The Runnels surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 5,055 people carried this name — #6,680 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 58,500 people counted. That is up 4% from 4,863 in 2000.

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In the first U.S. census, 1790

160 families named Runnels, or a close spelling, were counted in 1790.

Each family is counted by its head. About 887 people lived in those households, 5.5 to a family on average. The table counts it together with 19 other spellings. 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

New York 46
North Carolina 22
New Hampshire 19
Connecticut 19
Massachusetts 15
Maine 11
Vermont 9
South Carolina 7
Maryland 6
Pennsylvania 4
Virginia 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

Runnels in American newspapers,
1914.

Newspaper page from Grant County Herald carrying the name Runnels
Grant County Herald 1914-04-22
Newspaper page from Dresden Enterprise And Sharon Tribune carrying the name Runnels
Dresden Enterprise And Sharon Tribune 1914-09-18
Newspaper page from Dresden Enterprise And Sharon Tribune carrying the name Runnels
Dresden Enterprise And Sharon Tribune 1914-10-02

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 25,605 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Runnels in Australian newspapers,
1900s–1940s.

45 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Runnels. The most, 22, date from the 1910s.

Articles, by state

Western Australia 32
Victoria 5
New South Wales 4
Queensland 3
Tasmania 1

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

Who carried it

People named Runnels,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Hiram Runnels
    Hiram Runnels 1796–1857 · politician
  • Hardin Richard Runnels
    Hardin Richard Runnels 1820–1873 · politician
  • Harold L. Runnels
    Harold L. Runnels 1924–1980 · politician
  • Randolph Runnels 1830–
  • Orange Scott Runnels 1847–1929 · writer
  • Margaret Graham Montgomery 1904–1964

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 Runnels,
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 States260 records

260 records of the Runnels name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 161
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 86
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 3
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 3
  • U.S. service members who died in the Vietnam War 3
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 2
  • 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 James D. Runnels

    Born 1904 in Mississippi. Enlisted 1944 at Fort Dix, New Jersey; usher. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1963, buried at Long Island 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 Glyn Linal Runnels

    Born 1946; from Birmingham, Alabama. U.S. Marine Corps, rifleman; killed in action 1967 in Thua Thien, 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 Margaret Runnels

    Arrived at Boston in 1847 aboard the Sheffield from Liverpool, aged 14. From Ireland.

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

Showing 3 of 260 records for Runnels in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (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).

Canada3 records

3 records of the Runnels name in Canada
  • Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver 2
  • Canadian Virtual War Memorial 1
  1. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Hulda Runnels

    Died 1922; 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 Frederick Thomas Runnels

    Died in service in 1944.

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

Showing 2 of 3 records for Runnels 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. 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).

Netherlands1 record

1 record of the Runnels name in the Netherlands Dutch church registers before 1811
  1. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Civil record Edward Runnels

    Baptised in 1793 in Amsterdam.

    Open Archives, Stadsarchief Amsterdam (CC BY 4.0)

Counts: Open Archives (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Runnels.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Runnels 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 Runnels volume
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