NameCensus.

UK surname

Blockley

In the 1881 census there were 606 people recorded with the Blockley surname, ranking it #5,789 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 784, ranked #7,037, down from #5,789 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to Claybrooke, Ibstock and Broughton Astley, Croft. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Parkhead West and Barrowfield, Harborough and North West Leicestershire.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Blockley is 862 in 2010. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 29.4%.

1881 census count

606

Ranked #5,789

Modern count

784

2016, ranked #7,037

Peak year

2010

862 bearers

Map years

9

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Blockley had 606 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #5,789 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 784 in 2016, ranked #7,037.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 844 in 1911.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Rural Amenity.

Blockley surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Blockley surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Blockley 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 373 #6,385
1861 historical 308 #8,233
1881 historical 606 #5,789
1891 historical 649 #5,976
1901 historical 754 #5,918
1911 historical 844 #5,255
1997 modern 808 #6,491
1998 modern 839 #6,504
1999 modern 835 #6,572
2000 modern 856 #6,419
2001 modern 831 #6,459
2002 modern 822 #6,627
2003 modern 834 #6,435
2004 modern 827 #6,493
2005 modern 802 #6,605
2006 modern 783 #6,743
2007 modern 802 #6,667
2008 modern 823 #6,584
2009 modern 838 #6,641
2010 modern 862 #6,618
2011 modern 837 #6,694
2012 modern 809 #6,773
2013 modern 819 #6,808
2014 modern 806 #6,958
2015 modern 796 #6,960
2016 modern 784 #7,037

Geography

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Where Blockleys are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around Claybrooke, Ibstock, Broughton Astley, Croft, Leicester St Margaret and Bishop's Fee, Leicester All Saints, Blackfriars and Chesterfield. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Parkhead West and Barrowfield, Harborough, North West Leicestershire, Cheshire East and Leicester. 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 Claybrooke Leicestershire
2 Ibstock Leicestershire
3 Broughton Astley, Croft Leicestershire
4 Leicester St Margaret and Bishop's Fee, Leicester All Saints, Blackfriars Leicestershire
5 Chesterfield Derbyshire

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Parkhead West and Barrowfield Glasgow City
2 Harborough 004 Harborough
3 North West Leicestershire 013 North West Leicestershire
4 Cheshire East 007 Cheshire East
5 Leicester 026 Leicester

Forenames

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First names often paired with Blockley

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

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Blockley

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

The Greater London Mix

Group

Social Rented Sector Professional Support Workers

Within London, Blockley is most associated with areas classed as Social Rented Sector Professional Support Workers, part of The Greater London Mix. 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

Mainly located in Inner London, these neighbourhoods retain a diverse employment structure, with some concentration in associated professional and technical occupations rather than skilled trades or construction. Social renting is more common and levels of homeownership are low. Many residents identify as Black. There is a lower than average rate of marriage or civil partnership, few that are very old (85 or over) and higher than average incidence of disability.

Wider London pattern

A Supergroup embodying London's diversity in many respects, apart from low numbers of residents identifying as of Bangladeshi, Indian, Pakistani or Other (non-Chinese) Asian ethnicity. There is lower than average prevalence of families with dependent children, while there are above average occurrences of never-married individuals and single-person households. The age distribution is skewed towards younger, single residents and couples without children, with many individuals identifying as of mixed or multiple ethnicity. Social rented or private rented housing is slightly more prevalent than average, and many residents live in flats. Individuals typically work in professional and associated roles in public administration, education or health rather than in elementary occupations in agriculture, energy, water, construction or manufacturing. Incidence of students is slightly below average. Individuals declaring no religion are more prevalent than average and non-use of English at home is below average.

Healthy neighbourhoods

Access to healthy assets and hazards

Blockley is most concentrated in decile 9 for access to healthy assets and hazards. This places the surname towards the healthier end of the index.

Lower deciles point towards weaker access to healthy assets or stronger exposure to local hazards. Higher deciles point towards stronger access and fewer hazards.

9
Lower access Higher access

Neighbourhood deprivation

Index of Multiple Deprivation

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

1881 census detail

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Blockley families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Blockley 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. Leicestershire leads with 213 Blockleys recorded in 1881 and an index of 32.66x.

County Total Index
Leicestershire 213 32.66x
Warwickshire 60 4.04x
Shropshire 56 11.02x
Middlesex 41 0.70x
Yorkshire 39 0.67x
Nottinghamshire 37 4.67x
Derbyshire 36 3.91x
Staffordshire 32 1.61x
Lancashire 20 0.29x
Montgomeryshire 15 11.13x
Northamptonshire 15 2.71x
Surrey 12 0.42x
Cheshire 8 0.62x
Sussex 6 0.61x
Herefordshire 5 2.07x
Northumberland 5 0.57x
Hertfordshire 2 0.49x
Essex 1 0.09x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Leicester St Margaret in Leicestershire leads with 68 Blockleys recorded in 1881 and an index of 42.76x.

