The Sparrow surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 7,614 people carried this name — #4,657 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 38,800 people counted. That is up 5% from 7,263 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Sparrow surname

From Middle English Sparow.

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

As an English and Welsh surname

Bardsley classes it as a nickname: ‘the sparrow’.

An early record he cites: John Sparuwe, Oxfordshire, 1273 — Hundred Rolls.

From Charles W. Bardsley, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with Special American Instances (London: Henry Frowde, 1901), p. 705 · public domain.

In Argentina’s national register

At least 43 people named Sparrow live in Argentina.

RENAPER only publishes a name in a province when more than ten people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in Buenos Aires Province.

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they live today

Buenos Aires Province 33
City of Buenos Aires 10

RENAPER (National Registry of Persons, Argentina), surnames of residents by province, December 2021 — CC BY 4.0.

In the Nordic population registers

21 people named Sparrow is counted in Sweden.

Sweden’s figure is from 31 December 2022, the last count Statistics Sweden published.

Counted, by country

Sweden (2022) 21

Own calculations based on data from Statistics Sweden (SCB), surnames with at least two bearers, 31 December 2022 — CC BY 4.0 (names with 20 or more bearers shown).

Among the farmers of England and Wales, 1880s

Sparrow was found among the farmers of 3 counties.

It was most frequent in Gloucestershire: 17 in every 10,000 farmers there — about 1 in 588. Guppy counted the farmers listed in each county’s directory and recorded a name only where it reached about 7 in every 10,000; where it does not appear, it was rarer than that, not absent.

Where it concentrates, on the map

Per 10,000 farmers, by county

Gloucestershire 17
Essex 12
Suffolk 9

H. B. Guppy, «Homes of Family Names in Great Britain» (London, 1890), alphabetical list of English and Welsh names — public domain · farmers in Kelly’s Post Office Directories of the 1880s, per 10,000 farmers in each county.

In the first U.S. census, 1790

35 Sparrow families were counted in 1790.

Each family is counted by its head. About 218 people lived in those households, 6.2 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

Virginia 9
Massachusetts 8
Maryland 6
North Carolina 6
Maine 2
Connecticut 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. 262 — public domain · names carried by at least 100 white persons in 1790.

In print

Sparrow in American newspapers,
1906–1924.

Newspaper page from Iowa County Democrat carrying the name Sparrow
Iowa County Democrat 1906-05-31
Newspaper page from The San Francisco Call carrying the name Sparrow
The San Francisco Call 1910-05-15
Newspaper page from The Birmingham Age-herald carrying the name Sparrow
The Birmingham Age-herald 1924-01-12

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 2,589 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Sparrow in Australian newspapers,
1800s–2000s.

21,721 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Sparrow. The most, 3,635, 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 South Australia, at 2.3 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

South Australia 5,855
Victoria 4,703
New South Wales 3,909
Tasmania 2,628
Western Australia 2,526
Queensland 1,993
ACT (Canberra) 66
Northern Territory 16

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

Who carried it

People named Sparrow,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Hannah Maria Sparrow
    Hannah Maria Sparrow d. 1860
  • John Sparrow d. 1546 · politician
  • Frances Harriet Sparrow d. 1866
  • Celia Elizabeth Mary Sparrow d. 2013
  • Ellen Sparrow d. 1913
  • Patience Sparrow d. 1745

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 Sparrow,
in the records of 7 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 States883 records

883 records of the Sparrow name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 267
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 231
  • Other U.S. records 385
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record George R. Sparrow

    Born 1913 in New York. Enlisted 1942 at Fort Jay Governors Island; secondary school teacher. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1972, 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. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Albert W. Sparrow

    Arrived at New York in 1907 aboard the America from Southampton, aged 35; valet. From London, England; bound for New York. Born in Plymouth, England.

    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 Carl William Sparrow

    Born 1948; from South Charleston, Ohio. U.S. Marine Corps, shore party specialist; killed in action 1968 in Quang Tri, South Vietnam.

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

Showing 3 of 883 records for Sparrow 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. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · 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); 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).

