NameCensus.

UK surname

Alderman

An occupational surname referring to a senior official in local government.

In the 1881 census there were 1,177 people recorded with the Alderman surname, ranking it #3,419 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 1,634, ranked #3,808, down from #3,419 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to Ystradyfodwg (incl. Rhigos), London parishes and Beachampton. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Pembrokeshire, Cardiff and Greenwich.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Alderman is 1,802 in 1911. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 38.8%.

1881 census count

1,177

Ranked #3,419

Modern count

1,634

2016, ranked #3,808

Peak year

1911

1,802 bearers

Map years

9

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Alderman had 1,177 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #3,419 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 1,634 in 2016, ranked #3,808.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 1,802 in 1911.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Rural Amenity.

Alderman surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Alderman surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Alderman 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 778 #3,430
1861 historical 818 #3,366
1881 historical 1,177 #3,419
1891 historical 1,369 #3,169
1901 historical 1,583 #3,259
1911 historical 1,802 #2,721
1997 modern 1,707 #3,491
1998 modern 1,772 #3,493
1999 modern 1,796 #3,486
2000 modern 1,779 #3,496
2001 modern 1,736 #3,502
2002 modern 1,715 #3,627
2003 modern 1,678 #3,620
2004 modern 1,684 #3,611
2005 modern 1,643 #3,652
2006 modern 1,626 #3,695
2007 modern 1,653 #3,662
2008 modern 1,643 #3,710
2009 modern 1,687 #3,703
2010 modern 1,703 #3,760
2011 modern 1,685 #3,740
2012 modern 1,653 #3,734
2013 modern 1,671 #3,758
2014 modern 1,685 #3,745
2015 modern 1,644 #3,797
2016 modern 1,634 #3,808

Geography

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Where Aldermans are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around Ystradyfodwg (incl. Rhigos), London parishes, Beachampton and Leckford. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Pembrokeshire, Cardiff, Greenwich, Aylesbury Vale and Cheshire West and Chester. 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 Ystradyfodwg (incl. Rhigos) Glamorganshire
2 London parishes London 1
3 Beachampton Buckinghamshire
4 London parishes London 3
5 Leckford Hampshire

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Pembrokeshire 015 Pembrokeshire
2 Cardiff 037 Cardiff
3 Greenwich 032 Greenwich
4 Aylesbury Vale 008 Aylesbury Vale
5 Cheshire West and Chester 015 Cheshire West and Chester

Forenames

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First names often paired with Alderman

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

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Alderman

Modern surname records can be compared with neighbourhood classifications. For Alderman, 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 Alderman surname is most associated with neighbourhoods classed as Rural Amenity, within Suburbanites and Peri-Urbanities. This does not mean every Alderman 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

Older Residents in Owner-Occupied Suburbs

Group

London Fringe

Within London, Alderman 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

Alderman is most concentrated in decile 5 for access to healthy assets and hazards. This places the surname near the middle of the scale.

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

5
Lower access Higher access

Neighbourhood deprivation

Index of Multiple Deprivation

Alderman falls in decile 10 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.

10
More deprived Less deprived

Broadband speed

Fixed broadband download speed

The modern neighbourhood pattern for Alderman 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 Alderman, not the ethnicity of every person with the surname.

Meaning and origin of Alderman

The surname Alderman is of Anglo-Saxon origin, traced back to the English counties of Yorkshire and Lincolnshire. It is derived from the Old English words 'ealdor' meaning elder or chief and 'mann' meaning man, thus referring to a prominent or respected individual in a community.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Alderman can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as 'Aldremannus' in Kent. This suggests the surname was already in use during the Norman Conquest of England in the 11th century.

In the 13th century, the surname was recorded as 'Aldermannus' in the Pipe Rolls of Yorkshire in 1230. The variant spelling 'Alderman' appeared in the Hundred Rolls of Lincolnshire in 1273, indicating its widespread use across northern England.

One notable early bearer of the name was John Alderman, a member of the Worshipful Company of Brewers in London, who lived around 1450-1520. Another was William Alderman, a prominent merchant and alderman of the City of London, born in 1555.

During the 16th century, the surname Alderman was found in various parts of England, such as Dorset, where Thomas Alderman was recorded in the Parish Registers of Bere Regis in 1563. In the same century, the variant spelling 'Aldaman' appeared in Cambridgeshire in 1584.

In the 17th century, the name gained prominence with individuals like Sir Ralph Alderman (1577-1658), a wealthy London merchant and Lord Mayor of London in 1652. Another notable figure was Captain John Alderman (1632-1703), an English sea captain and pirate hunter who served under Sir Henry Morgan.

Other notable bearers of the surname include Sir Benjamin Alderman (1734-1810), a British naval officer who served in the American Revolutionary War, and Sir Edward Hall Alderson (1787-1857), an English lawyer and Baron of the Exchequer.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

1881 census detail

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Alderman families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Alderman 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. Buckinghamshire leads with 223 Aldermans recorded in 1881 and an index of 32.13x.

