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Hurst Family History

Hurst Surname Meaning

English (Lancashire): topographic name for someone who lived near a wood or wooded hill from Middle English hirst(e) herst(e) hurst(e) (Old English hyrst) or a habitational name from any of the places so called such as Hurst Green (in Mitton Lancashire), Hirst (Northumberland), Hurst (Berkshire, Kent, Warwickshire), Hurstpierpoint (Sussex), or Hirst in Longwood (Yorkshire).

Irish: re-Anglicized form of de Horsaigh, the Gaelicized form of the English habitational name Horsey, established in Ireland since the 13th century.

German and Swiss German (also Hürst): topographic name from Middle High German hurst ‘woodland, thicket’; or a habitational name from a place so named in Westphalia.

Americanized form of German Horst or of some other similar (like-sounding) German surname.

Source: Dictionary of American Family Names 2nd edition, 2022


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Where is the Hurst family from?

You can see how Hurst families moved over time by selecting different census years. The Hurst family name was found in the USA, the UK, Canada, and Scotland between 1840 and 1920. The most Hurst families were found in United Kingdom in 1891. In 1891 there were 3,585 Hurst families living in Lancashire. This was about 34% of all the recorded Hurst's in United Kingdom. Lancashire had the highest population of Hurst families in 1891.
Use census records and voter lists to see where families with the Hurst surname lived. Within census records, you can often find information like name of household members, ages, birthplaces, residences, and occupations.
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What did your Hurst ancestors do for a living?

In 1939, General Labourer and Unpaid Domestic Duties were the top reported jobs for men and women in the United Kingdom named Hurst. 9% of Hurst men worked as a General Labourer and 68% of Hurst women worked as an Unpaid Domestic Duties. Some less common occupations for Americans named Hurst were Gardener and Private Means.

View Census Data for Hurst | Data not to scale

*We display top occupations by gender to maintain their historical accuracy during times when men and women often performed different jobs.

Top Male Occupations In 1939

  • General Labourer
    9%
  • Builders Labourer
    3%
  • Incapacitated
    3%
  • Gardener
    3%

Top Female Occupations In 1939

  • Unpaid Domestic Duties
    68%
  • Unpaid Domestic
    2%
  • Housewife
    2%
  • Private Means
    2%

What Hurst family records will you find?

Census Records

There are 343,000 census records available for the last name Hurst. Like a window into their day-to-day life, Hurst census records can tell you where and how your ancestors worked, their level of education, veteran status, and more.

Search UK census records for Hurst

Passenger Lists

There are 33,000 immigration records available for the last name Hurst. Passenger lists are your ticket to knowing when your ancestors arrived in the UK, and how they made the journey - from the ship name to ports of arrival and departure.

View all Hurst immigration records

Draft Cards

There are 52,000 military records available for the last name Hurst. For the veterans among your Hurst ancestors, military collections provide insights into where and when they served, and even physical descriptions.

View all Hurst military records

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