The Starling surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 10,004 people carried this name — #3,567 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 29,500 people counted. That is up 7% from 9,337 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Starling surname

An English surname transferred from the nickname from a nickname for a gregarious person.

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Starling» (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 starling’ — the first of the origins he gives.

An early record he cites: Symon Starlyng, Hertfordshire, 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.

Among the farmers of England and Wales, 1880s

Starling was found among the farmers of Norfolk: 17 in every 10,000.

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

Norfolk 17

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

36 families named Starling, or a close spelling, were counted in 1790.

Each family is counted by its head. About 218 people lived in those households, 6.1 to a family on average. The table counts it together with one other spelling. 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

Connecticut 14
North Carolina 14
Maine 3
Pennsylvania 2
South Carolina 2
Virginia 1

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. 263 — public domain · names carried by at least 100 white persons in 1790.

In print

Starling in American newspapers,
1890–1911.

Newspaper page from The Farmer And Mechanic carrying the name Starling
The Farmer And Mechanic 1911-10-03
Newspaper page from The Daily State Chronicle carrying the name Starling
The Daily State Chronicle 1890-05-27
Newspaper page from Evening Bulletin carrying the name Starling
Evening Bulletin 1903-11-13

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 44,090 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Starling in Australian newspapers,
1830s–1990s.

10,696 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Starling. The most, 1,983, date from the 1930s. 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 South Australia, at 1.7 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 3,739
South Australia 2,017
Victoria 1,957
Queensland 1,681
Western Australia 941
Tasmania 211
ACT (Canberra) 128
Northern Territory 5

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

Who carried it

People named Starling,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Ernest Starling
    Ernest Starling 1866–1927 · physician
  • Edmund W. Starling
    Edmund W. Starling 1875–1944 · spy
  • Johan Starling d. 1732 · civil servant
  • Geoffrey Starling 1301– · politician
  • Lyne Starling 1784–1848
  • Thomas Starling 1796–1850 · engraver

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 Starling,
in the records of 6 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 States429 records

429 records of the Starling name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 259
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 71
  • Other U.S. records 99
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Lucian G. Starling

    Born 1914 in Arkansas. Enlisted 1945 at Camp Josepth T Robinson Little Rock; post office clerk. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1997, buried at Hope Cemetery, Imboden, Arkansas.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Robert C. Starling

    Born 1931; from Dade County, Florida. U.S. Army, field artillery cannoneer; declared dead 1950 in North Korea.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain)
  3. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Elizabeth Starling

    Arrived at New York in 1856 aboard the Ontario from Liverpool, aged 37; laborer. From Ireland.

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

Showing 3 of 429 records for Starling 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) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain) · City of Asheville (public domain, PDDL). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Vietnam Veterans Memorial, photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, 2009 (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

Australia242 records

242 records of the Starling name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 133
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 55
  • Other Australian records 54
  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 James Starling

    Transported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Gilmore, sailing from London in 1831. Applied for permission to marry in Van Diemen's Land in 1840.

    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 Geo D. Starling

    Arrived in Victoria in 1886 aboard the Lusitania, aged 60; English.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Samuel Starling

    Retired of Ringwood, Victoria; died 1974.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 242 records for Starling in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) · State Library of Western Australia (CC BY 4.0). 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); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain).

Canada14 records

14 records of the Starling name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 8
  • Canadian Virtual War Memorial 3
  • Other Canadian records 3
  1. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Norvin King Starling

    Buried in 1975 at Parkview Cemetery, Waterloo, Ontario.

    Contains information provided by the City of Waterloo under licence
  2. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Frank Redvers Starling

    Died 1939 in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.
  3. 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 Robert Gordon Starling

    Died in service in 1959.

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

Showing 3 of 14 records for Starling in Canada.

Counts: Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. · Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. · City of Niagara Falls. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Niagara Falls. · Contains information provided by the City of Waterloo under licence · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0); Canadian First World War circumstances-of-death register (scan by Scottgraham87 via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0).

United Kingdom13 records

13 records of the Starling name in the United Kingdom
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 9
  • St James's burial ground, Euston (London), 1789–1853 4
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Eleanor Starling

    Buried in 1819 at St James's burial ground, Euston, London, aged 84.

    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 V. C. Starling

    Rifle Brigade. 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 Richard Starling

    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.

Showing 3 of 13 records for Starling 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).

Netherlands6 records

6 records of the Starling name in the Netherlands
  • Dutch church registers before 1811 3
  • Dutch civil registers (births, marriages, deaths) 2
  • Dutch population registers 1
  1. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Frederick George Starling

    Died 1918 in Didam, aged 19; clerk and soldier.

    Open Archives, Gelders Archief (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record William Thomas Starling

    Married in 1915 in Groningen; clerk.

    Open Archives, Groninger Archieven (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the 1910 United States census, Milwaukee
    Example: U.S. census, 1910
    Population register Elaine Katherine Starling

    In the population register of Eindhoven; born 1908 in Kaapstad (Za).

    Open Archives, Regionaal Historisch Centrum Eindhoven (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 6 records for Starling 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); U.S. census of 1910, Milwaukee (public domain).

New Zealand1 record

1 record of the Starling 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 Richard Starling

    Died 1999, aged 83; buried at Avonhead Memorial Cemetery, Christchurch, Canterbury.

    Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0)

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).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Starling.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Starling 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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