Old Family History

14-Day Free Trial

GET STARTED

Old Name Meaning

English: from Middle English old, not necessarily implying old age, but rather used to distinguish an older from a younger bearer of the same personal name. North German form of Alt, like the English name a distinguishing name for the older of two bearers of a personal name. Americanized form of German Alt.

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


Similar surnames: Gold, Bold, Eld, Ord, Olp, Wold, Nold, Wolf, Olm, Hold

Ready to discover your family story?

Simply start with yourself and we'll do the searching for you.

Old Family Origin

Where is the Old family from?

Mapbox
© Mapbox © OpenStreetMap Improve this map
You can see how Old families moved over time by selecting different census years. The Old family name was found in the USA, the UK, Canada, and Scotland between 1840 and 1920. The most Old families were found in the UK in 1891. In 1911 there were 119 Old families living in British Columbia. This was about 62% of all the recorded Old's in Canada. British Columbia had the highest population of Old families in 1911.
Use census records and voter lists to see where families with the Old surname lived. Within census records, you can often find information like name of household members, ages, birthplaces, residences, and occupations.

View Census Data for Old

Old Family Occupations

What did your Old ancestors do for a living?

In 1921, Farmer and Destitute were the top reported jobs for men and women in the CA named Old. 28% of Old men worked as a Farmer

View Census data for Old | Data not to scale

Top Male Occupations in 1921

  • Farmer
    28%
  • Conductor
    10%
  • Farmers Son
    10%
  • Foreman
    10%

Top Female Occupations in 1921

  • Destitute
    100%

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

Old Historical Records

What Old family records will you find?

Census Record

There are 42,000 census records available for the last name Old. Like a window into their day-to-day life, Old census records can tell you where and how your ancestors worked, their level of education, veteran status, and more.

Search 1881 Canadian census records for Old

Passenger List

There are 4,000 immigration records available for the last name Old. Passenger lists are your ticket to knowing when your ancestors arrived in Canada, and how they made the journey - from the ship name to ports of arrival and departure.

View all Old immigration records

Draft Card

There are 85,000 military records available for the last name Old. For the veterans among your Old ancestors, military collections provide insights into where and when they served, and even physical descriptions.

View all Old military records

You've only scratched the surface of Old family history.

Discover More

Old Life Expectancy

What is the average Old lifespan?

Between 1943 and 2004, in the United States, Old life expectancy was at its lowest point in 1958, and highest in 2004. The average life expectancy for Old in 1943 was 42, and 90 in 2004.

View Social Security Death Index (SSDI) for Old

An unusually short lifespan might indicate that your Old 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 Old Family Ancestors

Discover the unique achievements of ancestors in your family tree

Famous ancestors img
Look up another name