NameCensus.

UK surname

Blenkhorn

An English surname derived from a place name meaning "bright nook" or "bright valley."

In the 1881 census there were 163 people recorded with the Blenkhorn surname, ranking it #14,689 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 111, ranked #29,049, down from #14,689 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to Kirby Knowle (Bagby), Topcliffe (Dalton), Thirkleby and Blackburn. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include East Riding of Yorkshire, Salford and Bradford.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Blenkhorn is 170 in 1901. Compared with 1881, the name has fallen by 31.9%.

1881 census count

163

Ranked #14,689

Modern count

111

2016, ranked #29,049

Peak year

1901

170 bearers

Map years

8

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Blenkhorn had 163 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #14,689 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 111 in 2016, ranked #29,049.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 170 in 1901.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Spacious Rural Living.

Blenkhorn surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Blenkhorn surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Blenkhorn 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 125 #14,700
1861 historical 107 #20,008
1881 historical 163 #14,689
1891 historical 163 #17,300
1901 historical 170 #16,762
1911 historical 141 #18,571
1997 modern 98 #27,179
1998 modern 97 #28,054
1999 modern 96 #28,326
2000 modern 98 #27,988
2001 modern 97 #27,823
2002 modern 102 #27,596
2003 modern 101 #27,561
2004 modern 101 #27,813
2005 modern 102 #27,689
2006 modern 103 #27,785
2007 modern 107 #27,557
2008 modern 102 #28,664
2009 modern 109 #28,145
2010 modern 106 #29,305
2011 modern 110 #28,478
2012 modern 100 #30,258
2013 modern 106 #29,740
2014 modern 114 #28,608
2015 modern 113 #28,645
2016 modern 111 #29,049

Geography

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Where Blenkhorns are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around Kirby Knowle (Bagby), Topcliffe (Dalton), Thirkleby, Blackburn, Bishop Wearmouth and Aysgarth. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to East Riding of Yorkshire, Salford, Bradford, North Lincolnshire and Pendle. 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 Kirby Knowle (Bagby), Topcliffe (Dalton) Yorkshire, North Riding
2 Thirkleby Yorkshire, North Riding
3 Blackburn Lancashire
4 Bishop Wearmouth Durham
5 Aysgarth Yorkshire, North Riding

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 East Riding of Yorkshire 018 East Riding of Yorkshire
2 Salford 020 Salford
3 Bradford 002 Bradford
4 North Lincolnshire 021 North Lincolnshire
5 Pendle 003 Pendle

Forenames

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First names often paired with Blenkhorn

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

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Blenkhorn

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

Professional Employment and Family Lifecycles

Group

Inner London Working Professionals

Within London, Blenkhorn 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

Blenkhorn 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

Blenkhorn falls in decile 1 for neighbourhood deprivation. This puts the surname towards the more deprived end of the index.

Decile 1 represents the more deprived end of the scale. Decile 10 represents the less deprived end.

1
More deprived Less deprived

Broadband speed

Fixed broadband download speed

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

Meaning and origin of Blenkhorn

The surname Blenkhorn is of English origin, with roots dating back to the 14th century. It is believed to have originated from the village of Blenkarn, located in the historic county of Cumberland, now part of Cumbria in North West England.

The name Blenkhorn is derived from the Old English words "blenc" and "hyrne," which together translate to "a bright or shining corner." This likely refers to the geographic location of the village, perhaps situated on a prominent corner or bend in the landscape that caught the sun's rays.

One of the earliest recorded mentions of the name Blenkhorn can be found in the Yorkshire Poll Tax Returns of 1379, where a John Blenkhorne is listed as a resident of Appleton Roebuck, a village near York.

In the 16th century, the name appears in the Hearth Tax Rolls of 1673 for the county of Cumberland, with entries for families such as Robert Blenkhorn of Carlisle and John Blenkhorn of Penrith.

Notable individuals bearing the Blenkhorn surname include William Blenkhorn (1654-1722), a prominent English clockmaker from London, known for his expertise in creating longcase clocks and pocket watches during the late 17th and early 18th centuries.

