NameCensus.

UK surname

Bale

An English occupational surname referring to a maker or user of balers for hay or straw.

In the 1881 census there were 2,256 people recorded with the Bale surname, ranking it #1,974 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 2,786, ranked #2,418, down from #1,974 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to Bristol City: St Mary Redcliff, London parishes and Barnstaple, Bishops Tawton. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Rugby, West Somerset and North Devon.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Bale is 2,896 in 2010. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 23.5%.

1881 census count

2,256

Ranked #1,974

Modern count

2,786

2016, ranked #2,418

Peak year

2010

2,896 bearers

Map years

9

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Bale had 2,256 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #1,974 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 2,786 in 2016, ranked #2,418.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 2,787 in 1911.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Rural Amenity.

Bale surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Bale surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Bale 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 1,807 #1,592
1861 historical 2,309 #1,276
1881 historical 2,256 #1,974
1891 historical 2,347 #2,000
1901 historical 2,379 #2,284
1911 historical 2,787 #1,868
1997 modern 2,655 #2,401
1998 modern 2,692 #2,458
1999 modern 2,685 #2,475
2000 modern 2,715 #2,443
2001 modern 2,653 #2,448
2002 modern 2,692 #2,461
2003 modern 2,662 #2,435
2004 modern 2,692 #2,418
2005 modern 2,677 #2,406
2006 modern 2,697 #2,396
2007 modern 2,707 #2,410
2008 modern 2,758 #2,394
2009 modern 2,838 #2,384
2010 modern 2,896 #2,383
2011 modern 2,814 #2,414
2012 modern 2,722 #2,440
2013 modern 2,801 #2,426
2014 modern 2,826 #2,419
2015 modern 2,779 #2,430
2016 modern 2,786 #2,418

Geography

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Where Bales are most common

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

The modern local-area list points to Rugby, West Somerset, North Devon and Harborough. 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 Barnstaple, Bishops Tawton Devon
4 London parishes London 3
5 Husband Bosworth Leicestershire

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Rugby 003 Rugby
2 West Somerset 001 West Somerset
3 North Devon 013 North Devon
4 Harborough 005 Harborough
5 Harborough 008 Harborough

Forenames

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First names often paired with Bale

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

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Bale

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

Young Families and Mainstream Employment

Group

Terraced and Semi-Detached Suburbs

Within London, Bale is most associated with areas classed as Terraced and Semi-Detached Suburbs, part of Young Families and Mainstream Employment. 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 concentrated in suburban areas, these terraced and semi-detached developments are less overcrowded than the Supergroup average, and resident households are more likely to own two or more cars. There are fewer residents aged 25-44, and a larger share of residents employed in administrative and secretarial occupations. Residents are more likely to have been born in the UK, less likely to have been born in the EU or Africa, and much less likely to self-identify as Bangladeshi.

Wider London pattern

Many families in these neighbourhoods have young children. Housing is principally in the social rented sector, in terraced or semi-detached units. While over-all residential densities are low, overcrowding is also prevalent locally. Residents are drawn from a range of ethnic minorities, with many identifying as Black and above average numbers born in Africa. Numbers identifying as of Chinese, Indian or White ethnicity are below average. Levels of proficiency in English are below average. Levels of separation or divorce and incidence of disability are both above average. Education is typically limited to Level 1, 2, or apprenticeship qualifications. Few residents work in professional or managerial occupations but the employment structure is otherwise diverse: it includes skilled trades, caring, leisure and other service occupations, sales and customer service occupations, construction, and work as process, plant, and machine operatives.

Healthy neighbourhoods

Access to healthy assets and hazards

Bale is most concentrated in decile 4 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.

4
Lower access Higher access

Neighbourhood deprivation

Index of Multiple Deprivation

Bale falls in decile 4 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.

4
More deprived Less deprived

Broadband speed

Fixed broadband download speed

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

Meaning and origin of Bale

The surname Bale originated in England, deriving from the Old English words 'bale' or 'bal', which referred to a strip of land or clearing. It is believed to have emerged as a surname in the 11th century.

