NameCensus.

UK surname

Bathurst

A locational surname for someone from Bathurst or Bathurst Hill in England.

In the 1881 census there were 406 people recorded with the Bathurst surname, ranking it #7,880 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 422, ranked #11,365, down from #7,880 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to Rochester, London parishes and Tunbridge, Bidborough. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Cotswold, Solihull and Herefordshire.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Bathurst is 517 in 1911. Compared with 1881, the name has stayed broadly stable by 3.9%.

1881 census count

406

Ranked #7,880

Modern count

422

2016, ranked #11,365

Peak year

1911

517 bearers

Map years

9

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Bathurst had 406 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #7,880 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 422 in 2016, ranked #11,365.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 517 in 1911.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Spacious Rural Living.

Bathurst surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Bathurst surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Bathurst 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 246 #8,891
1861 historical 289 #8,711
1881 historical 406 #7,880
1891 historical 423 #8,465
1901 historical 479 #8,313
1911 historical 517 #7,634
1997 modern 418 #10,648
1998 modern 448 #10,442
1999 modern 457 #10,342
2000 modern 444 #10,559
2001 modern 421 #10,789
2002 modern 437 #10,693
2003 modern 427 #10,720
2004 modern 423 #10,816
2005 modern 420 #10,781
2006 modern 413 #10,959
2007 modern 406 #11,249
2008 modern 410 #11,245
2009 modern 436 #10,965
2010 modern 431 #11,285
2011 modern 422 #11,359
2012 modern 414 #11,431
2013 modern 410 #11,693
2014 modern 419 #11,592
2015 modern 415 #11,583
2016 modern 422 #11,365

Geography

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Where Bathursts are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around Rochester, London parishes, Tunbridge, Bidborough and Lambeth. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Cotswold, Solihull, Herefordshire, Tunbridge Wells and East Northamptonshire. 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 Rochester Kent
2 London parishes London 1
3 Tunbridge, Bidborough Kent
4 London parishes London 3
5 Lambeth London (South Districts)

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Cotswold 007 Cotswold
2 Solihull 005 Solihull
3 Herefordshire 006 Herefordshire, County of
4 Tunbridge Wells 004 Tunbridge Wells
5 East Northamptonshire 008 East Northamptonshire

Forenames

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First names often paired with Bathurst

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

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Bathurst

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

Retired Professionals

Group

Spacious Rural Living

Nationally, the Bathurst surname is most associated with neighbourhoods classed as Spacious Rural Living, within Retired Professionals. This does not mean every Bathurst household fits that profile, but it gives a useful signal about where the modern surname distribution is strongest.

Read profile summary

Group profile

These predominantly ageing households typically have no resident dependent children. Most are owner-occupiers and live in detached houses in low density residential developments (although renting is more common than in the rest of the Supergroup). White ethnicity predominates. Residents are typically beyond retirement age but those still in work have managerial, professional or skilled trade occupations. White ethnicity and Christian religious affiliation predominate. Neighbourhoods are located throughout rural UK.

Wider pattern

Typically married but no longer with resident dependent children, these well-educated households either remain working in their managerial, professional, administrative or other skilled occupations, or are retired from them – the modal individual age is beyond normal retirement age. Underoccupied detached and semi-detached properties predominate, and unpaid care is more prevalent than reported disability. The prevalence of this Supergroup outside most urban conurbations indicates that rural lifestyles prevail, typically sustained by using two or more cars per household.

London neighbourhood type

London Output Area Classification

Supergroup

Young Families and Mainstream Employment

Group

Terraced and Semi-Detached Suburbs

Within London, Bathurst 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

Bathurst is most concentrated in decile 3 for access to healthy assets and hazards. This places the surname towards the less healthy 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.

3
Lower access Higher access

Neighbourhood deprivation

Index of Multiple Deprivation

Bathurst falls in decile 8 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.

