The Stilwell surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 6,138 people carried this name — #5,655 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 48,100 people counted. That is up 3% from 5,972 in 2000.

Look up another surname

Share

What the name means

The meaning of the Stilwell surname

As a surname in the United Kingdom

Harrison classes it as an English name: ‘Dweller at the Constant Spring’.

One not intermittent.

From Henry Harrison, Surnames of the United Kingdom: A Concise Etymological Dictionary, vol. II (London: The Morland Press, 1918), p. 190 · public domain.

In print

Stilwell in American newspapers,
1913.

Newspaper page from New Hampshire Farmer And Weekly Union carrying the name Stilwell
New Hampshire Farmer And Weekly Union 1913-10-29
Newspaper page from Daily Kennebec Journal carrying the name Stilwell
Daily Kennebec Journal 1913-10-30
Newspaper page from New Hampshire Farmer And Weekly Union carrying the name Stilwell
New Hampshire Farmer And Weekly Union 1913-04-02

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

In print

Stilwell in Australian newspapers,
1820s–1980s.

2,120 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Stilwell. The most, 373, 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 2.2 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 943
Victoria 673
Tasmania 328
South Australia 102
Queensland 35
Western Australia 22
ACT (Canberra) 12
Northern Territory 1

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

Who carried it

People named Stilwell,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Thomas N. Stilwell
    Thomas N. Stilwell 1830–1874 · politician
  • Mary Stilwell Edison
    Mary Stilwell Edison 1855–1884
  • Frank Stilwell
    Frank Stilwell 1856–1882 · cowboy
  • Arthur Stilwell
    Arthur Stilwell 1859–1928 · entrepreneur
  • Thomas Stilwell 1644–1736
  • John Stilwell 1694–1780

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 Stilwell,
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 States587 records

587 records of the Stilwell name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 220
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 182
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 87
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 68
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 21
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 6
  • Irish Famine arrivals at New York, 1846–1851 1
  • U.S. service members who died in the Korean War 1
  • U.S. service members who died in the Vietnam War 1
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record George D. Stilwell

    Born 1923 in Oklahoma. Enlisted 1944 at Fort Macarthur San Pedro, California; farm hand from Maricopa County, Arizona. Veteran; died 1961, buried at Prescott National Cemetery, Arizona.

    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 Roy Miles Stilwell

    Born 1948; from Kansas City, Missouri. U.S. Army, utility/observation helicopter pilot; died of wounds 1969 in Binh Duong, South Vietnam.

    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 Mary Stilwell

    Arrived at New York in 1847 aboard the Hibernia from New Ross, aged 22; farmer. From Great Britain.

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

Showing 3 of 587 records for Stilwell 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) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · 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: 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).

Australia73 records

73 records of the Stilwell name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 35
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 16
  • Tasmanian Names Index 9
  • NSW convict, estate and railway indexes 7
  • Queensland State Archives indexes 6
  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 Stilwell

    Transported to New South Wales aboard the John, arriving 1827; ticket of leave 1838. Native of Sur.

    Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY)
  2. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Ernest C. Stilwell

    Merchant of Bendigo, Victoria; died 1925.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Fredk Stilwell

    Arrived in Victoria in 1879 aboard the Lusitania, aged 30.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 73 records for Stilwell in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY) · Queensland State Archives (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); 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).

Canada12 records

12 records of the Stilwell name in Canada
  • Canadian Virtual War Memorial 7
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 3
  • Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver 1
  • City of Winnipeg cemetery records 1
  1. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record George Stilwell

    Died 1978; buried at Brookside Cemetery, Winnipeg, Manitoba.

    City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg.
  2. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Frances Nora Stilwell

    Died 1967 in Kentville, Kings, 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 Frank Sidney Stilwell

    Died in service in 1954.

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

Showing 3 of 12 records for Stilwell in Canada.

Counts: Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. · Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. · City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver. · City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg. 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 Kingdom3 records

3 records of the Stilwell name in the United Kingdom
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 2
  • St James's burial ground, Euston (London), 1789–1853 1
  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. W. Stilwell

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

    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 H. E. Stilwell

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

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

Showing 2 of 3 records for Stilwell 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: C. & E. Morton Ltd roll of honour, 1914–1919, photo by Adrian S Pye via Geograph (CC BY-SA 2.0).

New Zealand2 records

2 records of the Stilwell name in New Zealand
  • Christchurch City cemetery records 1
  • Thames-Coromandel District cemetery records 1
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Henry Stilwell

    Buried in 1895 at Tararu Cemetery, Thames-Coromandel District, Waikato, aged 76.

    Thames-Coromandel District Council (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Henry Arthur Stilwell

    Died 1967; buried at Waimairi Cemetery, Christchurch, Canterbury.

    Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0)

Counts: Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0) · Thames-Coromandel 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).

France1 record

1 record of the Stilwell name in France France's national death register, 1970–2001
  1. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Roger Wayne Stilwell

    Born 1944 in the United States; died 1991 in Paris.

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)

Counts: Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Death register of Nice, 1930, Archives départementales des Alpes-Maritimes (public domain).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Stilwell.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Stilwell 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 Stilwell volume
Scroll to Top