NameCensus.

UK surname

Barth

Derived from a variation of the German surname Bart, referring to someone with a beard.

In the 1881 census there were 146 people recorded with the Barth surname, ranking it #15,752 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 234, ranked #17,572, down from #15,752 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to London parishes, St Pancras and Edinburgh. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Falkirk - Lochgreen and Lionthorn, Hertsmere and Thanet.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Barth is 320 in 1861. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 60.3%.

1881 census count

146

Ranked #15,752

Modern count

234

2016, ranked #17,572

Peak year

1861

320 bearers

Map years

9

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Barth had 146 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #15,752 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 234 in 2016, ranked #17,572.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 320 in 1861.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Rural Amenity.

Barth surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Barth surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Barth 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 110 #16,093
1861 historical 320 #7,960
1881 historical 146 #15,752
1891 historical 164 #17,205
1901 historical 164 #17,144
1911 historical 221 #14,044
1997 modern 180 #18,812
1998 modern 196 #18,342
1999 modern 188 #18,931
2000 modern 185 #19,118
2001 modern 182 #19,039
2002 modern 200 #18,294
2003 modern 198 #18,252
2004 modern 190 #18,792
2005 modern 182 #19,259
2006 modern 186 #19,140
2007 modern 196 #18,737
2008 modern 185 #19,589
2009 modern 194 #19,398
2010 modern 230 #17,750
2011 modern 223 #17,940
2012 modern 222 #17,921
2013 modern 237 #17,423
2014 modern 237 #17,528
2015 modern 233 #17,627
2016 modern 234 #17,572

Geography

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Where Barths are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around London parishes, St Pancras, Edinburgh and Kidderminster. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Falkirk - Lochgreen and Lionthorn, Hertsmere, Thanet, Tonbridge and Malling and Leicester. 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 Edinburgh Edinburgh
5 Kidderminster Worcestershire

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Falkirk - Lochgreen and Lionthorn Falkirk
2 Hertsmere 003 Hertsmere
3 Thanet 011 Thanet
4 Tonbridge and Malling 009 Tonbridge and Malling
5 Leicester 027 Leicester

Forenames

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First names often paired with Barth

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

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Barth

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

Professional Employment and Family Lifecycles

Group

Inner London Working Professionals

Within London, Barth 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

Barth is most concentrated in decile 10 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.

10
Lower access Higher access

Neighbourhood deprivation

Index of Multiple Deprivation

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

Meaning and origin of Barth

The surname Barth originated in Germany, with its earliest recorded instances dating back to the Middle Ages. The name is derived from the Germanic word "bardo," meaning "axe" or "halberd." This suggests that the name may have initially been an occupational name for someone who made or wielded axes or halberds.

In the 11th century, the name Barth appeared in records from the Duchy of Swabia, a medieval duchy that covered present-day southwestern Germany and parts of Switzerland. One of the earliest known bearers of the name was Rudiger Barth, a knight mentioned in a chronicle from the year 1087.

The Barth name can also be traced back to various German placenames, such as Barth, a town in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, and Barthen, a village in Saxony-Anhalt. These place names likely originated from the same Germanic root word "bardo."

In the 13th century, the Barth surname appeared in the Codex Diplomaticus, a collection of historical documents from the region of Mecklenburg. This suggests that the name had spread to northern Germany by this time.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the Barth name in England can be found in the Norfolk Pipe Rolls of 1275, which mention a certain Johannes Barth. This indicates that the name had begun to spread beyond Germany by the late Middle Ages.

Notable individuals with the surname Barth throughout history include:

1. Jakob Barth (1600-1686), a German theologian and philosopher. 2. Caspar von Barth (1587-1658), a German diplomat and writer. 3. Christian Gerhard Barth (1768-1838), a German jurist and statesman. 4. Karl Heinrich Barth (1847-1922), a German theologian and father of the influential Swiss theologian Karl Barth. 5. Karl Barth (1886-1968), a Swiss Reformed theologian and one of the most influential Christian thinkers of the 20th century.

