The Tinker surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 6,291 people carried this name — #5,525 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 46,900 people counted. That is up 7% from 5,898 in 2000.

See Tinker on the map Look up another surname

Share

What the name means

The meaning of the Tinker surname

A northern English surname originating as an occupation for someone who mends pots and pans.

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Tinker» (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 an occupational name: ‘the tinker’.

An early record he cites: Thomas le Tyneker, Buckinghamshire, 1273 — Hundred Rolls.

From Charles W. Bardsley, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with Special American Instances (London: Henry Frowde, 1901), p. 753 · public domain.

Among the farmers of England and Wales, 1880s

Tinker was found among the farmers of Yorkshire, West Riding: 10 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

Yorkshire, West Riding 10

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

45 Tinker families were counted in 1790.

Each family is counted by its head. About 253 people lived in those households, 5.6 to a family on average. 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 31
Massachusetts 6
North Carolina 4
Maine 2
New York 1
Maryland 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. 265 — public domain · names carried by at least 100 white persons in 1790.

In print

Tinker in American newspapers,
1914–1916.

Newspaper page from Evening Star carrying the name Tinker
Evening Star 1916-04-23
Newspaper page from Evening Star carrying the name Tinker
Evening Star 1916-04-23
Newspaper page from Ellsworth American carrying the name Tinker
Ellsworth American 1914-12-30

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 2,440 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Tinker in Australian newspapers,
1830s–1990s.

4,697 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Tinker. The most, 986, 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 1.9 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 1,967
Victoria 1,229
Tasmania 524
Queensland 467
Western Australia 313
South Australia 173
ACT (Canberra) 17

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

Who carried it

People named Tinker,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Reuben Tinker
    Reuben Tinker 1799–1854 · missionary
  • Thomas Tinker d. 1621
  • Caroline Mary Tinker d. 1896
  • Robert Tinker 1565–1624
  • Mary Tinker 1664–
  • John Tinker 1686–

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 Tinker,
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 States540 records

540 records of the Tinker name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 198
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 97
  • Other U.S. records 245
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Harold F. Tinker

    Born 1908 in South Dakota. Enlisted 1942 at Chicago, Illinois; bookkeeper. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1998, buried at Fort Snelling National Cemetery, Minnesota.

    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 Norman Lee Tinker

    Born 1945; from Du Bois, Pennsylvania. U.S. Army, infantryman; killed in action 1968 in Bien Hoa, 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 Simon Tinker

    Arrived at New York in 1886 aboard the Egypt from Liverpool and Queenstown, aged 20; laborer. From Krakov, Russia; bound for Chicago.

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

Showing 3 of 540 records for Tinker 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) · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (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).

Australia138 records

138 records of the Tinker name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 68
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 30
  • Other Australian records 40
  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 John Tinker

    Transported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Moffatt, sailing from Woolwich in 1837. Native of Hopetown, Yorkshire. Applied for permission to marry in Van Diemen's Land in 1851.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record John William Tinker

    Died 1898 in Hobart, Tasmania, aged 44. Will registered in Tasmania in 1898.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Isaac Tinker

    Applied for permission to marry in Van Diemen's Land in 1845. Married 1846 in Hobart, Tasmania, aged 32.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 138 records for Tinker 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) · 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); Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain); Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain).

Canada20 records

20 records of the Tinker name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 12
  • Canadian Virtual War Memorial 3
  • Other Canadian records 5
  1. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Mathew Tinker

    Came to Ontario in 1869 aboard the Austrian, landing at Quebec, bound for Guelph, Ontario; English.

    Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario.
  2. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Astrid Gertrude Tinker

    Died 1996; buried at Brookside Cemetery, Winnipeg, Manitoba.

    City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg.
  3. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record John Woodward Tinker

    Died 1919 in Digby, Nova Scotia.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.

Showing 3 of 20 records for Tinker 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. · Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario. · City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg. · City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0).

Netherlands10 records

10 records of the Tinker name in the Netherlands
  • Dutch population registers 5
  • Dutch civil registers (births, marriages, deaths) 4
  • Dutch church registers before 1811 1
  1. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Wilhelmus Johannus Tinker

    Born 1848 in Haarlem. Died 1882 in Haarlem, aged 33.

    Open Archives, Noord-Hollands Archief (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Gerrit Tinker

    Buried in 1725 in Oudewater.

    Open Archives, Het Utrechts Archief (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the 1910 United States census, Milwaukee
    Example: U.S. census, 1910
    Population register William Tinker

    In the population register of Haarlem; factory worker, born 1816 in Manchester, England.

    Open Archives, Noord-Hollands Archief (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 10 records for Tinker 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); Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0); U.S. census of 1910, Milwaukee (public domain).

United Kingdom8 records

8 records of the Tinker 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 F. Tinker

    Duke of Wellington's Regiment. 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 F. J. Tinker

    Suffolk 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 E. Tinker

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

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

Showing 3 of 8 records for Tinker 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 Tinker 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 John Tinker

    Died 1913, aged 79; buried at Sydenham 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 Olive Rosa Tinker

    Died 1940, aged 47; buried at Waimairi Cemetery, Christchurch, Canterbury.

    Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 2 of 3 records for Tinker in New Zealand.

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).

France2 records

2 records of the Tinker 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 John Darrell Tinker

    Born 1931 in Great Britain; died 2001 in Villeneuve-sur-Lot (Lot-et-Garonne).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)
  2. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Clifford Michael Tinker

    Born 1932 in Great Britain; died 2001 in Villeneuve-sur-Lot (Lot-et-Garonne).

    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 Tinker.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Tinker 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 Tinker volume
Scroll to Top