NameCensus.

UK surname

Bond

An English occupational surname referring to a peasant farmer or husbandman in the feudal system.

In the 1881 census there were 15,814 people recorded with the Bond surname, ranking it #251 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 21,216, ranked #280, down from #251 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to Bristol City: St Mary Redcliff, London parishes and St Pancras. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Stafford, West Lancashire and Torridge.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Bond is 21,856 in 1999. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 34.2%.

1881 census count

15,814

Ranked #251

Modern count

21,216

2016, ranked #280

Peak year

1999

21,856 bearers

Map years

9

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Bond had 15,814 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #251 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 21,216 in 2016, ranked #280.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 20,954 in 1911.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Rural Amenity.

Bond surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Bond surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Bond 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 10,414 #242
1861 historical 9,970 #260
1881 historical 15,814 #251
1891 historical 16,110 #259
1901 historical 19,686 #248
1911 historical 20,954 #210
1997 modern 21,080 #275
1998 modern 21,687 #281
1999 modern 21,856 #281
2000 modern 21,835 #280
2001 modern 21,312 #279
2002 modern 21,634 #279
2003 modern 21,029 #281
2004 modern 20,922 #282
2005 modern 20,556 #283
2006 modern 20,476 #283
2007 modern 20,628 #284
2008 modern 20,696 #283
2009 modern 21,224 #282
2010 modern 21,651 #283
2011 modern 21,258 #282
2012 modern 20,927 #281
2013 modern 21,555 #279
2014 modern 21,653 #279
2015 modern 21,346 #280
2016 modern 21,216 #280

Geography

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Where Bonds are most common

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

The modern local-area list points to Stafford, West Lancashire, Torridge and Sefton. 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 London parishes London 1
3 London parishes London 3
4 St Pancras London (North Districts)
5 North Meols Lancashire

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Stafford 003 Stafford
2 West Lancashire 001 West Lancashire
3 West Lancashire 002 West Lancashire
4 Torridge 008 Torridge
5 Sefton 003 Sefton

Forenames

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First names often paired with Bond

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

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Bond

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

Bond is most concentrated in decile 5 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.

5
Lower access Higher access

Neighbourhood deprivation

Index of Multiple Deprivation

Bond falls in decile 6 for neighbourhood deprivation. This puts the surname near the middle of the scale.

Decile 1 represents the more deprived end of the scale. Decile 10 represents the less deprived end.

6
More deprived Less deprived

Broadband speed

Fixed broadband download speed

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

Meaning and origin of Bond

The surname BOND is of English origin, derived from the Old English word "bonda," meaning a householder or a peasant farmer. It first appeared in the Domesday Book of 1086, a survey of land ownership in England commissioned by William the Conqueror. The name was initially used as a descriptive term for someone who was a bondsman or a tenant farmer.

The earliest recorded instances of the surname can be traced back to the 12th century. One of the earliest recorded bearers of the name was William Bond, who was mentioned in the Pipe Rolls of Lincolnshire in 1176. Another early record is that of Roger Bond, who was recorded in the Curia Regis Rolls of Buckinghamshire in 1203.

The surname BOND also has connections to various place names in England, such as Bond End in Bedfordshire, Bond Gate in West Yorkshire, and Bond Street in London. These place names likely derived from the occupational meaning of the surname, referring to areas where bondsmen or tenant farmers lived.

Notable historical figures with the surname BOND include Sir Thomas Bond (c. 1565-1639), a prominent English judge and politician who served as Lord Chief Justice of the Common Pleas. Another notable bearer of the name was John Bond (1550-1612), an English composer and member of the Chapel Royal during the reigns of Queen Elizabeth I and King James I.

In the 18th century, Sir Robert Bond (1758-1839) was a British naval officer who served during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. He was knighted for his distinguished service and became a baronet in 1810. Another prominent figure was William Cranch Bond (1789-1859), an American astronomer and clockmaker who co-discovered the Messier 8 nebula and made significant contributions to the field of astronomy.

During the 19th century, Hugh Lennox Bond (1828-1893) was an English amateur astronomer and mathematician who made significant discoveries in the field of spectroscopy. He was also a pioneer in the use of photography in astronomy.

These are just a few examples of notable individuals throughout history who bore the surname BOND, highlighting its long-standing presence in various fields and regions.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

1881 census detail

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Bond families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Bond 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 2,339 Bonds recorded in 1881 and an index of 1.27x.

County Total Index
Lancashire 2,339 1.27x
Middlesex 1,805 1.17x
Devon 1,024 3.18x
Surrey 959 1.27x
Somerset 928 3.73x
Yorkshire 709 0.46x
Gloucestershire 661 2.18x
Kent 528 1.00x
Norfolk 525 2.21x
Staffordshire 475 0.91x
Essex 421 1.38x
Warwickshire 394 1.01x
Hampshire 390 1.23x
Suffolk 366 1.94x
Cornwall 323 1.85x
Derbyshire 295 1.22x
Wiltshire 293 2.14x
Lincolnshire 280 1.13x
Cheshire 256 0.75x
Durham 248 0.54x
Oxfordshire 248 2.60x
Worcestershire 212 1.05x
Glamorgan 210 0.78x
Berkshire 179 1.54x
Sussex 176 0.68x
Cambridgeshire 172 1.76x
Leicestershire 149 0.87x
Northamptonshire 145 1.00x
Nottinghamshire 131 0.63x
Monmouthshire 124 1.11x
Lanarkshire 89 0.18x
Bedfordshire 88 1.10x
Buckinghamshire 86 0.92x
Cumberland 76 0.57x
Dorset 64 0.63x
Herefordshire 53 0.84x
Hertfordshire 52 0.49x
Northumberland 48 0.21x
Shropshire 38 0.28x
Channel Islands 30 0.65x
Ayrshire 26 0.22x
Huntingdonshire 25 0.81x
Angus 20 0.14x
Flintshire 20 0.48x
Dunbartonshire 16 0.39x
Fife 15 0.16x
Midlothian 15 0.07x
Royal Navy 15 0.81x
Pembrokeshire 13 0.26x
Caernarfonshire 12 0.19x
Westmorland 11 0.32x
Anglesey 9 0.33x
Brecknockshire 8 0.26x
Denbighshire 8 0.14x
Roxburghshire 6 0.21x
Rutland 6 0.53x
Clackmannanshire 5 0.39x
Selkirkshire 5 0.36x
Dumfriesshire 4 0.12x
Perthshire 4 0.06x
Isle of Man 3 0.10x
Berwickshire 2 0.11x
Kirkcudbrightshire 2 0.09x
Montgomeryshire 2 0.06x
Renfrewshire 2 0.02x
Stirlingshire 2 0.04x
Wigtownshire 2 0.10x
Carmarthenshire 1 0.02x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Islington London in Middlesex leads with 164 Bonds recorded in 1881 and an index of 1.09x.

