NameCensus.

UK surname

Bass

An English occupational surname referring to a bass player, fish seller, or bass weaver.

In the 1881 census there were 3,385 people recorded with the Bass surname, ranking it #1,345 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 4,402, ranked #1,543, down from #1,345 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to Debden, London parishes and St Pancras. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Fenland, Braintree and Ashford.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Bass is 4,944 in 1911. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 30.0%.

1881 census count

3,385

Ranked #1,345

Modern count

4,402

2016, ranked #1,543

Peak year

1911

4,944 bearers

Map years

9

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Bass had 3,385 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #1,345 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 4,402 in 2016, ranked #1,543.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 4,944 in 1911.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Rural Amenity.

Bass surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Bass surname density by area, 1881 census.

Loading map
Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Bass 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 2,004 #1,446
1861 historical 2,029 #1,430
1881 historical 3,385 #1,345
1891 historical 3,631 #1,322
1901 historical 4,428 #1,286
1911 historical 4,944 #1,056
1997 modern 4,543 #1,441
1998 modern 4,676 #1,455
1999 modern 4,674 #1,466
2000 modern 4,682 #1,454
2001 modern 4,565 #1,465
2002 modern 4,600 #1,483
2003 modern 4,377 #1,511
2004 modern 4,374 #1,514
2005 modern 4,270 #1,527
2006 modern 4,262 #1,530
2007 modern 4,284 #1,541
2008 modern 4,263 #1,555
2009 modern 4,410 #1,539
2010 modern 4,562 #1,525
2011 modern 4,487 #1,532
2012 modern 4,388 #1,531
2013 modern 4,429 #1,547
2014 modern 4,473 #1,543
2015 modern 4,421 #1,546
2016 modern 4,402 #1,543

Geography

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Where Bass' are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around Debden, London parishes, St Pancras and Hinckley (incl. Hydes Pastures). These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Fenland, Braintree and Ashford. 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 Debden Essex
2 London parishes London 1
3 London parishes London 3
4 St Pancras London (North Districts)
5 Hinckley (incl. Hydes Pastures) Leicestershire

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Fenland 004 Fenland
2 Braintree 012 Braintree
3 Fenland 006 Fenland
4 Ashford 014 Ashford
5 Braintree 014 Braintree

Forenames

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First names often paired with Bass

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

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Bass

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

Bass 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

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

Meaning and origin of Bass

The surname Bass is of English origin and derives from the Old English word 'bæss', meaning 'bass' or 'perch', a type of freshwater fish. It likely originated as an occupational surname for someone who fished or traded in bass.

The name Bass can be traced back to the late 12th century in England, with early recordings including William le Basse in the Pipe Rolls of Lincolnshire in 1195 and Willelmus Bas in the Curia Regis Rolls of Cambridgeshire in 1212.

In the Domesday Book of 1086, a survey of much of England and parts of Wales commissioned by William the Conqueror, there is a reference to a place called 'Bassa' in Staffordshire, which may be related to the surname's origins.

One of the earliest known bearers of the surname Bass was John Bass, born around 1490 in Stafford, England. He is recorded as the founder of the renowned Bass Brewery in Burton-upon-Trent, Staffordshire, which was established in 1777.

Another notable figure was Michael Thomas Bass, born in 1799 in Burton-upon-Trent, who was a famous English brewer and Member of Parliament. He significantly expanded the Bass Brewery and played a pivotal role in the company's success.

In the United States, one of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Bass is that of Samuel Bass, born in 1654 in Massachusetts. He was a prominent early settler and landowner in the colony.

The renowned American singer and actor, Lance Bass, who rose to fame as a member of the popular boy band NSYNC, was born in 1979 in Laurel, Mississippi.

Other notable individuals with the surname Bass include Sir Michael Arthur Bass, 1st Baron Burton, born in 1837, an English brewer and philanthropist, and Samuel P. Bass, born in 1851, an American fur trader, scout, and frontiersman in the American Old West.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

1881 census detail

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Bass families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Bass 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 595 Bass' recorded in 1881 and an index of 1.80x.

County Total Index
Middlesex 595 1.80x
Essex 456 6.99x
Surrey 253 1.57x
Bedfordshire 223 13.03x
Kent 221 1.96x
Leicestershire 180 4.91x
Northamptonshire 124 3.99x
Suffolk 120 2.98x
Cambridgeshire 112 5.35x
Lancashire 107 0.27x
Huntingdonshire 103 15.70x
Buckinghamshire 102 5.11x
Norfolk 100 1.97x
Yorkshire 98 0.30x
Lincolnshire 85 1.61x
Warwickshire 75 0.90x
Hertfordshire 69 3.03x
Devon 45 0.65x
Somerset 31 0.58x
Oxfordshire 28 1.37x
Staffordshire 27 0.24x
Derbyshire 24 0.46x
Nottinghamshire 24 0.54x
Gloucestershire 18 0.28x
Cheshire 16 0.22x
Hampshire 16 0.24x
Durham 15 0.15x
Sussex 14 0.25x
Glamorgan 12 0.21x
Worcestershire 12 0.28x
Midlothian 9 0.20x
Northumberland 9 0.18x
Rutland 8 3.30x
Shropshire 8 0.28x
Dorset 6 0.28x
Berkshire 5 0.20x
Royal Navy 5 1.27x
Wiltshire 5 0.17x
Buteshire 4 2.00x
Cornwall 4 0.11x
Lanarkshire 4 0.04x
Renfrewshire 3 0.12x
Ayrshire 2 0.08x
Channel Islands 2 0.20x
Cumberland 2 0.07x
Monmouthshire 2 0.08x
Angus 1 0.03x
Brecknockshire 1 0.15x
Kincardineshire 1 0.25x
Pembrokeshire 1 0.10x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Luton in Bedfordshire leads with 78 Bass' recorded in 1881 and an index of 26.34x.

