The Spellman surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 7,627 people carried this name — #4,650 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 38,600 people counted. That is up 5% from 7,233 in 2000.

Look up another surname

Share

What the name means

The meaning of the Spellman surname

As an English and Welsh surname

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

An early record he cites: John Speleman, Nottinghamshire, 1273 — Hundred Rolls.

His entry covers Spelman and Spellman.

From Charles W. Bardsley, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with Special American Instances (London: Henry Frowde, 1901), p. 706 · public domain.

In print

Spellman in American newspapers,
1889–1928.

Newspaper page from The Bossier Banner carrying the name Spellman
The Bossier Banner 1889-07-11
Newspaper page from The Independent carrying the name Spellman
The Independent 1928-09-21
Newspaper page from Akron Daily Democrat carrying the name Spellman
Akron Daily Democrat 1901-11-06

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 29,991 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Spellman in Australian newspapers,
1840s–1990s.

992 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Spellman. The most, 146, date from the 1950s. Queensland 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 the Australian Capital Territory, at 3.1 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

Queensland 232
New South Wales 197
ACT (Canberra) 194
Victoria 183
Tasmania 122
South Australia 37
Western Australia 15
Northern Territory 3

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

Who carried it

People named Spellman,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Francis Spellman
    Francis Spellman 1889–1967 · archbishop
  • John Spellman
    John Spellman 1899–1966 · American football player
  • Coreen Mary Spellman
    Coreen Mary Spellman 1905–1978 · painter
  • Gladys Spellman
    Gladys Spellman 1918–1988 · politician
  • Frank Spellman
    Frank Spellman 1922–2017 · weightlifter
  • Charles C. Spellman 1843– · politician

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 Spellman,
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 States1,264 records

1,264 records of the Spellman name in the United States
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 502
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 268
  • Other U.S. records 494
  1. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Joseph Victor Spellman

    Born 1947; from Denver, Colorado. U.S. Army, indirect fire infantryman; killed in action 1968 in Gia Dinh, South Vietnam. Buried at Fort Logan National Cemetery, Colorado.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Patrick J. Spellman

    Born 1912 in New York. Enlisted 1942 at Fort Jay Governors Island; elevator operator. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1973, 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)
  3. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Kate Spellman

    Arrived at New York in 1885 aboard the Anchoria from Glasgow, aged 18; servant. From Boyle, Ireland.

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

Showing 3 of 1,264 records for Spellman 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) · 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, 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: Vietnam Veterans Memorial, photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, 2009 (public domain); U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

Australia80 records

80 records of the Spellman name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 42
  • Tasmanian Names Index 24
  • Other Australian records 14
  1. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Thomas Spellman

    Died 1922 in West¿ulverstone, Tasmania. Will registered in Tasmania in 1922.

    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 Jas Spellman

    Arrived in Victoria in 1860 aboard the Bucephalus, aged 50; Irish.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Michael John Spellman

    Died 1982; buried at Gungahlin Cemetery, Canberra, ACT.

    ACT Government, Transport Canberra and City Services (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 80 records for Spellman 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) · ACT Government, Transport Canberra and City Services (CC BY 4.0) · 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: Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0).

Canada14 records

14 records of the Spellman name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 12
  • City of Calgary cemetery records 1
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 1
  1. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Civil record James Spellman

    Killed in 1912 at the Drummond Mine, Nova Scotia.

    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 James Neil Spellman

    Buried in 1962 at Queen's Park Cemetery, Calgary, Alberta.

    City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary.
  3. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Mary Spellman

    Married 1892 in Cumberland, Nova Scotia.

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

Showing 3 of 14 records for Spellman in Canada.

Counts: Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. · City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary. · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0); Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0); Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain).

Ireland13 records

13 records of the Spellman name in Ireland County Galway graveyard records
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Patrick A. Spellman

    Died 1955, aged 39; buried at Lackagh (Old), Co. Galway.

    Galway County Council (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Patrick Spellman

    Died 1920, aged 65; buried at Drumacoo, Co. Galway.

    Galway County Council (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Bridie Spellman

    Died 1986, aged 49; buried at Lackagh (Old), Co. Galway.

    Galway County Council (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 13 records for Spellman in Ireland.

Counts: Galway County 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).

Netherlands3 records

3 records of the Spellman name in the Netherlands
  • Dutch population registers 2
  • Dutch civil registers (births, marriages, deaths) 1
  1. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Margaret Spellman

    Died 1936 in Nijmegen, aged 57; nun.

    Open Archives, Gelders Archief (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the 1910 United States census, Milwaukee
    Example: U.S. census, 1910
    Population register Heinrich W. Spellman

    In the population register of Apeldoorn; born 1850 in Verzmold, Prussia.

    Open Archives, CODA (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 2 of 3 records for Spellman in the Netherlands.

Counts: Open Archives (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0); U.S. census of 1910, Milwaukee (public domain).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Spellman.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Spellman 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 Spellman volume
Scroll to Top