NameCensus.

UK surname

Bartley

Derived from a place name meaning "birch tree meadow" in Old English.

In the 1881 census there were 1,434 people recorded with the Bartley surname, ranking it #2,906 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 2,941, ranked #2,292, up from #2,906 in 1881.

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 Flintshire, Hyndburn and Carmarthenshire.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Bartley is 3,035 in 2010. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 105.1%.

1881 census count

1,434

Ranked #2,906

Modern count

2,941

2016, ranked #2,292

Peak year

2010

3,035 bearers

Map years

9

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Bartley had 1,434 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #2,906 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 2,941 in 2016, ranked #2,292.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 2,149 in 1911.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Young Families in Industrial Towns.

Bartley surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Bartley surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Bartley 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 909 #3,031
1861 historical 1,147 #2,449
1881 historical 1,434 #2,906
1891 historical 1,704 #2,653
1901 historical 1,879 #2,803
1911 historical 2,149 #2,339
1997 modern 2,800 #2,301
1998 modern 2,917 #2,311
1999 modern 2,938 #2,305
2000 modern 2,970 #2,267
2001 modern 2,899 #2,272
2002 modern 2,963 #2,270
2003 modern 2,869 #2,293
2004 modern 2,875 #2,292
2005 modern 2,830 #2,295
2006 modern 2,818 #2,308
2007 modern 2,859 #2,293
2008 modern 2,896 #2,279
2009 modern 2,954 #2,296
2010 modern 3,035 #2,276
2011 modern 2,976 #2,290
2012 modern 2,897 #2,308
2013 modern 2,972 #2,294
2014 modern 3,008 #2,282
2015 modern 2,961 #2,288
2016 modern 2,941 #2,292

Geography

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Where Bartleys are most common

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

The modern local-area list points to Flintshire, Hyndburn, Carmarthenshire and Cheshire West and Chester. 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 Liverpool Lancashire

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Flintshire 017 Flintshire
2 Hyndburn 003 Hyndburn
3 Carmarthenshire 006 Carmarthenshire
4 Flintshire 011 Flintshire
5 Cheshire West and Chester 006 Cheshire West and Chester

Forenames

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First names often paired with Bartley

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

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Bartley

Modern surname records can be compared with neighbourhood classifications. For Bartley, 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

Semi- and Un-Skilled Workforce

Group

Young Families in Industrial Towns

Nationally, the Bartley surname is most associated with neighbourhoods classed as Young Families in Industrial Towns, within Semi- and Un-Skilled Workforce. This does not mean every Bartley household fits that profile, but it gives a useful signal about where the modern surname distribution is strongest.

Read profile summary

Group profile

These neighbourhoods house predominantly young, UK-born individuals identifying with a White ethnic group with dependent children. Long-term disability and unpaid care are prevalent, and religious affiliations are uncommon. Housing is terraced or semi-detached and social rented sector housing is the norm. Unemployment is above the Supergroup average, and employment is principally in elementary occupations, as process plant and machine operatives, or in caring and leisure services. Educational attainment is low. The group is scattered throughout former industrial towns in the Midlands and the South Wales Valleys.

Wider pattern

Living in terraced or semi-detached houses, residents of these neighbourhoods typically lack high levels of education and work in elementary or routine service occupations. Unemployment is above average. Residents are predominantly born in the UK, and residents are also predominantly from ethnic minorities. Social (but not private sector) rented sector housing is common. This Supergroup is found throughout the UK’s conurbations and industrial regions but is also an integral part of smaller towns.

London neighbourhood type

London Output Area Classification

Supergroup

Social Rented Sector Families with Children

Group

Social Rented Sector Pockets

Within London, Bartley is most associated with areas classed as Social Rented Sector Pockets, part of Social Rented Sector Families with Children. 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

Found in pockets across London, residents are less likely to live in private sector rentals and fewer adults are students. Fewer individuals work in transport and communications occupations relative to the Supergroup average. More individuals identify as Black and were born in Africa.

Wider London pattern

Residents of these neighbourhoods include sizable numbers identifying with ethnicities originating outside Europe, particularly in Africa or Bangladesh. The proportion of residents identifying as White, Indian or Pakistani is well below the London average. Neighbourhood age profiles are skewed towards younger adults, and above average numbers of families have children. Rates of use of English at home are below average. Marriage rates are low, and levels of separation or divorce are above average. Housing is predominantly in flats, and renting in the social rented sector the norm - few residents are owner occupiers. Housing is often overcrowded, and neighbourhoods are amongst the most densely populated in London. Disability rates are above average, although levels of unpaid care provision are about average. Employment is in caring, leisure, other service occupations, sales and customer service, or process, plant, and machine operation. Part time working and full-time student study are common. Levels of unemployment are slightly above average. Most residents have only Level 1 or 2 educational qualifications or have completed apprenticeships.

