The Tolson surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 5,630 people carried this name — #6,093 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 52,400 people counted. That is up 6% from 5,295 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Tolson surname

As an English surname, from Middle English personal name Tolle (see Towle) + -son.

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Tolson» (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 baptismal name, from a given name: ‘the son of Thomas’ — the first of the origins he gives.

His entry covers Tolson, Toulson, Towlson and Towlsion.

From Charles W. Bardsley, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with Special American Instances (London: Henry Frowde, 1901), p. 756 · public domain.

In print

Tolson in American newspapers,
1899–1929.

Newspaper page from The Worcester Spy carrying the name Tolson
The Worcester Spy 1899-03-04
Newspaper page from The Fairmont West Virginian carrying the name Tolson
The Fairmont West Virginian 1904-11-05
Newspaper page from South Bend News-times carrying the name Tolson
South Bend News-times 1929-10-09

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 32,050 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Tolson in Australian newspapers,
1830s–2000s.

5,234 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Tolson. The most, 1,242, date from the 1890s. Weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, it stands out most in Queensland, at 2.6 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

Queensland 2,458
Victoria 1,181
New South Wales 601
South Australia 515
Tasmania 384
Western Australia 80
ACT (Canberra) 7
Northern Territory 1

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

Who carried it

People named Tolson,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Helen Tolson
    Helen Tolson 1888–1955 · suffragette
  • Chick Tolson
    Chick Tolson 1895–1965 · baseball player
  • Clyde Tolson
    Clyde Tolson 1900–1975 · lawyer
  • Clarrie Tolson
    Clarrie Tolson 1911–1989 · Australian rules football player
  • John J. Tolson
    John J. Tolson 1915–1991 · military personnel
  • John Tolson d. 1644 · writer

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 Tolson,
in the records of 5 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 States410 records

410 records of the Tolson name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 169
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 96
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 71
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 30
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 23
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 15
  • Irish Famine arrivals at New York, 1846–1851 6
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Nolan W. Tolson

    Born 1914 in Texas. Enlisted 1943 at Houston; filling station attendant from Matagorda County. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1970, 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. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Hannah Tolson

    Arrived at New York in 1875 aboard the Britannic from Liverpool, aged 59; servant. From United States, England.

    U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)
  3. A U.S. Army record of death and interment, Camp Nelson, Kentucky, 1864
    Example: U.S. burial record, 1864
    Burial record Erling Tolson

    U.S. Navy veteran of the Korean War. Born 1931, died 1969; buried at Long Island National Cemetery, New York.

    U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)

Showing 3 of 410 records for Tolson 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). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Record of death and interment, Camp Nelson, Kentucky, 1864, U.S. National Archives (public domain).

Australia186 records

186 records of the Tolson name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 82
  • Tasmanian Names Index 40
  • Queensland State Archives indexes 34
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 24
  • NSW convict, estate and railway indexes 6
  1. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record George Henry Tolson

    Died 1918 in Abroad On Active Service, Tasmania. Will registered in Tasmania in 1919.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  2. 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 Catharine Tolson

    Transported to New South Wales aboard the Mary, arriving 1835; ticket of leave 1840.

    Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY)
  3. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Henry Tolson

    Arrived in Victoria in 1852 aboard the Jas Carson, aged 42; Scottish.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 186 records for Tolson 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). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain); 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).

Canada35 records

35 records of the Tolson name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 23
  • City of Calgary cemetery records 5
  • Canadian Virtual War Memorial 3
  • Halifax municipal cemeteries 2
  • Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver 1
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 1
  1. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Olga Mabel Tolson

    Buried in 1995 at Burnsland Cemetery, Calgary, Alberta, aged 92.

    City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary.
  2. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Henry Stanislaus Tolson

    Died 1962 in Dartmouth, Halifax, 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 Charles Allan Tolson

    Died in service in 1945.

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

Showing 3 of 35 records for Tolson 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. · Halifax Regional Municipality. Contains information licenced under the Open Government Licence—Halifax. · City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver. · 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); 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).

Netherlands11 records

11 records of the Tolson name in the Netherlands
  • Dutch population registers 8
  • Dutch civil registers (births, marriages, deaths) 3
  1. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Andrea Johanna Wilhelmina Tolson

    Married in 1942 in Amsterdam; office clerk.

    Open Archives, Noord-Hollands Archief (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Elisabeth Peile Tolson

    Died 1911 in Rotterdam, aged 76.

    Open Archives, Stadsarchief Rotterdam (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the 1910 United States census, Milwaukee
    Example: U.S. census, 1910
    Population register Richard Tolson

    In the population register of Loemadjang (Indonesië); born 1895 in Loemadjang (Indonesië).

    Open Archives, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 11 records for Tolson in the Netherlands.

Counts: Open Archives (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0); U.S. census of 1910, Milwaukee (public domain).

United Kingdom7 records

7 records of the Tolson 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 C. W. Tolson

    Lance Corporal, Oyal North Lancashire 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. Tolson

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

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

Showing 2 of 7 records for Tolson 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).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Tolson.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Tolson 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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