The Barth surname has a rich history rooted in medieval Germany and has since spread to various parts of Europe and beyond. Its origins as an occupational name and its connections to various German place names reflect the diverse linguistic and cultural influences that have shaped this surname over the centuries.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

1881 census detail

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Barth families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Barth 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 33 Barths recorded in 1881 and an index of 2.45x.

County Total Index
Middlesex 33 2.45x
Worcestershire 27 15.36x
Surrey 16 2.44x
Essex 12 4.52x
Yorkshire 10 0.75x
Cambridgeshire 7 8.21x
Kent 6 1.31x
Lancashire 4 0.25x
Nottinghamshire 4 2.20x
Staffordshire 4 0.88x
Warwickshire 4 1.18x
Midlothian 3 1.66x
Northumberland 2 1.00x
Caernarfonshire 1 1.84x
Durham 1 0.25x
Hampshire 1 0.36x
Huntingdonshire 1 3.74x
Ross-shire 1 2.70x
Roxburghshire 1 4.10x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Kidderminster Borough in Worcestershire leads with 24 Barths recorded in 1881 and an index of 233.24x.

Place Total Index
Kidderminster Borough 24 233.24x
Hammersmith London 16 48.25x
Battersea 7 14.13x
Eltisley 7 3333.33x
Chigwell 6 239.04x
Holy Trinity 6 18.70x
Leyton 6 131.00x
Paddington London 5 10.10x
Aston 4 4.28x
West Bromwich 4 15.38x
Woolwich 4 23.57x
Edinburgh St Cuthberts 3 4.14x
Kidderminster Foreign 3 120.48x
Newington 3 6.03x
Nottingham St Mary 3 6.39x
Shoreditch London 3 5.14x
St Faith Under St Pauls 2 1818.18x
St George Hanover Square 2 8.43x
St Marylebone London 2 2.78x
Tynemouth 2 18.64x
Alconbury Weston 1 526.32x
Bootle Cum Linacre 1 7.88x
Bowden 1 285.71x
Camberwell 1 1.16x
Colne 1 21.01x
Deptford St Paul 1 2.82x
Doncaster 1 10.26x
Dwygyfylchi 1 99.01x
Hackney London 1 1.33x
Hemingbrough 1 384.62x
Kensington London 1 1.34x
Mansfield 1 15.92x
Margate St John Baptist 1 11.89x
Middlesbrough 1 5.76x
Newton 1 8.12x
Portsea 1 1.85x
Pudsey 1 14.03x
Richmond 1 10.88x
Rosskeen 1 57.47x
Southwark St Saviour 1 14.45x
St Bartholomew Great 1 81.97x
Stranton 1 7.42x
Streatham 1 10.01x
Sutton 1 21.05x
Wimbledon 1 13.59x
Wuerdle Wardle 1 20.62x

Top female names

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

Top male names

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

Name Count
William 11
John 6
Henry 5
Arthur 4
Frederick 4
Albert 3
Thomas 3
Charles 2
Edward 2
Adolf 1
Adolph 1
Alfred 1
Archie 1
Benjamin 1
Berthold 1
Cecil 1
Edwin 1
Enno 1
Ernie 1
George 1
Gollhard 1
Harold 1
Jacob 1
James 1
Jens 1
Jubillee 1
Lewis 1
Louis 1
Reinhold 1
Robert 1
Theodore 1
Thos. 1
Will. 1

FAQ

Barth surname: questions and answers

How common was the Barth surname in 1881?

In 1881, 146 people were recorded with the Barth surname. That placed it at #15,752 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Barth surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 234 in 2016. That gives Barth a modern rank of #17,572.

What does the Barth surname mean?

Derived from a variation of the German surname Bart, referring to someone with a beard.

What does the Barth map show?

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