Healthy neighbourhoods

Access to healthy assets and hazards

Bartley 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

Bartley falls in decile 1 for neighbourhood deprivation. This puts the surname towards the more deprived end of the index.

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

1
More deprived Less deprived

Broadband speed

Fixed broadband download speed

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

Meaning and origin of Bartley

The surname Bartley is of English origin, and it is believed to have emerged in the 12th or 13th century. It is derived from the Old English words "bere" (barley) and "leah" (meadow or clearing), suggesting that the name may have originally referred to someone who lived near a barley field or a meadow where barley was grown.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Bartley can be found in the Pipe Rolls of Gloucestershire from 1221, where a person named William de Berleye is mentioned. This spelling variation, "Berleye," is believed to be an early form of the name Bartley.

In the 13th century, the name appeared in various records, such as the Hundred Rolls of Oxfordshire from 1273, which listed a Robert de Berleye. The suffix "de" was commonly used at the time to indicate a person's place of origin or residence.

The Bartley surname is also associated with several place names in England, such as Bartley Green in Birmingham and Bartley Mill in Hampshire. These place names likely contributed to the widespread use of the surname in different regions.

One notable person in history with the surname Bartley was Bertram Bartley (1843-1910), an English actor and theatre manager who served as the manager of the Haymarket Theatre in London from 1885 to 1900.

Another prominent figure was Sarah Bartley (1783-1850), an English-born Australian pioneer and settler who established the first hotel in the town of Windsor, New South Wales.

In the United States, Mordecai Bartley (1783-1870) was a prominent politician who served as the 19th Governor of Ohio from 1844 to 1846.

John Bartley (1820-1905) was an American journalist and publisher who founded the Brooklyn Daily Eagle newspaper in 1846, which became one of the most influential and long-running newspapers in New York City.

Lastly, Thomas Bartley (1782-1858) was an English cricketer who played for Hampshire and is considered one of the earliest professional cricketers in the game's history.

These examples illustrate the wide geographical spread of the Bartley surname and its presence in various fields, from politics and journalism to the arts and sports.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

1881 census detail

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Bartley families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Bartley 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 302 Bartleys recorded in 1881 and an index of 1.81x.

County Total Index
Lancashire 302 1.81x
Middlesex 161 1.15x
Yorkshire 129 0.93x
Surrey 87 1.27x
Flintshire 71 18.80x
Sussex 67 2.83x
Cheshire 60 1.94x
Hampshire 58 2.01x
Durham 53 1.27x
Denbighshire 44 8.29x
Staffordshire 43 0.91x
Kent 38 0.79x
Gloucestershire 37 1.34x
Warwickshire 22 0.62x
Cornwall 21 1.32x
Dorset 21 2.28x
Essex 21 0.76x
Caernarfonshire 20 3.52x
Somerset 19 0.84x
Worcestershire 15 0.82x
Cumberland 14 1.16x
Northumberland 14 0.67x
Wiltshire 14 1.13x
Glamorgan 12 0.49x
Lincolnshire 11 0.49x
Northamptonshire 9 0.68x
Shropshire 9 0.74x
Channel Islands 7 1.68x
Hertfordshire 7 0.72x
Leicestershire 6 0.39x
Berkshire 5 0.47x
Derbyshire 5 0.23x
Anglesey 4 1.61x
Ayrshire 4 0.38x
Berwickshire 4 2.35x
Merionethshire 4 1.56x
Norfolk 4 0.19x
Devon 3 0.10x
Dunbartonshire 2 0.53x
Lanarkshire 2 0.04x
Midlothian 2 0.11x
Selkirkshire 2 1.57x
Nottinghamshire 1 0.05x
Perthshire 1 0.16x
Renfrewshire 1 0.09x
Royal Navy 1 0.60x
Suffolk 1 0.06x
West Lothian 1 0.47x
Westmorland 1 0.32x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Manchester in Lancashire leads with 47 Bartleys recorded in 1881 and an index of 6.27x.

