NameCensus.

UK surname

Belsham

In the 1881 census there were 434 people recorded with the Belsham surname, ranking it #7,512 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 416, ranked #11,533, down from #7,512 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to London parishes, St John Hackney and Great and Little Totham, Goldhanger, Heybridge, Tolleshunt Major, Tolleshunt Knights, Tolleshunt Dar. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Lewisham, Southend-on-Sea and Cheshire East.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Belsham is 692 in 1911. Compared with 1881, the name has stayed broadly stable by 4.1%.

1881 census count

434

Ranked #7,512

Modern count

416

2016, ranked #11,533

Peak year

1911

692 bearers

Map years

9

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Belsham had 434 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #7,512 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 416 in 2016, ranked #11,533.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 692 in 1911.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Spacious Rural Living.

Belsham surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Belsham surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Belsham 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 292 #7,807
1861 historical 314 #8,088
1881 historical 434 #7,512
1891 historical 589 #6,485
1901 historical 551 #7,524
1911 historical 692 #6,137
1997 modern 478 #9,627
1998 modern 493 #9,702
1999 modern 496 #9,713
2000 modern 477 #9,989
2001 modern 462 #10,034
2002 modern 472 #10,060
2003 modern 441 #10,458
2004 modern 447 #10,369
2005 modern 430 #10,575
2006 modern 418 #10,861
2007 modern 415 #11,047
2008 modern 425 #10,934
2009 modern 440 #10,888
2010 modern 446 #10,988
2011 modern 441 #10,958
2012 modern 419 #11,295
2013 modern 437 #11,090
2014 modern 433 #11,262
2015 modern 421 #11,435
2016 modern 416 #11,533

Geography

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Where Belshams are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around London parishes, St John Hackney, Great and Little Totham, Goldhanger, Heybridge, Tolleshunt Major, Tolleshunt Knights, Tolleshunt Dar, St Luke and St Matthew Bethnal Green. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Lewisham, Southend-on-Sea, Cheshire East, Leeds and Maldon. 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 3
2 St John Hackney London (North Districts)
3 Great and Little Totham, Goldhanger, Heybridge, Tolleshunt Major, Tolleshunt Knights, Tolleshunt Dar Essex
4 St Luke London (Central Districts)
5 St Matthew Bethnal Green London (East Districts)

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Lewisham 013 Lewisham
2 Southend-on-Sea 013 Southend-on-Sea
3 Cheshire East 032 Cheshire East
4 Leeds 068 Leeds
5 Maldon 004 Maldon

Forenames

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First names often paired with Belsham

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

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Belsham

Modern surname records can be compared with neighbourhood classifications. For Belsham, 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 Belsham surname is most associated with neighbourhoods classed as Spacious Rural Living, within Retired Professionals. This does not mean every Belsham 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

The Greater London Mix

Group

Social Rented Sector Professional Support Workers

Within London, Belsham is most associated with areas classed as Social Rented Sector Professional Support Workers, part of The Greater London Mix. 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 located in Inner London, these neighbourhoods retain a diverse employment structure, with some concentration in associated professional and technical occupations rather than skilled trades or construction. Social renting is more common and levels of homeownership are low. Many residents identify as Black. There is a lower than average rate of marriage or civil partnership, few that are very old (85 or over) and higher than average incidence of disability.

Wider London pattern

A Supergroup embodying London's diversity in many respects, apart from low numbers of residents identifying as of Bangladeshi, Indian, Pakistani or Other (non-Chinese) Asian ethnicity. There is lower than average prevalence of families with dependent children, while there are above average occurrences of never-married individuals and single-person households. The age distribution is skewed towards younger, single residents and couples without children, with many individuals identifying as of mixed or multiple ethnicity. Social rented or private rented housing is slightly more prevalent than average, and many residents live in flats. Individuals typically work in professional and associated roles in public administration, education or health rather than in elementary occupations in agriculture, energy, water, construction or manufacturing. Incidence of students is slightly below average. Individuals declaring no religion are more prevalent than average and non-use of English at home is below average.

Healthy neighbourhoods

Access to healthy assets and hazards

Belsham 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

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

1881 census detail

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Belsham families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Belsham 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 105 Belshams recorded in 1881 and an index of 2.48x.

