NameCensus.

UK surname

Bailey

An occupational surname referring to a steward or bailiff, derived from the Middle English word "bailli."

In the 1881 census there were 44,948 people recorded with the Bailey surname, ranking it #66 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 68,216, also still ranked #66.

The strongest historical links point to Bristol City: St Mary Redcliff, London parishes and Manchester. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Staffordshire Moorlands, Cheshire East and Telford and Wrekin.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Bailey is 70,671 in 1999. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 51.8%.

1881 census count

44,948

Ranked #66

Modern count

68,216

2016, ranked #66

Peak year

1999

70,671 bearers

Map years

9

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Bailey had 44,948 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #66 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 68,216 in 2016, ranked #66.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 64,844 in 1911.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Rural Amenity.

Bailey surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Bailey surname density by area, 1881 census.

Loading map
Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Bailey 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 26,591 #74
1861 historical 27,196 #74
1881 historical 44,948 #66
1891 historical 49,152 #62
1901 historical 58,686 #62
1911 historical 64,844 #51
1997 modern 66,140 #64
1998 modern 70,148 #64
1999 modern 70,671 #63
2000 modern 70,256 #63
2001 modern 68,385 #63
2002 modern 69,904 #63
2003 modern 68,286 #63
2004 modern 68,423 #63
2005 modern 66,880 #63
2006 modern 66,788 #63
2007 modern 67,247 #65
2008 modern 67,602 #63
2009 modern 69,338 #64
2010 modern 70,598 #65
2011 modern 69,541 #64
2012 modern 67,886 #66
2013 modern 69,225 #66
2014 modern 69,516 #66
2015 modern 68,583 #66
2016 modern 68,216 #66

Geography

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Where Baileys are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around Bristol City: St Mary Redcliff, London parishes, Manchester and Sheffield. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Staffordshire Moorlands, Cheshire East, Telford and Wrekin and Stoke-on-Trent. 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 Bristol City: St Mary Redcliff Gloucestershire
2 London parishes London 1
3 London parishes London 3
4 Manchester Lancashire
5 Sheffield Yorkshire, West Riding

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Staffordshire Moorlands 002 Staffordshire Moorlands
2 Staffordshire Moorlands 004 Staffordshire Moorlands
3 Cheshire East 020 Cheshire East
4 Telford and Wrekin 014 Telford and Wrekin
5 Stoke-on-Trent 009 Stoke-on-Trent

Forenames

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First names often paired with Bailey

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

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Bailey

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

Bailey 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

Bailey falls in decile 6 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.

6
More deprived Less deprived

Broadband speed

Fixed broadband download speed

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

Meaning and origin of Bailey

The surname Bailey is of English origin, derived from the Old French word "baillie" or "bailif," which referred to a bailiff or administrative officer in medieval times. This occupational surname was initially given to those who held the position of a bailiff, responsible for overseeing the management of lands or estates.

The earliest recorded instances of the Bailey surname can be traced back to the 13th century in various regions of England, such as Yorkshire, Lincolnshire, and Derbyshire. It is found in records like the Hundred Rolls of 1273, where individuals with the name Bailley or Bayly are mentioned.

One notable early figure bearing the Bailey surname was Walter Bailey, a member of the Parliament of England who represented Lincolnshire in the late 13th century. Another prominent individual was Sir Joseph Bailey, born in 1654, who served as a Member of Parliament for Hertfordshire and played a significant role in the Glorious Revolution of 1688.

The surname Bailey also has connections to various place names in England, such as Baileyfield in Essex, Baileygate in Lincolnshire, and Baileyhill in Warwickshire. These place names likely derived from the presence of a bailiff or the association with the Bailey surname.

During the 17th and 18th centuries, the Bailey surname gained further prominence with notable individuals like Nathan Bailey, an English lexicographer and philologist born in 1642, who compiled one of the earliest dictionaries of the English language. Additionally, there was William Bailey, a renowned English botanist and horticulturist born in 1784, known for his contributions to plant taxonomy and classification.

Another prominent figure was Sir William Henry Bailey, born in 1819, a British astronomer and mathematician who made significant contributions to the study of celestial mechanics and the theory of comets. He served as the President of the Royal Astronomical Society from 1879 to 1881.

