsey in Canada.

Counts: Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. · Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. · Halifax Regional Municipality. Contains information licenced under the Open Government Licence—Halifax. · City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary. · City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg. 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).

United Kingdom9 records

9 records of the Rumsey 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 W. Rumsey

    Denshire Regiment. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1917.

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)
  2. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record C. W. Rumsey

    London Regiment. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1917.

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)
  3. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record N. H. Rumsey

    Driver, Army Medical Corps. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1917.

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

Showing 3 of 9 records for Rumsey in the United Kingdom.

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).

Netherlands3 records

3 records of the Rumsey name in the Netherlands
  • Dutch population registers 2
  • Dutch civil registers (births, marriages, deaths) 1
  1. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Sarah Ann Rumsey

    Married in 1863 in 's-Gravenhage.

    Open Archives, Haags Gemeentearchief (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the 1910 United States census, Milwaukee
    Example: U.S. census, 1910
    Population register Frederik Rumsey

    In a population register.

    Open Archives, Stadsarchief Rotterdam (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 2 of 3 records for Rumsey in the Netherlands.

Counts: Open Archives (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain); U.S. census of 1910, Milwaukee (public domain).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Rumsey.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Rumsey is.
A volume says what happened to it.

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