County Total Index
Buckinghamshire 223 32.13x
Middlesex 199 1.73x
Hampshire 158 6.71x
Northamptonshire 137 12.69x
Surrey 89 1.59x
Somerset 47 2.54x
Glamorgan 28 1.40x
Yorkshire 28 0.25x
Leicestershire 27 2.12x
Wiltshire 25 2.46x
Lancashire 24 0.18x
Essex 23 1.01x
Bedfordshire 19 3.20x
Berkshire 17 1.97x
Warwickshire 16 0.55x
Kent 15 0.38x
Huntingdonshire 14 6.14x
Gloucestershire 12 0.53x
Devon 10 0.42x
Lincolnshire 10 0.54x
Cambridgeshire 7 0.96x
Cheshire 7 0.28x
Denbighshire 7 1.61x
Norfolk 7 0.40x
Oxfordshire 5 0.71x
Cornwall 4 0.31x
Monmouthshire 4 0.48x
Sussex 4 0.21x
Nottinghamshire 3 0.19x
Hertfordshire 2 0.25x
Rutland 2 2.37x
Shropshire 2 0.20x
Channel Islands 1 0.29x
Midlothian 1 0.07x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Swanbourne in Buckinghamshire leads with 60 Aldermans recorded in 1881 and an index of 3174.60x.

Place Total Index
Swanbourne 60 3174.60x
Beachampton 31 3647.06x
Leckford 29 2566.37x
St Pancras London 21 2.27x
Lambeth 20 2.00x
Stowe 18 1343.28x
Battersea 15 3.55x
Eye 15 290.70x
Stathern 15 707.55x
Tichmarsh 15 412.09x
Camberwell 14 1.91x
Hurstbourne Tarrant 14 425.53x
Newton Longville 14 756.76x
Northampton All Sts 14 38.21x
St George Hanover Square 14 6.92x
Vernham Dean 14 595.74x
Winslow 14 214.07x
Yatton Keynell 13 628.02x
Mile End Old Town London 12 4.91x
Peterborough 12 15.35x
Wellington 12 47.89x
Bethnal Green London 11 2.21x
Chelsea London 11 3.18x
Kings Brompton Brompton 11 1134.02x
Southampton St John 11 456.43x
St Andrew Holborn London 11 22.13x
Andover 10 44.98x
Barnack 10 434.78x
Chalfont St Peter 10 174.83x
Fulham London 10 6.01x
Rushden 10 69.20x
St Anne Soho London 10 15.25x
St Marylebone London 10 1.63x
Bedford 9 31.58x
Bow London 9 6.16x
Buckingham 9 63.74x
Hanworth 9 223.33x
Kimpton 9 810.81x
Luton 9 8.75x
Reigate Foreign 9 14.86x
Stibbington 9 420.56x
Stoke Bruern 9 271.90x
Whitchurch 9 315.79x
Chigwell 8 37.40x
Denham 8 161.62x
Haslingden 8 14.18x
Leamington Priors 8 11.23x
Loughor 8 75.33x
Overton 8 142.10x
Bradwell 7 71.65x
Gresford Llay 7 324.07x
Hammersmith London 7 2.48x
Shoreditch London 7 1.41x
St Giles In Fields London 7 12.43x
Stockbridge 7 204.08x
Taplow 7 167.46x
Turweston 7 583.33x
Wellingborough 7 12.89x
Yatton 7 97.36x
Birmingham 6 0.62x
Kingsley 6 127.12x
Northampton St Sepulchre 6 10.92x
Silverstone 6 131.87x
St Bartholomew Hyde 6 106.57x
Thorney 6 74.26x
Thornhaugh 6 625.00x
Totnes 6 42.92x
Trowbridge 6 13.37x
Woking 6 17.79x
Aberdare 5 3.64x
Cardiff St John 5 7.66x
Chipping Norton 5 30.51x
Etton 5 925.93x
Faccombe 5 574.71x
New Windsor 5 17.26x
Newton 5 4.76x
Orby 5 310.56x
Orton Waterville 5 413.22x
Thruxton 5 396.83x
Tilehurst 5 28.72x

Top female names

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

Name Count
Mary 72
Sarah 51
Elizabeth 43
Emma 27
Jane 24
Ann 21
Eliza 20
Ellen 18
Annie 17
Emily 17
Caroline 12
Charlotte 12
Fanny 12
Alice 11
Hannah 10
Martha 9
Edith 8
Florence 8
Amelia 7
Louisa 7
Ada 6
Lucy 6
Agnes 5
Catherine 5
Harriet 5
Kate 5
Rebecca 5
Rose 5
Anne 4
Clara 4
Elizth. 4
Maria 4
Rosa 4
Bertha 3
Betsy 3
Flora 3
Gertrude 3
Harriett 3
Margaret 3
Ruth 3
Selina 3
Susan 3
Anna 2
Bessie 2
Esther 2
Frances 2
Georgina 2
May 2
Mildred 2
Minnie 2

Top male names

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

Name Count
William 80
George 55
John 49
Thomas 41
James 38
Charles 34
Henry 32
Frederick 17
Alfred 14
Joseph 13
Edward 11
Harry 11
Robert 11
Samuel 11
Albert 10
Daniel 8
Walter 7
David 6
Ernest 6
Frank 6
Arthur 5
Edwin 5
Francis 5
Mark 5
Stephen 5
Wm. 5
Herbert 4
Philip 4
Sydney 4
Benjamin 3
Chas. 3
Eli 3
Levi 3
Richard 3
Andrew 2
E. 2
Earnest 2
Edmund 2
Fred 2
Isaac 2
Jasper 2
Jesse 2
Matthew 2
Phillip 2
Thos. 2
Tom 2
Willm. 2
Amos 1
Caleb 1
Esau 1

FAQ

Alderman surname: questions and answers

How common was the Alderman surname in 1881?

In 1881, 1,177 people were recorded with the Alderman surname. That placed it at #3,419 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Alderman surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 1,634 in 2016. That gives Alderman a modern rank of #3,808.

What does the Alderman surname mean?

An occupational surname referring to a senior official in local government.

What does the Alderman map show?

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