These examples illustrate the historical presence and significance of the Bailey surname, which has its roots in medieval England and has been carried by individuals across various fields, including politics, literature, science, and academia.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

1881 census detail

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Bailey families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Bailey 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 4,821 Baileys recorded in 1881 and an index of 0.92x.

County Total Index
Lancashire 4,821 0.92x
Yorkshire 4,724 1.08x
Middlesex 4,333 0.98x
Staffordshire 3,715 2.50x
Surrey 2,451 1.14x
Cheshire 2,010 2.07x
Kent 1,793 1.19x
Hampshire 1,470 1.63x
Warwickshire 1,430 1.29x
Wiltshire 1,216 3.12x
Leicestershire 1,128 2.31x
Somerset 1,076 1.52x
Norfolk 981 1.45x
Essex 919 1.06x
Northamptonshire 918 2.22x
Gloucestershire 911 1.06x
Sussex 909 1.23x
Derbyshire 854 1.24x
Shropshire 828 2.18x
Nottinghamshire 811 1.37x
Devon 721 0.79x
Lincolnshire 719 1.02x
Durham 675 0.52x
Suffolk 584 1.09x
Cambridgeshire 495 1.78x
Berkshire 456 1.38x
Worcestershire 435 0.76x
Dorset 389 1.35x
Glamorgan 383 0.50x
Cornwall 309 0.62x
Bedfordshire 307 1.35x
Hertfordshire 276 0.91x
Buckinghamshire 274 1.03x
Herefordshire 255 1.41x
Northumberland 250 0.38x
Oxfordshire 209 0.77x
Monmouthshire 204 0.64x
Cumberland 116 0.31x
Channel Islands 95 0.73x
Lanarkshire 79 0.06x
Denbighshire 68 0.41x
Westmorland 62 0.64x
Rutland 51 1.58x
Royal Navy 50 0.95x
Huntingdonshire 45 0.52x
Montgomeryshire 43 0.43x
Flintshire 33 0.28x
Isle of Man 33 0.40x
Midlothian 23 0.04x
Brecknockshire 16 0.18x
Ayrshire 15 0.05x
Renfrewshire 14 0.04x
Pembrokeshire 13 0.09x
Wigtownshire 13 0.22x
Clackmannanshire 10 0.28x
Carmarthenshire 9 0.05x
Buteshire 8 0.30x
Cardiganshire 8 0.07x
Angus 7 0.02x
Radnorshire 7 0.20x
West Lothian 6 0.09x
Anglesey 5 0.06x
Caernarfonshire 5 0.03x
Merionethshire 5 0.06x
Perthshire 5 0.03x
Ross-shire 5 0.04x
Aberdeenshire 3 0.01x
Dunbartonshire 3 0.03x
Banffshire 2 0.02x
Berwickshire 2 0.04x
Fife 2 0.01x
Dumfriesshire 1 0.01x
Kincardineshire 1 0.02x
Morayshire 1 0.01x
Nairnshire 1 0.07x
Selkirkshire 1 0.03x
Stirlingshire 1 0.01x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Birmingham in Warwickshire leads with 514 Baileys recorded in 1881 and an index of 1.39x.

