The Storey surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 13,669 people carried this name — #2,635 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 21,600 people counted. That is up 2% from 13,450 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Storey surname

Originates from the Old Norse personal epithet “Stóri”, a derivative of “Storr” which means “large” or “big”. Even though it has been established that the root of the name is “Storr”, R.E.K. Rigbeye, in his book The Storey’s of Old claims that the suffix “ey[e]”, in the variant of Storey, is equivalent to the Icelandic “ig” and signifies “water”.

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Storey» (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 explains it as ‘the son of Storr’.

An early record he cites: Thomas Storre, 1379 — Poll Tax, West Riding of Yorkshire.

His entry covers Storey, Story, Storry, Storie, Storrie and Storrey.

From Charles W. Bardsley, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with Special American Instances (London: Henry Frowde, 1901), p. 721 · public domain.

In Ireland’s birth registers, 1890

Ireland registered 13 births for the Storey name in 1890.

Most were registered in Ulster. By the Registrar-General’s own method — births multiplied by 44.38 — that is about 600 people bearing the name in Ireland at the time. 4 of them were indexed under other spellings of the name. The Registrar-General’s note on the name: “8 in Antrim.”

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

Where they were born, 1890

Ulster 10
Leinster 3

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

21 people named Storey is counted in Sweden.

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

Counted, by country

Sweden (2022) 21

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).

Among the farmers of England and Wales, 1880s

Storey was found among the farmers of 6 counties.

It was most frequent in Durham: 48 in every 10,000 farmers there — about 1 in 208. 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. His list gives one count for the spellings Storey and Story.

Where it concentrates, on the map

Per 10,000 farmers, by county

Durham 48
Northumberland 44
Yorkshire, North and East Ridings 18
Cumberland and Westmorland 15
Norfolk 10
Lincolnshire 8

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 Scotland’s registers today

Storey was recorded 20 times in Scotland’s registers of births, marriages and deaths in 2025.

That made it the 1147th most common name in those registers, shared with others on the same count. In 1975, the first year of the series, the count was 15. Each birth counts the child’s surname, each marriage both partners’ and each death the surname of the person who died — a yearly count of registrations, not of the people who live in Scotland.

National Records of Scotland, «Most Common Surnames, 2025» (published 26 May 2026): every surname recorded 10 or more times in the 2025 registers, and the series from 1975 · different spellings are counted separately — © Crown copyright 2026. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

In print

Storey in American newspapers,
1870–1916.

Newspaper page from The Mirror And Farmer carrying the name Storey
The Mirror And Farmer 1916-02-10
Newspaper page from New Orleans Republican carrying the name Storey
New Orleans Republican 1870-03-02
Newspaper page from New Hampshire Farmer And Weekly Union carrying the name Storey
New Hampshire Farmer And Weekly Union 1905-01-04

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 3,864 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Storey in Australian newspapers,
1820s–1990s.

106,061 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Storey. The most, 35,220, date from the 1920s. 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 1.8 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 63,661
Queensland 17,136
Victoria 11,914
South Australia 5,141
Tasmania 3,854
Western Australia 3,753
ACT (Canberra) 443
Northern Territory 58

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

Who carried it

People named Storey,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Wilbur F. Storey
    Wilbur F. Storey 1819–1884 · journalist
  • Sir Thomas Storey
    Sir Thomas Storey 1825–1898 · lawyer
  • Sir Thomas Storey
    Sir Thomas Storey 1825–1898 · lawyer
  • Martin Storey d. 2015 · politician
  • Gilbert Storey d. 1987 · association football player
  • Robert Storey d. 1887

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 Storey,
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 States1,484 records

1,484 records of the Storey name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 435
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 290
  • Other U.S. records 759
  1. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Robert Lee Storey

    Born 1946; from Grand Forks Afb, North Dakota. U.S. Army, helicopter pilot; killed in action 1968 in Kontum, South Vietnam. Buried at Golden Gate National Cemetery, California.

