The Vaughn surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 88,060 people carried this name — #356 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 3,350 people counted. That is up 4% from 85,037 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Vaughn surname

A variant of Vaughan, from Welsh bychan (“small”).

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

An early record he cites: William Vachan, Shropshire, 1273 — Hundred Rolls.

His entry covers Vaughan and Vaughn.

From Charles W. Bardsley, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with Special American Instances (London: Henry Frowde, 1901), p. 780 · public domain.

In the Nordic population registers

26 people named Vaughn is counted in Sweden.

Sweden’s figure is from 31 December 2022, the last count Statistics Sweden published.

Counted, by country

Sweden (2022) 26

Own calculations based on data from Statistics Sweden (SCB), surnames with at least two bearers, 31 December 2022 — CC BY 4.0 (names with 20 or more bearers shown).

In the first U.S. census, 1790

235 families named Vaughn, or a close spelling, were counted in 1790.

Each family is counted by its head. About 1,405 people lived in those households, 6 to a family on average. The census counted these spellings together: Vaughn, Vaughan, Vaughen, Vaughon, Vaughown, Vaugon, Vaun, Vaune, Veaughn, Vowan. The table lists white heads of families only, in the twelve states whose 1790 records survive; Virginia’s figures come from state lists of 1782–1785.

Families, by state

Virginia 86
Rhode Island 27
North Carolina 27
Massachusetts 26
South Carolina 22
New York 12
Pennsylvania 10
Maryland 10
Connecticut 8
Vermont 6
Maine 1

U.S. Census Bureau, «A Century of Population Growth from the First Census of the United States to the Twelfth, 1790–1900» (Washington, 1909), table 111, p. 266 — public domain · names carried by at least 100 white persons in 1790.

In print

Vaughn in American newspapers,
1911–1944.

Newspaper page from The Washington Times carrying the name Vaughn
The Washington Times 1911-04-19
Newspaper page from The Washington Herald carrying the name Vaughn
The Washington Herald 1912-07-13
Newspaper page from Evening Star carrying the name Vaughn
Evening Star 1944-08-13

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 368,831 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Vaughn in Australian newspapers,
1840s–2000s.

3,981 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Vaughn. The most, 1,477, date from the 1880s. 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 2.5 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 2,977
Queensland 288
South Australia 248
Victoria 243
Western Australia 112
ACT (Canberra) 38
Tasmania 36
Northern Territory 4

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

Who carried it

People named Vaughn,
with a public archive behind them.

  • John C. Vaughn
    John C. Vaughn 1824–1875 · politician
  • Robert Vaughn
    Robert Vaughn 1833–1908 · politician
  • William J. Vaughn
    William J. Vaughn 1834–1912
  • Robert Vaughn
    Robert Vaughn 1836–1918 · rancher
  • Pinkerton R. Vaughn
    Pinkerton R. Vaughn 1841–1866

Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped — William J. Vaughn: Vanderbilt University, CC BY-SA 3.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0); the others are in the public domain or CC0 · 239 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Vaughn,
in the records of 3 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 States4,952 records

4,952 records of the Vaughn name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 2,709
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 1,294
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 531
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 222
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 82
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 43
  • Irish Famine arrivals at New York, 1846–1851 34
  • U.S. service members who died in the Korean War 18
  • U.S. service members who died in the Vietnam War 18
  • Riverside Cemetery, Asheville (North Carolina) 1
  1. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Thomas H. Vaughn

    Born 1931; from Davidson County, Tennessee. U.S. Army, light weapons infantryman; killed in action 1950 in South Korea. Buried at Nashville National Cemetery, Tennessee.

    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 Frank E. Vaughn

    Born 1921 in Tennessee. Enlisted 1943 at Camp Forrest; packer from Davidson County. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1975, 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 Honora Vaughn

    Arrived at New York in 1851 aboard the Guy Mannering from Liverpool, aged 12; laborer. From Ireland.

    U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain)

Showing 3 of 4,952 records for Vaughn 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, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain) · City of Asheville (public domain, PDDL). 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).

Canada122 records

122 records of the Vaughn name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 117
  • Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver 3
  • City of Calgary cemetery records 2
  1. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Eliza F. Vaughn

    Died 1872 in Western Shore, Lunenburg, Nova Scotia.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.
  2. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Herbert C. Vaughn

    Died 1951; buried at Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver, British Columbia.

    City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver.
  3. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Mary Vaughn

    Buried in 1927 at Burnsland Cemetery, Calgary, Alberta.

    City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary.

Showing 3 of 122 records for Vaughn in Canada.

Counts: Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. · 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. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0); Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0).

Australia26 records

26 records of the Vaughn name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 15
  • Tasmanian Names Index 7
  • Queensland State Archives indexes 4
  1. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record William Vaughn

    Arrived in Victoria in 1853 aboard the Catharine Mitchell, aged 29; English.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)
  2. The first page of an emigration file from Gündlingen, Baden, 1883
    Example: German emigration file, 1883
    Emigration record William Vaughn

    Left Hobart in 1846 aboard the I Don't Know, bound for New Zealand, as crew.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Civil record Samuel Vaughn

    Selected land at Townsville, Queensland in 1915.

    Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 26 records for Vaughn 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). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Emigration file, Gündlingen, 1883, Landesarchiv Baden-Württemberg, Staatsarchiv Freiburg B 694/1 Nr. 1389 (CC BY 4.0); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Vaughn.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Vaughn 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 Vaughn volume
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