The Venable surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 10,333 people carried this name — #3,458 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 28,600 people counted. That is up 2% from 10,150 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Venable surname

As an English and Welsh surname

Bardsley classes it as a local name, from where the family lived: ‘from Venables’.

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

His entry covers Venables, Venable and Vennable.

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 first U.S. census, 1790

31 families named Venable, or a close spelling, were counted in 1790.

Each family is counted by its head. About 183 people lived in those households, 5.9 to a family on average. The table counts it together with 4 other spellings. 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 13
South Carolina 9
North Carolina 5
Maryland 4

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. 267 — public domain · names carried by at least 100 white persons in 1790.

In print

Venable in American newspapers,
1891–1920.

Newspaper page from The Neshoba Democrat carrying the name Venable
The Neshoba Democrat 1920-08-12
Newspaper page from Pawtucket Tribune carrying the name Venable
Pawtucket Tribune 1891-03-11
Newspaper page from New Britain Herald carrying the name Venable
New Britain Herald 1917-08-08

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 77,876 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Venable in Australian newspapers,
1840s–1960s.

528 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Venable. The most, 202, date from the 1930s. 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 1.3 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 226
Queensland 126
Victoria 84
South Australia 41
Western Australia 32
Tasmania 12
ACT (Canberra) 5

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

Who carried it

People named Venable,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Richard N. Venable
    Richard N. Venable 1756–1838 · politician
  • Samuel Woodson Venable
    Samuel Woodson Venable 1756–1821
  • Abraham B. Venable
    Abraham B. Venable 1758–1811 · lawyer
  • Abraham Watkins Venable
    Abraham Watkins Venable 1799–1876 · lawyer
  • Charles S. Venable
    Charles S. Venable 1827–1900 · astronomer
  • Robert Venable d. 1987 · police officer

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 Venable,
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 States635 records

635 records of the Venable name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 370
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 163
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 71
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 16
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 5
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 5
  • U.S. service members who died in the Vietnam War 4
  • New York State police and firefighter memorial rolls 1
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Abner W. Venable

    Born 1907 in Texas. Enlisted 1942 at Fresno, California; fruit. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1996, buried at San Joaquin Valley National Cemetery, California.

    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 Elton Ray Venable

    Born 1948; from Holdenville, Oklahoma. U.S. Army, radio operator; died in an accident 1969 in Phu Yen, South Vietnam.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain)
  3. A U.S. Army record of death and interment, Camp Nelson, Kentucky, 1864
    Example: U.S. burial record, 1864
    Burial record Carleton E. Venable

    U.S. Air Force veteran. Born 1936, died 1993; buried at Willamette National Cemetery, Oregon.

    U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)

Showing 3 of 635 records for Venable 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, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain) · New York State, Open NY (police and firefighter memorial rolls). 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); Record of death and interment, Camp Nelson, Kentucky, 1864, U.S. National Archives (public domain).

Canada5 records

5 records of the Venable name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 3
  • Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver 2
  1. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Minabella Venable

    Died 1940; 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
    Civil record James Venable

    Listed at Halifax, Nova Scotia in the census and tax rolls of 1838.

    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 William Venable

    Married 1870 in Cumberland, Nova Scotia.

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

Showing 3 of 5 records for Venable 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. 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).

Australia4 records

4 records of the Venable name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 2
  • Queensland State Archives indexes 1
  • Tasmanian Names Index 1
  1. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Lydia Venable

    Died 1836 in Hobart, Tasmania.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record George Venable

    Died 1892; inquest held in Queensland.

    Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 2 of 4 records for Venable in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Venable.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Venable 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 Venable volume
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