The Wilkerson surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 48,444 people carried this name — #719 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 6,090 people counted. That is up 4% from 46,605 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Wilkerson surname

A surname originating as a patronymic.

From Wilkin + -son.

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Wilkerson» (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 baptismal name, from a given name: ‘the son of William’.

From Charles W. Bardsley, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with Special American Instances (London: Henry Frowde, 1901), p. 814 · public domain.

In the first U.S. census, 1790

111 families named Wilkerson, or a close spelling, were counted in 1790.

Each family is counted by its head. About 584 people lived in those households, 5.3 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

North Carolina 36
Virginia 27
Pennsylvania 13
New York 8
Connecticut 6
Maryland 6
South Carolina 6
Maine 5
Rhode Island 3
New Hampshire 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

Wilkerson in American newspapers,
1915.

Newspaper page from Courier Democrat carrying the name Wilkerson
Courier Democrat 1915-07-08
Newspaper page from Courier Democrat carrying the name Wilkerson
Courier Democrat 1915-08-19
Newspaper page from Courier Democrat carrying the name Wilkerson
Courier Democrat 1915-09-23

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 69,001 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Wilkerson in Australian newspapers,
1840s–1970s.

2,142 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Wilkerson. The most, 429, date from the 1910s. Weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, it stands out most in Western Australia, at 8.0 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

Western Australia 1,505
New South Wales 464
Victoria 81
Queensland 45
South Australia 26
Tasmania 12
ACT (Canberra) 7

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

Who carried it

People named Wilkerson,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Guy Wilkerson
    Guy Wilkerson 1899–1971 · actor
  • Rustin Wilkerson d. 2013
  • Wallace Wilkerson 1835–1879
  • Sophie Elizabeth Lindauer 1859–1933
  • James Herbert Wilkerson 1869–1948 · judge
  • William Wilkerson 1890–1962 · publisher

Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped, in the public domain or CC0 · 9 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Wilkerson,
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 States2,287 records

2,287 records of the Wilkerson name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 1,467
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 625
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 120
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 31
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 19
  • U.S. service members who died in the Vietnam War 11
  • Irish Famine arrivals at New York, 1846–1851 6
  • U.S. service members who died in the Korean War 6
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 2
  1. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record David Hunter Wilkerson

    Born 1949; from Davenport, Iowa. U.S. Marine Corps, rifleman; died in an accident 1969 in Quang Nam, South Vietnam. Buried at Rock Island National Cemetery, Illinois.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (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 Wilbert L. Wilkerson

    Born 1921 in North Carolina. Enlisted 1942 at Fort Bragg; farm hand from Granville County. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1977, buried at Raleigh National Cemetery, North Carolina.

    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 George W. Wilkerson

    Arrived at New York in 1881 aboard the Bothnia from Liverpool, aged 19; farmer. From England.

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

Showing 3 of 2,287 records for Wilkerson 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, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Vietnam Veterans Memorial, photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, 2009 (public domain); U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

Australia26 records

26 records of the Wilkerson name in Australia
  • State Library of Western Australia indexes 14
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 6
  • Tasmanian Names Index 3
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 2
  • NSW convict, estate and railway indexes 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 John Wilkerson

    Transported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Forfarshire, sailing from Spithead in 1843. Native of Norfolk.

    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 Hilda Wilkerson

    Office worker of Hawthorn, Victoria; died 2001.

    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 William J. Wilkerson

    Arrived in Victoria in 1869 aboard the Essex, aged 30.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 26 records for Wilkerson in Australia.

Counts: State Library of Western Australia (CC BY 4.0) · Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY). 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).

Netherlands9 records

9 records of the Wilkerson name in the Netherlands
  • Dutch church registers before 1811 7
  • Dutch civil registers (births, marriages, deaths) 2
  1. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Roelof Wilkerson

    Married in 1769 in Rotterdam; born in Rotterdam.

    Open Archives, Stadsarchief Rotterdam (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Martijntje Wilkerson

    Married in 1800 in Rotterdam.

    Open Archives, Stadsarchief Rotterdam (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Birth record Martinus Wilkerson

    Born 1819 in Rotterdam.

    Open Archives, Stadsarchief Rotterdam (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 9 records for Wilkerson 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); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0).

Canada6 records

6 records of the Wilkerson name in Canada
  • Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver 3
  • City of Calgary cemetery records 1
  • Canadian Virtual War Memorial 1
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 1
  1. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Thomas Alexander Wilkerson

    Died 1979; buried at Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver, British Columbia.

    City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver.
  2. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record David Jonathan Wilkerson

    Buried in 1967 at Queen's Park Cemetery, Calgary, Alberta.

    City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary.
  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 Stanley Charles Wilkerson

    Died in service in 1917.

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

Showing 3 of 6 records for Wilkerson in Canada.

Counts: 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. · Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: 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).

United Kingdom4 records

4 records of the Wilkerson name in the United Kingdom
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 3
  • St James's burial ground, Euston (London), 1789–1853 1
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Thomas Wilkerson

    Buried in 1847 at St James's burial ground, Euston, London, aged 67.

    MOLA and HS2, St James's burial ground data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
  2. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record W. E. Wilkerson

    Machine Gun Corps. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1918.

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

Showing 2 of 4 records for Wilkerson in the United Kingdom.

Counts: National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · MOLA and HS2, St James's burial ground data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0); C. & E. Morton Ltd roll of honour, 1914–1919, photo by Adrian S Pye via Geograph (CC BY-SA 2.0).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Wilkerson.

When the index is not enough

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