The Stearns surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 14,554 people carried this name — #2,479 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 20,300 people counted. That is up 1% from 14,444 in 2000.

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In the first U.S. census, 1790

189 families named Stearns, or a close spelling, were counted in 1790.

Each family is counted by its head. About 1,065 people lived in those households, 5.6 to a family on average. The table counts it together with 6 other spellings. 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

Massachusetts 101
New Hampshire 28
Vermont 23
Pennsylvania 10
Connecticut 9
South Carolina 7
Maine 4
Virginia 3
Rhode Island 1
New York 1
Maryland 1
North Carolina 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

Stearns in American newspapers,
1900–1922.

Newspaper page from El Paso Herald carrying the name Stearns
El Paso Herald 1917-04-14
Newspaper page from The Lakeland Evening Telegram carrying the name Stearns
The Lakeland Evening Telegram 1922-04-15
Newspaper page from Rock Island Argus carrying the name Stearns
Rock Island Argus 1900-10-05

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

In print

Stearns in Australian newspapers,
1860s–1960s.

519 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Stearns. The most, 100, 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 Tasmania, at 1.8 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 148
Victoria 122
Queensland 80
Tasmania 55
Western Australia 55
South Australia 43
ACT (Canberra) 5

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

Who carried it

People named Stearns,
with a public archive behind them.

  • William Stearns
    William Stearns 1754–1819
  • Asahel Stearns
    Asahel Stearns 1774–1839 · lawyer
  • Abel Stearns
    Abel Stearns 1798–1871 · politician
  • John O. Stearns d. 1910 · politician
  • Samuel Stearns 1741–1810 · astronomer
  • Samuel Stearns 1747–1819 · botanist

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 Stearns,
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 States1,519 records

1,519 records of the Stearns name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 573
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 341
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 258
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 197
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 81
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 59
  • U.S. service members who died in the Vietnam War 7
  • Irish Famine arrivals at New York, 1846–1851 1
  • U.S. service members who died in the Korean War 1
  • Sacramento County historic burials 1
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Alvin Stearns

    Born 1914 in Vermont. Enlisted 1941 at Rutland; crane operator from Rutland County. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 2000, buried at Pine Hill Cemetery, Brandon, Vermont.

    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 Michael Forrester Stearns

    Born 1943; from San Francisco, California. U.S. Army; killed in action 1967 in Binh Thuan, South Vietnam. Buried at Holy Cross Catholic Cemetery, Daly City, California.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (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 Robert Stearns

    Arrived at New York in 1887 aboard the Ems from Bremen and Southampton, aged 29; tourist. From Bremen, Germany.

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

Showing 3 of 1,519 records for Stearns 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. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain) · Sacramento County, Historic Burials (CC BY 4.0). 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).

Canada45 records

45 records of the Stearns name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 37
  • City of Calgary cemetery records 3
  • Canadian Virtual War Memorial 3
  • City of Niagara Falls (Ontario) cemetery records 1
  • Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver 1
  1. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Civil record Andrew Stearns

    Killed in 1884 at the Sherbrooke 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 Claude McDonald Stearns

    Buried in 1942 at Burnsland Cemetery, Calgary, Alberta.

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

    Died in service in 1918.

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

Showing 3 of 45 records for Stearns 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. · City of Niagara Falls. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Niagara Falls. · City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver. 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); Canadian First World War circumstances-of-death register (scan by Scottgraham87 via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0).

Australia30 records

30 records of the Stearns name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 20
  • Tasmanian Names Index 4
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 4
  • Queensland State Archives indexes 2
  1. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Norman Stearns

    Arrived in Victoria in 1854 aboard the New World, aged 30; English.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Joseph M. Stearns

    Former company director of Frankston, Victoria; died 1959.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Melba Vivian Stearns

    Died 1911 in Burnie, Tasmania.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 30 records for Stearns 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). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: 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); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0).

United Kingdom1 record

1 record of the Stearns 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 J. T. Stearns

    Driver, Royal Engineers. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1918.

    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).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Stearns.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Stearns 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 Stearns volume
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