The Wayne surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 10,215 people carried this name — #3,498 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 28,900 people counted. That is up 2% from 10,020 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Wayne surname

A surname originating as an occupation.

An occupational surname for a cartwright, Old English wægen (“wagon”).

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Wayne» (English), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.

In the first U.S. census, 1790

25 families named Wayne, or a close spelling, were counted in 1790.

Each family is counted by its head. About 160 people lived in those households, 6.4 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

Pennsylvania 14
Maryland 3
New York 2
North Carolina 2
South Carolina 2
Massachusetts 1
Connecticut 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

Wayne in American newspapers,
1914–1918.

Newspaper page from The Tupelo Journal carrying the name Wayne
The Tupelo Journal 1915-02-19
Newspaper page from The Herald carrying the name Wayne
The Herald 1914-12-17
Newspaper page from The Wheatland World carrying the name Wayne
The Wheatland World 1918-07-11

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 6,800 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Wayne in Australian newspapers,
1830s–2010s.

10,676 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Wayne. The most, 1,321, date from the 1980s. 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 Tasmania, at 2.0 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 2,983
ACT (Canberra) 1,903
Queensland 1,667
Victoria 1,243
Tasmania 949
South Australia 831
Western Australia 579
Northern Territory 23

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

Who carried it

People named Wayne,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Anthony Wayne
    Anthony Wayne 1745–1796 · politician
  • Anthony Wayne
    Anthony Wayne 1745–1796 · politician
  • James Moore Wayne
    James Moore Wayne 1790–1867 · judge
  • Margaret Elizabeth Wayne d. 1922
  • Lilian Sewallis Wayne d. 1949
  • Mary Wayne d. 1914

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 Wayne,
in the records of 5 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 States631 records

631 records of the Wayne name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 251
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 155
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 94
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 56
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 39
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 28
  • Irish Famine arrivals at New York, 1846–1851 7
  • U.S. service members who died in the Vietnam War 1
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Roy A. Wayne

    Born 1901 in Connecticut. Enlisted 1942 at Los Angeles, California; route man. U.S. Air Force veteran of World War II; died 1955, 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 Nancy Wayne

    Arrived at New York in 1870 aboard the Cuba from Liverpool, aged 23; matron. From Scotland.

    U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)
  3. A U.S. Army record of death and interment, Camp Nelson, Kentucky, 1864
    Example: U.S. burial record, 1864
    Burial record Geneautry L. Wayne

    U.S. Navy veteran. Born 1939, died 1999; buried at Fort Snelling National Cemetery, Minnesota.

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

Showing 3 of 631 records for Wayne 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) · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · 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) · 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); Record of death and interment, Camp Nelson, Kentucky, 1864, U.S. National Archives (public domain).

Australia93 records

93 records of the Wayne name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 53
  • Queensland State Archives indexes 23
  • Tasmanian Names Index 11
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 5
  • State Library of Western Australia indexes 1
  1. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Charles Wayne

    Arrived in Victoria in 1852 aboard the Dalhousie, aged 29; English.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Flora Wayne

    Assistant secretary of Kew, Victoria; died 1931.

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

    Left Hobart Town in 1846 aboard the Scotia, bound for Port Phillip.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 93 records for Wayne 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) · State Library of Western Australia (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); Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain); Emigration file, Gündlingen, 1883, Landesarchiv Baden-Württemberg, Staatsarchiv Freiburg B 694/1 Nr. 1389 (CC BY 4.0).

Canada8 records

8 records of the Wayne name in Canada
  • Ontario immigration records, 1865–1883 3
  • City of Winnipeg cemetery records 2
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 2
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 1
  1. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Emma Wayne

    Died 1978; buried at Brookside Cemetery, Winnipeg, Manitoba.

    City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg.
  2. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Sydney Coleman Wayne

    Married 1910 in Little River, Digby, 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 F. S. Wayne

    British Columbia Regiment. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1918.

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

Showing 3 of 8 records for Wayne in Canada.

Counts: Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario. · City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg. · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0); Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain); Canadian First World War circumstances-of-death register (scan by Scottgraham87 via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0).

United Kingdom3 records

3 records of the Wayne name in the United Kingdom
  • Welsh wills index cards 2
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 1
  1. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Sydney Granville Wayne

    Will proved in 1930; of Swansea.

    National Library of Wales, Wills Index Cards (CC0)
  2. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record E. Wayne

    Royal Welsh Fusiliers. 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 petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record William Frederick Wayne

    Will proved in 1934; of Swansea.

    National Library of Wales, Wills Index Cards (CC0)

Counts: National Library of Wales, Wills Index Cards (CC0) · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain); 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 Wayne 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 Genevieve Antoinette Wanda Wayne

    Born 1899 in Orléans (Loiret); died 1994 in Paris.

    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 Wayne.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Wayne 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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