The Worthy surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 8,795 people carried this name — #4,040 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 33,600 people counted. That is up 6% from 8,327 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Worthy surname

Possibly from worthy.

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Worthy» (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: ‘at the worthy’.

From Charles W. Bardsley, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with Special American Instances (London: Henry Frowde, 1901), p. 829 · public domain.

In print

Worthy in American newspapers,
1870–1905.

Newspaper page from St. Landry Clarion carrying the name Worthy
St. Landry Clarion 1905-07-15
Newspaper page from Wood County Reporter carrying the name Worthy
Wood County Reporter 1895-06-13
Newspaper page from New York Dispatch carrying the name Worthy
New York Dispatch 1870-02-27

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 847 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Worthy in Australian newspapers,
1820s–1990s.

11,755 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Worthy. The most, 1,813, date from the 1920s. 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 the Australian Capital Territory, at 1.8 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 3,441
Victoria 2,753
South Australia 1,906
Queensland 1,444
Western Australia 1,342
Tasmania 651
ACT (Canberra) 194
Northern Territory 4

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

Who carried it

People named Worthy,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Alexander Worthy Clerk
    Alexander Worthy Clerk 1820–1906 · missionary
  • Charles Worthy 1840–1899
  • Albert Worthy 1905–1978 · association football player
  • Albert Worthy 1905–1978 · association football player
  • Ida Madoline Worthy 1906–1989 · collector
  • William Worthy 1921–2014 · journalist

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 Worthy,
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 States477 records

477 records of the Worthy name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 255
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 103
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 42
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 35
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 14
  • Irish Famine arrivals at New York, 1846–1851 12
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 11
  • U.S. service members who died in the Korean War 3
  • Riverside Cemetery, Asheville (North Carolina) 1
  • 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 Virgil E. Worthy

    Born 1913 in South Carolina. Enlisted 1943 at New York City; sales clerk from Kings County, New York. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1976, buried at Long Island National Cemetery, New York.

    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 Jerry Dean Worthy

    Born 1943; from Spartanburg, South Carolina. U.S. Army, infantryman; killed in action 1967 in Phu Yen, 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 Margaret Worthy

    Arrived at New York in 1864 aboard the Hibernia from Liverpool, aged 38; servant. From England.

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

Showing 3 of 477 records for Worthy in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · 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, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain) · 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). 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).

Australia157 records

157 records of the Worthy name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 51
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 46
  • Tasmanian Names Index 43
  • Queensland State Archives indexes 8
  • Canberra cemetery and marriage records 7
  • State Library of Western Australia indexes 2
  1. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record William Worthy

    Died 1828 in Hobart, Tasmania, aged 39. Will registered in Tasmania in 1828.

    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 Mary Ann Worthy

    Born 1827 in Hobart, Tasmania. Married 1846 in Hobart, Tasmania, aged 19.

    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 Alfred Worthy

    Arrived in Queensland in 1913 aboard the Limerick, aged 27.

    Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 157 records for Worthy in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0) · ACT Government, Transport Canberra and City Services (CC BY 4.0) · State Library of Western Australia (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).

United Kingdom10 records

10 records of the Worthy name in the United Kingdom
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 8
  • St James's burial ground, Euston (London), 1789–1853 2
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record John Worthy

    Buried in 1803 at St James's burial ground, Euston, London, aged 40.

    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 R. Worthy

    East Yorkshire Regiment. 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 First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record W. F. Worthy

    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)

Showing 3 of 10 records for Worthy 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).

Canada2 records

2 records of the Worthy name in Canada Nova Scotia Archives name indexes
  1. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Minnie C. Worthy

    Died 1898 in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

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

Showing 1 of 2 records for Worthy in Canada.

Counts: Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Worthy.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Worthy 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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