NameCensus.

UK surname

Austin

An English surname derived from a place name meaning "magnificent" or "great" in Old English.

In the 1881 census there were 14,588 people recorded with the Austin surname, ranking it #276 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 22,901, ranked #257, up from #276 in 1881.

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

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Austin is 23,450 in 1999. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 57.0%.

1881 census count

14,588

Ranked #276

Modern count

22,901

2016, ranked #257

Peak year

1999

23,450 bearers

Map years

9

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Austin had 14,588 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #276 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 22,901 in 2016, ranked #257.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 20,794 in 1911.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Rural Amenity.

Austin surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Austin surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Austin 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 9,194 #286
1861 historical 9,038 #301
1881 historical 14,588 #276
1891 historical 16,010 #262
1901 historical 19,261 #256
1911 historical 20,794 #215
1997 modern 21,995 #257
1998 modern 23,234 #252
1999 modern 23,450 #252
2000 modern 23,245 #253
2001 modern 22,759 #253
2002 modern 23,276 #253
2003 modern 22,731 #253
2004 modern 22,727 #254
2005 modern 22,104 #256
2006 modern 22,079 #258
2007 modern 22,207 #258
2008 modern 22,329 #258
2009 modern 22,953 #257
2010 modern 23,370 #257
2011 modern 23,016 #258
2012 modern 22,760 #255
2013 modern 23,228 #256
2014 modern 23,360 #256
2015 modern 23,053 #256
2016 modern 22,901 #257

Geography

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Where Austins 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 Shropshire, Shortlees, County Durham, Kettering and Swale. 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 Shropshire 004 Shropshire
2 Shortlees East Ayrshire
3 County Durham 059 County Durham
4 Kettering 003 Kettering
5 Swale 009 Swale

Forenames

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First names often paired with Austin

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

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Austin

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

Austin 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

Austin falls in decile 7 for neighbourhood deprivation. This puts the surname near the middle of the scale.

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

7
More deprived Less deprived

Broadband speed

Fixed broadband download speed

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

Meaning and origin of Austin

The surname Austin originated in England and has Anglo-Saxon roots. It is derived from the male given name Augustine, which itself comes from the Roman name Augustinus. This was likely a name given to a child born during the month of August or born on the feast day of St. Augustine.

The oldest known recording of the surname Austin dates back to the Domesday Book of 1086, compiled by order of William the Conqueror. Here, the name appears as "Austine" in various counties across England, indicating its widespread use at the time.

Over the centuries, the name took on various spellings such as Austyn, Austen, and Austan, reflecting the regional dialects and phonetic variations common during the Middle Ages. One notable early bearer of the name was Walter Austin (c. 1300-1370), a prominent English landowner and knight who served under Edward III during the Hundred Years' War.

The surname Austin has been associated with several place names in England, including Austinmere in Gloucestershire, which likely took its name from an early settler named Austin. The village of Austen in Yorkshire may also have derived its name from the same source.

Among the most famous historical figures bearing the surname Austin is Jane Austen (1775-1817), the renowned English novelist whose works, including "Pride and Prejudice" and "Sense and Sensibility," are considered literary classics. Other notable Austins include Samuel Austin (1633-1667), one of the founders of the Colony of North Carolina, and Moses Austin (1767-1821), an American entrepreneur and lead figure in the establishment of Anglo-American settlement in Spanish Texas.

In the realm of science and technology, Alfred Austin (1835-1913) was a notable English poet and critic who served as the Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom from 1896 to 1913. John Austin (1790-1859) was an influential British legal philosopher and jurist, known for his work on the philosophy of law and the concept of legal positivism.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

1881 census detail

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Austin families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Austin 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 2,237 Austins recorded in 1881 and an index of 1.57x.

County Total Index
Middlesex 2,237 1.57x
Surrey 1,239 1.78x
Kent 1,226 2.52x
Staffordshire 1,027 2.13x
Lancashire 909 0.54x
Yorkshire 641 0.45x
Warwickshire 521 1.45x
Sussex 436 1.81x
Northamptonshire 421 3.13x
Devon 409 1.38x
Essex 390 1.38x
Hampshire 317 1.08x
Glamorgan 314 1.26x
Derbyshire 304 1.36x
Cheshire 283 0.90x
Shropshire 274 2.22x
Oxfordshire 257 2.91x
Hertfordshire 251 2.55x
Somerset 215 0.94x
Gloucestershire 200 0.71x
Durham 198 0.47x
Norfolk 195 0.89x
Suffolk 195 1.12x
Berkshire 183 1.71x
Buckinghamshire 178 2.06x
Worcestershire 172 0.92x
Leicestershire 165 1.04x
Wiltshire 156 1.24x
Bedfordshire 114 1.54x
Lincolnshire 109 0.48x
Lanarkshire 104 0.23x
Cambridgeshire 103 1.14x
Cornwall 84 0.52x
Nottinghamshire 80 0.42x
Midlothian 68 0.36x
Ayrshire 66 0.62x
Dumfriesshire 64 2.03x
Huntingdonshire 61 2.15x
Northumberland 52 0.24x
Monmouthshire 39 0.38x
Dorset 34 0.36x
Kirkcudbrightshire 32 1.55x
Herefordshire 25 0.43x
Cumberland 23 0.19x
Montgomeryshire 23 0.70x
Aberdeenshire 21 0.16x
Denbighshire 20 0.37x
Renfrewshire 18 0.16x
Westmorland 18 0.57x
Channel Islands 17 0.40x
Caernarfonshire 16 0.28x
Morayshire 14 0.63x
Fife 13 0.15x
Brecknockshire 12 0.42x
Isle of Man 12 0.45x
Carmarthenshire 11 0.18x
Ross-shire 11 0.28x
Royal Navy 10 0.59x
Banffshire 9 0.30x
Pembrokeshire 9 0.20x
Rutland 8 0.76x
Sutherland 4 0.36x
Inverness-shire 3 0.07x
Merionethshire 3 0.11x
Argyllshire 2 0.05x
Dunbartonshire 2 0.05x
Angus 1 0.01x
Buteshire 1 0.12x
Kincardineshire 1 0.06x
Perthshire 1 0.02x
Roxburghshire 1 0.04x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Lambeth in Surrey leads with 292 Austins recorded in 1881 and an index of 2.35x.

