NameCensus.

UK surname

Bird

An English occupational surname referring to a person who caught birds or kept birds.

In the 1881 census there were 22,826 people recorded with the Bird surname, ranking it #149 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 28,700, ranked #191, down from #149 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to Bristol City: St Mary Redcliff, London parishes and Lambeth. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Tendring, Wolverhampton and St Edmundsbury.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Bird is 30,643 in 1999. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 25.7%.

1881 census count

22,826

Ranked #149

Modern count

28,700

2016, ranked #191

Peak year

1999

30,643 bearers

Map years

9

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Bird had 22,826 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #149 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 28,700 in 2016, ranked #191.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 30,375 in 1911.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Rural Amenity.

Bird surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Bird surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Bird 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 15,017 #146
1861 historical 14,781 #155
1881 historical 22,826 #149
1891 historical 24,121 #147
1901 historical 28,234 #145
1911 historical 30,375 #124
1997 modern 29,500 #180
1998 modern 30,433 #183
1999 modern 30,643 #183
2000 modern 30,318 #184
2001 modern 29,655 #184
2002 modern 30,128 #184
2003 modern 29,271 #184
2004 modern 29,173 #185
2005 modern 28,516 #186
2006 modern 28,405 #187
2007 modern 28,448 #188
2008 modern 28,483 #188
2009 modern 29,154 #188
2010 modern 29,732 #189
2011 modern 29,273 #189
2012 modern 28,656 #189
2013 modern 29,207 #190
2014 modern 29,332 #191
2015 modern 28,924 #191
2016 modern 28,700 #191

Geography

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Where Birds are most common

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

The modern local-area list points to Tendring, Wolverhampton, St Edmundsbury, South Derbyshire and North Norfolk. 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 London parishes London 1
3 London parishes London 3
4 Lambeth London (South Districts)
5 London parishes London 2

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Tendring 003 Tendring
2 Wolverhampton 035 Wolverhampton
3 St Edmundsbury 007 St Edmundsbury
4 South Derbyshire 011 South Derbyshire
5 North Norfolk 011 North Norfolk

Forenames

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First names often paired with Bird

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

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Bird

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

Older Residents in Owner-Occupied Suburbs

Group

London Fringe

Within London, Bird is most associated with areas classed as London Fringe, part of Older Residents in Owner-Occupied Suburbs. 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

Predominantly located in neighbourhoods on the outskirts of Greater London, residents of these neighbourhoods typically have their highest qualifications below degree (Level 4) level, with those still in work engaged in skilled trades and occupations in distribution, hotels and restaurants. There is low ethnic diversity in these neighbourhoods and high levels of Christian religious affiliation. Detached or terraced houses predominate, often with spare rooms.

Wider London pattern

The age distribution of these neighbourhoods is skewed towards the middle-aged and old, although few residents live alone or in communal establishments and numbers of dependent children are around average. Owner occupation is the norm, as is residence in detached or semi-detached houses. Residential densities are low and many households have spare rooms. Most residents were born in the UK and, aside from some identifying as members of Chinese or Indian ethnicities, identify as White. Mixed ethnicity households are rare. Incidence of married couples is higher than average and few individuals have never been married. A large proportion of individuals still in employment work in administrative and secretarial occupations, or in the construction industry. Few residents are students, and many households own more than one car.

Healthy neighbourhoods

Access to healthy assets and hazards

Bird 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

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

Meaning and origin of Bird

The surname BIRD is of English origin and is derived from the Old English word "bridd" or "brid," which means a young bird or fowl. It was initially used as a nickname for someone who had a particular affinity or resemblance to birds.

The name BIRD can be traced back to the 13th century, with some of the earliest recorded instances appearing in the Hundred Rolls of Oxfordshire in 1273, where it was written as "Brid." The Hundredorum Rolls, also known as the Rotuli Hundredorum, were a series of administrative records compiled in England in the late 13th century.

In the Domesday Book of 1086, a survey of land and property ownership commissioned by William the Conqueror, there is mention of a place called "Bridestowe" in Devon, which may have been derived from the Old English words "brid" and "stow," meaning "a place of birds."

One of the earliest documented bearers of the surname BIRD was Roger le Brid, who was mentioned in the Pipe Rolls of Gloucestershire in 1221. The Pipe Rolls were administrative records maintained by the English Exchequer, containing entries related to taxation and other financial matters.

