NameCensus.

UK surname

Ainsworth

A locational surname derived from a place name meaning "Ægen's enclosure" in Old English.

In the 1881 census there were 5,936 people recorded with the Ainsworth surname, ranking it #749 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 6,260, ranked #1,077, down from #749 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to Preston, Blackburn and Bolton-le-Moors. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Ribble Valley, Hyndburn and Blackburn with Darwen.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Ainsworth is 7,682 in 1911. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 5.5%.

1881 census count

5,936

Ranked #749

Modern count

6,260

2016, ranked #1,077

Peak year

1911

7,682 bearers

Map years

9

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Ainsworth had 5,936 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #749 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 6,260 in 2016, ranked #1,077.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 7,682 in 1911.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Inner Suburbs and Small Town Living.

Ainsworth surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Ainsworth surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Ainsworth 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 3,630 #781
1861 historical 3,975 #701
1881 historical 5,936 #749
1891 historical 6,062 #767
1901 historical 7,335 #740
1911 historical 7,682 #678
1997 modern 6,408 #1,019
1998 modern 6,631 #1,023
1999 modern 6,712 #1,019
2000 modern 6,673 #1,021
2001 modern 6,513 #1,021
2002 modern 6,690 #1,011
2003 modern 6,411 #1,041
2004 modern 6,370 #1,049
2005 modern 6,271 #1,051
2006 modern 6,273 #1,047
2007 modern 6,358 #1,038
2008 modern 6,295 #1,053
2009 modern 6,373 #1,064
2010 modern 6,470 #1,070
2011 modern 6,346 #1,079
2012 modern 6,141 #1,090
2013 modern 6,327 #1,078
2014 modern 6,371 #1,076
2015 modern 6,306 #1,074
2016 modern 6,260 #1,077

Geography

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Where Ainsworths are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around Preston, Blackburn, Bolton-le-Moors, Bury (Walmersley and Tottington, Heap),Middleton (Birtle with Bamford, Pilsworth) and Whalley. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Ribble Valley, Hyndburn, Blackburn with Darwen and Cheshire East. 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 Preston Lancashire
2 Blackburn Lancashire
3 Bolton-le-Moors Lancashire
4 Bury (Walmersley and Tottington, Heap),Middleton (Birtle with Bamford, Pilsworth) Lancashire
5 Whalley Lancashire

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Ribble Valley 008 Ribble Valley
2 Hyndburn 001 Hyndburn
3 Blackburn with Darwen 010 Blackburn with Darwen
4 Cheshire East 013 Cheshire East
5 Blackburn with Darwen 017 Blackburn with Darwen

Forenames

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First names often paired with Ainsworth

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

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Ainsworth

Modern surname records can be compared with neighbourhood classifications. For Ainsworth, 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

Inner Suburbs and Small Town Living

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

Read profile summary

Group profile

Families with resident dependent children (but not students) are common. Established family groups and White ethnicity predominate, as do individuals born in the UK. They are more likely than the Supergroup average to have been resident in their terraced, semi-detached, or detached houses for more than one year. Levels of multiple car ownership are high. Properties are owned and typically have surplus living space. Associate professionals and administrative occupations are prevalent, and parents are likely to be in middle age or approaching retirement. Educational attainment is above the Supergroup average. Scattered developments and concentrations are found in many small towns.

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

Older Residents in Owner-Occupied Suburbs

Group

London Fringe

Within London, Ainsworth is most associated with areas classed as London Fringe, part of Older Residents in Owner-Occupied Suburbs. 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

Predominantly located in neighbourhoods on the outskirts of Greater London, residents of these neighbourhoods typically have their highest qualifications below degree (Level 4) level, with those still in work engaged in skilled trades and occupations in distribution, hotels and restaurants. There is low ethnic diversity in these neighbourhoods and high levels of Christian religious affiliation. Detached or terraced houses predominate, often with spare rooms.

Wider London pattern

The age distribution of these neighbourhoods is skewed towards the middle-aged and old, although few residents live alone or in communal establishments and numbers of dependent children are around average. Owner occupation is the norm, as is residence in detached or semi-detached houses. Residential densities are low and many households have spare rooms. Most residents were born in the UK and, aside from some identifying as members of Chinese or Indian ethnicities, identify as White. Mixed ethnicity households are rare. Incidence of married couples is higher than average and few individuals have never been married. A large proportion of individuals still in employment work in administrative and secretarial occupations, or in the construction industry. Few residents are students, and many households own more than one car.

Healthy neighbourhoods

Access to healthy assets and hazards

Ainsworth is most concentrated in decile 9 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.

9
Lower access Higher access

Neighbourhood deprivation

Index of Multiple Deprivation

Ainsworth falls in decile 1 for neighbourhood deprivation. This puts the surname towards the more deprived end of the index.

