The Sink surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 5,388 people carried this name — #6,331 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 54,600 people counted. That is up 1% from 5,355 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Sink surname

From the Dutch and northern German surname, from Zink (“cornetto, trumpet-like instrument”).

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

In national population registers

261 people named Sink is counted in Slovenia.

Slovenia counts its residents on 1 January 2026.

Counted, by country

Slovenia (2026) 261

Source: Statistical Office of the Republic of Slovenia (SURS), SiStat tables 05X1015S–05X1018S, family names of the population, 1 January 2026 (names with 20 or more bearers shown).

In the first U.S. census, 1790

21 families named Sink, or a close spelling, were counted in 1790.

Each family is counted by its head. About 124 people lived in those households, 5.9 to a family on average. The table counts it together with 2 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

Pennsylvania 10
Virginia 6
North Carolina 3
Maryland 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. 262 — public domain · names carried by at least 100 white persons in 1790.

In print

Sink in American newspapers,
1902–1921.

Newspaper page from Daily Kennebec Journal carrying the name Sink
Daily Kennebec Journal 1916-02-01
Newspaper page from The Butte Inter Mountain carrying the name Sink
The Butte Inter Mountain 1902-07-25
Newspaper page from The Monroe Journal carrying the name Sink
The Monroe Journal 1921-02-18

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 861 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Sink in Australian newspapers,
1840s–1960s.

871 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Sink. The most, 163, date from the 1910s. Weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, it stands out most in Victoria, at 1.5 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

Victoria 282
New South Wales 248
Queensland 148
South Australia 100
Western Australia 49
Tasmania 31
ACT (Canberra) 6
Northern Territory 2

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

Who carried it

People named Sink,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Robert Sink
    Robert Sink 1905–1965 · military personnel
  • Robert Sink
    Robert Sink 1905–1965 · military personnel
  • Eric Sink 1901– · software developer
  • Peeter Sink 1902–1957 · photographer
  • Marje Sink 1910–1979 · composer
  • Roland Sink 1926–2015 · middle-distance runner

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 Sink,
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 States433 records

433 records of the Sink name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 231
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 60
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 59
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 49
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 18
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 12
  • U.S. service members who died in the Vietnam War 3
  • 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 Maxton R. Sink

    Born 1924 in North Carolina. Enlisted 1942 at Camp Croft, South Carolina; farmer. U.S. Army Air Forces veteran of World War II; died 1996, buried at Forest Lawn Cemetery, Greensboro, North Carolina.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Rosa Sink

    Arrived at New York in 1891 aboard the Rhynland from Antwerp, aged 23; servant. From Wagenschend, Germany.

    U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)
  3. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Melvin Francis Sink

    Born 1944; from Indianapolis, Indiana. U.S. Marine Corps, rifleman; killed in action 1967 in Quang Tri, South Vietnam.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain)

Showing 3 of 433 records for Sink 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) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · 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) · 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); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Vietnam Veterans Memorial, photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, 2009 (public domain).

Netherlands218 records

218 records of the Sink name in the Netherlands
  • Dutch civil registers (births, marriages, deaths) 131
  • Dutch church registers before 1811 59
  • Dutch population registers 28
  1. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Antonia Sink

    Married in 1839 in Leerdam. Died 1886 in Leerdam, aged 95.

    Open Archives, Nationaal Archief Rijksarchief Zuid-Holland (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Nicolaasina Sink

    Married in 1854 in Rotterdam. Died 1910 in Rotterdam, aged 83.

    Open Archives, Stadsarchief Rotterdam (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Hendrik Frederik Sink

    Born 1881 in Leerdam. Died 1882 in Woudrichem.

    Open Archives, Nationaal Archief Rijksarchief Zuid-Holland (CC BY 4.0); Open Archives, Brabants Historisch Informatie Centrum (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 218 records for Sink 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); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0).

Germany16 records

16 records of the Sink name in Germany
  • Germany's First World War casualty lists, 1914–1919 14
  • German emigration and citizenship files 2
  1. A page of the German First World War casualty lists, 18 April 1918
    Example: German casualty list, 1918
    Casualty list Wilhelm Sink

    From Amoltern, Emmendingen. Reported dead in the Prussian casualty list of 31 October 1916 (Infantry Regiment No. 50).

    Verein für Computergenealogie e.V. (2026). Deutsche Verlustlisten des Ersten Weltkriegs – Datensammlung (Version 1.0), DOI 10.5281/zenodo.18330751 (CC0)
  2. The first page of an emigration file from Gündlingen, Baden, 1883
    Example: German emigration file, 1883
    Emigration record Reinhard Sink

    Left Amoltern for America in 1873.

    Deutsche Digitale Bibliothek / Landesarchiv Baden-Württemberg (CC0)
  3. The first page of an emigration file from Gündlingen, Baden, 1883
    Example: German emigration file, 1883
    Emigration record Bernhard Sink

    Left Amoltern for America in 1873.

    Deutsche Digitale Bibliothek / Landesarchiv Baden-Württemberg (CC0)

Showing 3 of 16 records for Sink in Germany.

Counts: Verein für Computergenealogie e.V. (2026). Deutsche Verlustlisten des Ersten Weltkriegs – Datensammlung (Version 1.0), DOI 10.5281/zenodo.18330751 (CC0) · Deutsche Digitale Bibliothek (CC0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Deutsche Verlustlisten, Prussian list 1116, 18 April 1918 (scan via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0); Emigration file, Gündlingen, 1883, Landesarchiv Baden-Württemberg, Staatsarchiv Freiburg B 694/1 Nr. 1389 (CC BY 4.0).

Australia6 records

6 records of the Sink name in Australia
  • Queensland State Archives indexes 5
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 1
  1. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Mary Sink

    Arrived in Queensland in 1883 aboard the Chyebassa, aged 16.

    Queensland State Archives (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 Alice M. Sink

    Arrived in Victoria in 1911 aboard the Wilcannia, aged 25.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Civil record Friedk Sink

    Held a land order in Queensland in 1865.

    Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 6 records for Sink in Australia.

Counts: Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0) · Public Record Office Victoria (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); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0).

Canada3 records

3 records of the Sink name in Canada Nova Scotia Archives name indexes
  1. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record David Sink

    Married 1874 in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.
  2. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Birth record James A. Sink

    Born 1866 in South, Lunenburg, 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 Henry Freeman Sink

    Born 1866 in South, Lunenburg, Nova Scotia.

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

Counts: Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Sink.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Sink 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 Sink volume
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