Has anyone heard of the surname Austria?

Question

It's apparently one of my grandmother's maiden surname, but I can't find any info on it or even find any one else with that name.

Anyone know anything?

Answer 1

Austria    

Last name origins & meanings:

Spanish: ethnic name for someone from Austria.

Americanized or Latinized form of German Österreich(er) ‘Austria(n)’.

Answer 2

Grandmother has only one maiden name, which would be the name of her father.  Ancestry brings up numerous entries of the name in census and other documents.  You don't mention your country, so it is unclear if any apply to you.

Instead of looking for the surname.. your goal is to zero in on where grandma was, when she was born.  Example.. from her death certificate (or other record) you know she was born in 1915 in Arkansas. You would expect to find her with her parents in the 1920 or 1930 census. Actually, the name(s) of her parents should be ON her death certificate, which is a more recent record.

Working from any census record, you normally have a good handle on where the search will lead. If you try working just with a surname.. you can spin your wheels for a long time.

edit

a fast scan of some persons with the name, in the 1900 census show that they come from diverse places, ie Sweden, Russia, Italy.. and maybe more.  Thus, do not assume that it equates with the country of the same name. You MUST work with the individual person.

Answer 3

The 1920 US census knows 24 heads of households named Austria.  They were born all sorts of places, so it's hard to say where the name came from, but it certainly was used as a surname.

Answer 4

Yes, I have heard it, it is a name of the country.