Information about the UK census and the surname statistics that have been produced.
A census of the United Kingdom has been taken every ten years since 1801, except in 1941 during the Second World War. The first four censuses (1801-1831) were mainly headcounts with virtually no personal information recorded. The 1841 Census was the first to record the names of all individuals in a household or institution.
The 1881 Census recorded the details of people residing in England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland, Channel Islands and Isle of Man on the night of Sunday 3 April 1881. Unfortunately, the records for Ireland have not survived. The 1881 Census was the first UK census to be fully indexed and made available to the public. This index has been used to produce the surname statistics and distribution maps on this site.
A small number of census records have been excluded from the data used to produce the statistics. These include records where the surname was not recorded, or the name was recorded as "Unknown", "Not Known", "N.K.", etc. Some records are illegible, or have been damaged or have deteriorated over time.
People were recorded at the location they stayed the night the census was taken, which may not have necessarily been where they usually lived. People who were abroad or at sea on the night the census was taken were not included in the census. People on board ships in UK ports were included in the census. Foreign people who were in the UK when the census was taken were included in the census, as well as those people on foreign ships in UK ports.
The original records do contain errors, and the created index does contain transcription errors. Report any possible errors using the contact form, and any transcription errors will be corrected.
The available census data has been used to produce the following surname statistics:
- Count: The number of people with a particular surname in a given location.
- Rank: The position of a surname when the list of names for a given location has been placed in order from highest count to lowest count. Names with an equal count have been given the same rank, and placed in alphabetical order in most common names tables.
- Proportion of Population: The count of a surname in a given location divided by the total population of that location. Proportion can be used to compare the concentration of a surname in different locations and is used to produce the surname distribution maps. For surname statistics and maps the proportion is multiplied by 100,000, and in most common names tables the proportion is multiplied by 100 to give a percentage.
- Index: The proportion of a surname in a given location divided by the total proportion of the surname in Great Britain. This figure can also be used to compare the concentration of a surname in different locations. If a surname was distributed evenly across the country then each county would have an index of 1. If a county has an index of 2 then it has twice the average number of people with that surname; if the index is 0.5 then it has half the average number of people with that surname.
The distribution maps and statistics have been created using the historic county borders as they were at the time of the 1881 Census. Visit the county information page to view information about the different historic counties.
UK census data is Crown Copyright and is used by this site under the terms of the Open Government Licence .