The AIF Project

AIF Project - Enlistment Details

Over 330,000 Australian men and women enlisted and served overseas during The First World War. Who were they?

The AIF database provides an insight into who these people were - fragments from hundreds of thousands of lives, each with a personal story and often, a personal tragedy. This page offers a statistical glimpse into the database.


Enlistment by state

(according to enlistment address)

pie graph of enlistment numbers by state


Marital Status

Single men dominated with around 80% of enlistments:

Single271226
Married58619
Not Stated3574
Widowed2839
Divorced113
Separated59*

* Many more men were separated although technically still married


First names

The most common first names of the enlistees were:

William30550
John25937
James15674
George15441
Thomas12712
Charles12069
Arthur9898
Robert8999
Frederick8525
Henry7699
Albert7484
Edward6854
Alfred6453
Ernest6089
Walter5586
Joseph5485
Herbert5167
Harold5110
Frank5090
Leslie4400
Harry3902
Francis3897
Alexander3783
Richard3615
David3549
Percy3073

Family names

The most common family names were:

Smith4542
Brown2119
Williams2077
Jones2050
Wilson1869
Taylor1590
Anderson1251
Thompson1213
Johnson1176
White1103
Martin1076
McDonald1076
Thomas1017
Campbell1016
Scott 959
Walker 898
King 895
Ryan 891
Moore 872
Davis 860
Robinson 860
Harris 854
Miller 838
Roberts 837
Clarke 836
Evans 835

© The AIF Project 2024, UNSW Canberra. Not to be reproduced without permission.