NameCensus.

UK surname

Abbott

An English occupational surname referring to someone who was an abbot or worked in an abbey.

In the 1881 census there were 13,211 people recorded with the Abbott surname, ranking it #310 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 17,669, ranked #348, down from #310 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to London parishes, St Pancras and Lambeth. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Babergh, County Durham and Scarborough.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Abbott is 19,078 in 1911. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 33.7%.

1881 census count

13,211

Ranked #310

Modern count

17,669

2016, ranked #348

Peak year

1911

19,078 bearers

Map years

9

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Abbott had 13,211 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #310 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 17,669 in 2016, ranked #348.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 19,078 in 1911.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Rural Amenity.

Abbott surname distribution map

The map shows where the Abbott surname is concentrated in each census or modern distribution year. Darker areas mean a stronger local concentration.

Distribution map

Abbott surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Abbott over time

The table below tracks recorded surname counts and rank from the 19th-century census years through the modern adult-register period.

Year Period Count Rank
1851 historical 8,078 #344
1861 historical 8,581 #325
1881 historical 13,211 #310
1891 historical 14,843 #289
1901 historical 17,371 #289
1911 historical 19,078 #237
1997 modern 17,976 #326
1998 modern 18,468 #329
1999 modern 18,716 #326
2000 modern 18,489 #328
2001 modern 18,039 #330
2002 modern 18,371 #330
2003 modern 17,844 #332
2004 modern 17,688 #334
2005 modern 17,408 #333
2006 modern 17,268 #338
2007 modern 17,295 #341
2008 modern 17,335 #342
2009 modern 17,704 #343
2010 modern 18,049 #345
2011 modern 17,743 #346
2012 modern 17,449 #345
2013 modern 17,833 #346
2014 modern 17,958 #346
2015 modern 17,762 #346
2016 modern 17,669 #348

Geography

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Where Abbotts are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around London parishes, St Pancras, Lambeth and St Mary Islington. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Babergh, County Durham, Scarborough and East Northamptonshire. Treat these as concentration signals, not proof that every family line began there.

Some modern areas include a three-digit suffix, such as Leeds 110. The suffix is a small-area code, so it stays in the table while the prose uses the plain place name.

Top historical parishes

Rank Parish Area
1 London parishes London 1
2 London parishes London 3
3 St Pancras London (North Districts)
4 Lambeth London (South Districts)
5 St Mary Islington London (North Districts)

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Babergh 011 Babergh
2 County Durham 046 County Durham
3 Scarborough 003 Scarborough
4 East Northamptonshire 009 East Northamptonshire
5 East Northamptonshire 006 East Northamptonshire

Forenames

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First names often paired with Abbott

These lists show first names that appear often with the Abbott surname in historical and recent records.

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Abbott

Modern surname records can be compared with neighbourhood classifications. For Abbott, this points to the kinds of places where the surname is most concentrated today.

These neighbourhood labels describe areas, not individual people. They are useful because surnames often cluster through family history, migration, housing patterns and local work. A surname can be strongest in one type of neighbourhood even when people with that name live across the country.

The UK classification gives the national picture. The London classification is more specific to the capital, where housing, age profile, tenure and population mix can look quite different from the rest of the UK.

UK neighbourhood type

UK Output Area Classification

Supergroup

Suburbanites and Peri-Urbanities

Group

Rural Amenity

Nationally, the Abbott surname is most associated with neighbourhoods classed as Rural Amenity, within Suburbanites and Peri-Urbanities. This does not mean every Abbott household fits that profile, but it gives a useful signal about where the modern surname distribution is strongest.

Read profile summary

Group profile

This Group comprises older parents or retirees, with no resident dependent children, and with the lowest residential densities in this Supergroup. Predominantly UK-born, residents typically live in detached houses, although others do live in semi-detached and terraced properties. The level of multiple car ownership is the highest in this Supergroup. Most houses are owner occupied although social renting is also present. Many concentrations occur in high amenity rural locations, such as Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

Wider pattern

Pervasive throughout the UK, members of this Supergroup typically own (or are buying) their detached, semi-detached or terraced homes. They are also typically educated to A Level/Highers or degree level and work in skilled or professional occupations. Typically born in the UK, some families have children, although the median adult age is above 45 and some property has become under-occupied after children have left home. This Supergroup is pervasive not only in suburban locations, but also in neighbourhoods at or beyond the edge of cities that adjoin rural parts of the country.