Place Total Index
Manchester 47 6.27x
Liverpool 37 3.65x
Middlesbrough 36 19.86x
Great Neston 31 302.73x
Toxteth Park 30 5.32x
Gorton 24 15.32x
Denbigh 20 93.90x
Mold 20 58.39x
St Pancras London 19 1.68x
Hawarden 18 60.69x
Southampton St Mary 18 9.94x
Bradford 16 4.75x
Hurstpierpoint 15 113.81x
Lambeth 15 1.22x
Newton 15 11.68x
Ashton Under Lyne 13 3.57x
Mile End Old Town London 13 4.35x
Spotland 13 7.02x
St Marylebone London 13 1.73x
West Ham 13 2.12x
Westbury On Trym 13 13.93x
Aston 12 1.23x
Kensington London 12 1.54x
Sedgley 12 6.81x
Bristol St James St Paul 11 11.97x
Henllan 11 81.24x
Motcombe 11 162.24x
Oldbury 11 12.19x
Preston 11 2.47x
Spittlegate 11 35.40x
Stoke Upon Trent 11 2.19x
Escomb 10 52.08x
Hope 10 53.22x
Hornsey 10 5.63x
Leeds 10 1.27x
Mold Arddynwent 10 460.83x
Rotherhithe 10 5.76x
Salford 10 2.04x
Shoreditch London 10 1.64x
Slaugham 10 130.72x
Westminster St Margaret 10 14.76x
Battersea 9 1.74x
Brighton 9 1.88x
Everton 9 1.69x
Great Boughton 9 84.19x
Hulme 9 2.59x
Newton In Makerfield 9 17.63x
Walton Le Dale 9 20.09x
Ardingly 8 106.24x
Charlton 8 25.13x
East Murton 8 102.30x
Hawarden Pentrobin 8 132.89x
Keymer 8 47.85x
Kirkdale 8 2.85x
Linthorpe 8 9.63x
Llandaff 8 9.83x
Madeley 8 17.98x
Northampton St Peter 8 99.63x
Richmond 8 8.34x
Breamore 7 257.35x
Bromley London 7 2.27x
Camberwell 7 0.78x
Conway 7 63.64x
Gate Fulford 7 21.54x
Hylton 7 94.98x
Kimpton 7 154.19x
Lee 7 10.06x
Norwood 7 21.79x
Portishead 7 41.64x
Rickergate 7 27.35x
Ryde 7 11.32x
Sheffield 7 1.58x
St Anne Soho London 7 8.73x
St Mary Extra 7 30.21x
Tottenham 7 3.13x
West Derby 7 1.44x
Chorlton On Medlock 6 2.27x
Llandudno 6 29.63x
Putney 6 9.37x
Shere 6 72.55x

Top female names

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

Name Count
Mary 130
Elizabeth 50
Sarah 48
Ellen 30
Margaret 28
Ann 25
Annie 25
Catherine 21
Jane 21
Eliza 20
Emma 20
Emily 14
Alice 12
Hannah 10
Bridget 9
Louisa 9
Martha 8
Charlotte 7
Clara 6
Frances 6
Kate 6
Anne 5
Fanny 5
Florence 5
Harriet 5
Susan 5
Anna 4
Caroline 4
Edith 4
Laura 4
Rebecca 4
Rosa 4
Rose 4
Sophia 4
Ada 3
Agnes 3
Esther 3
Harriett 3
Jessie 3
Maria 3
Minnie 3
Phoebe 3
Rachel 3
Rosina 3
Elizth. 2
Isabella 2
Lucy 2
Lydia 2
Margt. 2
Marion 2

Top male names

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

Name Count
John 89
William 79
Thomas 57
James 53
George 43
Joseph 28
Charles 27
Henry 22
Edward 19
Robert 15
Samuel 15
Richard 14
Arthur 13
Walter 13
Alfred 12
Patrick 12
Edwin 9
Frederick 9
Francis 8
Harry 8
Frank 7
Owen 7
Albert 6
David 5
Sidney 5
Alexander 4
Ernest 4
Herbert 4
Hugh 4
Peter 4
Stephen 4
Thos. 4
Wm. 4
Andrew 3
Enoch 3
Jesse 3
Jno. 3
Martin 3
Michael 3
Percy 3
Philip 3
Edgar 2
Edwd.N. 2
Geo. 2
Miles 2
Myles 2
Nehemiah 2
Nicholas 2
Ralph 2
Roger 2

FAQ

Bartley surname: questions and answers

How common was the Bartley surname in 1881?

In 1881, 1,434 people were recorded with the Bartley surname. That placed it at #2,906 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Bartley surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 2,941 in 2016. That gives Bartley a modern rank of #2,292.

What does the Bartley surname mean?

Derived from a place name meaning "birch tree meadow" in Old English.

What does the Bartley map show?

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