The Washburn surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 20,030 people carried this name — #1,793 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 14,700 people counted. That is up 3% from 19,505 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Washburn surname

Variant of Washbourne.

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Washburn» (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 a local name, from where the family lived: ‘of Washbourn’.

From Charles W. Bardsley, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with Special American Instances (London: Henry Frowde, 1901), p. 795 · public domain.

In the first U.S. census, 1790

187 families named Washburn, or a close spelling, were counted in 1790.

Each family is counted by its head. About 1,103 people lived in those households, 5.9 to a family on average. The table counts it together with 10 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 88
New York 27
Connecticut 23
Vermont 19
Maine 8
New Hampshire 8
Pennsylvania 5
North Carolina 5
Virginia 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

Washburn in American newspapers,
1855–1879.

Newspaper page from The Lancaster Ledger carrying the name Washburn
The Lancaster Ledger 1855-08-15
Newspaper page from Lyon County Times carrying the name Washburn
Lyon County Times 1879-05-24
Newspaper page from Gallipolis Journal carrying the name Washburn
Gallipolis Journal 1855-01-18

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 447,406 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Washburn in Australian newspapers,
1840s–1970s.

2,191 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Washburn. The most, 1,098, date from the 1910s.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 707
Victoria 628
Queensland 351
South Australia 252
Tasmania 127
Western Australia 114
ACT (Canberra) 5
Northern Territory 2

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

Who carried it

People named Washburn,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Martha Washburne
    Martha Washburne 1792–1861
  • Ichabod Washburn
    Ichabod Washburn 1798–1868 · politician
  • Emory Washburn
    Emory Washburn 1800–1877 · judge
  • Samuel Washburn 1651–1720
  • Mary Washburn 1661–1740
  • Edward Washburn 1700–1792

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 Washburn,
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 States1,893 records

1,893 records of the Washburn name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 730
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 406
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 338
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 312
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 53
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 38
  • U.S. service members who died in the Korean War 7
  • U.S. service members who died in the Vietnam War 6
  • Riverside Cemetery, Asheville (North Carolina) 1
  • Irish Famine arrivals at New York, 1846–1851 1
  • 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 Jesse E. Washburn

    Born 1917 in West Virginia. Enlisted 1942 at Lockbourne Army Air Base Columbus, Ohio; tool sharpener. U.S. Air Force veteran of World War II; died 1999, buried at Washburn Family Cemetery, West Virginia.

    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 John Gilbert Washburn

    Born 1930; from Keokuk, Iowa. U.S. Marine Corps; died of wounds 1952 in Korea. Buried at Keokuk National Cemetery, Iowa.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (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 Laura Washburn

    Arrived at New York in 1873 aboard the Java from Liverpool, aged 50; matron.

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

Showing 3 of 1,893 records for Washburn 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) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · 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) · City of Asheville (public domain, PDDL) · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (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); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

Australia41 records

41 records of the Washburn name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 32
  • Tasmanian Names Index 8
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 1
  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 Samuel Washburn

    Transported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Buffalo, sailing from Quebec in 1839. Applied for permission to marry in Van Diemen's Land in 1844. Married 1844 in Campbell Town, Tasmania, aged 32.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Edward Washburn

    Former farmer of New Zealand, Victoria; died 1935.

    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 Thos Washburn

    Arrived in Victoria in 1854 aboard the Herald of the Morning, aged 23; English.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 41 records for Washburn in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (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); 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).

Canada19 records

19 records of the Washburn name in Canada
  • Canadian Virtual War Memorial 5
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 5
  • Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver 5
  • City of Calgary cemetery records 2
  • City of Niagara Falls (Ontario) cemetery records 1
  • City of Waterloo (Ontario) cemetery records 1
  1. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record James Washburn

    Buried in 1969 at Queen's Park Cemetery, Calgary, Alberta, aged 35.

    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 Nellie Washburn

    Died 1944 in Beaverbank, 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 Cameron Gillespie Washburn

    Died in service in 1944.

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

Showing 3 of 19 records for Washburn in Canada.

Counts: Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. · 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. · City of Niagara Falls. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Niagara Falls. · Contains information provided by the City of Waterloo under licence. 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).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Washburn.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Washburn 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 Washburn volume
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