The Sumpter surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 7,950 people carried this name — #4,467 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 37,000 people counted. That is up 6% from 7,504 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Sumpter surname

A surname originating as an occupation.

From Middle English sumpter (“carrier, or driver of pack animals”).

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Sumpter» (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 name of office: ‘the sumpter’.

An early record he cites: William le Sumeter, 1273 — Hundred Rolls.

His entry covers Sumpter, Sumter and Sunter.

From Charles W. Bardsley, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with Special American Instances (London: Henry Frowde, 1901), p. 728 · public domain.

In print

Sumpter in American newspapers,
1789–1899.

Newspaper page from Danbury Times carrying the name Sumpter
Danbury Times 1861-04-18
Newspaper page from Gazette Of The United-states carrying the name Sumpter
Gazette Of The United-states 1789-09-12
Newspaper page from Jamestown Weekly Alert carrying the name Sumpter
Jamestown Weekly Alert 1899-11-09

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 47,745 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Sumpter in Australian newspapers,
1860s–1960s.

763 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Sumpter. The most, 130, date from the 1910s. Weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, it stands out most in Victoria, at 2.0 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

Victoria 321
Queensland 186
New South Wales 153
Tasmania 62
Western Australia 29
South Australia 9
ACT (Canberra) 3

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

Who carried it

People named Sumpter,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Nanette Cameron 1927–2023 · interior designer

Wikidata (CC0) · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Sumpter,
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 States405 records

405 records of the Sumpter name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 230
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 97
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 47
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 12
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 7
  • U.S. service members who died in the Korean War 5
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 4
  • U.S. service members who died in the Vietnam War 3
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Cecil Sumpter

    Born 1907 in Texas. Enlisted 1942 at Tyler; driver from Cherokee County. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1997, 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)
  2. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Eddy Gale Sumpter

    Born 1948; from Judsonia, Arkansas. U.S. Army, aircraft maintenance apprentice; killed in action 1968 in Kontum, 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 Benjamin Sumpter

    Arrived at New York in 1878 aboard the Denmark from London, aged 46; coachman. From England.

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

Showing 3 of 405 records for Sumpter in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · 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, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted). 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).

Australia86 records

86 records of the Sumpter name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 51
  • Tasmanian Names Index 22
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 8
  • NSW convict, estate and railway indexes 2
  • Queensland State Archives indexes 2
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 1
  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 William Sumpter

    Transported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Pilot in 1817. Native of Mortimer, Berkshire.

    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 George Sumpter

    Arrived in Queensland in 1874 aboard the Suffolk, aged 47.

    Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Harry J. Sumpter

    Gentleman of Mid Brighton, Victoria; died 1957.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 86 records for Sumpter 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) · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). 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).

United Kingdom4 records

4 records of the Sumpter 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 H. Sumpter

    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)
  2. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record C. F. Sumpter

    Northamptonshire Regiment. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1918.

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)
  3. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record G. C. Sumpter

    Machine Gun Corps. 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 4 records for Sumpter in the United Kingdom.

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).

New Zealand3 records

3 records of the Sumpter 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 Cecil Hyslop Sumpter

    Died 1999, aged 87; 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 Jean Sumpter

    Died 1985, aged 77; buried at Memorial Park Cemetery, Christchurch, Canterbury.

    Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Joyce Agnes Sumpter

    Died 1993, aged 83; buried at Ruru Lawn, 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 Sumpter.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Sumpter 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 Sumpter volume
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