The Tinsley surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 15,442 people carried this name — #2,361 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 19,100 people counted. That is up 4% from 14,834 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Tinsley surname

A habitational surname from Old English.

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Tinsley» (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 local name, from where the family lived: ‘of Tinsley’.

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

In Ireland’s birth registers, 1890

Ireland registered 5 births for the Tinsley name in 1890.

Most were registered in Ulster. By the Registrar-General’s own method — births multiplied by 44.38 — that is about 200 people bearing the name in Ireland at the time.

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

Where they were born, 1890

Ulster 3
Leinster 2

Registrar-General for Ireland, «Special Report on Surnames in Ireland» (R. E. Matheson, 1894), births index of 1890 — public domain.

Among the farmers of England and Wales, 1880s

Tinsley was found among the farmers of 2 counties.

It was most frequent in Lancashire: 8 in every 10,000 farmers there — about 1 in 1,250. 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

Lancashire 8
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 the first U.S. census, 1790

35 families named Tinsley, or a close spelling, were counted in 1790.

Each family is counted by its head. About 205 people lived in those households, 5.9 to a family on average. The table counts it together with one other spelling. 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

Virginia 24
South Carolina 8
Pennsylvania 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. 265 — public domain · names carried by at least 100 white persons in 1790.

In print

Tinsley in American newspapers,
1897–1918.

Newspaper page from The Rice Belt Journal carrying the name Tinsley
The Rice Belt Journal 1902-09-19
Newspaper page from Vilas County News carrying the name Tinsley
Vilas County News 1897-09-27
Newspaper page from Jackson County Sentinel carrying the name Tinsley
Jackson County Sentinel 1918-02-07

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 55,980 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Tinsley in Australian newspapers,
1840s–1980s.

4,964 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Tinsley. The most, 1,368, 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 Victoria, at 1.6 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 2,309
Victoria 1,677
Queensland 442
South Australia 232
Western Australia 161
Tasmania 109
ACT (Canberra) 11

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

Who carried it

People named Tinsley,
with a public archive behind them.

  • William Tinsley
    William Tinsley 1831–1902 · writer
  • Samuel Tinsley
    Samuel Tinsley 1847–1903 · chess player
  • Pedro T. Tinsley
    Pedro T. Tinsley 1856–1921 · musician
  • Mary Tinsley 1739–1806
  • William Tinsley 1804–1885 · architect
  • William Tinsley 1804–1885 · architect

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 Tinsley,
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 States1,068 records

1,068 records of the Tinsley name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 572
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 251
  • Other U.S. records 245
  1. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Franklin Denis Tinsley

    Born 1948; from Suffolk, New York. U.S. Army, infantryman; killed in action 1968 in Hua Nghia, South Vietnam. Buried at Long Island National Cemetery, New York.

    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 Curtis J. Tinsley

    Born 1924 in Tennessee. Enlisted 1943 at Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia; checker from Shelby County. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1983, buried at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery, Missouri.

    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 Herbert Tinsley

    Arrived at New York in 1892 aboard the Majestic from Liverpool and Queenstown, aged 18; builder. From London, Ireland; bound for New York.

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

Showing 3 of 1,068 records for Tinsley 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, 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).

Australia193 records

193 records of the Tinsley name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 137
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 28
  • Other Australian records 28
  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 Henry Tinsley

    Transported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Isabella, sailing from Woolwich in 1842. Native of Ware, Hertfordshire.

    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 Joshua Tinsley

    Arrived in Victoria in 1853 aboard the Asia, aged 21; English.

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

    Retired of Hawthorn, Victoria; died 1981.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 193 records for Tinsley 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). 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 Kingdom16 records

16 records of the Tinsley name in the United Kingdom
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 13
  • St James's burial ground, Euston (London), 1789–1853 2
  • Welsh wills index cards 1
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Margaret Tinsley

    Buried in 1811 at St James's burial ground, Euston, London, aged 46.

    MOLA and HS2, St James's burial ground data. 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 George William Tinsley

    Will proved in 1929; of Llanrwst, Denbigh.

    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 R. Tinsley

    King's (Liverpool 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 3 of 16 records for Tinsley 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). 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).

Canada12 records

12 records of the Tinsley name in Canada
  • Canadian Virtual War Memorial 6
  • Ontario immigration records, 1865–1883 3
  • Other Canadian records 3
  1. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record John Tinsley

    Came to Ontario in 1879 aboard the Sardinian, landing at Quebec, bound for St. Catharines, 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 Herbert Donald Tinsley

    Buried in 1978 at Queen's Park Cemetery, Calgary, Alberta, aged 84.

    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 Archibald Tinsley

    Died in service in 1917.

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

Showing 3 of 12 records for Tinsley in Canada.

Counts: 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 Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary. 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); Canadian First World War circumstances-of-death register (scan by Scottgraham87 via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0).

New Zealand2 records

2 records of the Tinsley name in New Zealand
  • Christchurch City cemetery records 1
  • Marlborough District cemetery records 1
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Alfred Tinsley

    Died 1983, aged 73; buried at Picton Cemetery, Marlborough.

    Marlborough District Council (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 1 of 2 records for Tinsley 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).

Netherlands1 record

1 record of the Tinsley name in the Netherlands Dutch population registers
  1. A page of the 1910 United States census, Milwaukee
    Example: U.S. census, 1910
    Population register Richard Bolton Tinsley

    In a population register; born 1875.

    Open Archives, Stadsarchief Rotterdam (CC BY 4.0)

Counts: Open Archives (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: U.S. census of 1910, Milwaukee (public domain).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Tinsley.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Tinsley 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.

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