NameCensus.

UK surname

Biffen

In the 1881 census there were 191 people recorded with the Biffen surname, ranking it #13,224 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 210, ranked #18,965, down from #13,224 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to Martin (including Toyd Farm), London parishes and St Thomas the Apostle, Whitestone. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Cornwall, Sedgemoor and Taunton Deane.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Biffen is 255 in 1901. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 9.9%.

1881 census count

191

Ranked #13,224

Modern count

210

2016, ranked #18,965

Peak year

1901

255 bearers

Map years

9

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Biffen had 191 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #13,224 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 210 in 2016, ranked #18,965.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 255 in 1901.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Rural Amenity.

Biffen surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Biffen surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Biffen 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 107 #16,402
1861 historical 101 #20,955
1881 historical 191 #13,224
1891 historical 226 #13,668
1901 historical 255 #12,965
1911 historical 243 #13,163
1997 modern 208 #17,219
1998 modern 222 #16,969
1999 modern 219 #17,203
2000 modern 232 #16,562
2001 modern 215 #17,159
2002 modern 221 #17,206
2003 modern 210 #17,559
2004 modern 201 #18,168
2005 modern 217 #17,217
2006 modern 211 #17,662
2007 modern 219 #17,425
2008 modern 215 #17,809
2009 modern 222 #17,797
2010 modern 224 #18,047
2011 modern 213 #18,502
2012 modern 217 #18,184
2013 modern 216 #18,543
2014 modern 213 #18,883
2015 modern 209 #19,018
2016 modern 210 #18,965

Geography

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Where Biffens are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around Martin (including Toyd Farm), London parishes, St Thomas the Apostle, Whitestone and Bridgwater, Goathurst, Durleigh, Wembdon, Chilton Trinity. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Cornwall, Sedgemoor, Taunton Deane, Wiltshire and Doncaster. 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 Martin (including Toyd Farm) Hampshire
2 London parishes London 1
3 London parishes London 3
4 St Thomas the Apostle, Whitestone Devon
5 Bridgwater, Goathurst, Durleigh, Wembdon, Chilton Trinity Somerset

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Cornwall 023 Cornwall
2 Sedgemoor 011 Sedgemoor
3 Taunton Deane 013 Taunton Deane
4 Wiltshire 016 Wiltshire
5 Doncaster 007 Doncaster

Forenames

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First names often paired with Biffen

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

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Biffen

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

Inner London Working Professionals

Within London, Biffen is most associated with areas classed as Inner London Working Professionals, 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 primarily Inner London neighbourhoods are more densely populated than the Supergroup average. Residents have a younger over-all age profile than the Supergroup as a whole, and are less likely to be owner occupiers. Full time employment is more common than elsewhere in the Supergroup and multiple car ownership is uncommon. Chinese and non-EU-born European migrants are less in evidence than elsewhere in the Supergroup.

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

Biffen 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

Biffen falls in decile 6 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.

6
More deprived Less deprived

Broadband speed

Fixed broadband download speed

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

1881 census detail

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Biffen families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Biffen 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 54 Biffens recorded in 1881 and an index of 18.01x.

County Total Index
Somerset 54 18.01x
Middlesex 53 2.84x
Hampshire 22 5.76x
Wiltshire 17 10.32x
Gloucestershire 8 2.19x
Shropshire 8 4.97x
Dorset 7 5.73x
Surrey 4 0.44x
Buckinghamshire 3 2.66x
Cheshire 3 0.73x
Kent 3 0.47x
Sussex 3 0.96x
Devon 2 0.52x
Essex 2 0.54x
Cambridgeshire 1 0.85x
Yorkshire 1 0.05x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Bridgewater in Somerset leads with 18 Biffens recorded in 1881 and an index of 221.13x.

Place Total Index
Bridgewater 18 221.13x
Hammersmith London 18 39.22x
Southampton St Mary 11 45.81x
St George Hanover Square 11 33.52x
Martin 9 2727.27x
Eling 8 206.72x
Shrewsbury St Chad 8 141.59x
Wiveliscombe 8 479.04x
Aisholt 7 8750.00x
Feltham 7 376.34x
Gillingham 7 333.33x
Cheltenham 6 21.28x
Kingston 5 833.33x
Melksham 5 174.83x
Westminster St John 5 22.04x
Shoreditch London 4 4.95x
Westminster St James 4 20.89x
Church Coppenhall 3 163.04x
Crowcombe 3 1071.43x
Fordingbridge 3 144.23x
Upton Cum Chalvey 3 66.82x
Woolwich 3 12.78x
Barking 2 18.59x
Battersea 2 2.92x
Brighton 2 3.16x
Charlinch 2 1538.46x
Exeter St Thomas The 2 50.63x
Kensington London 2 1.93x
Lambeth 2 1.23x
Twerton 2 64.72x
Bristol St Thomas 1 238.10x
Burnham 1 43.67x
Chard 1 27.55x
Clifton 1 5.41x
Devizes St James 1 45.66x
Durleigh 1 769.23x
Enmore 1 555.56x
Hastings St Mary 1 12.79x
Hillfarrance 1 370.37x
Holbeck 1 8.18x
Holford 1 1000.00x
Salisbury St Martin 1 58.48x
Spaxton 1 172.41x
St Benedict Cambridge 1 149.25x
St Marylebone London 1 1.01x
Tilshead 1 333.33x
Twickenham 1 12.52x
Wells St Cuthbert Out 1 41.49x
West Monkton 1 151.52x

Top female names

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

Name Count
Mary 11
Emma 9
Elizabeth 7
Sarah 6
Ann 5
Harriet 4
Emily 3
Fanny 3
Hannah 3
Ada 2
Alice 2
Charlotte 2
Clara 2
Edith 2
Ellen 2
Eva 2
Jane 2
Louisa 2
Margaret 2
Susan 2
Adeline 1
Agnes 1
Bertha 1
Catherine 1
Celia 1
Elenor 1
Eliza 1
Elsie 1
Eveline 1
Georgina 1
Hestie 1
Jesse 1
Kathleen 1
Lillie 1
Lucy 1
M. 1
Martha 1
Matilda 1
Minnie 1
Rosetta 1
Rossetta 1
Susanne 1

Top male names

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

Name Count
William 15
John 10
Henry 9
James 7
Thomas 6
Robert 4
Samuel 4
Walter 4
Alfred 3
Edward 3
Edwin 2
Francis 2
Frederick 2
George 2
Gilbert 2
Sidney 2
Albert 1
Arthur 1
Charles 1
Chas.Evans 1
Ernest 1
Frank 1
Fred 1
Geo.R. 1
Gustavus 1
Harry 1
Herbert 1
Jilbert 1
Kezia 1
Reginald 1
Rowland 1
Ruscombe 1
Vincent 1
Wilfrith 1

FAQ

Biffen surname: questions and answers

How common was the Biffen surname in 1881?

In 1881, 191 people were recorded with the Biffen surname. That placed it at #13,224 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Biffen surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 210 in 2016. That gives Biffen a modern rank of #18,965.

What does the Biffen map show?

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