NameCensus.

UK surname

Bellringer

In the 1881 census there were 269 people recorded with the Bellringer surname, ranking it #10,506 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 215, ranked #18,670, down from #10,506 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to Bristol City: St Mary Redcliff, Bedminster and London parishes. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Taunton Deane and Cornwall.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Bellringer is 272 in 1999. Compared with 1881, the name has fallen by 20.1%.

1881 census count

269

Ranked #10,506

Modern count

215

2016, ranked #18,670

Peak year

1999

272 bearers

Map years

8

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Bellringer had 269 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #10,506 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 215 in 2016, ranked #18,670.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 269 in 1881.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Rural Amenity.

Bellringer surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Bellringer surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Bellringer 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 131 #14,243
1861 historical 85 #22,922
1881 historical 269 #10,506
1891 historical 205 #14,649
1901 historical 261 #12,775
1911 historical 268 #12,332
1997 modern 246 #15,445
1998 modern 252 #15,584
1999 modern 272 #14,912
2000 modern 266 #15,096
2001 modern 263 #14,999
2002 modern 260 #15,415
2003 modern 243 #15,911
2004 modern 221 #17,066
2005 modern 206 #17,786
2006 modern 219 #17,254
2007 modern 215 #17,633
2008 modern 214 #17,854
2009 modern 223 #17,735
2010 modern 225 #18,000
2011 modern 223 #17,940
2012 modern 223 #17,852
2013 modern 228 #17,864
2014 modern 223 #18,279
2015 modern 218 #18,478
2016 modern 215 #18,670

Geography

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Where Bellringers are most common

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

The modern local-area list points to Taunton Deane and Cornwall. 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 Bedminster Somerset
3 London parishes London 3
4 Curry, North Somerset
5 St Winnow Cornwall

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Taunton Deane 002 Taunton Deane
2 Taunton Deane 004 Taunton Deane
3 Taunton Deane 009 Taunton Deane
4 Cornwall 007 Cornwall
5 Cornwall 012 Cornwall

Forenames

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First names often paired with Bellringer

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

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Bellringer

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

Established Homeowners with Children

Within London, Bellringer is most associated with areas classed as Established Homeowners with Children, 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 predominantly British-born residents are typically married/in civil partnerships and own the properties in which they are raising their children. Parents are typically over 45, and many other residents are beyond normal retirement age. Detached and semi-detached houses predominate and multiple car ownership is common.

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

Bellringer is most concentrated in decile 7 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.

7
Lower access Higher access

Neighbourhood deprivation

Index of Multiple Deprivation

Bellringer falls in decile 5 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.

5
More deprived Less deprived

Broadband speed

Fixed broadband download speed

The modern neighbourhood pattern for Bellringer is most associated with a typical fixed broadband download band of 20-25 mbit/s.

The scale below places that band in context, from slower local download bands through to faster ones.

4
Slower band Faster band

Area snapshot

Ethnic group estimate

Most common ethnic group estimate
White - British

This describes the area pattern most associated with Bellringer, not the ethnicity of every person with the surname.

1881 census detail

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Bellringer families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Bellringer 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. Somerset leads with 87 Bellringers recorded in 1881 and an index of 20.60x.

County Total Index
Somerset 87 20.60x
Surrey 51 3.99x
Cornwall 37 12.46x
Middlesex 33 1.26x
Lancashire 22 0.71x
Gloucestershire 12 2.33x
Staffordshire 9 1.02x
Hampshire 4 0.74x
Devon 3 0.55x
Essex 3 0.58x
Renfrewshire 3 1.48x
Berkshire 1 0.51x
Durham 1 0.13x
Kent 1 0.11x
Warwickshire 1 0.15x
Yorkshire 1 0.04x

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 30 Bellringers recorded in 1881 and an index of 13.11x.

