The Wales surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 5,133 people carried this name — #6,602 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 57,500 people counted. That is up 3% from 4,983 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Wales surname

As an English and Welsh surname

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

An early record he cites: Cecilia de Wales, 1379 — Poll Tax, West Riding of Yorkshire.

From Charles W. Bardsley, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with Special American Instances (London: Henry Frowde, 1901), p. 789 · public domain.

In France’s civil register

France’s register of deaths holds 32 people named Wales.

2 of them were born outside France. Those born in France came from 5 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

Born outside France 2
Pas-de-Calais 15
Nord 10
Isère 2
Paris 2
Calvados 1

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

In Scotland’s registers today

Wales was recorded 25 times in Scotland’s registers of births, marriages and deaths in 2025.

That made it the 962nd most common name in those registers, shared with others on the same count. In 1975, the first year of the series, the count was 31. Each birth counts the child’s surname, each marriage both partners’ and each death the surname of the person who died — a yearly count of registrations, not of the people who live in Scotland.

National Records of Scotland, «Most Common Surnames, 2025» (published 26 May 2026): every surname recorded 10 or more times in the 2025 registers, and the series from 1975 · different spellings are counted separately — © Crown copyright 2026. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

In the first U.S. census, 1790

68 families named Wales, or a close spelling, were counted in 1790.

Each family is counted by its head. About 437 people lived in those households, 6.4 to a family on average. The table counts it together with 5 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

Massachusetts 38
Vermont 8
Connecticut 8
Maryland 6
Virginia 4
Pennsylvania 2
New Hampshire 1
Rhode Island 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. 267 — public domain · names carried by at least 100 white persons in 1790.

In print

Wales in American newspapers,
1857–1880.

Newspaper page from The Portland Daily Press carrying the name Wales
The Portland Daily Press 1879-11-15
Newspaper page from True American carrying the name Wales
True American 1857-10-14
Newspaper page from The Sun carrying the name Wales
The Sun 1880-12-19

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 3,753 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Wales in Australian newspapers,
1820s–2000s.

18,152 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Wales. The most, 4,078, date from the 1930s. New South Wales has the most articles, but weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, the name stands out most in Victoria, at 1.3 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 7,853
Victoria 4,479
Queensland 3,400
Tasmania 842
Western Australia 733
South Australia 652
ACT (Canberra) 140
Northern Territory 12

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

Who carried it

People named Wales,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Susanna Wales
    Susanna Wales 1780–1868 · painter
  • John Wales
    John Wales 1783–1863 · politician
  • George Edward Wales
    George Edward Wales 1792–1860 · judge
  • Nathaniel Wales
    Nathaniel Wales 1819–1901 · politician
  • Torrey E. Wales
    Torrey E. Wales 1820–1902 · politician
  • Elkanah Wales 1588–1669 · Christian minister

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 Wales,
in the records of 7 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 States658 records

658 records of the Wales name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 182
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 117
  • Other U.S. records 359
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record William L. Wales

    Born 1925 in Washington. Enlisted 1943 at Portland, Oregon; ironworker from Washington County, Oregon. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1999, buried at Willamette National Cemetery, Oregon.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (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 George W. Wales

    Born 1911 in Maine. Enlisted 1942 at Bangor; shipping clerk from Kennebec County. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1985, buried at Maine Veterans' Memorial Cemetery, Augusta, Maine.

    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 Susanne Wales

    Arrived at New York in 1846 aboard the Emigrant from Bremen, aged 32; nurse. From New York, Germany; bound for New York.

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

Showing 3 of 658 records for Wales in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · 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. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain) · City of Asheville (public domain, PDDL) · New York State, Open NY (police and firefighter memorial rolls) · Sacramento County, Historic Burials (CC BY 4.0). 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).

Australia484 records

484 records of the Wales name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 216
  • Tasmanian Names Index 98
  • Other Australian records 170
  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 Peter Wales

    Transported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Henry Porcher, sailing from London in 1836. Applied for permission to marry in Van Diemen's Land in 1845. Married 1845 in Hobart, Tasmania, aged 24.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Caroline Anne Wales

    Born 1830 in Launceston, Tasmania. Married 1852 in Morven, Tasmania, aged 21.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (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 Edwin Wales

    Arrived in Victoria in 1857 aboard the Themis, aged 32; English.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 484 records for Wales 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) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY) · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · State Library of Western Australia (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); Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

Canada48 records

48 records of the Wales name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 14
  • Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver 12
  • Other Canadian records 22
  1. 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 Huston Wales

    Served in the No. 2 Construction Battalion in the First World War, private; of Dresden, Ontario.

    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 George Wales

    Buried in 1908 at Union Cemetery, Calgary, Alberta.

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

    Died 1957; buried at Brookside Cemetery, Winnipeg, Manitoba.

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

Showing 3 of 48 records for Wales 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 Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg. · Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. · City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary. · City of Niagara Falls. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Niagara Falls. · Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario. · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Canadian First World War circumstances-of-death register (scan by Scottgraham87 via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0); Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0).

Netherlands32 records

32 records of the Wales name in the Netherlands
  • Dutch church registers before 1811 18
  • Dutch population registers 7
  • Dutch civil registers (births, marriages, deaths) 7
  1. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Aafke Wales

    Married in 1825 in Winsum; maidservant, born 1787 in Maarslag. Died 1858 in Obergum (Winsum), aged 70.

    Open Archives, Groninger Archieven (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Jacob Wales

    Married in 1679 in Bergen op Zoom; born in Scotland.

    Open Archives, West Brabants Archief (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Maria Wales

    Married in 1725 in Breukelen; born in Jutphaas.

    Open Archives, Regionaal Historisch Centrum Vecht en Venen (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 32 records for Wales 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).

United Kingdom25 records

25 records of the Wales name in the United Kingdom
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 17
  • Scottish rolls of honour, First World War 3
  • Other British records 5
  1. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record Peter Wales

    Born 1900 at Dufftown; carter. 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 petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Miriam Wales

    Will proved in 1937; of Buckhurst Hill, Essex.

    National Library of Wales, Wills Index Cards (CC0)
  3. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Abraham Wales

    Died 1971, aged 68; buried at Bannockburn Cemetery, Stirling, Scotland.

    Stirling Council. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Showing 3 of 25 records for Wales 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) · Stirling Council. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. · National Library of Wales, Wills Index Cards (CC0). 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); Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain); Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0).

France16 records

16 records of the Wales 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 Gaston Jules Wales

    Born 1899 in Calais (Pas-de-Calais); died 1973 in Breuil-le-Sec (Oise).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)
  2. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Marguerite Maria Julia Wales

    Born 1904 in Bailleul; died 1996 in Estreux (Nord).

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

    Born 1939 in Paris; died 1997 in Senlis (Oise).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)

Showing 3 of 16 records for Wales 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).

New Zealand11 records

11 records of the Wales 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 John Wales

    Died 1938, aged 64; buried at Lyttelton Anglican Cemetery, Christchurch, Canterbury.

    Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Jane Elizabeth Wales

    Died 1917, aged 72; buried at Linwood Cemetery, Christchurch, Canterbury.

    Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Mark Phillip Wales

    Died 1982, aged 24; buried at Ruru Lawn, Christchurch, Canterbury.

    Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 11 records for Wales in New Zealand.

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).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Wales.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Wales 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 Wales volume
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