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Saturday, January 15, 2022

Saturday Night Genealogy Fun - 1940 U.S. Census Last Name Numbers



Calling all Genea-Musings Fans:
It's Saturday Night again -
time for some more Genealogy Fun!!

 Your mission, should you decide to accept it (and I hope more of you do than participated in the last several SNGF challenges), is to:

1)  How many people in your country had your four grandparents exact last names at birth in the 1940 U.S. Census?  [Note, if you're playing and not in the U.S., pick an appropriate database in your country.]  What about your spouse's grandparents last names at birth?

2)  List each last name at birth and the number of persons in the 1940 U.S. Census [or other database] using an exact surname match.  I suggest using FamilySearch because it is free, but you can use another website (the results should be the same!) if you wish.

3)  Have you performed a "one-name search" for any of those last names and added them to do family tree?

4)  Post your responses on your own blog, in a comment to this post, or in a Facebook Status post.  Be sure to comment and leave a link to your post on this post.


Here's mine:

My four grandparents last names at birth, and the exact number with that last name in the 1940 U.S. Census, are:

*  Seaver -- 2,003 people

*  Richmond -- 19,419 people

*  Carringer -- 320 people

*  Auble -- 446 people

My wife's four grandparents last names at birth, and the exact number with those last names in the 1940 U.S. census are:

*  Leland -- 3,430 people

*  Brocke -- 152 people

*  Schaffner -- 2,259 people

*  McKnew -- 116 people

I have performed an extensive "one name search" for Seaver, Carringer and Auble, but not for Richmond.  I have also performed an extensive search for my wife's McKnew last name.  The results, though incomplete, are in my RootsMagic family tree and Ancestry Member Tree.  

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The URL for this post is:  https://www.geneamusings.com/2022/01/saturday-night-genealogy-fun-1940-us.html

Copyright (c) 2022, Randall J. Seaver

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12 comments:

  1. That mission was very interesting. Here are my numbers.
    https://geneajournalsbyapearl.wordpress.com/2022/01/15/saturday-night-genealogy-fun-1940-u-s-census-last-name-numbers/

    ReplyDelete
  2. In searching the 1940 census on the Ancestry site to find the number of people in the U.S. with the same last name as my four grandparents, and no, I have not done a one name study for any of these surnames.

    Gray - 174,145
    Towne - 20,631
    Cummins - 16,050
    Parrent - 8993

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hello from Portland, Oregon. Actually, Eagle Creek, Oregon but close enough. I am a native of San Diego and can prove it. All I have to do is say this, Del Mar Fair and San Diego Zoo Wild Animal Park. Born in La Mesa and raised in Escondido where I left a daughter and two grandchildren up in Valley Center. My family goes back to my great great grandfather helping paint the houses in Coronado and a few pictures of the family at tent city there. My great aunt and grandmother ran the halls of the Hotel Del Coronado while great grandma worked as a telephone operator.

    Here are my answers...

    Ashcraft 6,681
    Turner 186,082 (WOW)
    Humiston 1325
    Mowry 9,574

    ReplyDelete
  4. Interesting findings.
    My lines:
    SHARP = 46,596
    MELDRUM = 1,158
    SWICEGOOD = 484
    BROOKSHIRE = 2,978
    Husband's lines:
    SOMMARSTROM = 10
    GRUND = 912
    HANSON = 77,490
    MATTSON = 11,472

    No, I haven't conducted a one-name study, but I can tell you all the Sommarstroms are in the U.S.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I was a little surprised by some of my numbers.

    https://mytrailsintothepast.blogspot.com/2022/01/saturday-night-genealogy-fun-1940-us.html

    ReplyDelete
  6. Here's mine:

    https://gatapleytree.blogspot.com/2022/01/saturday-night-genealogy-fun-1940-us.html

    Thanks for the research idea, Randy!

    Liz

    ReplyDelete
  7. Here are mine:

    Mine:
    Hall 266,863
    Oliver 61,926
    Axness 132
    Morkrid 34

    My wife's:
    Hanna 18,170
    Rodgers 38,672
    Allen 255,070
    Stidham 2,558

    I haven't done a one-name study but will on my smaller ones.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Randy, here are mine:
    Larson 90,273
    Paulson 15,908
    Showley 79
    Dennis 41,341

    Fun assignment, thanks! Kathy

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I forgot my husband’s! His are crazy high due to such common names :) Yes his grandparents were Smith, Ward and Brown 😂
      Ward 153,058
      Brown 790,892
      Smith 1,405,573
      Stallings 8,806

      Delete
  9. Here are mine. There is a huge difference in numbers between my paternal and maternal sides. Not as much in my husband's family. https://emptybranchesonthefamilytree.com/2022/01/saturday-night-genealogy-fun-176/

    ReplyDelete
  10. FamilySearch and Ancestry gave different numbers but using Exact Search only made a difference at Ancestry - I got the same numbers at FamilySearch even when Exact Search was selected.
    From Ancestry:
    Pyle: 10,189
    Adsit: 823
    Copeland: 29,954
    Hunter: 87,687

    Husband's lines from Ancestry:
    Handler: 1,840 (though it seemed to include Chandler and Sandler)
    Hollander: 3,835
    Goldstein: 31,325
    Levitt: 3,863

    The only line I might consider doing a one-name study would be Adsit because it's not common.

    ReplyDelete
  11. My four grandparents surnames and the number with that surname in the 1940 U.S. Census, are:

    • Roberts – 199,363 people
    • Barnes – 109,928 people
    • Brown – 755,566 people
    • Montran – 3 people

    My wife’s four grandparents last names at birth, and the exact number with those last names in the 1940 U.S. census are:

    • Howell – 61,015 people
    • Hobbs – 25,280 people
    • Darling – 11,404 people
    • Huber – 22,633 people

    I have performed an extensive “one name search” for Montran and have set up alerts with Newspapers.Com, Genealogy Bank, and Newspaper Archives that when “Montran” is mentioned I am alerted. Then I include news of the Montrans in my tree and my blog.
    (http://dontaylorgenealogy.com/?s=Montran+%22In+the+News%22)

    ReplyDelete