The Towns surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 7,760 people carried this name — #4,569 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 38,000 people counted. That is up 7% from 7,278 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Towns surname

As an English and Welsh surname

Bardsley explains it as ‘of the town’.

His entry covers Town, Towns, Toon and Toone.

From Charles W. Bardsley, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with Special American Instances (London: Henry Frowde, 1901), p. 760 · public domain.

In print

Towns in American newspapers,
1910–1912.

Newspaper page from New-york Tribune carrying the name Towns
New-york Tribune 1912-12-09
Newspaper page from New-york Tribune carrying the name Towns
New-york Tribune 1912-02-14
Newspaper page from New-york Tribune carrying the name Towns
New-york Tribune 1910-05-24

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 14,756 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Towns in Australian newspapers,
1830s–1990s.

21,731 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Towns. The most, 3,747, date from the 1900s. Weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, it stands out most in New South Wales, at 1.4 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 9,959
Queensland 3,568
Victoria 3,406
Tasmania 2,117
South Australia 1,492
Western Australia 1,048
ACT (Canberra) 100
Northern Territory 16

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

Who carried it

People named Towns,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Robert Towns
    Robert Towns 1794–1873 · politician
  • George W. Towns
    George W. Towns 1801–1854 · lawyer
  • Forrest Towns
    Forrest Towns 1914–1991 · athletics competitor
  • Terrell James Towns d. 2000
  • George Towns 1869–1961 · rower
  • George Alexander Towns 1870–1960 · 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 Towns,
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 States517 records

517 records of the Towns name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 237
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 121
  • Other U.S. records 159
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record James Towns

    Born 1922 in Alabama. Enlisted 1942 at Camp Blanding, Florida; waiter from Escambia County, Florida. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1987, buried at Barrancas National Cemetery, Florida.

    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 Roosevelt Towns

    Born 1930; from Wayne County, Michigan. U.S. Army, light weapons infantryman; killed in action 1951 in North Korea.

    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 Charles H. Towns

    Arrived at New York in 1885 aboard the City of Chester from Liverpool and Queenstown, aged 17; farmer. From Yorkshire, England; bound for Wisconsin.

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

Showing 3 of 517 records for Towns 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, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · 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: 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).

Australia453 records

453 records of the Towns name in Australia
  • Tasmanian Names Index 202
  • Queensland State Archives indexes 111
  • Other Australian records 140
  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 Elizabeth Towns

    Transported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Duchess of Northumberland, sailing from Woolwich in 1852. Native of Chester, Cheshire. Applied for permission to marry in Van Diemen's Land in 1856. Married 1856 in Brighton, Tasmania, aged 24.

    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 George Towns

    Died 1895 in Campbell Town, Tasmania, aged 78. Will registered in Tasmania in 1895.

    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 Mary Ann Towns

    Born 1848 in Campbell Town, Tasmania. Married 1872 in Campbell Town, Tasmania, aged 24.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 453 records for Towns in Australia.

Counts: Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0) · Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY). 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).

Canada27 records

27 records of the Towns name in Canada
  • Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver 10
  • City of Winnipeg cemetery records 8
  • Other Canadian records 9
  1. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Walter Towns

    Died 1988, aged 68; buried at Brookside Cemetery, Winnipeg, Manitoba.

    City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg.
  2. 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 Towns

    Died in service in 1916.

    Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada.
  3. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Birth record Clara Towns

    Born 1904 in Glace Bay, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia.

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

Showing 3 of 27 records for Towns in Canada.

Counts: City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver. · City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg. · Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. · 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. · 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); Canadian First World War circumstances-of-death register (scan by Scottgraham87 via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0).

United Kingdom5 records

5 records of the Towns name in the United Kingdom
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 3
  • Scottish rolls of honour, First World War 2
  1. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record John Cook Towns

    Born 1880 at Westerton Lodge; gardener. Served in the First World War. Named in the Morayshire roll of honour (1921).

    National Library of Scotland, Rolls of Honour (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 J. W. Towns

    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)
  3. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record Robert S. Towns

    Died 1917. Named in the roll of honour (1926).

    National Library of Scotland, Rolls of Honour (public domain)

Showing 3 of 5 records for Towns in the United Kingdom.

Counts: National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · National Library of Scotland, Rolls of Honour (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 Zealand1 record

1 record of the Towns 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 Lilian Rose Towns

    Died 2000, aged 90; buried at Waimairi Cemetery, 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).

France1 record

1 record of the Towns 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 Christopher Towns

    Born 1978 in the United States; died 2000 in Collias (Gard).

    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 Towns.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Towns 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 Towns volume
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