Another notable figure was Thomas Blenkhorn (1788-1856), a British naval officer who served in the Royal Navy during the Napoleonic Wars and later became a rear admiral.

In the literary world, Samuel Blenkhorn (1823-1901) was an English author and poet who published several volumes of poetry, including "Poems" in 1850 and "Songs of the Village" in 1872.

The name Blenkhorn has also been associated with places like Blenkhorn Fell, a notable hill in the Lake District region of Cumbria, and Blenkarn Farm, a historic farmstead located near the village of the same name.

Other notable individuals with the surname include Mary Blenkhorn (1868-1945), a British artist known for her landscape paintings depicting scenes from the Lake District and Yorkshire Dales, and John Blenkhorn (1901-1977), a British trade unionist and politician who served as a Member of Parliament for Barnsley from 1945 to 1970.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

1881 census detail

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Blenkhorn families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Blenkhorn 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. Yorkshire leads with 96 Blenkhorns recorded in 1881 and an index of 6.02x.

County Total Index
Yorkshire 96 6.02x
Lancashire 24 1.26x
Durham 16 3.34x
Westmorland 15 42.41x
Kent 8 1.46x
Cheshire 3 0.84x
Roxburghshire 2 6.86x
Essex 1 0.31x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Cheetham in Lancashire leads with 10 Blenkhorns recorded in 1881 and an index of 70.22x.

Place Total Index
Cheetham 10 70.22x
Bishopwearmouth 9 21.90x
Ecclesall Bierlow 9 27.74x
Lythe 8 1250.00x
Whorlton 8 2105.26x
Hemingbrough 7 2187.50x
Knaresborough 6 240.00x
Preston 6 11.74x
Scalthwaiterigg 6 3333.33x
Blackburn 5 9.84x
Leeds 5 5.55x
Whinfell 5 5000.00x
York St Mary 5 75.64x
Deptford St Paul 4 9.45x
Forcett With Carkin 4 1290.32x
Greenwich 4 15.61x
Hawes 4 384.62x
Huddersfield 4 17.22x
Middlesbrough 4 19.26x
Northallerton 4 196.08x
Stockton On Tees 4 17.33x
Strickland Roger 4 1666.67x
Ashton On Mersey 3 163.04x
Cawood 3 491.80x
Scarborough 3 20.70x
Strensall 3 1200.00x
Thirkleby In Thirsk 3 2142.86x
Askrigg 2 588.24x
Bagby 2 1333.33x
Hartlepool 2 29.41x
Reeth 2 512.82x
Templenewsam 2 173.91x
Wilton 2 62.50x
York St George 2 158.73x
Beverley St Mary 1 42.92x
Clifton In York 1 29.94x
Ecclesfield 1 8.55x
Eccleston In Prescot 1 10.43x
Hale 1 312.50x
Leyton 1 18.28x
Medlar With Wesham 1 175.44x
Newton Mulgrave 1 2500.00x
Rudby In Cleveland 1 2500.00x
Stranton 1 6.20x
Thorpe Le Street 1 5000.00x

Top female names

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

Name Count
John 12
William 12
Thomas 6
Frank 4
George 4
Robert 4
Charles 3
James 3
Christopher 2
Henry 2
Richard 2
Samuel 2
Thos. 2
Adam 1
Alexander 1
Benjamin 1
Chas.Edwin 1
Durham 1
Edward 1
Fred 1
Harry 1
Herbert 1
Jas. 1
Jim 1
Jonathan 1
Jos. 1
Richd. 1
Ridyard 1
Wilson 1

FAQ

Blenkhorn surname: questions and answers

How common was the Blenkhorn surname in 1881?

In 1881, 163 people were recorded with the Blenkhorn surname. That placed it at #14,689 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Blenkhorn surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 111 in 2016. That gives Blenkhorn a modern rank of #29,049.

What does the Blenkhorn surname mean?

An English surname derived from a place name meaning "bright nook" or "bright valley."

What does the Blenkhorn map show?

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