NameCensus.

UK surname

Biddell

In the 1881 census there were 195 people recorded with the Biddell surname, ranking it #13,054 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 170, ranked #21,801, down from #13,054 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to Exeter St David (including Castle Yard), St Leonard Shoreditch and Playford. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Guildford, Daventry and Stroud.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Biddell is 195 in 1881. Compared with 1881, the name has fallen by 12.8%.

1881 census count

195

Ranked #13,054

Modern count

170

2016, ranked #21,801

Peak year

1881

195 bearers

Map years

9

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Biddell had 195 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #13,054 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 170 in 2016, ranked #21,801.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 195 in 1881.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Spacious Rural Living.

Biddell surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Biddell surname density by area, 1881 census.

Loading map
Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

Back to top

Biddell 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 122 #14,966
1861 historical 104 #20,477
1881 historical 195 #13,054
1891 historical 177 #16,330
1901 historical 188 #15,742
1911 historical 131 #19,404
1997 modern 150 #21,119
1998 modern 158 #20,992
1999 modern 167 #20,374
2000 modern 172 #19,974
2001 modern 165 #20,199
2002 modern 163 #20,767
2003 modern 159 #20,881
2004 modern 164 #20,609
2005 modern 173 #19,851
2006 modern 163 #20,789
2007 modern 159 #21,387
2008 modern 159 #21,598
2009 modern 168 #21,290
2010 modern 171 #21,481
2011 modern 171 #21,337
2012 modern 169 #21,437
2013 modern 177 #21,170
2014 modern 178 #21,259
2015 modern 170 #21,800
2016 modern 170 #21,801

Geography

Back to top

Where Biddells are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around Exeter St David (including Castle Yard), St Leonard Shoreditch, Playford, London parishes and St James Clerkenwell. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Guildford, Daventry, Stroud, IZ03 and Birmingham. 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 Exeter St David (including Castle Yard) Devon
2 St Leonard Shoreditch London (East Districts)
3 Playford Suffolk
4 London parishes London 3
5 St James Clerkenwell London (Central Districts)

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Guildford 017 Guildford
2 Daventry 010 Daventry
3 Stroud 011 Stroud
4 IZ03 West Dunbartonshire
5 Birmingham 044 Birmingham

Forenames

Back to top

First names often paired with Biddell

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

Modern profile

Back to top

Neighbourhood profile for Biddell

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

Social Rented Sector and Diverse Origins

Within London, Biddell is most associated with areas classed as Social Rented Sector and Diverse Origins, 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

Scattered across London’s Inner and Outer suburbs, residents of these neighbourhoods are typically housed in the social rented sector. Although terraced and semi-detached houses predominate, more residents live in flats than elsewhere in the Supergroup. Neighbourhoods are more ethnically diverse than the Supergroup average. Those identifying as of Bangladeshi, Pakistani and some Black ethnicities are more prevalent. Europeans born in a overseas non-EU countries make up more of the lower proportion of residents identifying as White. Few residents are very old (85+). Employment in distribution, hotels and restaurants is more common than elsewhere in the Supergroup.

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

Biddell is most concentrated in decile 6 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.

6
Lower access Higher access

Neighbourhood deprivation

Index of Multiple Deprivation

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

1881 census detail

Back to top

Biddell families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Biddell 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. Surrey leads with 47 Biddells recorded in 1881 and an index of 5.07x.

County Total Index
Surrey 47 5.07x
Middlesex 43 2.26x
Essex 18 4.79x
Suffolk 18 7.77x
Warwickshire 16 3.34x
Gloucestershire 13 3.48x
Devon 10 2.53x
Northamptonshire 7 3.91x
Leicestershire 5 2.37x
Buckinghamshire 3 2.61x
Hampshire 3 0.77x
Glamorgan 2 0.60x
Lancashire 2 0.09x
Oxfordshire 2 1.70x
Berkshire 1 0.70x
Cambridgeshire 1 0.83x
Derbyshire 1 0.34x
Kent 1 0.15x
Norfolk 1 0.34x
Nottinghamshire 1 0.39x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Islington London in Middlesex leads with 20 Biddells recorded in 1881 and an index of 10.85x.

