The Stapleton surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 18,332 people carried this name — #1,973 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 16,100 people counted. That is up 5% from 17,529 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Stapleton surname

A habitational surname from Old English.

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Stapleton» (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 local name, from where the family lived: ‘of Stapleton’.

An early record he cites: William de Stapelton, Oxfordshire, 1273 — Hundred Rolls.

From Charles W. Bardsley, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with Special American Instances (London: Henry Frowde, 1901), p. 714 · public domain.

In Ireland’s birth registers, 1890

Ireland registered 28 births for the Stapleton name in 1890.

Most were registered in Leinster. By the Registrar-General’s own method — births multiplied by 44.38 — that is about 1,200 people bearing the name in Ireland at the time.

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

Where they were born, 1890

Leinster 18
Munster 10

Registrar-General for Ireland, «Special Report on Surnames in Ireland» (R. E. Matheson, 1894), births index of 1890 — public domain.

In the Nordic population registers

24 people named Stapleton is counted in Sweden.

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

Counted, by country

Sweden (2022) 24

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).

In print

Stapleton in American newspapers,
1884–1921.

Newspaper page from The Lakeland Evening Telegram carrying the name Stapleton
The Lakeland Evening Telegram 1921-08-13
Newspaper page from The Tacoma Times carrying the name Stapleton
The Tacoma Times 1916-07-04
Newspaper page from Hand County Press carrying the name Stapleton
Hand County Press 1884-10-23

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 70,017 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Stapleton in Australian newspapers,
1820s–2000s.

35,475 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Stapleton. The most, 6,138, date from the 1930s. Weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, it stands out most in New South Wales, at 1.4 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 17,112
Victoria 6,085
Queensland 5,631
South Australia 3,709
Western Australia 1,999
Tasmania 743
ACT (Canberra) 119
Northern Territory 22

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

Who carried it

People named Stapleton,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Joe Stapleton
    Joe Stapleton d. 2005 · association football player
  • Emily Stapleton
    Emily Stapleton d. 1875
  • Emily Stapleton
    Emily Stapleton d. 1875
  • William Stapleton d. 1432 · politician
  • Brian Stapleton d. 1417 · politician
  • Robert Stapleton d. 1635 · 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 Stapleton,
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 States2,546 records

2,546 records of the Stapleton name in the United States
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 697
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 604
  • Other U.S. records 1,245
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record George T. Stapleton

    Born 1915 in Kansas. Enlisted 1942 at Fort Leavenworth; social worker from Douglas County. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1964, buried at Fort Leavenworth National Cemetery, Kansas.

    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 Johanna Stapleton

    Arrived at New York in 1858 aboard the Cultivator from Liverpool, aged 14; domestic. From Tipperary, Ireland.

    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 Lawrence George Stapleton

    Born 1946; from Euclid, Ohio. U.S. Army, carpentry and masonry specialist; died of wounds 1967 in Binh Dinh, South Vietnam.

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

Showing 3 of 2,546 records for Stapleton in the United States.

Counts: 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. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain) · 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).

Australia1,139 records

1,139 records of the Stapleton name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 500
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 208
  • Other Australian records 431
  1. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Amby Stapleton

    Died 1914 in Homoeopathic Hospital, Launceston, Tasmania. Will registered in Tasmania in 1914.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Mary Ann Stapleton

    Born 1858 in Hobart, Tasmania. Married 1881 in Hobart, Tasmania, aged 23.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  3. 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 John Stapleton

    Transported to New South Wales aboard the Providence, arriving 1811; ticket of leave 1826. Native of Kil Callan.

    Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY)

Showing 3 of 1,139 records for Stapleton in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (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) · ACT Government, Transport Canberra and City Services (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain); Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain); Prison-ship in Portsmouth Harbour, with the convicts going on board, etching by Edward William Cooke, 1829, Royal Museums Greenwich (public domain).

Canada123 records

123 records of the Stapleton name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 84
  • City of Calgary cemetery records 14
  • Other Canadian records 25
  1. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Helen Stapleton

    Killed in the Halifax Explosion of 1917, aged 62; buried at St John's Cemetery, Halifax.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.
  2. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record John Stapleton

    Came to Ontario in 1870 aboard the European, landing at Quebec, bound for Orillia, Ontario; English.

    Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario.
  3. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Mary Elizabeth Stapleton

    Buried in 2000 at St. Mary's Cemetery, Calgary, Alberta, aged 93.

    City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary.

Showing 3 of 123 records for Stapleton 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. · Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. · Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario. · City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver. · Halifax Regional Municipality. Contains information licenced under the Open Government Licence—Halifax. · City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg. · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · City of Niagara Falls. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Niagara Falls. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

United Kingdom30 records

30 records of the Stapleton name in the United Kingdom
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 21
  • St James's burial ground, Euston (London), 1789–1853 9
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record James Stapleton

    Buried in 1820 at St James's burial ground, Euston, London, aged 80.

    MOLA and HS2, St James's burial ground data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
  2. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record B. J. Stapleton

    London Regiment. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1917.

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)
  3. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Henry Stapleton

    Buried in 1837 at St James's burial ground, Euston, London, aged 36.

    MOLA and HS2, St James's burial ground data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Showing 3 of 30 records for Stapleton in the United Kingdom.

Counts: National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · 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); C. & E. Morton Ltd roll of honour, 1914–1919, photo by Adrian S Pye via Geograph (CC BY-SA 2.0).

New Zealand29 records

29 records of the Stapleton name in New Zealand
  • Christchurch City cemetery records 28
  • Marlborough District cemetery records 1
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Dorothy Stapleton

    Died 1984, aged 80; 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 Stephen Stapleton

    Died 1993, aged 77; buried at Omaka Cemetery, Marlborough.

    Marlborough District Council (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Paul Gerard Stapleton

    Died 1990, aged 31; buried at Memorial Park Cemetery, Christchurch, Canterbury.

    Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 29 records for Stapleton in New Zealand.

Counts: Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0) · Marlborough District 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).

Netherlands10 records

10 records of the Stapleton name in the Netherlands
  • Dutch church registers before 1811 5
  • Dutch civil registers (births, marriages, deaths) 4
  • Dutch population registers 1
  1. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Lulu Agnes Stapleton

    Died 1958 in 's-Gravenhage, aged 74.

    Open Archives, Haags Gemeentearchief (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Sarah Anne Stapleton

    Married in 1873 in Rotterdam.

    Open Archives, Stadsarchief Rotterdam (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record John Augustus Agathon Stapleton

    Married in 1869 in Arnhem.

    Open Archives, Gelders Archief (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 10 records for Stapleton 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); Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain).

Ireland2 records

2 records of the Stapleton name in Ireland County Galway graveyard records
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Kathleen Stapleton

    Died 1993, aged 76; buried at Clontuskert, 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 Michael Stapleton

    Died 1994, aged 81; buried at Clontuskert, Co. Galway.

    Galway County Council (CC BY 4.0)

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).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Stapleton.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Stapleton 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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