NameCensus.

UK surname

Atlee

A locational surname originally denoting someone from a place called "Attlee".

In the 1881 census there were 142 people recorded with the Atlee surname, ranking it #16,012 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 99, ranked #31,358, down from #16,012 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to Acton, Isleworth and London parishes. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Dartford, Sefton and West Lancashire.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Atlee is 142 in 1881. Compared with 1881, the name has fallen by 30.3%.

1881 census count

142

Ranked #16,012

Modern count

99

2016, ranked #31,358

Peak year

1881

142 bearers

Map years

7

1851 to 2006

Key insights

  • Atlee had 142 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #16,012 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 99 in 2016, ranked #31,358.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 142 in 1881.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Inner Suburbs and Small Town Living.

Atlee surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Atlee surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Atlee 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 123 #14,886
1861 historical 79 #23,702
1881 historical 142 #16,012
1891 historical 107 #22,967
1901 historical 102 #22,596
1911 historical 123 #20,128
1997 modern 113 #25,106
1998 modern 110 #26,129
1999 modern 113 #25,913
2000 modern 110 #26,248
2001 modern 111 #25,767
2002 modern 107 #26,849
2003 modern 104 #27,101
2004 modern 98 #28,297
2005 modern 102 #27,689
2006 modern 106 #27,332
2007 modern 103 #28,187
2008 modern 100 #29,001
2009 modern 107 #28,483
2010 modern 110 #28,666
2011 modern 100 #30,058
2012 modern 93 #31,409
2013 modern 95 #31,523
2014 modern 98 #31,370
2015 modern 100 #31,005
2016 modern 99 #31,358

Geography

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Where Atlees are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around Acton, Isleworth, London parishes, Ealing, Chiswick and Battersea. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Dartford, Sefton, West Lancashire, Havant and Surrey Heath. 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 Acton Middlesex (Exclusive Of London Districts)
2 Isleworth Middlesex (Exclusive Of London Districts)
3 London parishes London 3
4 Ealing, Chiswick Middlesex (Exclusive Of London Districts)
5 Battersea London (South Districts)

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Dartford 012 Dartford
2 Sefton 031 Sefton
3 West Lancashire 012 West Lancashire
4 Havant 019 Havant
5 Surrey Heath 006 Surrey Heath

Forenames

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First names often paired with Atlee

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

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Atlee

Modern surname records can be compared with neighbourhood classifications. For Atlee, 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 Atlee surname is most associated with neighbourhoods classed as Inner Suburbs and Small Town Living, within Suburbanites and Peri-Urbanities. This does not mean every Atlee 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

Professional Employment and Family Lifecycles

Group

Inner London Working Professionals

Within London, Atlee is most associated with areas classed as Inner London Working Professionals, part of Professional Employment and Family Lifecycles. 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

These primarily Inner London neighbourhoods are more densely populated than the Supergroup average. Residents have a younger over-all age profile than the Supergroup as a whole, and are less likely to be owner occupiers. Full time employment is more common than elsewhere in the Supergroup and multiple car ownership is uncommon. Chinese and non-EU-born European migrants are less in evidence than elsewhere in the Supergroup.

Wider London pattern

These neighbourhoods house people of all ages, predominantly of White British or European extraction. Resident turnover is low. Religious affiliation is less common than average and tends to be Christian if expressed. Homeownership, typically of terraced houses, is common but use of the social rented sector is not. Employment is typically in professional, managerial and associate professional or technical occupations. There are few full-time students. Level 4 qualifications are common. More households lack dependent children than have them which, considered alongside low levels of crowding and over-all age structure, indicates that many households may be post child-rearing and in late middle age. Incidence of disability is low, as is residence in communal establishments.

Healthy neighbourhoods

Access to healthy assets and hazards

Atlee is most concentrated in decile 6 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.

6
Lower access Higher access

Neighbourhood deprivation

Index of Multiple Deprivation

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

Meaning and origin of Atlee

The surname ATLEE is of English origin, derived from a locational name referring to a place called Attlee in Staffordshire, England. The name is believed to have evolved from the Old English words "aet" meaning "at" and "leah" meaning "a meadow or clearing in a forest."

The earliest recorded instance of the surname ATLEE dates back to the 13th century in the Pipe Rolls of Staffordshire from the year 1285, where it appeared as "William de Attelee." This suggests that the name was well-established in the region by that time.

In the renowned Domesday Book of 1086, which was a comprehensive survey of land and property ownership in England commissioned by William the Conqueror, there is no direct mention of the name ATLEE. However, the place name "Atlee" is listed, indicating the existence of the location from which the surname derives.