Place Total Index
Lambeth 292 2.35x
Islington London 222 1.60x
Stoke Upon Trent 219 4.28x
St Pancras London 212 1.84x
Camberwell 170 1.86x
Kensington London 160 2.02x
Aston 156 1.57x
Shoreditch London 148 2.39x
Hackney London 134 1.67x
Battersea 132 2.51x
Birmingham 131 1.09x
Newington 99 1.88x
Liverpool 98 0.95x
St Marylebone London 96 1.26x
Paddington London 89 1.70x
Chelsea London 87 2.02x
Swansea Town 79 3.88x
Brighton 75 1.54x
West Ham 74 1.19x
Portsea 73 1.27x
St George Hanover Square 73 2.90x
Wolstanton 72 4.92x
Deptford St Paul 70 1.86x
Leicester St Margaret 69 1.79x
Faversham 67 14.42x
Wigan 66 2.79x
Bethnal Green London 65 1.05x
Lewisham 65 2.50x
Manchester 64 0.84x
Clerkenwell London 63 1.87x
Croydon 63 1.63x
Tipton 60 4.07x
Stoke Damerel 57 2.74x
Hulme 56 1.58x
Leeds 56 0.70x
Earls Barton 55 48.01x
Rothwell 53 39.29x
Hammersmith London 52 1.48x
Hornsey 50 2.77x
Bermondsey 49 1.15x
Plymouth St Andrew 49 2.14x
Folkestone 48 5.08x
Monks Coppenhall 48 4.04x
Ryde 47 7.48x
Poplar London 46 1.71x
Burton Upon Trent 44 3.90x
Rotherhithe 44 2.49x
Holbeck 42 4.48x
Reading St Giles 42 3.99x
Llanrhidian Higher 41 25.96x
Long Eaton 41 13.89x
Edinburgh St Cuthberts 40 0.52x
Govan 40 0.35x
Kings Norton 40 2.39x
Mile End Old Town London 40 1.32x
St George In East London 40 2.98x
Greenwich 39 1.72x
Paignton 39 17.24x
Salford 39 0.78x
Cheltenham 37 1.71x
Highworth 37 22.92x
Tonbridge 37 2.11x
West Derby 37 0.75x
Clapham 36 2.02x
St Martin In Fields 36 4.21x
Bromley London 33 1.05x
Great Bolton 33 1.47x
Kingston On Thames 33 1.97x
Wycombe 33 5.13x
Eastbourne 32 2.89x
Nottingham St Mary 32 0.64x
Plumstead 32 1.97x
Richmond 32 3.28x
Southwark Christchurch 31 4.63x
St George Bloomsbury 31 3.78x
Studham 31 76.22x
Bexley 30 6.97x
Burslem 30 2.17x
Morley 30 4.08x
Northampton St Sepulchre 29 4.24x

Top female names

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

Name Count
Mary 936
Sarah 494
Elizabeth 476
Jane 258
Emma 252
Ann 251
Eliza 251
Alice 226
Emily 223
Ellen 218
Annie 216
Louisa 130
Hannah 129
Martha 126
Florence 116
Harriet 110
Edith 101
Margaret 94
Maria 92
Charlotte 91
Ada 85
Fanny 84
Caroline 77
Lucy 69
Kate 66
Catherine 64
Agnes 59
Anne 59
Frances 59
Clara 56
Susan 56
Amelia 49
Esther 49
Rose 47
Harriett 46
Matilda 42
Amy 39
Rebecca 37
Eleanor 35
Jessie 34
Julia 32
Minnie 32
Sophia 32
Elizth. 31
Gertrude 29
Lydia 29
Lizzie 28
Beatrice 26
Susannah 24
Maud 22

Top male names

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

Name Count
William 900
John 757
George 525
Thomas 466
James 376
Charles 318
Henry 300
Joseph 208
Alfred 199
Edward 185
Frederick 177
Arthur 161
Robert 156
Samuel 135
Albert 132
Richard 128
Walter 103
Harry 83
Frank 72
Herbert 70
Ernest 65
David 63
Edwin 53
Wm. 36
Daniel 28
Fredrick 28
Tom 26
Francis 25
Stephen 25
Thos. 25
Fred 24
Percy 23
Benjamin 21
Edmund 21
Peter 21
Isaac 19
Sidney 19
Jesse 15
Geo. 14
Josiah 14
Fredk. 13
Mark 13
Alexander 12
Amos 12
Harold 11
Levi 11
Willm. 11
Chas. 10
Horace 10
Sydney 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 Austin households.

FAQ

Austin surname: questions and answers

How common was the Austin surname in 1881?

In 1881, 14,588 people were recorded with the Austin surname. That placed it at #276 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Austin surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 22,901 in 2016. That gives Austin a modern rank of #257.

What does the Austin surname mean?

An English surname derived from a place name meaning "magnificent" or "great" in Old English.

What does the Austin map show?

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