The Wilkey surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 4,183 people carried this name — #7,909 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 70,400 people counted. That is up 10% from 3,797 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Wilkey surname

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

23 families named Wilkey, or a close spelling, were counted in 1790.

Each family is counted by its head. About 128 people lived in those households, 5.6 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

New York 6
Massachusetts 5
Rhode Island 4
North Carolina 3
South Carolina 3
Pennsylvania 2

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

Wilkey in American newspapers,
1894–1908.

Newspaper page from The Portland Daily Press carrying the name Wilkey
The Portland Daily Press 1894-04-28
Newspaper page from The White Mountain Echo And Tourist's Register carrying the name Wilkey
The White Mountain Echo And Tourist's Register 1908-07-18
Newspaper page from The White Mountain Echo And Tourist's Register carrying the name Wilkey
The White Mountain Echo And Tourist's Register 1908-07-11

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 5,066 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Wilkey in Australian newspapers,
1850s–1980s.

816 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Wilkey. The most, 153, date from the 1920s. Weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, it stands out most in South Australia, at 4.5 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

South Australia 421
New South Wales 328
Victoria 23
Queensland 13
Western Australia 11
ACT (Canberra) 8
Tasmania 7
Northern Territory 3

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

Who carried it

People named Wilkey,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Violet Wilkey
    Violet Wilkey 1903–1976 · actor
  • Malcolm Richard Wilkey
    Malcolm Richard Wilkey 1918–2009 · judge

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

In the public record

People named Wilkey,
in the records of 4 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 States225 records

225 records of the Wilkey name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 107
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 45
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 33
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 22
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 7
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 6
  • Irish Famine arrivals at New York, 1846–1851 2
  • U.S. service members who died in the Vietnam War 2
  • U.S. service members who died in the Korean War 1
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Alex T. Wilkey

    Born 1916 in Tennessee. Enlisted 1942 at Camp Forrest; machinist from Hamilton County. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1990, buried at Chattanooga National Cemetery, Tennessee.

    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 Emmitt James Wilkey

    Born 1931; from Liberty, Texas. U.S. Marine Corps, baker; died in an accident 1966 in Quang Nam, South Vietnam.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain)
  3. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Mary Wilkey

    Arrived at New York in 1873 aboard the Parthia from Liverpool and Queenstown, aged 35; matron. From England.

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

Showing 3 of 225 records for Wilkey 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); 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).

Australia28 records

28 records of the Wilkey name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 9
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 8
  • Tasmanian Names Index 5
  • NSW convict, estate and railway indexes 4
  • Queensland State Archives indexes 1
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 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 Jane Wilkey

    Transported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Tasmania, sailing from London in 1844. Native of North Molton, Devon. Applied for permission to marry in Van Diemen's Land in 1846.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record John Wilkey

    Arrived in Victoria in 1859 aboard the Ocean Chief, aged 30; Scottish.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Roy Gilbert Wilkey

    Gentleman of Ringwood, Victoria; died 1991.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 28 records for Wilkey in Australia.

Counts: 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) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0) · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). 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); 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).

Canada22 records

22 records of the Wilkey name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 21
  • Canadian Virtual War Memorial 1
  1. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Hatty Wilkey

    Died 1873 in LaHave, Lunenburg, Nova Scotia.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.
  2. 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 Louis Wilkey

    Died in service in 1920.

    Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada.
  3. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Annie Wilkey

    Married 1885 in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.

Showing 3 of 22 records for Wilkey in Canada.

Counts: Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. · Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: 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); Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain).

United Kingdom1 record

1 record of the Wilkey name in the United Kingdom St James's burial ground, Euston (London), 1789–1853
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record David Wilkey

    Buried in 1830 at St James's burial ground, Euston, London, aged 30.

    MOLA and HS2, St James's burial ground data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Counts: 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).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Wilkey.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Wilkey 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 Wilkey volume
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