Place Total Index
Birmingham 514 1.39x
St Pancras London 448 1.26x
Stoke Upon Trent 424 2.69x
Islington London 421 0.99x
Lambeth 394 1.03x
Aston 372 1.22x
Dawley 355 25.66x
Manchester 305 1.30x
Biddulph 297 35.44x
Camberwell 268 0.95x
Nottingham St Mary 258 1.68x
Portsea 258 1.46x
Croydon 247 2.08x
Macclesfield 247 5.72x
Hackney London 239 0.97x
Salford 229 1.49x
Battersea 228 1.41x
Kensington London 228 0.93x
Bingley 226 8.14x
Leicester St Margaret 226 1.90x
Newington 222 1.37x
Wolverhampton 203 1.78x
West Ham 200 1.04x
Shoreditch London 195 1.02x
Bethnal Green London 179 0.94x
St George Hanover Square 178 2.30x
Burslem 177 4.16x
St Marylebone London 172 0.73x
Wolstanton 169 3.75x
Deptford St Paul 159 1.37x
Hammersmith London 156 1.44x
Preston 154 1.10x
Hulme 153 1.40x
Oldham 152 0.90x
Walsall Foreign 152 1.98x
West Derby 145 0.95x
Stockport 144 2.88x
Liverpool 141 0.44x
Keighley 139 2.99x
Ashton Under Lyne 138 1.21x
Brightside Bierlow 138 1.61x
Toxteth Park 138 0.78x
Mile End Old Town London 137 1.46x
Sheffield 136 0.98x
Chelsea London 133 1.00x
West Bromwich 132 1.55x
Westbury 121 13.32x
Leeds 119 0.48x
Holy Trinity 118 1.13x
Paddington London 118 0.73x
Southampton St Mary 117 2.06x
Hinckley 114 9.85x
Bristol St Philip Jacob 109 1.34x
Congleton 109 6.49x
St Luke London 109 1.54x
Southwark St George Martyr 107 1.21x
Sutton In Macclesfield 107 10.62x
Cannock 104 4.01x
Cranborne 101 28.93x
Chorlton On Medlock 100 1.21x
Batley 98 2.36x
Habergham Eaves 97 2.03x
Wicken 96 75.25x
Attercliffe Cum Darnall 95 2.34x
Audley 95 6.46x
Clerkenwell London 95 0.91x
Brighton 94 0.63x
Hampstead London 93 1.36x
Newton 92 2.29x
Sculcoates 92 1.33x
Newcastle Under Lyme 90 3.42x
Cheadle 89 4.80x
Leicester St Mary 89 2.26x
Wellingborough 89 4.28x
Bradford 86 0.81x
Clapham 86 1.56x
Dewsbury 86 1.92x
Blackburn 85 0.61x
Nether Hallam 85 1.44x
Norton In Moors 85 10.81x

Top female names

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

Name Count
Mary 3,022
Sarah 1,764
Elizabeth 1,746
Ann 885
Jane 806
Eliza 801
Ellen 723
Emma 704
Alice 657
Annie 650
Hannah 564
Emily 518
Martha 499
Harriet 352
Louisa 333
Margaret 331
Charlotte 284
Florence 272
Fanny 269
Maria 263
Edith 262
Ada 239
Caroline 238
Clara 206
Lucy 187
Kate 183
Catherine 181
Agnes 178
Frances 170
Harriett 167
Susan 160
Anne 154
Rose 130
Amelia 125
Rebecca 119
Esther 117
Julia 96
Lydia 95
Minnie 95
Elizth. 94
Matilda 94
Susannah 90
Amy 82
Isabella 80
Sophia 79
Gertrude 76
Eleanor 75
Laura 74
Selina 72
Ruth 71

Top male names

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

Name Count
William 2,761
John 2,528
George 1,662
Thomas 1,492
James 1,454
Henry 973
Charles 958
Joseph 845
Alfred 491
Robert 477
Edward 469
Arthur 466
Samuel 463
Walter 393
Frederick 365
Richard 358
Albert 333
Harry 259
Frank 211
Herbert 174
Ernest 163
Edwin 154
Benjamin 144
Francis 142
David 130
Wm. 128
Fred 108
Isaac 105
Thos. 96
Daniel 85
Tom 76
Peter 74
Stephen 73
Geo. 58
Mark 55
Enoch 48
Fredk. 48
Matthew 48
Sidney 43
Abraham 41
Chas. 41
Percy 39
Fredrick 38
Joshua 37
Edmund 36
Christopher 33
Josiah 32
Michael 32
Andrew 29
Leonard 29

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 Bailey households.

FAQ

Bailey surname: questions and answers

How common was the Bailey surname in 1881?

In 1881, 44,948 people were recorded with the Bailey surname. That placed it at #66 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Bailey surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 68,216 in 2016. That gives Bailey a modern rank of #66.

What does the Bailey surname mean?

An occupational surname referring to a steward or bailiff, derived from the Middle English word "bailli."

What does the Bailey map show?

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