8
More deprived Less deprived

Broadband speed

Fixed broadband download speed

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

Meaning and origin of Bathurst

The surname Bathurst originated in England during the Anglo-Saxon period. It is derived from the Old English words "baðu" meaning "bath" and "hyrst" meaning "wooded hill". This suggests that the name likely referred to someone who lived near a wooded hill with a bath or hot spring.

The earliest recorded instance of the name Bathurst appears in the Domesday Book of 1086, which was a survey of landowners commissioned by William the Conqueror. The book mentions a village called "Bathurst" in Sussex, indicating that the name was already an established place name by the late 11th century.

One of the earliest known individuals with the surname Bathurst was Ralph de Bathurst, who was documented as a landowner in Worcestershire in the 13th century. Another early record is of Sir John Bathurst, who was born in 1384 and served as a Member of Parliament for Gloucestershire in the early 15th century.

The Bathurst family became prominent in the 16th and 17th centuries, with several members holding influential positions. One notable figure was Sir Edward Bathurst (1561-1634), who served as a judge and was appointed to the Court of Common Pleas by King James I.

In the 18th century, Henry Bathurst (1714-1794) was a prominent lawyer and politician who served as Lord Chancellor of Great Britain from 1771 to 1778. His son, Henry Bathurst (1762-1834), also had a successful political career and held the position of Secretary of State for War and the Colonies.

Another significant individual with the Bathurst surname was Benjamin Bathurst (1784-1809), an English diplomat and explorer who is credited with discovering and naming the Bathurst District in New South Wales, Australia, in 1815.

Throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries, several members of the Bathurst family made notable contributions in various fields, including law, politics, and the military. However, the surname has become less concentrated in specific regions and more widely dispersed across the English-speaking world.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

1881 census detail

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Bathurst families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Bathurst 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 107 Bathursts recorded in 1881 and an index of 2.67x.

County Total Index
Middlesex 107 2.67x
Surrey 84 4.30x
Kent 55 4.02x
Shropshire 35 10.11x
Gloucestershire 19 2.42x
Herefordshire 18 10.95x
Wiltshire 11 3.10x
Sussex 9 1.33x
Yorkshire 8 0.20x
Staffordshire 7 0.52x
Lancashire 6 0.13x
Warwickshire 6 0.59x
Bedfordshire 5 2.41x
Radnorshire 5 15.46x
Worcestershire 5 0.96x
Glamorgan 4 0.57x
Lanarkshire 4 0.31x
Northumberland 4 0.67x
Devon 3 0.36x
Channel Islands 2 1.68x
Leicestershire 2 0.45x
Norfolk 2 0.32x
Ayrshire 1 0.33x
Berkshire 1 0.33x
Buckinghamshire 1 0.41x
Cheshire 1 0.11x
Essex 1 0.13x
Hampshire 1 0.12x
Hertfordshire 1 0.36x
Suffolk 1 0.20x
Sutherland 1 3.24x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Lambeth in Surrey leads with 26 Bathursts recorded in 1881 and an index of 7.44x.

