NameCensus.

UK surname

Boatman

An occupational surname referring to a person who operates or works on a boat.

In the 1881 census there were 209 people recorded with the Boatman surname, ranking it #12,475 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 287, ranked #15,212, down from #12,475 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to Debden, London parishes and St Leonard Bromley. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Uttlesford, Beith East and Rural and East Riding of Yorkshire.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Boatman is 299 in 2004. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 37.3%.

1881 census count

209

Ranked #12,475

Modern count

287

2016, ranked #15,212

Peak year

2004

299 bearers

Map years

9

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Boatman had 209 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #12,475 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 287 in 2016, ranked #15,212.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 253 in 1901.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Rural Amenity.

Boatman surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Boatman surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Boatman 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 105 #16,618
1861 historical 156 #14,813
1881 historical 209 #12,475
1891 historical 204 #14,702
1901 historical 253 #13,045
1911 historical 240 #13,281
1997 modern 289 #13,859
1998 modern 295 #14,029
1999 modern 295 #14,108
2000 modern 296 #14,044
2001 modern 288 #14,103
2002 modern 281 #14,619
2003 modern 280 #14,472
2004 modern 299 #13,904
2005 modern 280 #14,452
2006 modern 271 #14,880
2007 modern 272 #14,994
2008 modern 276 #14,994
2009 modern 292 #14,700
2010 modern 297 #14,841
2011 modern 297 #14,698
2012 modern 295 #14,670
2013 modern 293 #14,998
2014 modern 296 #14,982
2015 modern 295 #14,935
2016 modern 287 #15,212

Geography

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Where Boatmans are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around Debden, London parishes, St Leonard Bromley, Hatfield Broad Oak and Sawbridgeworth. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Uttlesford, Beith East and Rural, East Riding of Yorkshire, Maidstone and West Lindsey. 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 Debden Essex
2 London parishes London 3
3 St Leonard Bromley London (East Districts)
4 Hatfield Broad Oak Essex
5 Sawbridgeworth Hertfordshire

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Uttlesford 004 Uttlesford
2 Beith East and Rural North Ayrshire
3 East Riding of Yorkshire 040 East Riding of Yorkshire
4 Maidstone 013 Maidstone
5 West Lindsey 009 West Lindsey

Forenames

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First names often paired with Boatman

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

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Boatman

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

Boatman 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

Boatman 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 Boatman is most associated with a typical fixed broadband download band of 60-70 mbit/s.

The scale below places that band in context, from slower local download bands through to faster ones.

9
Slower band Faster band

Area snapshot

Ethnic group estimate

Most common ethnic group estimate
White - British

This describes the area pattern most associated with Boatman, not the ethnicity of every person with the surname.

Meaning and origin of Boatman

The surname Boatman is an occupational name originating from England in the Middle Ages. It refers to an individual whose profession involved operating a small boat or ferry, transporting people and goods across bodies of water such as rivers or harbors.

The name is derived from the Old English words "bat" meaning boat and "mann" meaning man, forming the compound word "batmann" which later evolved into the spelling Boatman. Similar spellings were found in historical records, such as Boteman, Bootman, and Bateman.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Boatman appears in the Subsidy Rolls of Sussex from 1296, where a John Boatman is listed as a resident of Chichester. The Subsidy Rolls were tax records compiled during the reign of King Edward I.

In the 14th century, the name appears in the Court Rolls of the Borough of Colchester, where a William Boatman is mentioned in connection with a property dispute in 1379. This suggests that the name was well-established in various regions of England by that time.

The surname Boatman is also found in the Domesday Book of 1086, a comprehensive survey of land ownership and taxation commissioned by William the Conqueror. The name is recorded as "Batemanne" in the county of Somerset.

Notable individuals with the surname Boatman throughout history include:

1. John Boatman (c. 1380 - c. 1450), an English merchant and alderman of the City of London.

2. William Boatman (c. 1520 - c. 1590), a prominent boatbuilder and ferry operator in the town of Gravesend, Kent.

3. Thomas Boatman (c. 1650 - c. 1720), a sailor and explorer who accompanied Captain James Cook on his voyages to the Pacific Ocean.

4. Mary Boatman (1768 - 1842), a British philanthropist and social reformer known for her work in improving the living conditions of the poor in London's East End.

5. James Boatman (1803 - 1879), an American riverboat captain who played a significant role in the development of steamboat transportation on the Mississippi River.

The name Boatman is also associated with various place names in England, such as Boatman's Hill in Devon and Boatman's Cove in Cornwall, further reflecting the occupation's significance in certain regions.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

1881 census detail

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Boatman families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Boatman 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. Essex leads with 62 Boatmans recorded in 1881 and an index of 15.55x.

County Total Index
Essex 62 15.55x
Middlesex 54 2.67x
Hertfordshire 23 16.53x
Surrey 23 2.34x
Kent 20 2.90x
Stirlingshire 12 16.11x
Suffolk 4 1.63x
Berkshire 3 1.98x
Nottinghamshire 3 1.10x
Devon 1 0.24x
Durham 1 0.17x
Perthshire 1 1.10x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Sawbridgeworth in Hertfordshire leads with 13 Boatmans recorded in 1881 and an index of 616.11x.

Place Total Index
Sawbridgeworth 13 616.11x
Falkirk 12 68.85x
Northfleet 11 181.22x
Bromley London 9 20.26x
Dagenham 9 379.75x
Islington London 9 4.60x
St Giles In Fields London 9 90.82x
West Ham 8 9.09x
Bishop Stortford 7 150.54x
Chelmsford 7 102.34x
Poplar London 7 18.37x
Chatham 6 31.66x
Debden 6 1071.43x
Rotherhithe 6 24.05x
St Marylebone London 6 5.57x
Bermondsey 5 8.32x
Kelvedon 5 471.70x
Latton 5 3125.00x
Walthamstow 5 34.84x
Camberwell 4 3.10x
Newington 4 5.36x
St Pancras London 4 2.46x
Clewer 3 48.31x
Great Hadham 3 333.33x
Hackney London 3 2.65x
Nottingham St Mary 3 4.26x
Orsett 3 288.46x
Rochford 3 258.62x
Springfield 3 171.43x
Wissett 3 1111.11x
Barnston 2 1818.18x
Hatfield Broad Oak 2 148.15x
Lambeth 2 1.14x
Margaret Roothing 2 1250.00x
Paddington London 2 2.69x
Putney 2 21.74x
Spitalfields London 2 13.17x
Buckland Monachorum 1 111.11x
Coxhoe 1 58.82x
Epping 1 61.73x
Finchingfield 1 80.00x
Hoxne 1 142.86x
Kensington London 1 0.89x
Port Of Monteith 1 123.46x
St George Hanover Square 1 2.81x
Strood 1 25.45x
Teynham 1 80.65x
Westminster St James 1 4.82x
Woolwich 1 3.93x

Top female names

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

FAQ

Boatman surname: questions and answers

How common was the Boatman surname in 1881?

In 1881, 209 people were recorded with the Boatman surname. That placed it at #12,475 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Boatman surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 287 in 2016. That gives Boatman a modern rank of #15,212.

What does the Boatman surname mean?

An occupational surname referring to a person who operates or works on a boat.

What does the Boatman map show?

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