London neighbourhood type

London Output Area Classification

Supergroup

The Greater London Mix

Group

Social Rented Sector Professional Support Workers

Within London, Abbott is most associated with areas classed as Social Rented Sector Professional Support Workers, part of The Greater London Mix. This gives the surname a London-specific profile rather than forcing the capital into the same pattern as the rest of the country.

Read profile summary

Group profile

Mainly located in Inner London, these neighbourhoods retain a diverse employment structure, with some concentration in associated professional and technical occupations rather than skilled trades or construction. Social renting is more common and levels of homeownership are low. Many residents identify as Black. There is a lower than average rate of marriage or civil partnership, few that are very old (85 or over) and higher than average incidence of disability.

Wider London pattern

A Supergroup embodying London's diversity in many respects, apart from low numbers of residents identifying as of Bangladeshi, Indian, Pakistani or Other (non-Chinese) Asian ethnicity. There is lower than average prevalence of families with dependent children, while there are above average occurrences of never-married individuals and single-person households. The age distribution is skewed towards younger, single residents and couples without children, with many individuals identifying as of mixed or multiple ethnicity. Social rented or private rented housing is slightly more prevalent than average, and many residents live in flats. Individuals typically work in professional and associated roles in public administration, education or health rather than in elementary occupations in agriculture, energy, water, construction or manufacturing. Incidence of students is slightly below average. Individuals declaring no religion are more prevalent than average and non-use of English at home is below average.

Healthy neighbourhoods

Access to healthy assets and hazards

Abbott is most concentrated in decile 8 for access to healthy assets and hazards. This places the surname towards the healthier end of the index.

Lower deciles point towards weaker access to healthy assets or stronger exposure to local hazards. Higher deciles point towards stronger access and fewer hazards.

8
Lower access Higher access

Neighbourhood deprivation

Index of Multiple Deprivation

Abbott falls in decile 9 for neighbourhood deprivation. This puts the surname towards the less deprived end of the index.

Decile 1 represents the more deprived end of the scale. Decile 10 represents the less deprived end.

9
More deprived Less deprived

Broadband speed

Fixed broadband download speed

The modern neighbourhood pattern for Abbott is most associated with a typical fixed broadband download band of 30-40 mbit/s.

The scale below places that band in context, from slower local download bands through to faster ones.

6
Slower band Faster band

Area snapshot

Ethnic group estimate

Most common ethnic group estimate
White - British

This describes the area pattern most associated with Abbott, not the ethnicity of every person with the surname.

Meaning and origin of Abbott

The surname Abbott is of English origin, derived from the Anglo-Norman French word "abbot," meaning the head of a monastery or convent. The name first emerged in the 12th century, often referring to a person who worked or lived near an abbey or had some connection to a monastic establishment.

The earliest recorded instances of the surname Abbott can be found in the Pipe Rolls of Gloucestershire from 1190, where it appears as "Abbod." Similar spellings, such as "Abbot" and "Abbat," can be found in various medieval records throughout England.

The surname Abbott is also mentioned in the famous Domesday Book of 1086, which was a survey commissioned by William the Conqueror to record the landholdings and properties in England after the Norman Conquest. This suggests that the name had already been established in England by the late 11th century.

One of the earliest known bearers of the surname was John Abbot, born around 1225 in Oxfordshire, England. He was a notable English theologian and philosopher who served as the Archbishop of Canterbury from 1278 until his death in 1292.

Another prominent figure with the surname Abbott was George Abbott, born in 1562 in Shropshire, England. He was a distinguished writer and Church of England clergyman who served as the Archbishop of Canterbury from 1611 to 1633.

Robert Abbott, born in 1588 in Buckinghamshire, England, was a Puritan minister and author who played a significant role in the early settlement of the Massachusetts Bay Colony in the 17th century.

In the 18th century, John Abbott, born in 1717 in Yorkshire, England, was a notable British painter and portrait artist who gained recognition for his works depicting members of the British aristocracy and gentry.

One of the most famous individuals with the surname Abbott was Sir John Abbott, born in 1821 in St. Andrews, Quebec, Canada. He was a Canadian statesman and the third Prime Minister of Canada, serving from 1891 to 1892.