Place Total Index
Lambeth 30 13.11x
North Curry 27 1875.00x
St Winnow 19 1862.75x
Bedminster 9 22.68x
Bristol St George 9 37.82x
West Bromwich 9 17.75x
Broadoak 8 3076.92x
Godalming 8 99.38x
Shoreditch London 8 7.03x
Yeovil 8 93.24x
Islington London 7 2.75x
Burnham 6 186.34x
Chiswick 6 41.84x
North Petherton 6 175.95x
Wavertree 6 60.18x
Bridgewater 5 43.59x
Nailsea 5 299.40x
Oldham 5 4.98x
Southwark St Saviour 5 37.06x
Bodmin 4 81.47x
Creech St Michael 4 380.95x
Denton 4 57.97x
St Luke London 4 9.50x
Barton Upon Irwell 3 12.80x
Bishops Hull 3 220.59x
Exeter Allhallows On The 3 333.33x
Nether Stowey 3 454.55x
Port Glasgow 3 30.52x
Redruth 3 35.71x
Bristol St Philip Jacob 2 4.13x
Castle Cary 2 108.70x
Christchurch 2 17.15x
Curry Mallet 2 454.55x
Goathurst 2 869.57x
Madron Penzance 2 18.52x
St Giles In Fields London 2 15.54x
St Pancras London 2 0.95x
West Derby 2 2.20x
West Ham 2 1.75x
Bawdrip 1 285.71x
Birmingham 1 0.45x
Camberwell 1 0.60x
Chard 1 19.53x
Clapham 1 3.05x
Clifton 1 3.84x
Farnham 1 10.06x
Hackney London 1 0.68x
Haslemere 1 99.01x
Hulme 1 1.54x
Leyton 1 11.21x
Liverpool 1 0.53x
Minster In Sheppey 1 6.74x
New Windsor 1 15.11x
Newington 1 1.03x
Nunney 1 109.89x
Portsmouth 1 8.08x
Richmond 1 5.58x
Skelton In Guisbrough 1 14.22x
Southwark St George Martyr 1 1.89x
St Austell 1 9.85x
St George Hanover Square 1 2.16x
St George In East London 1 4.05x
Stockton On Tees 1 2.66x
Ventnor 1 19.53x
West Monkton 1 107.53x
Willesden 1 4.04x
Woking 1 12.97x
Wraxall 1 123.46x

Top female names

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

Name Count
Mary 15
Sarah 12
Elizabeth 9
Annie 5
Eliza 5
Emily 5
Maria 5
Ada 4
Alice 4
Ann 4
Ellen 4
Emma 4
Louisa 4
Clara 3
Kate 3
Martha 3
Susan 3
Agnes 2
Beatrice 2
Bessie 2
Charlotte 2
Florence 2
Grace 2
Hannah 2
Jane 2
Julia 2
Lavinia 2
Lillian 2
Lucy 2
Catherine 1
Constance 1
Delia 1
Elizebeth 1
Elore 1
Emmeline 1
Ethel 1
Fanny 1
Florance 1
Harriet 1
Helena 1
Hetty 1
Jessie 1
Kathleen 1
Latitia 1
Laura 1
Lettia 1
Lilly 1
Lizzie 1
M.Helena 1
Victoria 1

Top male names

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

Name Count
William 14
John 12
Charles 9
James 9
George 8
Edward 7
Albert 5
Francis 5
Thomas 5
Herbert 4
Arthur 3
Frank 3
Robert 3
Tom 3
Alfred 2
Ernest 2
Henry 2
Joseph 2
Bernard 1
Chas. 1
Chas.J. 1
Clifford 1
Cornelius 1
Emanuel 1
Frederic 1
Frederick 1
Fredrick 1
Harry 1
Horace 1
J. 1
Mr. 1
Oliver 1
Phillip 1
Reginald 1
Saml. 1
Sydney 1
Walter 1
Wm.H. 1

FAQ

Bellringer surname: questions and answers

How common was the Bellringer surname in 1881?

In 1881, 269 people were recorded with the Bellringer surname. That placed it at #10,506 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Bellringer surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 215 in 2016. That gives Bellringer a modern rank of #18,670.

What does the Bellringer map show?

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