The Toombs surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 4,806 people carried this name — #6,977 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 61,300 people counted. That is up 2% from 4,709 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Toombs surname

A surname originating as a patronymic.

From Tom + the patronymic suffix -s.

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Toombs» (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’.

His entry covers Tombs and Toombs.

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

Toombs in American newspapers,
1885–1929.

Newspaper page from New Britain Herald carrying the name Toombs
New Britain Herald 1928-08-16
Newspaper page from The Indianapolis Journal carrying the name Toombs
The Indianapolis Journal 1885-10-14
Newspaper page from New Britain Herald carrying the name Toombs
New Britain Herald 1929-02-08

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain.

In print

Toombs in Australian newspapers,
1850s–1960s.

3,025 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Toombs. The most, 1,110, date from the 1910s. 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 Queensland, at 1.8 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 1,089
Queensland 1,015
South Australia 474
Victoria 232
Western Australia 117
Tasmania 82
Northern Territory 10
ACT (Canberra) 3

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

Who carried it

People named Toombs,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Robert Toombs
    Robert Toombs 1810–1885 · lawyer
  • Harvey Toombs 1909–1968 · character animator
  • Lawrence E. Toombs 1919–2007 · theologian
  • Leota Toombs 1925–1991 · model maker
  • Roddy Piper 1954–2015 · actor

Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped, in the public domain or CC0 · 9 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Toombs,
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 States374 records

374 records of the Toombs name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 183
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 68
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 65
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 29
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 21
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 4
  • U.S. service members who died in the Korean War 2
  • U.S. service members who died in the Vietnam War 2
  1. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Alvin Carnall Toombs

    Born 1948; from Newport News, Virginia. U.S. Army, infantryman; killed in action 1969 in Tay Ninh, South Vietnam. Buried at Hampton National Cemetery, Virginia.

    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 Jessie Toombs

    Born 1915 in Tennessee. Enlisted 1945 at Camp Atterbury Columbus, Indiana; truck farmer. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1989, buried at Nashville National Cemetery, Tennessee.

    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 John Toombs

    Arrived at New York in 1857 aboard the Vanguard from Liverpool, aged 26; laborer. From Ireland.

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

Showing 3 of 374 records for Toombs 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, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · 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).

Australia62 records

62 records of the Toombs name in Australia
  • Tasmanian Names Index 29
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 21
  • Queensland State Archives indexes 5
  • NSW convict, estate and railway indexes 3
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 3
  • Canberra cemetery and marriage records 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 Henry Toombs

    Transported to New South Wales aboard the Eleanor, arriving 1831.

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

    Arrived in Queensland in 1873 aboard the Alexandrina, aged 18.

    Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Annie Toombs

    Died 1897 in Launceston, Tasmania, aged 24.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 62 records for Toombs in Australia.

Counts: Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) · Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY) · ACT Government, Transport Canberra and City Services (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); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0).

Canada21 records

21 records of the Toombs name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 8
  • Canadian Virtual War Memorial 4
  • Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver 4
  • City of Calgary cemetery records 3
  • City of Winnipeg cemetery records 1
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 1
  1. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record John Young Toombs

    Died 1963; buried at Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver, British Columbia.

    City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver.
  2. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Wallace Toombs

    Died 1928 in 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 Ernest Albert Toombs

    Died in service in 1945.

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

Showing 3 of 21 records for Toombs 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. · City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver. · City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary. · City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg. · 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).

United Kingdom4 records

4 records of the Toombs 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 J. F. Toombs

    Lance Corporal, Essex 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 A. G. Toombs

    Army Service Corps. 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 R. Toombs

    Tank Corps. 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 4 records for Toombs 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 Toombs.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Toombs 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 Toombs volume
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