NameCensus.

UK surname

Asbery

A locational surname derived from any of several places called Ashbury, meaning "ash tree fort or manor."

In the 1881 census there were 62 people recorded with the Asbery surname, ranking it #24,843 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 119, ranked #27,704, down from #24,843 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to Cransley, Wellingborough and Sutton Coldfield. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include County Durham, Kirkcudbright and Wellingborough.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Asbery is 128 in 2010. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 91.9%.

1881 census count

62

Ranked #24,843

Modern count

119

2016, ranked #27,704

Peak year

2010

128 bearers

Map years

4

1911 to 2016

Key insights

  • Asbery had 62 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #24,843 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 119 in 2016, ranked #27,704.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 106 in 1911.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Challenged Communities.

Asbery surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Asbery surname density by area, 2016 modern.

Loading map
Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

Back to top

Asbery 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 29 #28,082
1861 historical 37 #29,339
1881 historical 62 #24,843
1891 historical 59 #29,325
1901 historical 91 #23,921
1911 historical 106 #21,948
1997 modern 99 #27,039
1998 modern 103 #27,141
1999 modern 107 #26,754
2000 modern 105 #27,001
2001 modern 103 #26,927
2002 modern 105 #27,123
2003 modern 111 #26,091
2004 modern 112 #26,159
2005 modern 117 #25,433
2006 modern 112 #26,415
2007 modern 123 #25,208
2008 modern 117 #26,351
2009 modern 120 #26,496
2010 modern 128 #26,036
2011 modern 127 #25,926
2012 modern 118 #27,250
2013 modern 119 #27,541
2014 modern 120 #27,646
2015 modern 117 #27,982
2016 modern 119 #27,704

Geography

Back to top

Where Asberys are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around Cransley, Wellingborough, Sutton Coldfield, Kettering and Sheffield. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to County Durham, Kirkcudbright, Wellingborough, Bradford and Medway. 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 Cransley Northamptonshire
2 Wellingborough Northamptonshire
3 Sutton Coldfield Warwickshire
4 Kettering Northamptonshire
5 Sheffield Yorkshire, West Riding

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 County Durham 061 County Durham
2 Kirkcudbright Dumfries and Galloway
3 Wellingborough 003 Wellingborough
4 Bradford 046 Bradford
5 Medway 017 Medway

Forenames

Back to top

First names often paired with Asbery

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

Modern profile

Back to top

Neighbourhood profile for Asbery

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

Baseline UK

Group

Challenged Communities

Nationally, the Asbery surname is most associated with neighbourhoods classed as Challenged Communities, within Baseline UK. This does not mean every Asbery household fits that profile, but it gives a useful signal about where the modern surname distribution is strongest.

Read profile summary

Group profile

Residents of these neighbourhoods typically live in households with dependent children, and there are fewer-than-average residents of normal retirement age or over. Identification with ethnic minorities, particularly Black, or Mixed or Multiple ethnicities is common. The rate of Christian religious affiliation is low. Housing predominantly consists of semi-detached houses, along with a significant number of terraced properties and flats. Overcrowded social housing is common, and private renting occurs at average UK levels. Those in employment work mainly in caring leisure and other services; process, plant and machine operation; or elementary occupations. Unemployment is high, and few individuals have degree level qualifications. Many of these neighbourhoods occur in commuter towns or less accessible areas of larger towns and cities.

Wider pattern

This Supergroup exemplifies the broad base to the UK’s social structure, encompassing as it does the average or modal levels of many neighbourhood characteristics, including all housing tenures, a range of levels of educational attainment and religious affiliations, and a variety of pre-retirement age structures. Yet, in combination, these mixes are each distinctive of the parts of the UK. Overall, terraced houses and flats are the most prevalent, as is employment in intermediate or low-skilled occupations. However, this Supergroup is also characterised by above average levels of unemployment and lower levels of use of English as the main language. Many neighbourhoods occur in south London and the UK’s other major urban centres.