Place Total Index
Islington London 20 10.85x
Lambeth 15 9.04x
Orsett 14 1428.57x
Clapham 10 42.05x
Exeter St David 10 295.86x
Ash Normandy 9 714.29x
Croydon 9 17.49x
Playford 9 5625.00x
Aston 7 5.30x
Kensington London 7 6.62x
Daventry 6 237.15x
Birmingham 5 3.13x
Newbold Verdon 5 1041.67x
South Cerney 5 819.67x
Berkswell 4 421.05x
Hammersmith London 4 8.54x
Shipton Moyne 4 1428.57x
St George Martyr London 4 103.90x
Lavenham 3 247.93x
Shoreditch London 3 3.64x
Bristol St Philip Jacob 2 5.69x
East Ham 2 28.69x
Hampstead London 2 6.75x
Holdenhurst 2 19.55x
Ipswich St Clement 2 33.96x
Ipswich St Margaret 2 25.45x
Llantwit Vairdre 2 53.76x
Newington 2 2.85x
Souldern 2 666.67x
Weston Turville 2 370.37x
Beckenham 1 11.79x
Bury St Edmunds St Mary 1 22.99x
Camberwell 1 0.82x
Clerkenwell London 1 2.23x
Ealing 1 5.88x
Ely Holy Trinity St Mary 1 19.05x
Great Hampden 1 588.24x
Great Yarmouth 1 4.13x
Halstead 1 22.83x
Ince In Makerfield 1 9.52x
Littleworth 1 277.78x
Liverpool 1 0.73x
Nottingham St Mary 1 1.51x
Oundle 1 50.00x
Reading St Giles 1 7.14x
Southwark St Olave 1 68.97x
St Stephen Coleman Street 1 149.25x
Stanton Newhall 1 105.26x
West Ham 1 1.21x
Westbury On Trym 1 7.91x
Wherstead 1 588.24x
Whitchurch 1 80.65x

Top female names

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

Name Count
Emma 8
Ann 7
Elizabeth 7
Mary 7
Alice 6
Annie 6
Ellen 4
Sarah 4
Catherine 3
Clara 3
Jane 3
Ada 2
Caroline 2
Eliza 2
Emily 2
Fanny 2
Georgina 2
Julia 2
Laura 2
Louisa 2
Anna 1
Carrey 1
Charlotte 1
Dorothea 1
E. 1
Edith 1
Eleanor 1
Evangeline 1
Flora 1
Florence 1
Harriet 1
Harriett 1
Henrietta 1
Janet 1
Janil 1
Lucy 1
M.A. 1
Mabel 1
Maria 1
Marthaw 1
Matilda 1
Maud 1
Mildred 1
Phoebe 1
Rosina 1
S.L. 1
Sara 1
Susan 1
Valose 1
Winifred 1

Top male names

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

Name Count
John 12
George 6
William 5
Charles 4
Richard 4
Walter 4
Arthur 3
Frank 3
James 3
Percy 3
Robert 3
Alfred 2
Francis 2
Frederick 2
Herman 2
Reginald 2
Samuel 2
Sidney 2
Thomas 2
Adolphus 1
Alan 1
Albert 1
Alf.Alexander 1
Cecil 1
Chas. 1
Edward 1
Ephraim 1
Ernest 1
Harry 1
Henry 1
Herbert 1
Horace 1
Laurence 1
Leonard 1
Levi 1
Manfred 1
Norman 1
Shadrach 1
Willoughby 1
Wm. 1

FAQ

Biddell surname: questions and answers

How common was the Biddell surname in 1881?

In 1881, 195 people were recorded with the Biddell surname. That placed it at #13,054 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Biddell surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 170 in 2016. That gives Biddell a modern rank of #21,801.

What does the Biddell map show?

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