The Whitcomb surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 8,324 people carried this name — #4,263 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 35,500 people counted. That is up 1% from 8,240 in 2000.

Look up another surname

Share

What the name means

The meaning of the Whitcomb surname

Variant of Whitcombe.

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

As a surname in the United Kingdom

Harrison classes it as an English name: ‘the White Valley or Hollow’.

From Whitcomb or Whitcombe.

From Henry Harrison, Surnames of the United Kingdom: A Concise Etymological Dictionary, vol. II (London: The Morland Press, 1918), p. 281 · public domain.

In the first U.S. census, 1790

119 families named Whitcomb, or a close spelling, were counted in 1790.

Each family is counted by its head. About 604 people lived in those households, 5.1 to a family on average. The table counts it together with 8 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 56
New Hampshire 27
Vermont 17
Maine 8
New York 7
Pennsylvania 3
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. 268 — public domain · names carried by at least 100 white persons in 1790.

In print

Whitcomb in American newspapers,
1870–1910.

Newspaper page from The Republican carrying the name Whitcomb
The Republican 1894-02-22
Newspaper page from The Bloomfield Times carrying the name Whitcomb
The Bloomfield Times 1870-05-03
Newspaper page from The Miller Press carrying the name Whitcomb
The Miller Press 1910-11-03

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 155,233 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Whitcomb in Australian newspapers,
1820s–1960s.

1,565 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Whitcomb. The most, 433, date from the 1910s. Queensland 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 2.8 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

Queensland 567
Tasmania 421
Victoria 263
New South Wales 141
South Australia 121
Western Australia 46
ACT (Canberra) 1

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

Who carried it

People named Whitcomb,
with a public archive behind them.

  • James Whitcomb
    James Whitcomb 1795–1852 · writer
  • George Dexter Whitcomb
    George Dexter Whitcomb 1834–1914 · mechanic
  • Israel Whitcomb 1661–1733
  • Noah Whitcomb 1714–
  • Orlen P. Whitcomb 1831–1898 · politician
  • George Henry Whitcomb 1842–1916

Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped, in the public domain or CC0.

In the public record

People named Whitcomb,
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 States772 records

772 records of the Whitcomb name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 326
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 146
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 136
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 117
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 24
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 23
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Joseph D. C. Whitcomb

    Born 1916 in Massachusetts. Enlisted 1942 at Fort Devens; mechanic from Franklin County. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1997, buried at Gethsemane Cemetery, Athol, Massachusetts.

    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 Lucy M. Whitcomb

    Arrived at New York in 1890 aboard the Majestic from Liverpool, aged 21; servant. From England.

    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 Thomas Bennett Whitcomb

    Veteran. Born 1930, died 1950; buried at Baltimore National Cemetery, Maryland.

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

Showing 3 of 772 records for Whitcomb 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). 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).

Australia66 records

66 records of the Whitcomb name in Australia
  • Tasmanian Names Index 26
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 26
  • NSW convict, estate and railway indexes 5
  • Queensland State Archives indexes 5
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 4
  1. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record George Whitcomb

    Died 1881 in Hobart, Tasmania, aged 78. Will registered in Tasmania in 1881.

    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 Hannah Whitcomb

    Applied for permission to marry in Van Diemen's Land in 1853. Married 1853 in Hobart, Tasmania, aged 38.

    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 Eliza Whitcomb

    Arrived in Victoria in 1856 aboard the Medway, aged 20; English.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 66 records for Whitcomb in Australia.

Counts: Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) · Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain); Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

Canada9 records

9 records of the Whitcomb name in Canada
  • Canadian Virtual War Memorial 3
  • City of Winnipeg cemetery records 3
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 2
  • Ontario immigration records, 1865–1883 1
  1. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Frank Anderson Whitcomb

    Died 1958 in Berwick, Kings, 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 Olive Adelaide Whitcomb

    Died 1947; buried at Brookside Cemetery, Winnipeg, Manitoba.

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

    Died in service in 1918.

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

Showing 3 of 9 records for Whitcomb in Canada.

Counts: Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. · City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg. · Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. · Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario. 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); Canadian First World War circumstances-of-death register (scan by Scottgraham87 via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0).

France1 record

1 record of the Whitcomb 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 Louise Adolphine France Whitcomb

    Born 1915 in Paris; died 1999 in Neuilly-sur-Seine (Hauts-de-Seine).

    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).

Netherlands1 record

1 record of the Whitcomb name in the Netherlands Dutch church registers before 1811
  1. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Thomas Whitcomb

    Married in 1634 in Utrecht.

    Open Archives, Het Utrechts Archief (CC BY 4.0)

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).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Whitcomb.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Whitcomb 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 Whitcomb volume
Scroll to Top