NameCensus.

UK surname

Boddie

Derived from a place name meaning "one who lived by a body of water" in Middle English.

In the 1881 census there were 82 people recorded with the Boddie surname, ranking it #21,957 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 129, ranked #26,270, down from #21,957 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to Bristol City: St Mary Redcliff, Bristol City: Temple and Nigg. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Macduff, Auchnagatt and North Somerset.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Boddie is 141 in 2010. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 57.3%.

1881 census count

82

Ranked #21,957

Modern count

129

2016, ranked #26,270

Peak year

2010

141 bearers

Map years

5

1891 to 2016

Key insights

  • Boddie had 82 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #21,957 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 129 in 2016, ranked #26,270.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 130 in 1901.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Spacious Rural Living.

Boddie surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Boddie surname density by area, 2016 modern.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Boddie 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 32 #27,570
1861 historical 59 #26,466
1881 historical 82 #21,957
1891 historical 108 #22,828
1901 historical 130 #19,649
1911 historical 60 #26,808
1997 modern 123 #23,792
1998 modern 132 #23,394
1999 modern 134 #23,378
2000 modern 134 #23,358
2001 modern 130 #23,457
2002 modern 132 #23,680
2003 modern 134 #23,260
2004 modern 131 #23,756
2005 modern 128 #24,076
2006 modern 126 #24,493
2007 modern 131 #24,282
2008 modern 136 #24,004
2009 modern 136 #24,485
2010 modern 141 #24,460
2011 modern 140 #24,395
2012 modern 131 #25,439
2013 modern 131 #25,932
2014 modern 134 #25,711
2015 modern 131 #25,979
2016 modern 129 #26,270

Geography

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Where Boddies are most common

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

The modern local-area list points to Macduff, Auchnagatt, North Somerset, Sheffield and South Oxfordshire. 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 Bristol City: Temple Gloucestershire
3 Nigg Kincardine
4 Peterculter Aberdeen
5 London parishes London 2

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Macduff Aberdeenshire
2 Auchnagatt Aberdeenshire
3 North Somerset 026 North Somerset
4 Sheffield 055 Sheffield
5 South Oxfordshire 008 South Oxfordshire

Forenames

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First names often paired with Boddie

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

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Boddie

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

The Greater London Mix

Group

Social Rented Sector Professional Support Workers

Within London, Boddie 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

Boddie is most concentrated in decile 1 for access to healthy assets and hazards. This places the surname towards the less healthy 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.

1
Lower access Higher access

Neighbourhood deprivation

Index of Multiple Deprivation

Boddie 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 Boddie is most associated with a typical fixed broadband download band of 25-30 mbit/s.

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

5
Slower band Faster band

Area snapshot

Ethnic group estimate

Most common ethnic group estimate
White - British

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

Meaning and origin of Boddie

The surname Boddie is of English origin, derived from the Old English word "boddi," which means a small body or stump. The name is believed to have originated in the counties of Sussex and Hampshire in southern England during the early medieval period, around the 11th or 12th century.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Pipe Rolls of Sussex, dating back to 1195, which mentions a William Boddie as a landowner. The surname also appears in the Hundred Rolls of Sussex from 1273, referring to a John Boddie.

The name Boddie is thought to be a topographic surname, derived from a physical feature or location associated with a small body or stump, such as a dwelling near a certain tree stump or a small hill. It is possible that the name's origins are related to a place name that has since been lost or altered over time.

In the 14th century, the surname Boddie appeared in various spellings, including Bodie, Boddy, and Bodyee, reflecting the regional variations and phonetic interpretations of the name. One notable individual from this period was John Bodie, a merchant from Bristol, who lived in the late 1300s.

During the 16th century, the Boddie surname gained prominence in the county of Sussex, with records indicating several families bearing this name in the area. One notable figure was William Boddie, a landowner and magistrate who lived in the village of Bodiam, Sussex, in the late 1500s.

Another notable individual with the surname Boddie was Sir Thomas Boddie, a prominent English naval commander who served during the reign of King Charles I in the 17th century. He was born in 1610 and played a significant role in the English Civil War, commanding a fleet of ships for the Royalist cause.

In the 18th century, the Boddie surname spread to other parts of England, with records showing families bearing this name in counties such as Gloucestershire, Wiltshire, and Devon. One noteworthy figure from this period was John Boddie, a successful merchant and landowner from Bristol, who lived from 1720 to 1792.

As the name Boddie continued to evolve, it also found its way to other parts of the world, particularly through British colonization and migration. In the 19th century, there were notable individuals with the surname Boddie in countries like the United States and Canada, reflecting the spread of the name beyond its English roots.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

1881 census detail

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Boddie families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Boddie 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. Aberdeenshire leads with 38 Boddies recorded in 1881 and an index of 46.23x.

County Total Index
Aberdeenshire 38 46.23x
Kincardineshire 9 83.26x
Channel Islands 8 30.42x
Gloucestershire 8 4.60x
Angus 6 7.30x
Banffshire 5 27.16x
Dumfriesshire 5 25.50x
Hampshire 5 2.75x
Somerset 3 2.10x
Lancashire 1 0.10x
Midlothian 1 0.84x
Royal Navy 1 9.45x
Sussex 1 0.67x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Banchory Devenick in Kincardineshire leads with 9 Boddies recorded in 1881 and an index of 891.09x.

Place Total Index
Banchory Devenick 9 891.09x
St Helier 8 93.46x
Aberdeen St Nicholas 6 39.01x
Kirriemuir 6 295.57x
Pitsligo 6 759.49x
Keithhall 5 1851.85x
Langholm 5 354.61x
Aberdeen Old Machar 4 23.31x
Bristol St Paul In 4 86.21x
Bristol Temple 4 347.83x
Cruden 4 377.36x
Ellon 4 353.98x
Portsea 4 11.22x
Bedminster 3 22.35x
Fyvie 3 223.88x
Marnoch 3 303.03x
Rayne 3 769.23x
Alvah 2 487.80x
Longside 2 204.08x
Brighton 1 3.31x
Edinburgh St Cuthberts 1 2.09x
Farnworth 1 15.85x
Gartly 1 370.37x
Portsmouth 1 23.87x
Royal Navy 1 11.06x

Top female names

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

Name Count
Matilda 2
Sarah 2
Alice 1
Annie 1
Jane 1
Margaret 1
Maria 1
Mary 1
Susan 1

Top male names

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

Name Count
George 5
Thomas 3
James 2
Walter 2
William 2
Charles 1
Hugh 1

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 Boddie households.

FAQ

Boddie surname: questions and answers

How common was the Boddie surname in 1881?

In 1881, 82 people were recorded with the Boddie surname. That placed it at #21,957 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Boddie surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 129 in 2016. That gives Boddie a modern rank of #26,270.

What does the Boddie surname mean?

Derived from a place name meaning "one who lived by a body of water" in Middle English.

What does the Boddie map show?

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