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

1
More deprived Less deprived

Broadband speed

Fixed broadband download speed

The modern neighbourhood pattern for Ainsworth is most associated with a typical fixed broadband download band of 50-60 mbit/s.

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

8
Slower band Faster band

Area snapshot

Ethnic group estimate

Most common ethnic group estimate
White - British

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

Meaning and origin of Ainsworth

The surname Ainsworth originates from England and dates back to the early medieval period. It is a locational name derived from the Old English words "ān" meaning "one" and "worth" meaning "an enclosed settlement or homestead." The name likely refers to a single farm or homestead located in one of the villages or towns named Ainsworth.

The earliest known record of the surname Ainsworth appears in the Domesday Book of 1086, which was a census and survey of landowners and properties in England commissioned by William the Conqueror. The Domesday Book contains entries for individuals with the name Aineswrde and Ainesworde, which are early spellings of Ainsworth.

In the 13th century, the surname Ainsworth was documented in various records, including the Pipe Rolls of Lancashire in 1246, where a person named Adam de Aynsworth was mentioned. The name was also recorded in the Subsidy Rolls of Lancashire in 1332, which listed a John de Aynsworth.

One of the earliest known instances of the surname Ainsworth is found in the chronicles of the Cistercian Abbey of Whalley in Lancashire, where a monk named Richard Ainsworth was recorded in the late 14th century.

Over the centuries, the surname Ainsworth has been associated with several notable individuals, including:

1. William Harrison Ainsworth (1805-1882), an English historical novelist and writer best known for his novels "Rookwood" and "The Tower of London."

2. Ralph Ainsworth (1698-1773), an English Unitarian minister and educator who established a dissenting academy in Bolton, Lancashire.

3. Robert Ainsworth (1660-1743), an English lexicographer and compiler of dictionaries, including the influential "Thesaurus Linguae Latinae Compendiarius."

4. John Ainsworth (1556-1622), an English religious reformer and one of the earliest separatists from the Church of England, who advocated for congregational church governance.

5. Henry Ainsworth (1571-1622), an English Nonconformist Brownist minister and Hebraist, known for his annotations on the Pentateuch and the Book of Psalms.

The surname Ainsworth has also been associated with various place names in England, such as the town of Ainsworth in Greater Manchester, which was historically part of Lancashire. The name has also been recorded in different spellings, including Aynsworth, Ainesworth, and Aynswrth, reflecting the variations in pronunciation and spelling throughout history.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

1881 census detail

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Ainsworth families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Ainsworth 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. Lancashire leads with 3,726 Ainsworths recorded in 1881 and an index of 5.43x.

County Total Index
Lancashire 3,726 5.43x
Yorkshire 563 0.98x
Cheshire 450 3.52x
Staffordshire 226 1.16x
Middlesex 170 0.29x
Essex 74 0.65x
Durham 68 0.40x
Surrey 60 0.21x
Derbyshire 55 0.61x
Warwickshire 55 0.38x
Lincolnshire 43 0.46x
Dorset 42 1.11x
Leicestershire 38 0.59x
Cumberland 34 0.68x
Hampshire 31 0.26x
Shropshire 31 0.62x
Kent 28 0.14x
Northumberland 22 0.26x
Westmorland 22 1.73x
Nottinghamshire 19 0.24x
Somerset 18 0.19x
Flintshire 14 0.90x
Hertfordshire 14 0.35x
Wiltshire 13 0.25x
Worcestershire 13 0.17x
Ayrshire 9 0.21x
Perthshire 9 0.35x
Caernarfonshire 8 0.34x
Angus 7 0.13x
Devon 7 0.06x
Gloucestershire 7 0.06x
Sussex 7 0.07x
Norfolk 6 0.07x
Suffolk 6 0.09x
Bedfordshire 4 0.13x
Carmarthenshire 4 0.16x
Lanarkshire 4 0.02x
Berkshire 3 0.07x
Monmouthshire 3 0.07x
Royal Navy 3 0.44x
Herefordshire 2 0.08x
Inverness-shire 2 0.12x
Northamptonshire 2 0.04x
Oxfordshire 2 0.06x
Renfrewshire 2 0.04x
Denbighshire 1 0.05x
Glamorgan 1 0.01x
Huntingdonshire 1 0.09x
Kirkcudbrightshire 1 0.12x
Montgomeryshire 1 0.08x

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 542 Ainsworths recorded in 1881 and an index of 29.67x.

