The top 88 surnames in 1996 compared to the 1851 UK census
In the soc.genealogy.uk+ireland news group a question was asked about the
most frequently found surnames in the UK. John Wynn published a comprehensive report of the top 88 surnames based on his analysis of the 1996 electoral rolls, which are open to public scrutiny. These same 88 surnames have been looked at in the 2% sample of the 1851 census. The table below examines the winners and losers in the surname top 88 charts.
|
Total population (1996) =50,000,000 |
1851 2% census sample size = 473,452 | ||||||
|
Surname |
# in 1996 |
# / 1000 |
# in 1851 |
# / 1000 |
1996 rank |
1851 rank |
Change |
|
Smith |
538369 |
10.77 |
7033 |
14.85 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
|
Jones |
402489 |
8.05 |
5012 |
10.59 |
2 |
2 |
0 |
|
Williams |
279150 |
5.58 |
3272 |
6.91 |
3 |
3 |
0 |
|
Brown |
260652 |
5.21 |
2993 |
6.32 |
4 |
4 |
0 |
|
Taylor |
251058 |
5.02 |
2708 |
5.72 |
5 |
5 |
0 |
|
Davies |
209584 |
4.19 |
1868 |
3.95 |
6 |
8 |
2 |
|
Wilson |
191006 |
3.82 |
2064 |
4.36 |
7 |
6 |
-1 |
|
Evans |
170391 |
3.41 |
1762 |
3.72 |
8 |
9 |
1 |
|
Thomas |
152945 |
3.06 |
1898 |
4.01 |
9 |
7 |
-2 |
|
Johnson |
146535 |
2.93 |
1295 |
2.74 |
10 |
23 |
13 |
|
Roberts |
143118 |
2.86 |
1693 |
3.58 |
11 |
10 |
-1 |
|
Walker |
134748 |
2.69 |
1539 |
3.25 |
12 |
13 |
1 |
|
Wright |
132695 |
2.65 |
1601 |
3.38 |
13 |
12 |
-1 |
|
Robinson |
132201 |
2.64 |
1525 |
3.22 |
14 |
14 |
0 |
|
Thompson |
132050 |
2.64 |
1659 |
3.50 |
15 |
11 |
-4 |
|
White |
127317 |
2.55 |
1376 |
2.91 |
16 |
17 |
1 |
|
Hughes |
122883 |
2.46 |
1085 |
2.29 |
17 |
30 |
13 |
|
Hall |
117692 |
2.35 |
1271 |
2.68 |
18 |
24 |
6 |
|
Edwards |
117268 |
2.35 |
1261 |
2.66 |
19 |
25 |
6 |
|
Green |
116772 |
2.34 |
1456 |
3.08 |
20 |
16 |
-4 |
|
Martin |
113140 |
2.26 |
1025 |
2.16 |
21 |
34 |
13 |
|
Wood |
112457 |
2.25 |
1513 |
3.20 |
22 |
15 |
-7 |
|
Harris |
111375 |
2.23 |
1233 |
2.60 |
23 |
26 |
3 |
|
Lewis |
110513 |
2.21 |
1305 |
2.76 |
24 |
21 |
-3 |
|
Clarke |
110321 |
2.21 |
750 |
1.58 |
25 |
57 |
32 |
|
Jackson |
109750 |
2.20 |
1332 |
2.81 |
26 |
19 |
-7 |
|
Clark |
106961 |
2.14 |
1369 |
2.89 |
27 |
18 |
-9 |
|
Turner |
105841 |
2.12 |
1317 |
2.78 |
28 |
20 |
-8 |
|
Hill |
102392 |
2.05 |
1298 |
2.74 |
29 |
22 |
-7 |
|
Scott |
102306 |
2.05 |
1165 |
2.46 |
30 |
27 |
-3 |
|
Moore |
100632 |
2.01 |
1076 |
2.27 |
31 |
31 |
0 |
|
Cooper |
99923 |
2.00 |
1104 |
2.33 |
32 |
29 |
-3 |
|
Morris |
95758 |
1.92 |
910 |
1.92 |
33 |
44 |
11 |
|
Ward |
95697 |
1.91 |
885 |
1.87 |
34 |
45 |
11 |
|
King |
92921 |
1.86 |
986 |
2.08 |
35 |
36 |
1 |
|
Watson |
92467 |
1.85 |
1073 |
2.27 |
36 |
32 |
-4 |
|
Baker |
89566 |
1.79 |
944 |
1.99 |
37 |
43 |
6 |
|
Harrison |
89549 |
1.79 |
954 |
2.01 |
38 |
42 |
4 |
|