    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 William T. Storey

    Born 1914 in Georgia. Enlisted 1942 at Houston, Texas; cook from Harris County, Texas. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1969, buried at Houston National Cemetery, Texas.

    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 Harry Storey

    Arrived at New York in 1892 aboard the Teutonic from Liverpool and Queenstown, aged 14; laborer. From Liverpool, England; bound for New York.

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

Showing 3 of 1,484 records for Storey in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · 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).

Australia1,205 records

1,205 records of the Storey name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 519
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 230
  • Other Australian records 456
  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 Thomas Storey

    Transported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Forfarshire, sailing from Spithead in 1843. Native of Macclesfield, Cheshire. Applied for permission to marry in Van Diemen's Land in 1851. Married 1851 in Launceston, Tasmania, aged 30.

    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 Samuel Storey

    Applied for permission to marry in Van Diemen's Land in 1835. Married 1835 in Launceston, Tasmania.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (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 William N. Storey

    Arrived in Queensland in 1885 aboard the Duke of Westminster, aged 22.

    Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 1,205 records for Storey 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) · 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) · City of Ballarat, Avenue of Honour Plaques (CC BY 3.0 AU). 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); Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

Canada209 records

209 records of the Storey name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 91
  • City of Calgary cemetery records 37
  • Other Canadian records 81
  1. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Thomas Storey

    Lost in the sinking of the Titanic, 1912, aged 60; a third-class passenger. Body recovered and buried at 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 David Storey

    Came to Ontario in 1877 aboard the Circassian, bound for Gravenhurst, Ontario; Irish.

    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 Ethel Storey

    Buried in 1976 at Burnsland Cemetery, Calgary, Alberta, aged 92.

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

Showing 3 of 209 records for Storey 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 Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver. · City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg. · City of Niagara Falls. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Niagara Falls. · Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario. · Halifax Regional Municipality. Contains information licenced under the Open Government Licence—Halifax. · 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); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

United Kingdom72 records

72 records of the Storey name in the United Kingdom
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 58
  • St James's burial ground, Euston (London), 1789–1853 11
  • Other British records 3
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record James Storey

    Buried in 1948 at Killin Cemetery, Stirling, Scotland, aged 70.

    Stirling Council. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
  2. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Eliza Storey

    Will proved in 1939; of Penmaenmawr, Carnarvon.

    National Library of Wales, Wills Index Cards (CC0)
  3. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record J. Storey

    South Wales Borderers. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1917.

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

Showing 3 of 72 records for Storey 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. · National Library of Wales, Wills Index Cards (CC0) · Stirling Council. 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); Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain); C. & E. Morton Ltd roll of honour, 1914–1919, photo by Adrian S Pye via Geograph (CC BY-SA 2.0).

New Zealand20 records

20 records of the Storey name in New Zealand
  • Christchurch City cemetery records 17
  • Marlborough District cemetery records 3
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Connie Storey

    Died 1933, aged 31; buried at Bromley Cemetery, 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 Frances Maude Storey

    Died 1940, aged 75; 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 Stewart Frederick Storey

    Died 1953, aged 64; buried at Ruru Lawn, Christchurch, Canterbury.

    Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 20 records for Storey 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).

Netherlands2 records

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

    Died 1846 in 's-Gravenhage, aged 65.

    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 Thomas Storey

    Married in 1737 in Rotterdam.

    Open Archives, Stadsarchief Rotterdam (CC BY 4.0)

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).

France1 record

1 record of the Storey 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 Maisie Khul Storey

    Born 1922 in Great Britain; died 1998 in Salon-de-Provence (Bouches-du-Rhône).

    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).

Other spellings of this name

The same name, spelled another way.

Spellings that H. B. Guppy (England and Wales, 1890) or the Registrar-General for Ireland (births index of 1890) counted as one name together with Storey.

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Storey.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Storey 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 Storey volume
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