NameCensus.

UK surname

Bolton

An English toponymic surname derived from any of the places named Bolton, meaning "settlement with a bolt-on".

In the 1881 census there were 12,910 people recorded with the Bolton surname, ranking it #318 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 16,059, ranked #392, down from #318 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to London parishes, Preston and Bradford. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Ribble Valley, Chorley and Hyndburn.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Bolton is 16,809 in 1911. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 24.4%.

1881 census count

12,910

Ranked #318

Modern count

16,059

2016, ranked #392

Peak year

1911

16,809 bearers

Map years

9

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Bolton had 12,910 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #318 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 16,059 in 2016, ranked #392.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 16,809 in 1911.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Inner Suburbs and Small Town Living.

Bolton surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Bolton surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Bolton 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 7,480 #376
1861 historical 7,437 #383
1881 historical 12,910 #318
1891 historical 13,598 #317
1901 historical 15,894 #321
1911 historical 16,809 #283
1997 modern 16,125 #375
1998 modern 16,576 #380
1999 modern 16,659 #382
2000 modern 16,467 #384
2001 modern 16,117 #384
2002 modern 16,463 #382
2003 modern 16,043 #382
2004 modern 15,922 #383
2005 modern 15,649 #387
2006 modern 15,651 #386
2007 modern 15,702 #388
2008 modern 15,705 #390
2009 modern 16,129 #391
2010 modern 16,480 #388
2011 modern 16,149 #391
2012 modern 15,776 #392
2013 modern 16,275 #389
2014 modern 16,298 #391
2015 modern 16,163 #391
2016 modern 16,059 #392

Geography

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Where Boltons are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around London parishes, Preston, Bradford and Blackburn. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Ribble Valley, Chorley, Hyndburn, Blackburn with Darwen and Lancaster. 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 London parishes London 1
2 London parishes London 3
3 Preston Lancashire
4 Bradford Yorkshire, West Riding
5 Blackburn Lancashire

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Ribble Valley 001 Ribble Valley
2 Chorley 002 Chorley
3 Hyndburn 004 Hyndburn
4 Blackburn with Darwen 008 Blackburn with Darwen
5 Lancaster 001 Lancaster

Forenames

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First names often paired with Bolton

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

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Bolton

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

Inner Suburbs and Small Town Living

Nationally, the Bolton surname is most associated with neighbourhoods classed as Inner Suburbs and Small Town Living, within Suburbanites and Peri-Urbanities. This does not mean every Bolton household fits that profile, but it gives a useful signal about where the modern surname distribution is strongest.

Read profile summary

Group profile

Families with resident dependent children (but not students) are common. Established family groups and White ethnicity predominate, as do individuals born in the UK. They are more likely than the Supergroup average to have been resident in their terraced, semi-detached, or detached houses for more than one year. Levels of multiple car ownership are high. Properties are owned and typically have surplus living space. Associate professionals and administrative occupations are prevalent, and parents are likely to be in middle age or approaching retirement. Educational attainment is above the Supergroup average. Scattered developments and concentrations are found in many small towns.

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, Bolton 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

Bolton is most concentrated in decile 4 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.

4
Lower access Higher access

Neighbourhood deprivation

Index of Multiple Deprivation

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

Meaning and origin of Bolton

The surname Bolton is of Anglo-Saxon origin and can be traced back to the early medieval period in England. The name derives from the Old English words "bold" meaning "dwelling" and "tun" meaning "town" or "enclosure". It is believed to have originated as a place name referring to a settlement or fortified town.

Bolton is a common place name in England, with towns and villages bearing this name found across various counties, including Greater Manchester, Lancashire, Northumberland, and Yorkshire. The earliest recorded reference to the name Bolton appears in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it is listed as "Boulton" and "Bodelton".

One of the earliest recorded individuals with the surname Bolton was Robert de Bolton, who was mentioned in the Pipe Rolls of Nottinghamshire in 1194. Another notable figure was William Bolton, a 14th-century English prelate who served as Bishop of Bath and Wells from 1333 to 1363.

During the Tudor period, Sir Richard Bolton (c. 1570-1648) was a prominent English lawyer and politician who served as Lord Chancellor of Ireland from 1639 to 1648. In the realm of literature, Edmund Bolton (1575-1634) was an English historian, philosopher, and scholar known for his work "Hypercritica" (1618).