Morgan |
88206 |
1.76 |
1021 |
2.16 |
39 |
35 |
-4 |
|
Young |
87787 |
1.76 |
961 |
2.03 |
40 |
41 |
1 |
|
Allen |
85745 |
1.71 |
811 |
1.71 |
41 |
51 |
10 |
|
Mitchell |
83173 |
1.66 |
864 |
1.82 |
42 |
49 |
7 |
|
Phillips |
81844 |
1.64 |
792 |
1.67 |
43 |
54 |
11 |
|
James |
81301 |
1.63 |
804 |
1.70 |
44 |
53 |
9 |
|
Bell |
80474 |
1.61 |
1039 |
2.19 |
45 |
33 |
-12 |
|
Campbell |
79126 |
1.58 |
879 |
1.86 |
46 |
47 |
1 |
|
Lee |
77449 |
1.55 |
705 |
1.49 |
47 |
60 |
13 |
|
Parker |
76779 |
1.54 |
977 |
2.06 |
48 |
39 |
-9 |
|
Kelly |
76183 |
1.52 |
397 |
0.84 |
49 |
85 |
36 |
|
Davis |
76122 |
1.52 |
1151 |
2.43 |
50 |
28 |
-22 |
|
Bennett |
74777 |
1.50 |
806 |
1.70 |
51 |
52 |
1 |
|
Miller |
73011 |
1.46 |
981 |
2.07 |
52 |
37 |
-15 |
|
Cook |
72655 |
1.45 |
974 |
2.06 |
53 |
40 |
-13 |
|
Price |
72611 |
1.45 |
728 |
1.54 |
54 |
59 |
5 |
|
Shaw |
72122 |
1.44 |
829 |
1.75 |
55 |
50 |
-5 |
|
(Mac/Mc)Donald |
71890 |
1.44 |
881 |
1.86 |
56 |
46 |
-10 |
|
Simpson |
70804 |
1.42 |
981 |
2.07 |
57 |
38 |
-19 |
|
Griffiths |
70591 |
1.41 |
537 |
1.13 |
58 |
78 |
20 |
|
Richardson |
70015 |
1.40 |
698 |
1.47 |
59 |
62 |
3 |
|
Marshall |
68828 |
1.38 |
704 |
1.49 |
60 |
61 |
1 |
|
Carter |
68532 |
1.37 |
874 |
1.85 |
61 |
48 |
-13 |
|
Collins |
68470 |
1.37 |
673 |
1.42 |
62 |
66 |
4 |
|
Stewart |
68205 |
1.36 |
783 |
1.65 |
63 |
55 |
-8 |
|
Bailey |
67637 |
1.35 |
607 |
1.28 |
64 |
72 |
8 |
|
Patel |
66663 |
1.33 |
0 |
0.00 |
65 |
88 |
23 |
|
Gray |
65438 |
1.31 |
605 |
1.28 |
66 |
73 |
7 |
|
Murray |
63973 |
1.28 |
536 |
1.13 |
67 |
79 |
12 |
|
Cox |
63944 |
1.28 |
663 |
1.40 |
68 |
69 |
1 |
|
Murphy |
63868 |
1.28 |
318 |
0.67 |
69 |
87 |
18 |
|
Adams |
62262 |
1.25 |
741 |
1.57 |
70 |
58 |
-12 |
|
Richards |
60162 |
1.20 |
657 |
1.39 |
71 |
71 |
0 |
|
Graham |
59430 |
1.19 |
682 |
1.44 |
72 |
65 |
-7 |
|
Ellis |
58769 |
1.18 |
658 |
1.39 |
73 |
70 |
-3 |
|
Wilkinson |
57906 |
1.16 |
689 |
1.46 |
74 |
64 |
-10 |
|
Foster |
57448 |
1.15 |
552 |
1.17 |
75 |
76 |
1 |
|
Chapman |
55887 |
1.12 |
667 |
1.41 |
76 |
68 |
-8 |
|
Russell |
55631 |
1.11 |
535 |
1.13 |
77 |
80 |
3 |
|
Mason |
54869 |
1.10 |
696 |
1.47 |
78 |
63 |
-15 |
|
Webb |
54290 |
1.09 |
670 |
1.42 |
79 |
67 |
-12 |
|
Rogers |
53847 |
1.08 |
512 |
1.08 |
80 |
81 |
1 |
|
Powell |
53794 |
1.08 |
539 |
1.14 |
81 |
77 |
-4 |
|
Hunt |
52355 |
1.05 |
479 |
1.01 |
82 |
82 |
0 |
|
Holmes |
51875 |
1.04 |
769 |
1.62 |
83 |
56 |
-27 |
|
Gibson |
51318 |
1.03 |
599 |
1.27 |
84 |
74 |
-10 |
|
Mills |
51274 |
1.03 |
557 |
1.18 |
85 |
75 |
-10 |
|
Palmer |
50861 |
1.02 |
471 |
0.99 |
86 |
83 |
-3 |
|
Owen |
50691 |
1.01 |
399 |
0.84 |
87 |
84 |
-3 |
|
Matthews |
50098 |
1.00 |
361 |
0.76 |
88 |
86 |
-2 |
|
Total |
9051482 |
18.10 |
99422 |
21.00 |
|||
Surname Distribution
 1881 |  1998 |