Place Total Index
Luton 78 26.34x
Bethnal Green London 72 5.02x
St Pancras London 56 2.11x
Islington London 47 1.47x
Debden 43 465.87x
Hinckley 41 47.19x
Thaxted 41 189.38x
Hackney London 40 2.16x
Bermondsey 39 3.96x
Greenwich 39 7.41x
Hemel Hempstead 37 36.06x
Barking 36 18.87x
Mile End Old Town London 36 5.12x
Stoke Bruern 34 357.52x
Lambeth 33 1.15x
Warboys 32 168.78x
Leicester St Margaret 30 3.36x
Grantchester 29 222.73x
Hampstead London 29 5.64x
Kensington London 29 1.58x
West Ham 28 1.94x
Croxton Keyrial 27 435.48x
Dartford 27 23.42x
St Marylebone London 27 1.53x
Peterborough 26 11.56x
Princes Risborough 26 97.16x
Battersea 25 2.06x
Shoreditch London 24 1.68x
Wycombe 24 16.12x
Chigwell 23 37.36x
Theydon Bois 23 232.32x
Bury St Edmunds St James 22 20.47x
Hatfield Broad Oak 22 99.95x
Newport Pagnell 22 52.67x
Aston 21 0.92x
Bedminster 21 4.20x
Kimbolton 20 144.72x
St George Hanover Square 20 3.44x
Holy Trinity 19 2.41x
Riseley 19 175.44x
Ipswich St Margaret 18 13.18x
Matching 18 266.27x
Walthamstow 17 7.24x
Blackburn 16 1.53x
Camberwell 16 0.76x
Hammersmith London 16 1.97x
Mortlake 16 22.30x
Rotherhithe 16 3.92x
Fleet 15 99.67x
St Luke London 15 2.83x
Stanford Rivers 15 135.99x
Westoning 15 201.88x
Willand 15 393.70x
Gorleston 14 13.69x
Hillington 14 434.78x
Leeds 14 0.76x
Leicester St Mary 14 4.73x
Raunds 14 44.25x
Richmond 14 6.21x
Spittlegate 14 19.16x
St Andrewthe Less 14 5.86x
Banbury 13 31.82x
Everton 13 1.04x
Gedney 13 60.27x
Langdon Hills 13 402.48x
Northampton St Sepulchre 13 8.22x
Nottingham St Mary 13 1.13x
Ramsey 13 24.75x
Birmingham 12 0.43x
Harlow 12 42.70x
Hawnes 12 113.64x
Ipswich St Mathew 12 10.64x
Southwark St George Martyr 12 1.80x
Wandsworth 12 3.77x
Bury 11 278.48x
Great Dunmow 11 32.36x
Hornsey 11 2.63x
Plumstead 11 2.93x
St George In East London 11 3.54x
St Giles In Fields London 11 6.79x

Top female names

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

Name Count
Mary 196
Elizabeth 128
Sarah 122
Emma 84
Eliza 56
Emily 56
Ann 54
Jane 53
Annie 51
Louisa 42
Alice 38
Ellen 35
Hannah 32
Charlotte 27
Ada 25
Martha 25
Maria 24
Susan 23
Florence 22
Harriet 20
Edith 19
Margaret 19
Fanny 18
Harriett 18
Caroline 16
Kate 16
Rose 16
Catherine 14
Clara 14
Lydia 14
Frances 12
Agnes 11
Amelia 11
Anne 11
Ethel 11
Lucy 11
Amy 10
Eleanor 10
Minnie 10
Julia 9
Ruth 9
Sophia 9
Helen 8
Jessie 8
Lizzie 8
Matilda 8
Rachel 8
Esther 7
Henrietta 7
Maud 6

Top male names

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

Name Count
William 225
John 173
George 159
Thomas 111
James 109
Charles 91
Henry 72
Alfred 49
Arthur 48
Joseph 45
Frederick 38
Edward 37
Robert 37
Walter 36
Samuel 31
Harry 26
Albert 23
Herbert 17
Ernest 13
Daniel 12
Richard 12
Francis 10
Philip 10
Benjamin 9
David 9
Frank 9
Fred 9
Fredrick 8
Isaac 7
Wm. 6
Edwin 5
Phillip 5
Tom 5
Christopher 4
Geo. 4
Jas. 4
Jonathan 4
Josiah 4
Sydney 4
Earnest 3
Edmund 3
Eli 3
Frederic 3
Fredric 3
Jesse 3
Michael 3
Sidney 3
Stephen 3
Thos. 3
Peter 2

FAQ

Bass surname: questions and answers

How common was the Bass surname in 1881?

In 1881, 3,385 people were recorded with the Bass surname. That placed it at #1,345 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Bass surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 4,402 in 2016. That gives Bass a modern rank of #1,543.

What does the Bass surname mean?

An English occupational surname referring to a bass player, fish seller, or bass weaver.

What does the Bass map show?

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