County Total Index
Middlesex 105 2.48x
Essex 76 9.09x
Surrey 40 1.94x
Suffolk 38 7.37x
Norfolk 37 5.68x
Cambridgeshire 32 11.93x
Kent 22 1.52x
Lincolnshire 19 2.81x
Lancashire 17 0.34x
Worcestershire 11 1.99x
Yorkshire 8 0.19x
Northumberland 7 1.11x
Buckinghamshire 5 1.95x
Cheshire 4 0.43x
Sussex 4 0.56x
Hampshire 3 0.35x
Bedfordshire 1 0.46x
Durham 1 0.08x
Gloucestershire 1 0.12x
Herefordshire 1 0.58x
Hertfordshire 1 0.34x
Nottinghamshire 1 0.18x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Barnham in Suffolk leads with 25 Belshams recorded in 1881 and an index of 3731.34x.

Place Total Index
Barnham 25 3731.34x
Bethnal Green London 21 11.42x
St Luke London 20 29.46x
Castle Camps 19 1472.87x
Camberwell 17 6.29x
Hackney London 12 5.06x
Spalding 12 89.35x
Castle Acre 11 569.95x
Redmarley 11 758.62x
Clayton Le Moors 10 102.56x
Bury St Edmunds St James 9 65.36x
Sittingbourne 9 78.88x
Hempstead 8 879.12x
Heybridge 8 329.22x
Limehouse London 8 17.22x
Fen Ditton 7 721.65x
Lambeth 7 1.90x
Mile End Old Town London 7 7.77x
Rotherhithe 7 13.38x
Shoreditch London 7 3.81x
Thetford St Mary 7 395.48x
Walthamstow 7 23.27x
Croydon 6 5.24x
Great Totham 6 550.46x
Islington London 6 1.46x
Kensington London 6 2.55x
Sutton St Mary St James 6 750.00x
Tolleshunt Major 6 1016.95x
West Ham 6 3.25x
Wigan 6 8.55x
Wylam 6 431.65x
Braintree 5 66.67x
Chelmsford 5 34.87x
Kings Lynn St Margaret 5 25.59x
Paddington London 5 3.21x
Tydd St Giles 5 390.63x
Bradwell 4 279.72x
Chesham 4 42.42x
Deighton In York 4 1428.57x
Enfield 4 14.40x
Goldhanger 4 555.56x
Greenwich 4 5.94x
Knockholt 4 347.83x
Mere 4 540.54x
Althorne 3 638.30x
Brighton 3 2.08x
Froyle 3 270.27x
Halifax 3 4.87x
Kingston On Thames 3 6.05x
Thetford St Cuthbert 3 127.66x
Clenchwarton 2 206.19x
East Dereham 2 24.33x
Elmley 2 666.67x
Feering 2 181.82x
Great Melton 2 434.78x
Long Melford 2 41.75x
Mile End 2 130.72x
Romford 2 15.14x
Southery 2 116.28x
Spitalfields London 2 6.28x
Swaffham 2 37.74x
Willesden 2 5.01x
Allerton Mauleverer Cum 1 263.16x
Barking 1 4.09x
Bromham 1 212.77x
Chelsea London 1 0.78x
Euston 1 294.12x
Hornsey 1 1.87x
Hove 1 3.19x
Ipswich St Mathew 1 6.92x
Leominster 1 13.93x
Leyton 1 6.95x
Market Deeping 1 56.82x
Queenborough 1 69.93x
Southminster 1 54.64x
Spotland 1 1.79x
St Bartholomew Less 1 45.87x
St George Hanover Square 1 1.34x
Tillingham 1 68.03x
Tring 1 12.84x

Top female names

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

Name Count
John 20
William 18
George 16
Charles 15
James 13
Arthur 9
Henry 8
Alfred 6
Joseph 6
Richard 6
Robert 6
Albert 5
Harry 5
Samuel 5
Walter 5
Frederick 4
Philip 4
Jacob 3
Thomas 3
Elijah 2
Francis 2
Geo.Samuel 2
Isaac 2
Percy 2
Stephen 2
Wm. 2
Aron 1
Benjamin 1
Chas.J. 1
Christopher 1
Collis 1
Daniel 1
Danil 1
David 1
Frank 1
Fredk. 1
Fredk.T. 1
Geo. 1
Harbert 1
Harold 1
Harrey 1
Izaac 1
Louis 1
Mark 1
Maurice 1
Moriss 1
Noah 1
Oliver 1
Pharaoh 1
Wm.Henry 1

FAQ

Belsham surname: questions and answers

How common was the Belsham surname in 1881?

In 1881, 434 people were recorded with the Belsham surname. That placed it at #7,512 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Belsham surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 416 in 2016. That gives Belsham a modern rank of #11,533.

What does the Belsham map show?

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