Place Total Index
Leicester St Margaret 68 42.76x
Broughton Astley 17 1188.81x
Leicester St Mary 17 32.26x
Nottingham St Mary 17 8.29x
Melbourne 13 206.68x
Swepstone 13 1226.42x
Brightside Bierlow 12 10.50x
Chirbury 12 401.34x
Annesley 11 369.13x
Aston 11 2.69x
Chesterfield 11 31.87x
Whitwick 11 132.69x
Bromfield 10 877.19x
Bilston 9 23.39x
Birmingham 9 1.82x
Great Billing 9 1139.24x
Hampstead London 9 9.82x
Kensington London 9 2.75x
Ossett Cum Gawthorpe 9 43.23x
Chorlton 8 1038.96x
Coventry Holy Trinity 8 18.06x
Heather 8 888.89x
Sheffield 8 4.31x
Wrockwardine 8 71.62x
Clifton On Dunsmore 7 583.33x
Coventry St Michael 7 14.69x
Hendon 7 33.08x
Hugglescote 7 72.99x
Kirkby Mallory Earl 7 223.64x
Monks Coppenhall 7 14.29x
Nailstone 7 472.97x
Belgrave 6 40.76x
Brighton 6 3.00x
Brinklow 6 379.75x
Humberstone 6 111.94x
Ibstock 6 126.58x
Lapley 6 400.00x
Leicester All Sts 6 46.84x
Litchurch 6 16.19x
Lt Wenlock 6 535.71x
St Pancras London 6 1.27x
Worksop 6 25.52x
Berriew 5 134.41x
Byker 5 11.56x
Great Claybrooke 5 581.40x
Hammersmith London 5 3.45x
More 5 1250.00x
Newington 5 2.30x
North Meols 5 7.32x
Northampton St Sepulchre 5 17.76x
Pool 5 49.16x
Preston 5 2.68x
Ross 5 52.14x
Stoke 5 171.23x
Bruntingthorpe 4 655.74x
Ecclesfield 4 9.36x
Harborne 4 6.29x
Harrow On The Hill 4 34.04x
Hodnet 4 100.76x
Lambeth 4 0.78x
Leire 4 689.66x
Llanwnog 4 141.84x
Ratby 4 122.32x
Burbage 3 88.24x
Dunton Bassett 3 365.85x
Eastwood 3 42.31x
Hulme 3 2.06x
Richmond 3 7.47x
Sheriff Hales 3 147.78x
Shrewsbury St Julian 3 23.87x
Stapenhill 3 21.88x
Ashby De La Zouch 2 13.23x
Attercliffe Cum Darnall 2 3.68x
Barnsley 2 3.33x
Drayton In Hales 2 19.08x
Edensor 2 344.83x
Edgbaston 2 4.35x
Leeds 2 0.61x
Rothley 2 94.34x
Widnes 2 3.97x

Top female names

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

Name Count
Mary 41
Elizabeth 27
Sarah 25
Ann 20
Eliza 14
Fanny 12
Annie 11
Hannah 11
Emma 9
Harriet 8
Ada 7
Alice 6
Ellen 6
Emily 6
Jane 6
Frances 5
Harriett 5
Esther 4
Lucy 4
Martha 4
Selina 4
Sophia 4
Catherine 3
Grace 3
Maria 3
Rose 3
Agnes 2
Betsey 2
Caroline 2
Charlotte 2
Clara 2
Dinah 2
Edith 2
Elizth. 2
Eveline 2
Florence 2
Isabella 2
Jemima 2
Kate 2
Lavina 2
Louisa 2
Rebecca 2
Ruth 2
Susannah 2
Charity 1
Cora 1
Emmline 1
Ethel 1
Julia 1
Unar 1

Top male names

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

Name Count
John 43
William 38
George 25
Thomas 23
James 18
Charles 15
Joseph 12
Henry 9
Alfred 7
Arthur 7
Edward 7
Frederick 7
Walter 6
Edwin 5
Herbert 4
Robert 4
Wm. 4
Albert 3
Ernest 2
Fredrick 2
Harry 2
Peter 2
Theodore 2
Thos. 2
Tom 2
Barker 1
Benjamin 1
Chas. 1
Cornelius 1
Danniel 1
David 1
F. 1
Frank 1
Frederic 1
Geo.T. 1
Harold 1
Hezekiah 1
Hugh 1
Hy. 1
Jacob 1
Jno.R. 1
Job 1
Josiah 1
Matthew 1
Norman 1
Richard 1
Samuel 1
Timothy 1
Wilmot 1
Zinor 1

FAQ

Blockley surname: questions and answers

How common was the Blockley surname in 1881?

In 1881, 606 people were recorded with the Blockley surname. That placed it at #5,789 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Blockley surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 784 in 2016. That gives Blockley a modern rank of #7,037.

What does the Blockley map show?

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