One of the earliest documented individuals with the surname ATLEE was Sir Robert Atlee, who lived in the late 15th century and served as Lord Mayor of London in 1498. He was a prominent figure in the city's government and played a significant role in the development of the city's infrastructure.

Another notable figure was Sir Thomas Atlee, a Member of Parliament for Bedfordshire in the 17th century. He was born in 1610 and played an active role in the English Civil War, supporting the Parliamentarian cause against King Charles I.

In the 18th century, Samuel Atlee, born in 1738, was a notable American politician and jurist. He served as a delegate to the Continental Congress and later became a judge in Pennsylvania, contributing to the early legal system of the United States.

During the 19th century, Edwin Atlee, born in 1819, was a renowned English surgeon and professor of medicine at the University of Leeds. He made significant contributions to the field of surgery and published several influential works on various medical topics.

In the 20th century, Clement Attlee, born in 1883 and died in 1967, was a prominent British statesman who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1945 to 1951. He played a pivotal role in the establishment of the welfare state and the National Health Service in the aftermath of World War II.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

1881 census detail

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Atlee families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Atlee 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 97 Atlees recorded in 1881 and an index of 7.05x.

County Total Index
Middlesex 97 7.05x
Surrey 21 3.13x
Cambridgeshire 6 6.89x
Lancashire 5 0.31x
Berkshire 4 3.87x
Hampshire 3 1.06x
Norfolk 2 0.95x
Sussex 2 0.86x
Lincolnshire 1 0.45x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Ealing in Middlesex leads with 37 Atlees recorded in 1881 and an index of 301.06x.

Place Total Index
Ealing 37 301.06x
Isleworth 19 310.97x
Islington London 8 6.00x
Battersea 7 13.83x
Egham 6 145.99x
Kensington London 6 7.85x
St Andrewthe Great 6 530.97x
Mile End Old Town London 5 17.08x
Hammersmith London 3 8.85x
Hornsey 3 17.25x
Layton With Warbreck 3 50.08x
St Botolph Aldgate London 3 106.01x
Bacton 2 909.09x
Hackney London 2 2.59x
Oldham 2 3.80x
Portsmouth 2 30.82x
Speen 2 118.34x
St George In East London 2 15.46x
Twickenham 2 33.90x
Westminster St Margaret 2 30.17x
Willesden 2 15.43x
Basingstoke 1 30.86x
Brighton 1 2.14x
Broadwater 1 18.80x
Croydon 1 2.69x
Epsom 1 30.58x
Kingston On Thames 1 6.21x
Lambeth 1 0.83x
Newbury 1 30.21x
Old Tower Without London 1 2000.00x
Oxted 1 123.46x
Richmond 1 10.65x
Spalding 1 22.94x
St George Hanover Square 1 4.13x
St Marylebone London 1 1.36x
Streatham 1 9.80x
Thatcham 1 62.89x
Thorpe 1 344.83x

Top female names

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

Name Count
Mary 11
Elizabeth 9
Ellen 4
Emily 4
Emma 4
Florence 4
Sarah 4
Alice 3
Charlotte 3
Clara 3
Ann 2
Caroline 2
Eliza 2
Elizh. 2
Elizth. 2
Fanny 2
Jane 2
Louisa 2
Agnes 1
Anne 1
Annie 1
Catherine 1
Edith 1
Eleanor 1
Gertrude 1
Harriet 1
Helen 1
Hester 1
Laura 1
Leonora 1
Lucy 1
Margaret 1
Maria 1
Matild 1
Matilda 1
Melinda 1
Rowena 1

Top male names

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

Name Count
James 7
William 7
Charles 5
George 4
John 4
Frederick 3
Henry 3
Albert 2
Richard 2
Stephen 2
Albion 1
Alfred 1
Arthur 1
Chas. 1
Edgar 1
Hubert 1
Joseph 1
Leonard 1
Montague 1
Nich. 1
Percy 1
Richd. 1
Robert 1
Samuel 1
Simenon 1
Thomas 1
Wilfred 1

FAQ

Atlee surname: questions and answers

How common was the Atlee surname in 1881?

In 1881, 142 people were recorded with the Atlee surname. That placed it at #16,012 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Atlee surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 99 in 2016. That gives Atlee a modern rank of #31,358.

What does the Atlee surname mean?

A locational surname originally denoting someone from a place called "Attlee".

What does the Atlee map show?

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