During the 14th and 15th centuries, the surname BIRD was also found in various spellings, such as "Byrde," "Byrdd," and "Burde," reflecting the phonetic variations and regional dialects of the time.

Notable individuals with the surname BIRD throughout history include:

1. William Bird (c. 1560-1624), an English mathematician and writer on navigation and algebra. 2. Edward Bird (1572-1658), an English Puritan clergyman and one of the translators of the King James Version of the Bible. 3. William Bird (1738-1808), an English composer and organist who served as the organist of the Chapel Royal. 4. Robert Montgomery Bird (1806-1854), an American novelist, playwright, and poet. 5. Golding Bird (1815-1854), an English physician and chemist known for his work on kidney diseases.

The surname BIRD has also been associated with various place names, such as Birdingbury in Warwickshire, Birdbrook in Essex, and Bird-in-Hand in Pennsylvania, USA, which was founded by settlers with the surname BIRD.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

1881 census detail

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Bird families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Bird 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 2,662 Birds recorded in 1881 and an index of 1.19x.

County Total Index
Middlesex 2,662 1.19x
Staffordshire 1,586 2.10x
Warwickshire 1,349 2.40x
Lancashire 1,326 0.50x
Surrey 1,293 1.19x
Suffolk 1,105 4.06x
Essex 1,063 2.41x
Yorkshire 1,022 0.46x
Norfolk 855 2.49x
Northamptonshire 760 3.62x
Gloucestershire 755 1.72x
Kent 622 0.82x
Leicestershire 560 2.26x
Worcestershire 521 1.79x
Nottinghamshire 477 1.59x
Durham 467 0.70x
Devon 455 0.98x
Somerset 454 1.26x
Bedfordshire 421 3.64x
Derbyshire 387 1.11x
Cheshire 362 0.73x
Lincolnshire 319 0.89x
Hertfordshire 310 2.01x
Shropshire 285 1.48x
Cumberland 276 1.44x
Glamorgan 247 0.64x
Berkshire 234 1.40x
Wiltshire 232 1.18x
Cambridgeshire 227 1.61x
Buckinghamshire 225 1.67x
Midlothian 188 0.63x
Sussex 166 0.44x
Oxfordshire 162 1.18x
Huntingdonshire 160 3.61x
Hampshire 154 0.34x
Lanarkshire 147 0.20x
Monmouthshire 130 0.81x
Dorset 127 0.87x
Northumberland 123 0.37x
Westmorland 98 2.00x
Herefordshire 72 0.79x
Channel Islands 55 0.83x
Cornwall 41 0.16x
East Lothian 36 1.22x
Aberdeenshire 34 0.16x
Fife 34 0.26x
Montgomeryshire 31 0.61x
West Lothian 26 0.77x
Brecknockshire 25 0.56x
Royal Navy 24 0.90x
Denbighshire 22 0.26x
Ayrshire 21 0.13x
Renfrewshire 20 0.12x
Roxburghshire 12 0.30x
Angus 11 0.05x
Dumfriesshire 11 0.22x
Perthshire 11 0.11x
Pembrokeshire 10 0.14x
Stirlingshire 10 0.12x
Dunbartonshire 9 0.15x
Berwickshire 8 0.30x
Radnorshire 8 0.44x
Kincardineshire 7 0.26x
Rutland 7 0.43x
Argyllshire 5 0.08x
Buteshire 4 0.30x
Cardiganshire 4 0.07x
Carmarthenshire 3 0.03x
Banffshire 2 0.04x
Flintshire 2 0.03x
Anglesey 1 0.03x
Caernarfonshire 1 0.01x
Merionethshire 1 0.02x
Morayshire 1 0.03x
Nairnshire 1 0.15x
Peeblesshire 1 0.10x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Birmingham in Warwickshire leads with 438 Birds recorded in 1881 and an index of 2.33x.

