NameCensus.

UK surname

Bishop

An occupational surname referring to a senior member of the Christian clergy, in charge of a diocese.

In the 1881 census there were 20,827 people recorded with the Bishop surname, ranking it #173 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 27,701, ranked #205, down from #173 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to Bristol City: St Mary Redcliff, London parishes and St Pancras. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include West Oxfordshire, Merthyr Tydfil and Caerphilly.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Bishop is 29,042 in 1999. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 33.0%.

1881 census count

20,827

Ranked #173

Modern count

27,701

2016, ranked #205

Peak year

1999

29,042 bearers

Map years

9

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Bishop had 20,827 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #173 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 27,701 in 2016, ranked #205.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 28,017 in 1911.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Rural Amenity.

Bishop surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Bishop surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Bishop 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 14,629 #152
1861 historical 15,130 #149
1881 historical 20,827 #173
1891 historical 23,024 #162
1901 historical 26,135 #172
1911 historical 28,017 #140
1997 modern 27,776 #193
1998 modern 28,896 #193
1999 modern 29,042 #195
2000 modern 28,721 #197
2001 modern 28,031 #197
2002 modern 28,521 #196
2003 modern 27,715 #198
2004 modern 27,579 #199
2005 modern 26,981 #200
2006 modern 26,922 #200
2007 modern 27,035 #201
2008 modern 27,066 #202
2009 modern 27,736 #200
2010 modern 28,168 #204
2011 modern 27,832 #202
2012 modern 27,322 #203
2013 modern 27,946 #200
2014 modern 28,147 #204
2015 modern 27,770 #205
2016 modern 27,701 #205

Geography

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Where Bishops are most common

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

The modern local-area list points to West Oxfordshire, Merthyr Tydfil, Caerphilly, South Gloucestershire 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 St Pancras London (North Districts)
5 Portsmouth, Portsea Hampshire

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 West Oxfordshire 010 West Oxfordshire
2 Merthyr Tydfil 006 Merthyr Tydfil
3 Caerphilly 001 Caerphilly
4 South Gloucestershire 024 South Gloucestershire
5 North Norfolk 002 North Norfolk

Forenames

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First names often paired with Bishop

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

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Bishop

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

Bishop is most concentrated in decile 5 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.

5
Lower access Higher access

Neighbourhood deprivation

Index of Multiple Deprivation

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

Meaning and origin of Bishop

The surname Bishop is of English origin, derived from the occupational term for a Christian prelate or overseer of a diocese. The name likely emerged in the 11th or 12th century during the Middle Ages. It is derived from the Old English word "biscop," which came from the Greek word "episkopos," meaning overseer.

The earliest recorded instances of the Bishop surname can be traced back to the Domesday Book of 1086, a comprehensive record of landowners and tenants in England commissioned by William the Conqueror. In this document, individuals with the surname Bishop or similar spellings such as Bisshop or Bysshop were mentioned.

One notable early bearer of the name was John Bishop, a 13th-century English clergyman who served as the Bishop of Salisbury from 1262 to 1292. Another prominent figure was William Bishop, a 16th-century English composer and musician who lived from approximately 1554 to 1624.

In the 17th century, the surname Bishop was closely associated with the town of Bishop's Stortford in Hertfordshire, England. The town's name is believed to have originated from the Old English words "biscopes" (bishop's) and "stortford" (a place name derived from "storth" meaning a wood or thicket and "ford" meaning a shallow river crossing).

One of the most famous individuals with the Bishop surname was George Bishop, an English-born American politician and soldier who lived from 1785 to 1861. He served as a brigadier general in the War of 1812 and later became the first Governor of the Northwestern Territory (now Ohio) in 1851.

Another notable figure was Sir Henry Rowley Bishop, an English composer and conductor who lived from 1786 to 1855. He is best known for composing the popular opera "Clari, or the Maid of Milan" and for his contribution to the development of English opera.

During the 19th century, the surname Bishop was also prominent in the literary world. Thomas Bishop, an English poet and writer, lived from 1804 to 1869 and published several notable works, including "Memoirs of an Unfortunate Son of Thespis" and "Poetical Works."