The name was first concentrated in the counties of Yorkshire, Lancashire, and Cheshire, where it likely referred to people living on or near such clearings or strips of land. Early spellings included Bale, Baal, and Bael.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name appears in the Domesday Book of 1086, where a landowner named Radulfus Bale is listed in Yorkshire. Another early reference is found in the Pipe Rolls of Lincolnshire from 1176, which mention a William Bale.

By the 13th century, the name had spread to other parts of England, with instances recorded in the Hundred Rolls of Oxfordshire (1273) and the Subsidy Rolls of Worcestershire (1275). Some of these early spellings include Balle and Bale.

The surname Bale is also associated with certain place names, such as Baleborough in Derbyshire and Baledon in Somerset, which may have influenced the name's development in those regions.

Notable individuals with the surname Bale throughout history include:

1. John Bale (1495-1563), an English Anglican bishop and historian during the Reformation era. 2. Robert Bale (1784-1861), an English religious writer and Baptist minister. 3. Manfred Bale (1900-1977), a German actor and film director active in the early 20th century. 4. Donald Bale (1925-2003), an American actor and father of Christian Bale. 5. Christian Bale (born 1974), the renowned English actor known for roles in films such as The Dark Knight trilogy, The Machinist, and The Boxer.

While the surname Bale has evolved over the centuries, it remains rooted in its Old English origins, reflecting the geographic and historical landscapes of England.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

1881 census detail

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Bale families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Bale 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. Devon leads with 403 Bales recorded in 1881 and an index of 8.82x.

County Total Index
Devon 403 8.82x
Somerset 322 9.11x
Middlesex 241 1.10x
Leicestershire 174 7.15x
Surrey 138 1.29x
Glamorgan 103 2.69x
Norfolk 95 2.81x
Lancashire 87 0.33x
Gloucestershire 73 1.70x
Warwickshire 72 1.30x
Staffordshire 68 0.92x
Monmouthshire 51 3.21x
Worcestershire 49 1.71x
Kent 44 0.59x
Northamptonshire 41 1.99x
Derbyshire 36 1.05x
Essex 27 0.62x
Yorkshire 26 0.12x
Cornwall 21 0.84x
Nottinghamshire 21 0.71x
Hampshire 17 0.38x
Wiltshire 17 0.88x
Cheshire 16 0.33x
Sussex 16 0.43x
Lincolnshire 12 0.34x
Channel Islands 10 1.54x
Suffolk 10 0.37x
Buckinghamshire 9 0.68x
Shropshire 9 0.47x
Dorset 8 0.56x
Durham 8 0.12x
Oxfordshire 5 0.37x
Berkshire 4 0.24x
Brecknockshire 4 0.91x
Bedfordshire 3 0.26x
Inverness-shire 3 0.46x
Argyllshire 2 0.33x
Herefordshire 2 0.22x
Pembrokeshire 2 0.29x
Hertfordshire 1 0.07x
Royal Navy 1 0.38x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Bridgewater in Somerset leads with 40 Bales recorded in 1881 and an index of 41.69x.