In the 18th century, Robert Bolton (1691-1763) was an English clergyman and author who wrote the influential book "A Treatise on Comforting Afflicted Consciences" (1631). During the same period, Sarah Bolton (1714-1795) was a renowned English actress who performed at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane.

Another notable individual with the surname Bolton was Sarah Knowles Bolton (1841-1916), an American author, and journalist who wrote extensively on women's issues and social reform. She is particularly known for her book "Famous Leaders Among Men" (1889), which celebrated the achievements of notable women throughout history.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

1881 census detail

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Bolton families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Bolton 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. Lancashire leads with 3,931 Boltons recorded in 1881 and an index of 2.63x.

County Total Index
Lancashire 3,931 2.63x
Yorkshire 1,825 1.46x
Middlesex 1,318 1.05x
Surrey 775 1.26x
Kent 566 1.32x
Durham 373 1.00x
Northumberland 371 1.98x
Staffordshire 313 0.74x
Warwickshire 291 0.92x
Berkshire 230 2.44x
Oxfordshire 181 2.33x
Hampshire 170 0.66x
Essex 165 0.66x
Cheshire 162 0.58x
Lanarkshire 160 0.39x
Gloucestershire 151 0.61x
Suffolk 119 0.78x
Leicestershire 117 0.84x
Nottinghamshire 110 0.65x
Norfolk 108 0.56x
Lincolnshire 89 0.44x
Buckinghamshire 86 1.13x
Northamptonshire 86 0.73x
Midlothian 84 0.50x
Worcestershire 84 0.51x
Sussex 83 0.39x
Hertfordshire 81 0.93x
Berwickshire 70 4.60x
Cumberland 55 0.51x
Cambridgeshire 53 0.67x
Renfrewshire 50 0.51x
Westmorland 49 1.77x
Derbyshire 45 0.23x
Somerset 43 0.21x
Huntingdonshire 41 1.64x
Devon 40 0.15x
Wiltshire 38 0.34x
East Lothian 31 1.86x
Shropshire 31 0.29x
Bedfordshire 30 0.46x
Glamorgan 29 0.13x
Dorset 26 0.31x
Monmouthshire 26 0.29x
Stirlingshire 25 0.54x
Denbighshire 19 0.40x
Herefordshire 17 0.33x
Pembrokeshire 13 0.33x
Isle of Man 12 0.51x
Channel Islands 10 0.27x
Dunbartonshire 9 0.27x
Aberdeenshire 8 0.07x
Banffshire 8 0.31x
Roxburghshire 8 0.35x
Royal Navy 8 0.53x
Rutland 7 0.76x
Angus 6 0.05x
Fife 6 0.08x
Argyllshire 5 0.14x
Buteshire 5 0.66x
Cornwall 5 0.04x
Morayshire 5 0.26x
Ayrshire 4 0.04x
Cardiganshire 3 0.10x
Carmarthenshire 3 0.06x
Montgomeryshire 3 0.10x
Selkirkshire 3 0.26x
Brecknockshire 2 0.08x
Flintshire 2 0.06x
Merionethshire 2 0.09x
Perthshire 2 0.04x
Shetland 2 0.16x
Anglesey 1 0.04x
Caernarfonshire 1 0.02x
Clackmannanshire 1 0.10x
Inverness-shire 1 0.03x
Kirkcudbrightshire 1 0.05x
Ross-shire 1 0.03x
Wigtownshire 1 0.06x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Blackburn in Lancashire leads with 531 Boltons recorded in 1881 and an index of 13.37x.

