Laws Family History

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Laws Name Meaning

English (chiefly southern): patronymic from the personal name Law (pet form of Lawrence). Perhaps a reduced form of Scottish or Irish McLeish. Compare McLaws.

Source: Dictionary of American Family Names ©2013, Oxford University Press


Similar surnames: Lawes, Law, Lais, Lewis, Lans, Lark, Lau, Luks, Mclaws, Kaps

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Laws Ethnicity Estimate

What are the common regions with the Laws name?

These results combine data from everyone in the AncestryDNA® database with the last name Laws. The Ancestry® ethnicity regions shown are top five most common on average for these people.

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  • England & Wales

    52%

  • Ireland & Scotland

    19%

  • Germanic Europe

    5%

  • Cameroon, Congo, & Southern Bantu Peoples

    5%

  • Benin/Togo

    4%

Your own DNA-based ethnicity estimate will differ from what you see here. To get your personalized ethnicity estimate, order an AncestryDNA® kit.order an AncestryDNA® kit.

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Laws Family Origin

Where is the Laws family from?

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You can see how Laws families moved over time by selecting different census years. The Laws family name was found in the USA, the UK, Canada, and Scotland between 1840 and 1920. The most Laws families were found in the USA in 1880. In 1891 there were 667 Laws families living in Durham. This was about 20% of all the recorded Laws's in the UK. Durham had the highest population of Laws families in 1891.
Use census records and voter lists to see where families with the Laws surname lived. Within census records, you can often find information like name of household members, ages, birthplaces, residences, and occupations.

View Census Data for Laws

Laws Family Occupations

What did your Laws ancestors do for a living?

In 1881, the most common Laws occupation in the UK was Agricultural Labourer. 5% of Laws's were Agricultural Labourers. A less common occupation for the Laws family was Farmer. Agricultural Labourer, Coal Miner and Labourer were the top 3 reported jobs worked by Laws.

View Census data for Laws | Data not to scale

  • Agricultural Labourer

    5%

  • Coal Miner

    5%

  • Labourer

    4%

  • Farmer

    3%

Census records can tell you a lot of little known facts about your Laws ancestors, such as occupation. Occupation can tell you about your ancestor's social and economic status.

Laws Historical Records

What Laws family records will you find?

Census Record

There are 118,000 census records available for the last name Laws. Like a window into their day-to-day life, Laws census records can tell you where and how your ancestors worked, their level of education, veteran status, and more.

Search 1891 UK census records for Laws

Passenger List

There are 12,000 immigration records available for the last name Laws. 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 Laws immigration records

Draft Card

There are 20,000 military records available for the last name Laws. For the veterans among your Laws ancestors, military collections provide insights into where and when they served, and even physical descriptions.

View all Laws military records

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Laws Life Expectancy

What is the average Laws lifespan?

Between 1943 and 2004, in the United States, Laws life expectancy was at its lowest point in 1945, and highest in 2002. The average life expectancy for Laws in 1943 was 42, and 74 in 2004.

View Social Security Death Index (SSDI) for Laws

An unusually short lifespan might indicate that your Laws ancestors lived in harsh conditions. A short lifespan might also indicate health problems that were once prevalent in your family. The SSDI is a searchable database of more than 70 million names. You can find birthdates, death dates, addresses and more.

Famous Laws Family Ancestors

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