The surname Abbott has been associated with various place names throughout England, such as Abbott's Bromley in Staffordshire, Abbott's Ann in Hampshire, and Abbott's Salford in Warwickshire, suggesting that the name may have originated from specific locations or settlements near abbeys or monasteries.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

1881 census detail

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Abbott families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Abbott surname. Use the location tables for concentration, then the name and occupation tables for the people behind the surname.

Top counties

Total is the county count. Frequency and index adjust for local population size, so they are better concentration signals. Middlesex leads with 1,820 Abbotts recorded in 1881 and an index of 1.41x.

County Total Index
Middlesex 1,820 1.41x
Lancashire 1,635 1.07x
Yorkshire 1,362 1.07x
Surrey 771 1.23x
Northamptonshire 735 6.07x
Suffolk 667 4.25x
Essex 531 2.09x
Devon 511 1.91x
Kent 435 0.99x
Somerset 352 1.70x
Lincolnshire 314 1.52x
Hampshire 301 1.14x
Dorset 299 3.54x
Warwickshire 276 0.85x
Derbyshire 261 1.29x
Durham 232 0.61x
Leicestershire 223 1.56x
Nottinghamshire 206 1.19x
Gloucestershire 190 0.75x
Cheshire 160 0.56x
Bedfordshire 152 2.28x
Staffordshire 148 0.34x
Cornwall 147 1.01x
Buckinghamshire 128 1.64x
Huntingdonshire 126 4.93x
Hertfordshire 123 1.39x
Norfolk 111 0.56x
Cumberland 107 0.96x
Cambridgeshire 98 1.20x
Worcestershire 86 0.51x
Sussex 79 0.36x
Wiltshire 70 0.61x
Lanarkshire 69 0.17x
Glamorgan 68 0.30x
Berkshire 48 0.50x
Oxfordshire 45 0.57x
Monmouthshire 42 0.45x
Westmorland 40 1.41x
Shropshire 31 0.28x
Northumberland 30 0.16x
Ayrshire 29 0.30x
Angus 27 0.23x
Midlothian 16 0.09x
Royal Navy 14 0.91x
Channel Islands 11 0.29x
Fife 11 0.14x
Caernarfonshire 10 0.19x
Rutland 10 1.06x
Dunbartonshire 7 0.20x
West Lothian 7 0.36x
Carmarthenshire 5 0.09x
Flintshire 5 0.14x
Renfrewshire 5 0.05x
Wigtownshire 5 0.29x
Anglesey 4 0.18x
Brecknockshire 3 0.12x
Herefordshire 3 0.06x
Aberdeenshire 2 0.02x
Denbighshire 1 0.02x
Peeblesshire 1 0.17x
Ross-shire 1 0.03x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Blackburn in Lancashire leads with 273 Abbotts recorded in 1881 and an index of 6.71x.

