The Trainor surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 6,816 people carried this name — #5,136 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 43,300 people counted. That is up 1% from 6,719 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Trainor surname

Reduced Anglicized form of Irish Mac Thréinfhir (“son of Thréinfhear”) a personal name composed of the elements tréan (“strong”) + fear (“man”).

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Trainor» (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 an occupational name: ‘the trainer’.

An early record he cites: Robertus Trainer, 1379 — Poll Tax, West Riding of Yorkshire.

His entry covers Trayner, Traynor, Trainor, Tranner and Trainer.

From Charles W. Bardsley, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with Special American Instances (London: Henry Frowde, 1901), p. 762 · public domain.

In print

Trainor in American newspapers,
1912.

Newspaper page from Torrington Telegram carrying the name Trainor
Torrington Telegram 1912-06-06
Newspaper page from Torrington Telegram carrying the name Trainor
Torrington Telegram 1912-06-20
Newspaper page from The Odanah Star carrying the name Trainor
The Odanah Star 1912-07-12

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

In print

Trainor in Australian newspapers,
1840s–1990s.

8,299 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Trainor. The most, 1,372, 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 Victoria, at 2.4 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

Victoria 4,213
New South Wales 2,398
South Australia 540
Queensland 481
Western Australia 409
Tasmania 204
ACT (Canberra) 30
Northern Territory 12

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

Who carried it

People named Trainor,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Patrick F. Trainor
    Patrick F. Trainor 1863–1902 · politician
  • Bernard E. Trainor
    Bernard E. Trainor 1928–2018 · military officer
  • Peter Trainor Kelly d. 1948 · politician
  • Owen Trainor 1894–1956 · physician
  • Luke Trainor 1900–1973 · Australian rules football player
  • Wes Trainor 1922–1991 · ice hockey player

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 Trainor,
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 States1,920 records

1,920 records of the Trainor name in the United States
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 885
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 287
  • Other U.S. records 748
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Alfred T. Trainor

    Born 1916 in California. Enlisted 1941 at Sacramento; office clerk. U.S. Army veteran of World War II and the Korean War; died 1975, buried at Los Angeles National Cemetery, California.

    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 Kate Trainor

    Arrived at New York in 1892 aboard the Teutonic from Liverpool and Queenstown, aged 18; servant. From Liverpool, England; bound for New York.

    U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)
  3. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Paul William Trainor

    Born 1949; from Malden, Massachusetts. U.S. Marine Corps, mortarman; killed in action 1968 in Quang Tri, South Vietnam.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain)

Showing 3 of 1,920 records for Trainor in the United States.

Counts: 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, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · 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: U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Vietnam Veterans Memorial, photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, 2009 (public domain).

Australia254 records

254 records of the Trainor name in Australia
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 110
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 107
  • Other Australian records 37
  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 Mary Trainor

    Transported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Hope, sailing from Dublin in 1842. Native of Newry, Down.

    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 Joseph Trainor

    Arrived in Victoria in 1852 aboard the John Bunyan, aged 1; Irish.

    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 Kathleen M. Trainor

    Gentlewoman of Kew, Victoria; died 1975.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 254 records for Trainor in Australia.

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

Canada78 records

78 records of the Trainor name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 42
  • City of Calgary cemetery records 11
  • Other Canadian records 25
  1. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Charles Trainor

    Died 1956, aged 74; buried at St. Vital Cemetery, Winnipeg, Manitoba.

    City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg.
  2. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Betty Joan Marie Trainor

    Died 1954 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 James Bruce Trainor

    Died in service in 1944.

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

Showing 3 of 78 records for Trainor 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. · City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg. · City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver. · Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario. 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).

New Zealand4 records

4 records of the Trainor name in New Zealand
  • Christchurch City cemetery records 3
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 1
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Andrew Trainor

    Died 1966, aged 61; buried at Ruru Lawn, Christchurch, Canterbury.

    Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the Livre d’or of the French war dead, Paris
    Example: roll of the war dead
    War record P. Trainor

    New Zealand 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 page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Stillbory of meryl Trainor

    Died 1962; buried at Bromley Cemetery, Christchurch, Canterbury.

    Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 4 records for Trainor in New Zealand.

Counts: Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0) · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0); Livre d’or of the war dead, Paris, Ministère des pensions, Archives nationales (CC0).

United Kingdom2 records

2 records of the Trainor 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. T. Trainor

    York and Lancaster Regiment. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1917.

    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. Trainor

    Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1918.

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

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).

France1 record

1 record of the Trainor 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 Veronica Trainor

    Born 1928 in the United Kingdom; died 1992 in Chessy (Seine-et-Marne).

    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 Trainor.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Trainor 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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