London neighbourhood type

London Output Area Classification

Supergroup

The Greater London Mix

Group

Social Rented Sector Professional Support Workers

Within London, Asbery 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

Asbery is most concentrated in decile 2 for access to healthy assets and hazards. This places the surname towards the less healthy 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.

2
Lower access Higher access

Neighbourhood deprivation

Index of Multiple Deprivation

Asbery 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 Asbery 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 Asbery, not the ethnicity of every person with the surname.

Meaning and origin of Asbery

The surname Asbery is of English origin, emerging in the medieval period. It is derived from the Old English words "aesc" meaning ash tree and "burh" meaning a fortified town or manor. This suggests the name originated as a locational surname, referring to someone who lived near an ash tree or in a fortified town with ash trees.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name appears in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it is spelled "Aescberie". This entry references a landed estate in Gloucestershire owned by a person with this surname. Other early spellings include Assbery, Asbery, and Ashebury.

In the 13th century, records show an Alured de Asshbyre holding lands in Staffordshire. The name continued to evolve with variations like Ashbury and Asburie appearing in medieval tax rolls and legal documents across southern England.

Prominent bearers of the Asbery surname include Sir John Asbery (c.1480-1553), a courtier and landowner in Wiltshire during the reigns of Henry VIII and Edward VI. Another notable figure was William Asbury (1745-1816), one of the first Methodist bishops in America who helped establish the church in the young nation.

Other historical figures with this last name were Thomas Asbery (1617-1672), an English Puritan minister, and Francis Asbury (1735-1787), one of the first two bishops of the Methodist Episcopal Church in America. Additionally, James Asbury (1782-1846) was a British author and publisher known for his writings on agriculture.

The name Asbery remained concentrated in southern England counties like Wiltshire, Gloucestershire, and Somerset through the medieval and early modern periods, though it gradually spread further afield as families migrated. Many place names like Ashbury in Berkshire and Devon stemmed from the Old English components of this locational surname.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

1881 census detail

Back to top

Asbery families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Asbery 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. Yorkshire leads with 29 Asberys recorded in 1881 and an index of 5.26x.

County Total Index
Yorkshire 29 5.26x
Northamptonshire 12 22.95x
Staffordshire 5 2.66x
Warwickshire 5 3.57x
Lancashire 4 0.61x
Worcestershire 2 2.75x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Nether Hallam in Yorkshire leads with 8 Asberys recorded in 1881 and an index of 107.38x.

Place Total Index
Nether Hallam 8 107.38x
Cransley 7 11666.67x
Kimberworth 7 228.76x
Bugthorpe 6 12000.00x
Croxall 5 12500.00x
Birmingham 4 8.56x
Bramley In Rotherham 4 5000.00x
Raunds 4 754.72x
Toxteth Park 3 13.43x
Dudley 2 22.65x
Sheffield 2 11.40x
Cottingham 1 555.56x
Ecclesall Bierlow 1 8.92x
Great Crosby 1 55.56x
Nuneaton 1 61.73x
Rotherham 1 32.15x

Top female names

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

Name Count
Mary 3
Agnes 2
Caroline 2
Edith 2
Elizabeth 2
Hannah 2
Jane 2
Margaret 2
Alice 1
Ann 1
Annie 1
Bertha 1
Eliza 1
Ellen 1
Florence 1
Harriet 1
Harriett 1
Helen 1
Margret 1
Minnie 1
Rose 1
Sarah 1
Stella 1

Top male names

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

Name Count
William 5
George 4
John 3
James 2
Joseph 2
Elenal 1
Frank 1
Fredrick 1
Rowlatt 1
Stephen 1
Vincent 1
Walter 1
Wilfred 1
Willis 1

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 Asbery households.

FAQ

Asbery surname: questions and answers

How common was the Asbery surname in 1881?

In 1881, 62 people were recorded with the Asbery surname. That placed it at #24,843 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Asbery surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 119 in 2016. That gives Asbery a modern rank of #27,704.

What does the Asbery surname mean?

A locational surname derived from any of several places called Ashbury, meaning "ash tree fort or manor."

What does the Asbery map show?

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