Place Total Index
Bridgewater 40 41.69x
Husbands Bosworth 34 544.00x
Roydon In Guiltcross 31 673.91x
Barnstaple 30 41.82x
Camberwell 30 2.14x
Islington London 29 1.36x
Lambeth 29 1.51x
St Marylebone London 29 2.47x
St Pancras London 28 1.58x
Kidderminster Borough 27 16.09x
Bedminster 26 7.83x
Kibworth Harcourt 26 769.23x
Roath 26 14.97x
St Woollos 26 14.68x
Leicester St Margaret 25 4.21x
Bideford 24 49.02x
Shoreditch London 24 2.52x
Abbotsham 21 593.22x
Bishops Tawton 20 140.25x
Hammersmith London 20 3.70x
Ilfracombe 19 40.38x
Newington 18 2.22x
West Anstey 17 965.91x
West Hatch 16 506.33x
Birmingham 15 0.81x
Little Bowden 15 207.76x
Battersea 14 1.73x
Dulverton 14 135.27x
Lynton 14 153.51x
Paddington London 14 1.73x
West Bromwich 14 3.30x
Aston 13 0.85x
Clifton 13 5.97x
Corfe 13 448.28x
Countisbury 13 1056.91x
Kingswinford 13 4.83x
Plymouth Charles The 13 6.46x
Shebbear 13 189.50x
Chelsea London 12 1.81x
Clapham 12 4.37x
Deptford St Paul 12 2.08x
Leeds 12 0.98x
Rainford 12 42.58x
Wiveliscombe 12 60.91x
Chard 11 25.69x
Cullompton 11 55.11x
Fremington 11 118.53x
Glenfield 11 233.05x
Hackney London 11 0.89x
Leicester St Mary 11 5.59x
Stoke Damerel 11 3.44x
Streatham 11 6.75x
Walcot 11 5.84x
Williton 11 92.91x
Bishops Hull 10 87.57x
Bristol St Paul In 10 8.72x
Chipping Sodbury 10 124.53x
Northam 10 30.02x
Old Cleeve 10 79.24x
Staple Fitzpaine 10 709.22x
Wigston Magna 10 30.97x
Wolverhampton 10 1.75x
Alwington 9 318.02x
Aylesbury 9 15.30x
Bristol St Philip Jacob 9 2.22x
Coventry Holy Trinity 9 5.44x
Coventry St Michael 9 5.06x
Derby St Alkmund 9 8.74x
Littleham 9 26.93x
Llandaff 9 7.08x
Market Harborough 9 81.82x
Salford 9 1.17x
St Austell 9 10.59x
Taunton St James 9 17.46x
Taunton St Mary 9 13.87x
Wellington 9 18.78x
Weston Super Mare 9 10.08x
Wimbledon 9 7.49x
Worksop 9 10.25x
Gorleston 8 11.77x

Top female names

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

Name Count
Mary 176
Elizabeth 98
Sarah 66
Ann 47
Alice 43
Eliza 43
Jane 39
Emma 38
Ellen 30
Emily 29
Louisa 23
Hannah 21
Caroline 18
Florence 17
Maria 17
Annie 16
Charlotte 16
Edith 13
Fanny 13
Harriet 12
Anna 11
Catherine 11
Grace 11
Margaret 11
Susan 11
Ada 10
Agnes 10
Anne 10
Martha 10
Minnie 10
Rosa 10
Amelia 9
Clara 9
Julia 9
Bessie 8
Lily 8
Lucy 8
Kate 7
Frances 6
Jessie 6
Rose 6
Amy 5
Elizth. 5
Lizzie 5
Lydia 5
Rhoda 5
Harriett 4
Laura 4
Mabel 4
Rosina 4

Top male names

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

Name Count
William 152
John 139
Henry 73
James 69
George 68
Thomas 62
Charles 45
Richard 37
Alfred 32
Arthur 27
Frederick 26
Edward 21
Joseph 21
Robert 20
Samuel 20
Walter 18
Edwin 13
Albert 12
David 11
Ernest 11
Harry 10
Herbert 9
Francis 8
Isaac 8
Benjamin 7
Fredrick 7
Frank 6
Tom 6
Fred 5
Abraham 4
Archibald 3
Daniel 3
Edmund 3
Percy 3
Peter 3
Sidney 3
Wm. 3
Aaron 2
Amos 2
Horace 2
Hugh 2
Infant 2
Joel 2
Matthias 2
Philip 2
Saml. 2
Thos. 2
Timothy 2
Catherine 1
Charlie 1

FAQ

Bale surname: questions and answers

How common was the Bale surname in 1881?

In 1881, 2,256 people were recorded with the Bale surname. That placed it at #1,974 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Bale surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 2,786 in 2016. That gives Bale a modern rank of #2,418.

What does the Bale surname mean?

An English occupational surname referring to a maker or user of balers for hay or straw.

What does the Bale map show?

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