NameCensus.

UK surname

Blows

In the 1881 census there were 325 people recorded with the Blows surname, ranking it #9,194 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 500, ranked #9,983, down from #9,194 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to Coveney, Manea, Mepal, Downham, Witcham, Witchford, Wentworth, London parishes and Melbourn, Meldreth. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include North Hertfordshire, Thurrock and Cambridge.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Blows is 575 in 2000. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 53.8%.

1881 census count

325

Ranked #9,194

Modern count

500

2016, ranked #9,983

Peak year

2000

575 bearers

Map years

9

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Blows had 325 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #9,194 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 500 in 2016, ranked #9,983.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 552 in 1911.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Challenged Communities.

Blows surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Blows surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Blows 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 255 #8,652
1861 historical 229 #10,660
1881 historical 325 #9,194
1891 historical 412 #8,653
1901 historical 532 #7,712
1911 historical 552 #7,264
1997 modern 532 #8,887
1998 modern 562 #8,765
1999 modern 574 #8,692
2000 modern 575 #8,648
2001 modern 556 #8,732
2002 modern 545 #9,038
2003 modern 529 #9,109
2004 modern 507 #9,419
2005 modern 484 #9,659
2006 modern 496 #9,535
2007 modern 505 #9,496
2008 modern 508 #9,521
2009 modern 528 #9,453
2010 modern 536 #9,559
2011 modern 535 #9,480
2012 modern 502 #9,832
2013 modern 513 #9,839
2014 modern 511 #9,927
2015 modern 502 #9,972
2016 modern 500 #9,983

Geography

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Where Blows' are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around Coveney, Manea, Mepal, Downham, Witcham, Witchford, Wentworth, London parishes, Melbourn, Meldreth, Royston and Bassingbourn. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to North Hertfordshire, Thurrock and Cambridge. 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 Coveney, Manea, Mepal, Downham, Witcham, Witchford, Wentworth Cambridgeshire
2 London parishes London 3
3 Melbourn, Meldreth Hertfordshire
4 Royston Hertfordshire
5 Bassingbourn Hertfordshire

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 North Hertfordshire 002 North Hertfordshire
2 Thurrock 006 Thurrock
3 North Hertfordshire 001 North Hertfordshire
4 Cambridge 006 Cambridge
5 North Hertfordshire 003 North Hertfordshire

Forenames

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First names often paired with Blows

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

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Blows

Modern surname records can be compared with neighbourhood classifications. For Blows, 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

Baseline UK

Group

Challenged Communities

Nationally, the Blows surname is most associated with neighbourhoods classed as Challenged Communities, within Baseline UK. This does not mean every Blows household fits that profile, but it gives a useful signal about where the modern surname distribution is strongest.

Read profile summary

Group profile

Residents of these neighbourhoods typically live in households with dependent children, and there are fewer-than-average residents of normal retirement age or over. Identification with ethnic minorities, particularly Black, or Mixed or Multiple ethnicities is common. The rate of Christian religious affiliation is low. Housing predominantly consists of semi-detached houses, along with a significant number of terraced properties and flats. Overcrowded social housing is common, and private renting occurs at average UK levels. Those in employment work mainly in caring leisure and other services; process, plant and machine operation; or elementary occupations. Unemployment is high, and few individuals have degree level qualifications. Many of these neighbourhoods occur in commuter towns or less accessible areas of larger towns and cities.

Wider pattern

This Supergroup exemplifies the broad base to the UK’s social structure, encompassing as it does the average or modal levels of many neighbourhood characteristics, including all housing tenures, a range of levels of educational attainment and religious affiliations, and a variety of pre-retirement age structures. Yet, in combination, these mixes are each distinctive of the parts of the UK. Overall, terraced houses and flats are the most prevalent, as is employment in intermediate or low-skilled occupations. However, this Supergroup is also characterised by above average levels of unemployment and lower levels of use of English as the main language. Many neighbourhoods occur in south London and the UK’s other major urban centres.

London neighbourhood type

London Output Area Classification

Supergroup

The Greater London Mix

Group

Social Rented Sector Professional Support Workers

Within London, Blows 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

Blows is most concentrated in decile 8 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.

8
Lower access Higher access

Neighbourhood deprivation

Index of Multiple Deprivation

Blows falls in decile 10 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.

10
More deprived Less deprived

Broadband speed

Fixed broadband download speed

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

1881 census detail

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Blows families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Blows 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. Cambridgeshire leads with 98 Blows' recorded in 1881 and an index of 48.80x.

