The Trahan surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 14,114 people carried this name — #2,560 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 20,900 people counted. That is up 3% from 13,733 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Trahan surname

A surname from French.

From (a variant?) of trayant (here meaning "pulling, dragging"), the present participle of traire, which in the Middle Ages would have especially been in reference to a pitchfork for handling manure, but also to a fishing net. The term was a nickname given to the user of either tool.

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Trahan» (French), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.

In France’s civil register

France’s register of deaths holds 49 people named Trahan.

Those born in France came from 11 départements, most often Pas-de-Calais.

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

Where they were born

Pas-de-Calais 18
Morbihan 10
Paris 7
Deux-Sèvres 4
Calvados 2
Finistère 2
Hauts-de-Seine 2
Manche 1

Fichier des personnes décédées, INSEE — Licence Ouverte 2.0 · deaths recorded in France since 1970, by place of birth.

In print

Trahan in American newspapers,
1897–1929.

Newspaper page from The Sun carrying the name Trahan
The Sun 1897-07-31
Newspaper page from The Brattleboro Daily Reformer carrying the name Trahan
The Brattleboro Daily Reformer 1916-08-01
Newspaper page from Brownsville Herald carrying the name Trahan
Brownsville Herald 1929-11-20

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 9,883 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Trahan in Australian newspapers,
1870s–1960s.

621 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Trahan. The most, 241, 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 Victoria, at 2.5 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

Victoria 363
New South Wales 143
Queensland 35
South Australia 35
Western Australia 21
Tasmania 19
ACT (Canberra) 3

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

Who carried it

People named Trahan,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Arthur Trahan
    Arthur Trahan 1877–1950 · judge
  • Voorhies Trahan
    Voorhies Trahan 1897–1963
  • Nicola Trahan
    Nicola Trahan 1926–2024 · resistance fighter

Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped — Voorhies Trahan: Rjtrahan, CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0); the others are in the public domain or CC0 · 32 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Trahan,
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 States547 records

547 records of the Trahan name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 297
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 110
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 79
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 35
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 25
  • U.S. service members who died in the Korean War 1
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Harry J. Trahan

    Born 1922 in Louisiana. Enlisted 1942 at Lafayette; farmer from Lafayette Parish. U.S. Army Air Forces veteran of World War II; died 1998, buried at St Peter & Paul Mausoleum, Scott, Louisiana.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. A U.S. Army record of death and interment, Camp Nelson, Kentucky, 1864
    Example: U.S. burial record, 1864
    Burial record Clarence J. Trahan

    U.S. Army veteran of World War I. Born 1888, died 1956; buried at Springfield National Cemetery, Missouri.

    U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  3. The receipt card sent under the U.S. Alien Registration Act of 1940
    Example: U.S. alien registration card, 1940s
    Alien registration Edesse Trahan

    Born 1868 in Canada. Registered as a foreign national in Manchester, New Hampshire, under the Alien Registration Act of 1940.

    U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain)

Showing 3 of 547 records for Trahan in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · 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, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Record of death and interment, Camp Nelson, Kentucky, 1864, U.S. National Archives (public domain); Alien Registration Receipt Card, Form AR-3, photo by Bobjgalindo via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0).

Canada116 records

116 records of the Trahan name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 112
  • City of Calgary cemetery records 4
  1. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Donald Lloyd Trahan

    Buried in 1995 at Queen's Park Cemetery, Calgary, Alberta, aged 56.

    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 Joseph Trahan

    Died 1950 in Meteghan, Digby, Nova Scotia.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.
  3. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Frank Joseph Trahan

    Married 1946 in Berwick, Kings, Nova Scotia.

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

Showing 3 of 116 records for Trahan 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. 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); Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain).

Australia34 records

34 records of the Trahan name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 30
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 4
  1. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Joseph Trahan

    Commission agent of S Melbne, Victoria; died 1909.

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

    Greengrocer of Williamstown, Victoria; died 1881.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record M. J. Trahan

    Sailed from Victoria in 1898 aboard the Argus I, bound for Calcutta, aged 32.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 34 records for Trahan in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

France21 records

21 records of the Trahan 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 Alfred Louis Trahan

    Born 1911 in Boulogne-sur-Mer; died 1974 in Boulogne-sur-Mer (Pas-de-Calais).

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

    Born 1908 in Paris; died 1978 in Paris.

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)
  3. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Marc Eugene Rene Trahan

    Born 1939 in Cherbourg (Manche); died 1999 in Pont-l'Abbé (Finistère).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)

Showing 3 of 21 records for Trahan in France.

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).

Netherlands3 records

3 records of the Trahan name in the Netherlands
  • Dutch church registers before 1811 2
  • Dutch civil registers (births, marriages, deaths) 1
  1. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Arthur Lionel Trahan

    Married in 1946 in Arnhem; fitter.

    Open Archives, Gelders Archief (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Civil record Jacobus Josephus Trahan

    Baptised in 1746 in Ijzendijke.

    Open Archives, Zeeuws Archief (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 2 of 3 records for Trahan 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).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Trahan.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Trahan 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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