The Spires surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 7,592 people carried this name — #4,672 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 38,900 people counted. That is up 6% from 7,172 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Spires surname

Patronymic from Spire.

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

In print

Spires in American newspapers,
1897–1915.

Newspaper page from The Salt Lake Herald carrying the name Spires
The Salt Lake Herald 1897-10-10
Newspaper page from Daily Capital Journal carrying the name Spires
Daily Capital Journal 1915-10-11

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain.

In print

Spires in Australian newspapers,
1840s–1960s.

269 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Spires. The most, 45, date from the 1910s. 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 1.3 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 95
Victoria 66
Queensland 62
Western Australia 17
Tasmania 14
South Australia 10
ACT (Canberra) 2

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

In the public record

People named Spires,
in the records of 4 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 States358 records

358 records of the Spires name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 222
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 77
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 20
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 14
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 8
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 7
  • Irish Famine arrivals at New York, 1846–1851 6
  • U.S. service members who died in the Vietnam War 4
  1. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record John Albert Spires

    Born 1937; from Bath, New York. U.S. Army, parachutist; killed in action 1972 in Kontum, South Vietnam. Buried at Woodlawn National Cemetery, New York.

    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 Alpheous R. Spires

    Born 1916 in California. Enlisted 1941 at Peoria, Illinois; hospital attendant. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 2000, buried at Crestlawn Memorial Park, Riverside, California.

    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 Elizabeth Spires

    Arrived at New York in 1851 aboard the Sidons from Liverpool, aged 28; laborer. From Ireland.

    U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain)

Showing 3 of 358 records for Spires 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) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · 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).

Australia41 records

41 records of the Spires name in Australia
  • Queensland State Archives indexes 18
  • Tasmanian Names Index 11
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 11
  • State Library of Western Australia indexes 1
  1. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record James Spires

    Arrived in Queensland in 1880 aboard the Silver Eagle, aged 19.

    Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0)
  2. The first page of an emigration file from Gündlingen, Baden, 1883
    Example: German emigration file, 1883
    Emigration record Charles Spires

    Left Launceston in 1853 aboard the Yarra Yarra, bound for Melbourne, as crew.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Biographical index George Spires

    In the Western Australian Biographical Index; born 1833.

    State Library of Western Australia (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 41 records for Spires in Australia.

Counts: Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) · Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · State Library of Western Australia (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); Emigration file, Gündlingen, 1883, Landesarchiv Baden-Württemberg, Staatsarchiv Freiburg B 694/1 Nr. 1389 (CC BY 4.0); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0).

United Kingdom2 records

2 records of the Spires 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 F. Spires

    Royal Fusiliers. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1917.

    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 N. T. Spires

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

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

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).

Canada1 record

1 record of the Spires name in Canada Canadian Virtual War Memorial
  1. 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 George Spires

    Died in service in 1918.

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

Counts: Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Canadian First World War circumstances-of-death register (scan by Scottgraham87 via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Spires.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Spires 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 Spires volume
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