Place Total Index
Lambeth 26 7.44x
Newington 23 15.53x
St George Hanover Square 15 21.23x
Tonbridge 14 28.38x
Kensington London 13 5.83x
Tewkesbury 13 185.19x
Rochester St Margaret 11 76.28x
Clarendon Park 10 3333.33x
Hackney London 9 4.00x
Hammersmith London 9 9.11x
Southwark St George Martyr 9 11.16x
Horsemonden 8 400.00x
Lingen 8 2000.00x
Clunbury 7 518.52x
Dawley 7 55.56x
Deptford St Nicholas 7 64.52x
Wapping London 7 228.76x
Willesden 7 18.52x
Birmingham 6 1.78x
Eastbourne 6 19.29x
Islington London 6 1.54x
Kingston On Thames 6 12.79x
Paddington London 6 4.07x
St Marylebone London 6 2.80x
Swanscombe 6 97.56x
Berrington 5 367.65x
Biggleswade 5 73.53x
Bishops Castle In 5 247.52x
Camberwell 5 1.95x
Nether Hallam 5 9.30x
St Pancras London 5 1.55x
Barony 4 1.22x
Clungunford 4 500.00x
Llanfihangel Beguildy 4 294.12x
Lydney 4 98.52x
Norton Canes 4 81.14x
Pembridge 4 220.99x
Reigate Foreign 4 18.91x
Tenbury 4 139.37x
Tynemouth 4 12.52x
West Derby 4 2.87x
Wrockwardine 4 52.49x
Hastings St Mary 3 17.84x
Lewisham 3 4.11x
Scrayingham 3 1500.00x
Shoreditch London 3 1.73x
St Andrew Holborn London 3 17.28x
St Brides Major 3 322.58x
Battersea 2 1.36x
Bermondsey 2 1.68x
Bethnal Green London 2 1.15x
Birley 2 952.38x
Cheadle 2 30.77x
Croydon 2 1.84x
Dorking 2 15.24x
Faversham 2 15.34x
Hillingdon 2 15.65x
Hornsey 2 3.94x
Mile End Old Town London 2 2.34x
Ratcliffe London 2 9.03x
Sarnesfield 2 1111.11x
St Helier 2 5.17x
Cheam 1 47.85x
Clapham 1 2.00x
Dawlish 1 16.08x
Edmonton 1 3.10x
Eton 1 18.21x
Harrow 1 16.31x
Knighton 1 38.31x
Loughborough 1 4.96x
Ludlow St Lawrence 1 14.51x
Norwich St James 1 20.66x
Norwich St Mary In Marsh 1 144.93x
Orell Ford 1 114.94x
Putney 1 5.47x
Reading St Lawrence 1 15.53x
Salisbury The Close 1 114.94x
South Weald 1 14.75x
St Thomas Winchester 1 17.24x
Twickenham 1 5.82x

Top female names

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

Name Count
Mary 23
Elizabeth 17
Sarah 13
Eliza 9
Alice 8
Emma 8
Catherine 7
Ann 5
Charlotte 5
Clara 5
Jane 5
Edith 4
Harriet 4
Julia 4
Kate 4
Sophia 4
Amelia 3
Annie 3
Caroline 3
Ethel 3
Florence 3
Louisa 3
Ada 2
Eleanor 2
Ellen 2
Emily 2
Evelyn 2
Fanny 2
Georgiana 2
Hannah 2
Margaret 2
Martha 2
Susan 2
Anne 1
Bertha 1
Cecilia 1
Dorothea 1
Elizebeth 1
Esther 1
Helena 1
Henrietta 1
Infant 1
J. 1
Jessie 1
Lavinia 1
Lizzie 1
Mabel 1
Margt. 1
Maria 1
Theresa 1

Top male names

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

Name Count
John 24
William 21
Charles 13
Henry 13
James 12
George 9
Alfred 7
Joseph 7
Thomas 7
Richard 6
Arthur 5
Algernon 4
Frank 4
Frederick 4
Walter 4
Edward 3
Ernest 3
Harry 3
Albert 2
Allen 2
Edwin 2
Fredk. 2
Fredrick 2
Herbert 2
Lancelot 2
Oliver 2
Robert 2
Wm. 2
Charle 1
Ellen 1
Ephrai 1
Ephraim 1
Eryre 1
Felton 1
Geo. 1
Gilbert 1
Harold 1
Hervey 1
Jms. 1
Jno 1
Lacey 1
Launcelot 1
Lillian 1
Murrek 1
Nelson 1
Neville 1
Norman 1
Pearce 1
Robt. 1
Rowland 1

FAQ

Bathurst surname: questions and answers

How common was the Bathurst surname in 1881?

In 1881, 406 people were recorded with the Bathurst surname. That placed it at #7,880 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Bathurst surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 422 in 2016. That gives Bathurst a modern rank of #11,365.

What does the Bathurst surname mean?

A locational surname for someone from Bathurst or Bathurst Hill in England.

What does the Bathurst map show?

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