County Total Index
Cambridgeshire 98 48.80x
Essex 74 11.82x
Middlesex 42 1.32x
Surrey 32 2.07x
Kent 23 2.13x
Hertfordshire 21 9.61x
Bedfordshire 13 7.92x
Durham 7 0.74x
Yorkshire 6 0.19x
Norfolk 4 0.82x
Berkshire 1 0.42x
Devon 1 0.15x
Hampshire 1 0.15x
Suffolk 1 0.26x
Warwickshire 1 0.13x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Shepreth in Cambridgeshire leads with 26 Blows' recorded in 1881 and an index of 6500.00x.

Place Total Index
Shepreth 26 6500.00x
West Ham 20 14.47x
Meldreth 19 2435.90x
Royston 18 967.74x
Greenwich 14 27.74x
Margate St John Baptist 9 45.43x
Aveley 8 761.90x
Bethnal Green London 8 5.81x
Lambeth 8 2.89x
Barnard Castle 7 150.21x
Bourn 7 795.45x
Kingston 7 2258.06x
Kingston On Thames 7 18.86x
Luton 7 24.63x
Wandsworth 7 22.94x
Barking 6 32.77x
Fulham London 6 13.05x
South Ockendon 6 461.54x
Woodford 6 84.75x
Chignal Smealy 5 2272.73x
Childerditch 5 2083.33x
Loughton 5 161.81x
Melbourn 5 255.10x
Ratcliffe London 5 28.56x
Sutton 5 44.72x
Writtle 5 195.31x
Biggleswade 4 74.35x
Caxton 4 645.16x
Downham 4 187.79x
Grantchester 4 320.00x
Littleport 4 104.17x
Manea 4 314.96x
Marske In Guisbrough 4 71.68x
Mile End Old Town London 4 5.93x
Welney 4 360.36x
Bassingbourn 3 101.69x
Bow London 3 7.43x
Camberwell 3 1.48x
Chesterton 3 48.47x
Clerkenwell London 3 4.01x
Croydon Cum Clapton 3 576.92x
Gamlingay 3 143.54x
Hackney London 3 1.69x
Hornchurch 3 97.72x
Limehouse London 3 8.62x
Shoreditch London 3 2.18x
Coulsdon 2 71.17x
Rainham 2 147.06x
Baldock 1 48.78x
Beverley Parks 1 270.27x
Chelsea London 1 1.05x
Edgbaston 1 4.03x
Ely Holy Trinity St Mary 1 11.42x
Epping 1 39.37x
Exning 1 51.28x
Farnborough 1 14.66x
Frilsham 1 434.78x
Middlesbrough 1 2.44x
Orwell 1 114.94x
Potton 1 45.87x
Shelley 1 454.55x
St George Hanover Square 1 1.79x
St Marylebone London 1 0.59x
Stotfold 1 31.85x
Totnes 1 25.91x
Wallington 1 476.19x
Walthamstow 1 4.44x
Ware 1 15.97x
Westminster St Margaret 1 6.54x

Top female names

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

Name Count
Mary 18
Elizabeth 15
Sarah 12
Eliza 8
Jane 6
Alice 5
Ada 4
Ellen 4
Emily 4
Susan 4
Caroline 3
Charlotte 3
Florence 3
Louisa 3
Louise 3
Lydia 3
Rebecca 3
Amy 2
Ann 2
Anne 2
Annie 2
Clara 2
E. 2
Emma 2
Fanny 2
Hannah 2
Maria 2
Phoebe 2
Clarissa 1
Edith 1
Elenor 1
Emelie 1
Ester 1
Esther 1
Eva 1
Fannie 1
Flora 1
Frances 1
Grace 1
Harriett 1
Josephine 1
Lily 1
Lizzie 1
Lucy 1
Margaret 1
Margret 1
Martha 1
Minnie 1
Prisca 1
Rose 1

Top male names

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

Name Count
John 22
William 20
James 15
George 13
Charles 10
Alfred 9
Henry 8
Thomas 7
Arthur 5
Samuel 5
Frederick 4
Joseph 4
Robert 4
Walter 4
Herbert 3
Albert 2
Benjamin 2
Ernest 2
Isaac 2
Jesse 2
Mark 2
Phillip 2
Alan 1
Amos 1
Archibald 1
David 1
Earnest 1
Edward 1
Frank 1
Fred 1
Fredric 1
H.F. 1
Heron 1
Jno. 1
Josep 1
Martha 1
Moses 1
Philip 1
Ralph 1
Richard 1
Sam 1
Wilfred 1
Winefred 1
Wm. 1

FAQ

Blows surname: questions and answers

How common was the Blows surname in 1881?

In 1881, 325 people were recorded with the Blows surname. That placed it at #9,194 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Blows surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 500 in 2016. That gives Blows a modern rank of #9,983.

What does the Blows map show?

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