Australia652 records

652 records of the Sparrow name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 334
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 112
  • Other Australian records 206
  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 George Sparrow

    Transported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Cressy, sailing from Plymouth in 1843. Native of The Strand, Middlesex. Applied for permission to marry in Van Diemen's Land in 1850. Married 1850 in Hobart, Tasmania.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record John Sparrow

    Died 1912 in Launceston, Tasmania. Will registered in Tasmania in 1913.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Arthur William Sparrow

    Born 1872 in Launceston, Tasmania. Married 1893 in Launceston, Tasmania, aged 21.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 652 records for Sparrow in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY) · State Library of Western Australia (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); Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain); Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain).

Canada102 records

102 records of the Sparrow name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 39
  • Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver 17
  • Other Canadian records 46
  1. The first page of an emigration file from Gündlingen, Baden, 1883
    Example: German emigration file, 1883
    Emigration record Nancy Sparrow

    Left New York in 1783 aboard the Clinton, bound for Annapolis and St Johns, aged 45.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.
  2. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Marie Beatrice Sparrow

    Buried in 1985 at Queen's Park Cemetery, Calgary, Alberta, aged 92.

    City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary.
  3. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Civil record Andrew Sparrow

    Killed in the Halifax Explosion of 1917.

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

Showing 3 of 102 records for Sparrow in Canada.

Counts: Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. · City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver. · City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary. · Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. · City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg. · Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario. · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Emigration file, Gündlingen, 1883, Landesarchiv Baden-Württemberg, Staatsarchiv Freiburg B 694/1 Nr. 1389 (CC BY 4.0); Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0).

United Kingdom22 records

22 records of the Sparrow name in the United Kingdom
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 18
  • Welsh wills index cards 3
  • St James's burial ground, Euston (London), 1789–1853 1
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Edith Sparrow

    Buried in 1846 at St James's burial ground, Euston, London, aged 67.

    MOLA and HS2, St James's burial ground data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
  2. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Jane Sparrow

    Will proved in 1930; of Holyhead, Anglesey.

    National Library of Wales, Wills Index Cards (CC0)
  3. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record B. Sparrow

    Heshire Regiment. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1919.

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

Showing 3 of 22 records for Sparrow in the United Kingdom.

Counts: National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · National Library of Wales, Wills Index Cards (CC0) · MOLA and HS2, St James's burial ground data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0); Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain); C. & E. Morton Ltd roll of honour, 1914–1919, photo by Adrian S Pye via Geograph (CC BY-SA 2.0).

New Zealand13 records

13 records of the Sparrow name in New Zealand Christchurch City cemetery records
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Violet Annie Elizabeth Sparrow

    Died 1987, aged 81; buried at Ruru Lawn, Christchurch, Canterbury.

    Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Charles Sparrow

    Died 1908, aged 51; buried at Linwood Cemetery, Christchurch, Canterbury.

    Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Maree Jane Sparrow

    Died 1998, aged 43; buried at Memorial Park Cemetery, Christchurch, Canterbury.

    Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 13 records for Sparrow in New Zealand.

Counts: Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0).

France5 records

5 records of the Sparrow 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 William Arthur John Sparrow

    Born 1924 in Bourbourg; died 1996 in Fontaine-Notre-Dame (Nord).

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

    Born 1922 in Great Britain; died 1998 in Monbazillac (Dordogne).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)
  3. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Gerald Robert Achille Sparrow

    Born 1927 in Bourbourg; died 2000 in Cambrai (Nord).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)

Showing 3 of 5 records for Sparrow in France.

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).

Netherlands1 record

1 record of the Sparrow name in the Netherlands Dutch population registers
  1. A page of the 1910 United States census, Milwaukee
    Example: U.S. census, 1910
    Population register Katie Olivia Sparrow

    In a population register; born 1864 in Bowden.

    Open Archives, Stadsarchief Rotterdam (CC BY 4.0)

Counts: Open Archives (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: U.S. census of 1910, Milwaukee (public domain).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Sparrow.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Sparrow 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.

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