Place Total Index
Blackburn 531 13.37x
Preston 209 5.23x
Wigan 154 7.38x
Lambeth 133 1.21x
Islington London 131 1.07x
Hackney London 130 1.84x
Oldham 116 2.41x
St Pancras London 102 1.01x
Birmingham 101 0.96x
Great Bolton 101 5.11x
Leeds 98 1.39x
Bradford 95 3.15x
Kensington London 92 1.32x
Manchester 87 1.30x
Horton In Bradford 81 4.16x
Battersea 76 1.64x
Bethnal Green London 76 1.39x
Bermondsey 71 1.90x
St Marylebone London 71 1.06x
Camberwell 69 0.86x
Halifax 65 3.55x
Liverpool 64 0.71x
Newington 64 1.38x
Salford 61 1.39x
Shoreditch London 61 1.12x
Spotland 61 3.68x
Toxteth Park 61 1.21x
Aston 59 0.68x
West Derby 58 1.33x
Newchurch 57 4.67x
Paddington London 54 1.17x
Sculcoates 54 2.73x
Trawden 54 57.82x
Ince In Makerfield 53 7.63x
Pendleton In Salford 51 2.87x
Gateshead 50 1.78x
Barrow In Furness 49 2.41x
Everton 49 1.03x
North Meols 49 3.35x
Warrington 48 2.71x
Walton Le Dale 47 11.72x
Bishopwearmouth 46 1.43x
West Ham 46 0.84x
Wolverhampton 46 1.41x
Govan 44 0.44x
Chelsea London 42 1.11x
Hammersmith London 42 1.36x
Nottingham St Mary 42 0.96x
Bowling 41 3.32x
Leicester St Margaret 41 1.21x
Little Bolton 41 2.14x
Barony 40 0.39x
North Bierley 40 5.94x
Mile End Old Town London 39 1.46x
Aighton Bailey 38 52.84x
Manningham 38 2.47x
Holy Trinity 37 1.23x
Chorley 36 4.30x
Edgbaston 36 3.66x
Warton With Lindeth 36 57.50x
Newton 35 3.04x
Glasgow 34 0.47x
Reading St Giles 34 3.67x
Chertsey 33 8.33x
Clayton Le Moors 33 11.39x
Coppull 33 41.49x
Kirkdale 33 1.31x
Livesey 33 12.60x
Bury 31 1.82x
Castleton 31 2.08x
Deptford St Paul 31 0.94x
Farnworth 31 3.47x
Yeadon 31 11.01x
Barrowford Booth 30 18.16x
Hunslet 30 1.54x
Maidstone 30 2.35x
Oswaldtwistle 30 5.69x
Over Darwen 30 2.52x
Wandsworth 30 2.48x
Windle 30 3.57x

Top female names

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

Name Count
Mary 879
Elizabeth 527
Sarah 440
Jane 287
Alice 262
Ann 235
Ellen 227
Margaret 213
Emma 194
Eliza 173
Annie 158
Hannah 148
Emily 131
Martha 110
Harriet 77
Fanny 69
Caroline 61
Catherine 61
Charlotte 61
Louisa 61
Edith 60
Clara 58
Ada 57
Isabella 56
Maria 56
Florence 50
Kate 47
Agnes 45
Esther 44
Lucy 42
Frances 38
Anne 34
Rose 34
Nancy 26
Rebecca 26
Susannah 26
Susan 25
Amelia 24
Elizth. 24
Harriett 24
Matilda 24
Betty 22
Eleanor 22
Sophia 22
Ethel 21
Lydia 21
Rachel 20
Dorothy 18
Grace 18
Henrietta 18

Top male names

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

Name Count
John 820
William 746
Thomas 496
James 488
George 390
Henry 252
Joseph 236
Charles 197
Richard 171
Robert 152
Edward 129
Alfred 121
Arthur 109
Frederick 92
Samuel 81
Albert 77
Walter 76
Harry 74
Herbert 46
Wm. 42
Benjamin 41
Ernest 38
Thos. 38
Edwin 34
Francis 32
David 30
Frank 30
Fred 25
Peter 25
Daniel 24
Ralph 19
Fredrick 18
Isaac 17
Abraham 14
Geo. 14
Stephen 13
Alexander 12
Jno. 11
Philip 11
Tom 11
Michael 10
Reuben 10
Chas. 9
Fredk. 9
Lewis 9
Percy 9
Robt. 9
Sidney 9
Hugh 8
Jesse 8

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 Bolton households.

FAQ

Bolton surname: questions and answers

How common was the Bolton surname in 1881?

In 1881, 12,910 people were recorded with the Bolton surname. That placed it at #318 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Bolton surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 16,059 in 2016. That gives Bolton a modern rank of #392.

What does the Bolton surname mean?

An English toponymic surname derived from any of the places named Bolton, meaning "settlement with a bolt-on".

What does the Bolton map show?

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