Place Total Index
Birmingham 438 2.33x
Aston 382 2.46x
Lambeth 312 1.60x
Islington London 283 1.31x
St Pancras London 268 1.49x
Camberwell 186 1.30x
Walsall Foreign 169 4.34x
West Ham 149 1.53x
West Bromwich 132 3.06x
Hackney London 130 1.04x
Bethnal Green London 127 1.31x
Kensington London 127 1.02x
Paddington London 127 1.55x
Nottingham St Mary 126 1.62x
Hammersmith London 113 2.05x
St Marylebone London 113 0.95x
Kingswinford 112 4.09x
Everton 111 1.31x
Liverpool 106 0.66x
Toxteth Park 102 1.14x
Mile End Old Town London 96 2.02x
Willenhall 95 6.73x
Bristol St Philip Jacob 93 2.26x
Harborne 93 3.85x
Battersea 88 1.07x
Leicester St Margaret 86 1.42x
Clapham 84 3.01x
Cannock 82 6.24x
Luton 81 4.05x
Edinburgh St Cuthberts 78 0.65x
Ipswich St Clement 77 11.14x
Shoreditch London 77 0.80x
Stoke Upon Trent 76 0.95x
Newington 75 0.91x
Peterborough 72 4.74x
Clerkenwell London 71 1.35x
West Derby 71 0.92x
Bromley London 70 1.43x
Darlaston 70 6.72x
Bristol St George 68 3.36x
Deptford St Paul 68 1.16x
Tottenham 65 1.83x
Coventry St Michael 64 3.54x
Manchester 64 0.54x
Poplar London 63 1.50x
Southwark St George Martyr 63 1.40x
Barony 61 0.33x
St George Hanover Square 61 1.55x
Wednesbury 60 3.19x
Penrith 59 8.31x
Stokenchurch 58 47.03x
Houghton Regis 57 30.93x
Sheffield 57 0.81x
Wolverhampton 56 0.97x
Hampstead London 55 1.58x
Sedgley 55 1.97x
Croydon 54 0.89x
Leeds 54 0.43x
Leicester St Mary 54 2.70x
Lewisham 53 1.31x
Oldbury 53 3.70x
Oldham 53 0.62x
Badby 52 125.09x
Brighton 52 0.68x
Hatfield Broad Oak 50 33.62x
Chelsea London 49 0.73x
Eckington 49 5.77x
Cheltenham 48 1.42x
Dudley 48 1.35x
Kings Norton 48 1.84x
Aberdare 47 1.76x
Birkenhead 47 1.20x
Rowley Regis 47 2.24x
Rugby 47 6.17x
Salford 47 0.60x
Wellingborough 47 4.45x
Everdon 46 106.56x
Hucknall Torkard 46 6.03x
Brightside Bierlow 45 1.04x
Bedminster 44 1.30x

Top female names

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

Name Count
Mary 1,420
Elizabeth 905
Sarah 875
Ann 417
Eliza 411
Emma 393
Jane 377
Annie 340
Ellen 336
Alice 333
Emily 279
Hannah 254
Louisa 195
Martha 193
Edith 153
Harriet 153
Maria 151
Florence 145
Margaret 139
Charlotte 131
Ada 130
Fanny 125
Caroline 123
Clara 112
Catherine 107
Lucy 106
Kate 105
Agnes 97
Susan 91
Frances 79
Harriett 76
Anne 72
Rebecca 67
Rose 67
Matilda 60
Amelia 57
Esther 56
Julia 56
Isabella 54
Sophia 53
Jessie 52
Amy 48
Minnie 48
Selina 48
Lizzie 47
Gertrude 45
Susannah 42
Anna 41
Elizth. 37
Ruth 37

Top male names

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

Name Count
William 1,432
John 1,253
George 832
Thomas 733
James 619
Henry 535
Charles 507
Joseph 431
Alfred 285
Arthur 277
Edward 250
Robert 242
Frederick 218
Samuel 210
Walter 208
Albert 145
Richard 139
Harry 128
Frank 107
Herbert 88
Ernest 83
Benjamin 81
Edwin 73
David 69
Wm. 64
Francis 62
Thos. 60
Daniel 56
Isaac 45
Fred 39
Geo. 34
Stephen 29
Fredk. 25
Sidney 25
Michael 24
Abraham 21
Philip 21
Jesse 20
Matthew 20
Martin 19
Patrick 18
Reuben 18
Tom 18
Mark 17
Peter 17
Chas. 16
Christopher 16
Fredrick 16
Enoch 15
Ralph 15

Top occupations

Occupational titles are kept as recorded and later transcribed, so related jobs, spelling variants and mistakes stay separate. Scholar was the census term for a child in education. That means the other rows often tell you more about adult work in Bird households.

FAQ

Bird surname: questions and answers

How common was the Bird surname in 1881?

In 1881, 22,826 people were recorded with the Bird surname. That placed it at #149 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Bird surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 28,700 in 2016. That gives Bird a modern rank of #191.

What does the Bird surname mean?

An English occupational surname referring to a person who caught birds or kept birds.

What does the Bird map show?

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