As the name Bishop originated from an occupational term, it is likely that many early bearers of the surname were members of the clergy or had close connections to the Church. Over time, the name spread beyond its original ecclesiastical associations and became a common English surname.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

1881 census detail

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Bishop families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Bishop 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 3,082 Bishops recorded in 1881 and an index of 1.51x.

County Total Index
Middlesex 3,082 1.51x
Surrey 1,444 1.45x
Kent 1,307 1.88x
Somerset 1,259 3.83x
Gloucestershire 991 2.48x
Hampshire 827 1.98x
Worcestershire 809 3.03x
Staffordshire 781 1.13x
Warwickshire 770 1.50x
Sussex 762 2.21x
Yorkshire 729 0.36x
Devon 705 1.66x
Dorset 604 4.51x
Lancashire 513 0.21x
Essex 499 1.24x
Wiltshire 462 2.56x
Norfolk 458 1.46x
Leicestershire 411 1.82x
Oxfordshire 328 2.60x
Cornwall 315 1.36x
Suffolk 308 1.24x
Shropshire 302 1.71x
Midlothian 296 1.08x
Herefordshire 283 3.38x
Glamorgan 267 0.75x
Berkshire 241 1.57x
Cambridgeshire 190 1.47x
Hertfordshire 171 1.22x
Nottinghamshire 151 0.55x
Buckinghamshire 142 1.15x
Northamptonshire 142 0.74x
Lanarkshire 137 0.21x
Lincolnshire 134 0.41x
Derbyshire 124 0.39x
Monmouthshire 116 0.79x
West Lothian 105 3.42x
Durham 101 0.17x
Channel Islands 62 1.02x
Cheshire 60 0.13x
Bedfordshire 44 0.42x
Northumberland 44 0.14x
Huntingdonshire 43 1.06x
Royal Navy 39 1.60x
Brecknockshire 30 0.73x
Carmarthenshire 29 0.34x
Montgomeryshire 29 0.62x
Stirlingshire 28 0.37x
Angus 27 0.14x
Radnorshire 22 1.34x
Dunbartonshire 20 0.36x
Renfrewshire 19 0.12x
Denbighshire 18 0.23x
Ayrshire 17 0.11x
Pembrokeshire 17 0.26x
Aberdeenshire 16 0.08x
Flintshire 15 0.27x
Cardiganshire 12 0.24x
Fife 11 0.09x
Caernarfonshire 9 0.11x
Cumberland 9 0.05x
East Lothian 8 0.30x
Inverness-shire 7 0.11x
Selkirkshire 6 0.32x
Roxburghshire 5 0.14x
Buteshire 2 0.16x
Dumfriesshire 2 0.04x
Isle of Man 2 0.05x
Rutland 2 0.13x
Banffshire 1 0.02x
Kirkcudbrightshire 1 0.03x
Merionethshire 1 0.03x
Peeblesshire 1 0.10x
Perthshire 1 0.01x
Ross-shire 1 0.02x
Westmorland 1 0.02x

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 361 Bishops recorded in 1881 and an index of 1.82x.

