The Searles surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 6,178 people carried this name — #5,627 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 47,800 people counted. That is up 3% from 5,970 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Searles surname

As an English and Welsh surname

Bardsley classes it as a baptismal name, from a given name: ‘the son of Serle’.

An early record he cites: Hugh Serlson, 1300 — Writs of Parliament.

His entry covers Serle, Searle, Serrell, Serlson, Searles, Serrill, Serrills and Searl.

From Charles W. Bardsley, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with Special American Instances (London: Henry Frowde, 1901), p. 678 · public domain.

In print

Searles in American newspapers,
1901–1908.

Newspaper page from Hot Springs Weekly Star carrying the name Searles
Hot Springs Weekly Star 1901-08-16
Newspaper page from Tonopah Daily Bonanza carrying the name Searles
Tonopah Daily Bonanza 1908-01-16
Newspaper page from Tonopah Daily Bonanza carrying the name Searles
Tonopah Daily Bonanza 1908-01-23

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 123,026 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Searles in Australian newspapers,
1840s–1980s.

3,359 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Searles. The most, 656, 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 Queensland, at 1.5 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 1,585
Queensland 987
Victoria 375
South Australia 286
Western Australia 83
Tasmania 26
ACT (Canberra) 9

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

Who carried it

People named Searles,
with a public archive behind them.

  • John Wemple Searles 1828–1897
  • John Ennis Searles 1840–1908
  • Mary D. Searles 1845–1935 · mathematician
  • John Wesley Searles 1883–1975
  • J. F. Searles 1889– · politician
  • Helen Agnes Searles 1903–1984 · beauty pageant contestant

Wikidata (CC0) · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Searles,
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 States749 records

749 records of the Searles name in the United States
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 215
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 215
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 121
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 106
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 63
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 25
  • Irish Famine arrivals at New York, 1846–1851 2
  • U.S. service members who died in the Vietnam War 2
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Harold H. Searles

    Born 1908 in New York. Enlisted 1944 at Fort Dix, New Jersey; plumber. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1961, 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 Charles Peter Searles

    Born 1947; from Burbank, California. U.S. Marine Corps, motor vehicle operator; 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 Ann Searles

    Arrived at New York in 1853 aboard the John Hancock from Liverpool, aged 37; farmer. From Ireland.

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

Showing 3 of 749 records for Searles in the United States.

Counts: NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · 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) · 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). 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).

Australia68 records

68 records of the Searles name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 38
  • Queensland State Archives indexes 13
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 10
  • NSW convict, estate and railway indexes 4
  • Tasmanian Names Index 3
  1. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Abigail Searles

    Arrived in Victoria in 1857 aboard the Crimea, aged 18; English.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record William Clifford Searles

    Retired of Footscray, Victoria; died 1969.

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

    Left Launceston in 1853 aboard the William Hill, bound for Geelong, as a seaman.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 68 records for Searles 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). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: 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); Emigration file, Gündlingen, 1883, Landesarchiv Baden-Württemberg, Staatsarchiv Freiburg B 694/1 Nr. 1389 (CC BY 4.0).

Canada17 records

17 records of the Searles name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 11
  • Canadian Virtual War Memorial 3
  • 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 Kenneth Searles

    Buried in 1977 at Queen's Park Cemetery, Calgary, Alberta, aged 67.

    City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary.
  2. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Gordon Searles

    Died 1938 in New Glasgow, Pictou, 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 Lawson Searles

    Died in service in 1944.

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

Showing 3 of 17 records for Searles 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. · 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).

United Kingdom6 records

6 records of the Searles 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 E. R. Searles

    Lance Bombardier, Royal Field Artillery. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1918.

    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 J. Searles

    Sapper, Fusiliers. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1918.

    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 W. Searles

    Cheshire Regiment. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1918.

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

Showing 3 of 6 records for Searles 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).

France3 records

3 records of the Searles 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 Georges Searles

    Born 1910 in Paris; died 1988 in Montoldre (Allier).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)
  2. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Gladys Isabel Searles

    Born 1907 in the United Kingdom; died 1993 in Nice (Alpes-Maritimes).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)
  3. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Alain Henri Searles

    Born 1947 in Saint-Germain-des-Fossés; died 1990 in Vichy (Allier).

    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 Searles.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Searles 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 Searles volume
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