Porter Family History
Porter Name Meaning
English and Scottish: occupational name for the gatekeeper of a
walled town or city, or the doorkeeper of a great house, castle, or
monastery, from Middle English porter ‘doorkeeper’,
‘gatekeeper’ (Old French portier). The office often came with
accommodation, lands, and other privileges for the bearer, and in some
cases was hereditary, especially in the case of a royal castle. As an
American surname, this has absorbed cognates and equivalents in other
European languages, for example German Pförtner (see
Fortner) and North German Poertner.English:
occupational name for a man who carried loads for a living, especially
one who used his own muscle power rather than a beast of burden or a
wheeled vehicle. This sense is from Old French porteo(u)r (Late
Latin portator, from portare ‘to carry or convey’).Dutch: occupational name from Middle Dutch portere
‘doorkeeper’. Compare 1.Dutch: status name for a freeman
(burgher) of a seaport, Middle Dutch portere, modern Dutch
poorter.Jewish (Ashkenazic): adoption of the
English or Dutch name in place of some Ashkenazic name of similar
sound or meaning.
Dictionary of American Family Names, Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-508137-4
3,824,579
Historical Documents & Family Trees with Porter
Name Distribution of Porter Families
MAP:
United States
England & Wales
Scotland
Number of Porter families
 747 - 1,491  250 - 746 |
 1 - 249  |
from the 1920 US Federal Census Data
Number of Porter families
|
1,709 - 3,415 570 - 1,708 |
1 - 569 |
from the 1891 England and Wales Census Data
Number of Porter families
|
379 - 755 127 - 378 |
1 - 126 |
from the 1891 Scotland Census Data
Porter census records
You can see how Porter families moved over time by selecting different Census years.
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Porter Family Origin
Porter Immigration Information
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You can find out when most of the Porter families immigrated
to the United States.
You can focus your search to immigration records dating from that era.
Immigration records can tell you an ancestor's name, ship name, port of departure,
port of arrival and destination.
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from the New York Passenger Lists
Average Life Expectancy for Porter
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An unusually short lifespan might indicate that your 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.
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from the Social Security Death Index (SSDI)
Porter Family Occupations
from 1880 Federal Census Data
Porter census records
Census records can offer a lot of little known facts about your Porter ancestors, such as occupation.
Occupation can tell you about your ancestors' social status and economic status.
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Porter Civil War Service Records
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