Place Total Index
Islington London 361 1.82x
St Pancras London 334 2.03x
Lambeth 293 1.65x
Aston 271 1.91x
Birmingham 223 1.30x
Portsea 223 2.72x
Brighton 207 2.98x
Camberwell 204 1.56x
West Ham 200 2.25x
Hackney London 176 1.54x
Shoreditch London 158 1.79x
St Marylebone London 154 1.41x
Kensington London 130 1.15x
Bethnal Green London 128 1.44x
Bermondsey 125 2.06x
Chelsea London 101 1.64x
Hammersmith London 98 1.95x
Paddington London 94 1.25x
Edinburgh St Cuthberts 93 0.85x
St George Hanover Square 85 2.36x
Newington 80 1.06x
Plymouth Charles The 77 4.11x
Clerkenwell London 76 1.58x
Battersea 74 0.99x
Croydon 74 1.34x
Mile End Old Town London 74 1.70x
Bromley London 73 1.63x
Southampton St Mary 72 2.74x
Crewkerne 70 20.06x
Nottingham St Mary 67 0.94x
Cheltenham 66 2.14x
Bedminster 65 2.11x
Maidstone 64 3.08x
Sheffield 64 0.99x
Frome 62 7.89x
Kingswinford 62 2.48x
Leicester St Margaret 62 1.12x
Plymouth St Andrew 62 1.89x
Ribbesford 62 27.95x
East Peckham 61 42.17x
Ecclesall Bierlow 61 1.48x
Lewisham 59 1.59x
Swindon 59 4.21x
Wolverhampton 59 1.11x
Greenwich 58 1.78x
Chatham 57 2.97x
Deptford St Paul 57 1.06x
Malmesbury St Paul 55 35.42x
Clifton 54 2.67x
Rowley Regis 52 2.71x
Woolwich 52 2.02x
Rotherhithe 51 2.02x
Sherborne 51 12.92x
Southwark St George Martyr 51 1.24x
Stoke Upon Trent 51 0.70x
Barony 50 0.30x
Tipton 50 2.37x
Stroud 49 6.29x
Bristol St Philip Jacob 48 1.27x
St Luke London 48 1.47x
Toxteth Park 48 0.59x
Walcot 48 2.74x
Westminster St John 47 1.89x
Clapham 46 1.80x
Fulham London 45 1.52x
Great Yarmouth 45 1.73x
Tormoham 45 2.50x
West Bromwich 45 1.14x
Willesden 45 2.34x
Wellington 44 9.88x
Margate St John Baptist 43 3.37x
Westbury On Trym 43 3.17x
Ealing 42 2.30x
Hampstead London 42 1.32x
Hornsey 42 1.63x
Loughborough 41 3.99x
Melcombe Regis 40 7.20x
South Leith 40 1.30x
Whitburn 40 9.01x
Hendon 39 5.31x

Top female names

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

Name Count
Mary 1,192
Elizabeth 743
Sarah 683
Jane 386
Ann 369
Alice 360
Emma 355
Eliza 351
Emily 339
Ellen 296
Annie 293
Louisa 173
Charlotte 172
Hannah 165
Fanny 164
Harriet 161
Caroline 158
Martha 154
Florence 147
Maria 133
Kate 122
Edith 121
Ada 114
Lucy 103
Susan 101
Clara 95
Margaret 95
Rose 87
Agnes 80
Catherine 78
Harriett 75
Matilda 73
Frances 67
Anne 63
Amy 55
Esther 53
Julia 53
Amelia 51
Minnie 50
Sophia 48
Elizth. 44
Rebecca 43
Ethel 39
Laura 39
Gertrude 36
Jessie 36
Bessie 35
Isabella 35
Eleanor 34
Selina 34

Top male names

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

Name Count
William 1,306
John 1,070
George 814
Thomas 627
Henry 548
James 543
Charles 507
Joseph 264
Edward 258
Alfred 254
Frederick 238
Robert 219
Arthur 204
Walter 176
Albert 172
Samuel 164
Richard 154
Frank 114
Harry 110
Edwin 100
Ernest 91
Herbert 87
Benjamin 79
Francis 66
Daniel 44
Wm. 44
Thos. 41
Sidney 37
David 35
Geo. 33
Stephen 31
Fred 30
Tom 26
Fredk. 24
Fredrick 23
Peter 22
Percy 21
Sydney 19
Edmund 18
Horace 18
Archibald 17
Chas. 16
Earnest 16
Mark 16
Frederic 15
Willm. 15
Harold 14
Isaac 14
Willie 14
Jas. 13

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 Bishop households.

FAQ

Bishop surname: questions and answers

How common was the Bishop surname in 1881?

In 1881, 20,827 people were recorded with the Bishop surname. That placed it at #173 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Bishop surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 27,701 in 2016. That gives Bishop a modern rank of #205.

What does the Bishop surname mean?

An occupational surname referring to a senior member of the Christian clergy, in charge of a diocese.

What does the Bishop map show?

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