Place Total Index
Blackburn 542 29.67x
Over Darwen 365 66.56x
Preston 240 13.07x
Liverpool 96 2.30x
Halliwell 86 34.42x
Little Bolton 84 9.52x
Bury 82 10.46x
Manchester 82 2.66x
Oldham 77 3.47x
Great Bolton 74 8.14x
Accrington 69 11.05x
Tottington Lower End 62 19.00x
Radcliffe 61 18.43x
Livesey 60 49.80x
Lower Darwen 60 66.59x
Padiham 56 33.76x
Stoke Upon Trent 52 2.51x
Morley 49 16.44x
Oswaldtwistle 47 19.38x
Worsley 47 11.11x
Salford 44 2.18x
Frodsham 43 86.92x
Witton 43 49.79x
Barrow In Furness 42 4.50x
Elton 42 17.71x
Birmingham 39 0.80x
Chorley 39 10.12x
Walton Le Dale 39 21.14x
Great Little Marsden 38 12.08x
Runcorn 38 12.91x
Newton 36 6.80x
Sharples 35 47.01x
Pendleton In Salford 34 4.16x
Frodsham Lordship 32 148.08x
Turton 32 28.47x
Bollington In 31 27.27x
Denton 31 20.38x
Leeds 28 0.86x
North Bierley 28 9.05x
Pilkington 28 10.74x
West Derby 28 1.39x
West Ham 27 1.07x
Ashton Under Lyne 26 1.73x
Glossop Dale 26 6.13x
Gorton 26 4.03x
Ulverston 25 12.50x
Clayton Le Moors 24 18.02x
Newton In Ashton Under 23 18.25x
Beswick 22 12.53x
Everton 22 1.01x
Horwich 22 29.38x
Hyde 22 5.84x
Layton With Warbreck 22 8.73x
Stockton On Tees 22 2.65x
West Ardsley 22 31.88x
Whalley 22 21.99x
Willenhall 22 6.01x
Wolstanton 22 3.71x
Dukinfield 21 3.56x
Macclesfield 21 3.70x
Medlar With Wesham 21 101.94x
Pemberton 21 7.67x
Dalton In Furness 20 7.55x
Hulme 20 1.40x
Kearsley 20 13.85x
Stockport 20 3.04x
Alverthorpe Cum Thornes 19 9.13x
Barrow Upon Soar 19 35.86x
Bradford 19 1.37x
Preesall With 19 113.16x
Stayley 19 13.02x
Islington London 18 0.32x
Sheffield 17 0.93x
Worsbrough 17 10.12x
Bingley 16 4.38x
Kendal 16 6.87x
North Meols 16 2.38x
Aston 15 0.37x
Kingsley 15 41.21x
Walmersley Cum 15 13.67x

Top female names

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

Name Count
Mary 482
Elizabeth 281
Sarah 235
Jane 159
Ann 138
Alice 131
Ellen 108
Margaret 108
Hannah 81
Eliza 80
Martha 71
Annie 66
Emma 57
Emily 47
Nancy 37
Betsy 36
Catherine 32
Maria 32
Ada 28
Fanny 27
Louisa 24
Betty 23
Clara 23
Esther 23
Agnes 21
Susannah 21
Edith 19
Charlotte 17
Harriet 17
Isabella 17
Rachel 17
Frances 16
Susan 16
Bertha 15
Grace 15
Elizth. 14
Amelia 13
Florence 12
Kate 12
Lucy 12
Eleanor 11
Anne 10
Gertrude 10
Lilly 10
Ruth 10
Caroline 9
Rebecca 9
Margt. 8
Minnie 8
Rose 8

Top male names

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

Name Count
John 400
William 353
James 286
Thomas 236
Joseph 159
George 114
Henry 94
Richard 70
Robert 69
Edward 56
Samuel 54
Charles 50
Alfred 49
Arthur 41
Frederick 40
Albert 37
David 32
Wm. 28
Herbert 25
Walter 23
Benjamin 22
Peter 22
Frank 20
Ralph 16
Thos. 16
Edwin 15
Ernest 15
Harry 15
Isaac 14
Daniel 12
Christopher 11
Abraham 10
Fred 10
Matthew 10
Moses 10
Francis 9
Geo. 9
Jesse 9
Joshua 8
Tom 7
Joe 6
Lawrence 6
Percy 6
Robt. 6
Edmund 5
Jas. 5
Jeremiah 5
Jonathan 5
Lewis 5
Mathew 5

FAQ

Ainsworth surname: questions and answers

How common was the Ainsworth surname in 1881?

In 1881, 5,936 people were recorded with the Ainsworth surname. That placed it at #749 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Ainsworth surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 6,260 in 2016. That gives Ainsworth a modern rank of #1,077.

What does the Ainsworth surname mean?

A locational surname derived from a place name meaning "Ægen's enclosure" in Old English.

What does the Ainsworth map show?

The map shows local surname concentration for the selected year. Darker areas have a stronger concentration of Ainsworth 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.