An estimated 35 million people around the world and 10 million in the United States have ancestors who sailed on the Mayflower. [1]
In September 1620, the Mayflower began its famous voyage to America with 102 passengers (all English but one) and about 30 crew on board.
One passenger died and one baby was born during the two months at sea. Another baby was born in November, after the ship was docked at Cape Cod. But nearly half the ship’s passengers died during their first winter in the New World.[2]
Mayflower passengers and genealogy
Of the survivors, 51 had children. General Society of Mayflower descendants records show the passengers with the most descendants are crewmember John Alden and passenger Priscilla Mullins. William and Mary Brewster, and John Howland and wife Elizabeth Tilley also have large numbers of descendants.[2]
The Mayflower passengers who had children are (note that some female passengers’ given names or maiden names are unknown):
- John Alden and Priscilla Mullins
- Isaac Allerton and Mary Norris
- John Billington and Elinor
- William Bradford
- William Brewster and Mary
- Peter Browne
- James Chilton and Mrs. Chilton
- Francis Cooke
- Edward Doty
- Francis Eaton and Sarah
- Moses Fletcher
- Edward Fuller and Mrs. Fuller
- Samuel Fuller
- Stephen Hopkins and Elizabeth Fisher
- John Howland and Elizabeth Tilley
- Richard More
- William Mullins and Alice
- Degory Priest
- Thomas Rogers
- Henry Samson
- George Soule
- Myles Standish
- John Tilley and Joan Hurst
- Richard Warren
- William White and Susanna Jackson
- Edward Winslow[2]
How to research Mayflower surnames in your family
Having the same last name as a Mayflower passenger doesn’t guarantee you’re a descendant. You might be a cousin (meaning you descend from a relative of a Mayflower passenger) or you might not be related.
On the other hand, you could be a Mayflower descendant even if your last name doesn’t match any passengers. You might be linked through a female line or a line with an adoption or name change.
Start by tracing your family tree from yourself as far back as you can. You can keep track of your research by building a family tree on MyHeritage.com. Then search for your 18th- and 19th-century ancestors in resources such as:
- There are numerous resources on MyHeritage that can help you trace your family. Search through thousands of records across six different collections: Mayflower Pilgrim Descendants in Cape May County, New Jersey, 1620 - 1920, Descendants of Edward Doty, an Emigrant By the Mayflower, 1620 (1897), Story of a Pilgrim Family From the Mayflower To the Present Time (1890), Brewster Genealogy, 1566-1907, Volume 1 (1908), Brewster Genealogy, 1566-1907, Volume 2 (1908), Brewster Genealogy, 1566-1907, Record of the Descendants of William Brewster of the "Mayflower." Ruling Elder of the Pilgrim Church Which Founded Plymouth Colony in 1620, Volume 1 (1908), and The Society of Mayflower Descendants in the District of Columbia, Mayflower Pilgrim Descendants in Cape May County, New Jersey, 1620 - 1920.
- Additionally, MyHeritage contains billions of family tree records. Try searching the MyHeritage Family Tree Collection for Mayflower descendants and see if any overlap with descendants in your family tree. For example, a user-created Mayflower family tree on MyHeritage contains a family tree with numerous Mayflower descendants. Reviewing these descendants can help you tie your ancestors to the Mayflower.
- The GSMD Silver Books list descendants of Mayflower passengers. Search more than 350,000 names from this series on AmericanAncestors.org in the database Mayflower Families Fifth Generation Descendants, 1700-1880. It contains names of descendants five generations removed from Mayflower passengers.
- The General Society of Mayflower Descendants Applications database has searchable names from verified Mayflower passenger genealogies. These genealogies list all the ancestors who connect a Mayflower passenger to a person who applied for society membership.
- The Patriots to Passenger Project is a list of Revolutionary War Patriots who descend from Mayflower passengers.
- The Mayflower Descendants collection on FamilySearch.org has names of Mayflower descendants born in or before 1910.6
Search for your Mayflower ancestors on MyHeritage
See also
Explore more about Mayflower surnames
- Mayflower family histories and research compilations on MyHeritage include seven searchable Mayflower family histories on MyHeritage.com
- Were Your Ancestors Passengers on the Mayflower? a MyHeritage Facebook Live Webinar
- How to Connect with Your Pilgrim Ancestors to Join the Mayflower Society a Legacy Family Tree webinar
- General Society of Mayflower Descendants
- A Guide to Proving Mayflower Ancestry
- Mayflower 400: The Mayflower Story
- Mayflower Descendant journal
- The Mayflower Migration: Immigrants to Plymouth, 1620 by Robert Charles Anderson FASG (New England Historic Genealogical Society)
- Mayflower Quarterly Magazine