Place Total Index
Blackburn 273 6.71x
Islington London 201 1.61x
St Pancras London 165 1.59x
Lambeth 144 1.28x
Hackney London 138 1.91x
Leeds 110 1.53x
St Marylebone London 107 1.56x
Bermondsey 106 2.76x
Shoreditch London 105 1.88x
Camberwell 102 1.24x
Bethnal Green London 99 1.77x
Birmingham 99 0.91x
Nottingham St Mary 96 2.14x
Deptford St Paul 89 2.63x
Preston 86 2.10x
Aston 84 0.94x
St George Hanover Square 81 3.57x
Kensington London 75 1.05x
Yeovil 75 17.80x
Portsea 73 1.41x
West Ham 69 1.23x
Battersea 67 1.41x
Manchester 66 0.96x
Earls Barton 65 62.88x
Salford 63 1.40x
Mile End Old Town London 62 2.26x
Great Addington 56 401.72x
Greenwich 56 2.73x
Wycombe 54 9.30x
Chelsea London 53 1.37x
Bradford 52 1.68x
Liverpool 52 0.56x
Leicester St Margaret 51 1.46x
Wellingborough 51 8.37x
Newington 50 1.05x
Paddington London 49 1.03x
Haydock 48 18.22x
Codnor Loscoe 47 29.42x
Manningham 47 2.99x
Kettering 46 9.39x
Armley 44 7.81x
Bristol St George 44 3.77x
Luton 44 3.81x
Milborne Port 43 51.81x
Ipswich St Clement 42 10.53x
Headingley Cum Burley 41 4.99x
Horwich 41 24.59x
Barony 40 0.38x
Lewisham 40 1.71x
Clerkenwell London 39 1.28x
Todbere 38 516.30x
Alfreton 37 6.04x
Clapham 37 2.30x
Tormoham 37 3.26x
Dacre 36 126.58x
Eccleston In Prescot 36 4.69x
Tottenham 36 1.75x
Halstock 35 178.75x
Holy Trinity 35 1.14x
Polebrook 35 175.97x
West Derby 35 0.78x
Widnes 35 3.17x
Woodford 35 51.94x
Hammersmith London 34 1.07x
Barnstaple 33 7.84x
Hindley 33 5.06x
Newchurch 33 2.64x
Bideford 32 11.14x
Finedon 32 30.15x
Kingston On Thames 32 2.12x
Bow London 31 1.89x
Pilton 31 35.02x
Poplar London 31 1.27x
Buckfastleigh 30 24.24x
Darlington 30 2.03x
Peterborough 30 3.42x
Bromley London 29 1.02x
Crewkerne 29 13.17x
Wigan 29 1.36x
Fulham London 28 1.50x

Top female names

These are the female first names most often recorded with the Abbott surname in 1881. Names are not merged, so initials, variant spellings and transcription quirks can appear as separate rows.

Name Count
Mary 845
Elizabeth 498
Sarah 459
Jane 262
Ellen 243
Emma 235
Ann 233
Eliza 219
Alice 209
Annie 193
Emily 169
Hannah 136
Martha 121
Margaret 105
Louisa 89
Florence 85
Kate 82
Caroline 76
Charlotte 76
Harriet 74
Maria 74
Ada 71
Edith 68
Clara 65
Catherine 62
Fanny 62
Anne 54
Frances 54
Susan 53
Rose 49
Lucy 48
Harriett 47
Agnes 41
Matilda 36
Isabella 34
Amelia 33
Amy 33
Jessie 31
Rebecca 29
Elizth. 28
Esther 28
Julia 27
Eleanor 25
Ethel 25
Sophia 25
Gertrude 24
Laura 23
Susannah 23
Beatrice 20
Minnie 20

Top male names

These are the male first names most often recorded with the Abbott surname in 1881. Names are not merged, so initials, variant spellings and transcription quirks can appear as separate rows.

Name Count
William 827
John 718
George 471
Thomas 431
James 329
Charles 307
Henry 288
Joseph 192
Alfred 174
Arthur 166
Walter 146
Robert 135
Edward 134
Frederick 130
Samuel 104
Richard 99
Albert 71
Frank 67
Harry 63
Ernest 54
Herbert 45
Edwin 40
Benjamin 38
Francis 36
David 33
Fred 32
Thos. 29
Wm. 29
Abraham 27
Geo. 27
Fredk. 24
Chas. 21
Daniel 21
Tom 21
Alexander 17
Peter 17
Fredrick 16
Isaac 16
Mark 16
Christopher 15
Edmund 15
Philip 15
Edgar 14
Matthew 14
Percy 14
Stephen 14
Sydney 14
Ralph 12
Willie 11
Oliver 10

Top occupations

Occupational titles are kept as recorded and later transcribed, so related jobs, spelling variants and mistakes stay separate. Scholar was the census term for a child in education. That means the other rows often tell you more about adult work in Abbott households.

FAQ

Abbott surname: questions and answers

How common was the Abbott surname in 1881?

In 1881, 13,211 people were recorded with the Abbott surname. That placed it at #310 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Abbott surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 17,669 in 2016. That gives Abbott a modern rank of #348.

What does the Abbott surname mean?

An English occupational surname referring to someone who was an abbot or worked in an abbey.

What does the Abbott map show?

The map shows local surname concentration for the selected year. Darker areas have a stronger concentration of Abbott bearers relative to the surrounding population.

What records is this surname page based on?

The historical counts come from census surname records. The modern counts and neighbourhood summaries come from later surname distribution records. Counts are recorded bearers in those records, not a live estimate of everyone with the name today.