Place Total Index
Islington London 164 1.09x
Lambeth 157 1.16x
St Pancras London 147 1.18x
Birmingham 136 1.05x
Camberwell 134 1.36x
Aston 129 1.20x
Preston 119 2.42x
Shoreditch London 108 1.61x
West Ham 105 1.56x
St Marylebone London 103 1.25x
North Meols 97 5.40x
Bethnal Green London 96 1.43x
Newington 96 1.68x
Liverpool 89 0.80x
Hackney London 88 1.02x
Tormoham 84 6.17x
Kensington London 83 0.97x
Portsea 82 1.32x
Lancaster 78 7.14x
Aspull 77 17.84x
Everton 77 1.32x
Leicester St Margaret 74 1.77x
St George Hanover Square 73 2.68x
Bristol St Philip Jacob 72 2.52x
Thornton In Fylde 72 17.94x
Bridgewater 70 10.36x
Accrington 68 4.08x
Manchester 67 0.81x
Mile End Old Town London 66 2.01x
Battersea 62 1.09x
Brighton 62 1.18x
Bermondsey 61 1.33x
Cheltenham 60 2.56x
Barrow In Furness 59 2.36x
Blackburn 59 1.21x
Hammersmith London 55 1.44x
Croydon 53 1.27x
Macclesfield 53 3.49x
Nottingham St Mary 50 0.93x
Plymouth St Andrew 50 2.02x
Bromley London 49 1.44x
West Derby 49 0.91x
Deptford St Paul 48 1.18x
Paddington London 48 0.84x
Walsall Foreign 48 1.78x
Lewisham 47 1.67x
Greenwich 46 1.87x
Glastonbury 45 22.15x
Stoke Damerel 45 2.00x
Westport St Mary 45 45.41x
Poulton Barre 44 21.08x
Devizes St Mary 43 31.11x
Chelsea London 41 0.88x
Bristol St George 40 2.85x
Fulham London 40 1.78x
Great Yarmouth 40 2.03x
Hampstead London 40 1.66x
Hetton Le Hole 39 6.69x
Kingston On Thames 38 2.10x
Salford 38 0.70x
Toxteth Park 37 0.60x
Chelmsford 36 6.87x
Wolverhampton 36 0.90x
Leeds 35 0.40x
Uttoxeter 35 13.10x
Wigan 35 1.36x
Bishopwearmouth 34 0.86x
Chorlton On Medlock 34 1.17x
Llandaff 34 3.80x
Stoke Newington London 34 2.82x
Trevethin 34 3.22x
Willesden 34 2.33x
Barking 33 3.69x
Bootle Cum Linacre 33 2.26x
Richmond 33 3.13x
Bristol St James St Paul 32 3.16x
Chorley 32 3.11x
Limehouse London 32 1.89x
Southwark St George Martyr 31 1.00x
Wandsworth 31 2.08x

Top female names

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

Name Count
Mary 1,037
Elizabeth 648
Sarah 526
Jane 308
Alice 284
Ann 280
Ellen 266
Eliza 240
Emily 233
Annie 226
Emma 223
Margaret 140
Martha 132
Hannah 126
Harriet 115
Louisa 115
Charlotte 101
Maria 99
Florence 94
Caroline 93
Edith 93
Fanny 89
Ada 82
Kate 77
Frances 68
Catherine 66
Anne 60
Lucy 59
Agnes 55
Amelia 53
Harriett 50
Clara 48
Susan 47
Isabella 45
Rose 44
Esther 42
Grace 42
Laura 36
Matilda 36
Sophia 35
Anna 33
Bessie 32
Julia 32
Jessie 30
Minnie 29
Beatrice 27
Elizth. 27
Eleanor 26
Rebecca 26
Rosa 26

Top male names

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

Name Count
William 979
John 881
George 559
James 519
Thomas 500
Charles 367
Henry 342
Joseph 217
Richard 185
Robert 183
Alfred 179
Edward 175
Arthur 165
Frederick 148
Samuel 136
Albert 111
Walter 106
Harry 99
Edwin 67
Frank 66
Herbert 63
Ernest 58
Francis 54
Wm. 50
Benjamin 44
David 43
Isaac 38
Fred 32
Peter 31
Stephen 31
Fredrick 26
Thos. 26
Tom 25
Fredk. 22
Daniel 20
Abraham 19
Sidney 19
Alexander 17
Chas. 17
Edgar 16
Percy 16
Edmund 15
Lewis 14
Reginald 14
Joshua 13
Philip 13
Sydney 13
Geo. 12
Jonathan 12
Matthew 12

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 Bond households.

FAQ

Bond surname: questions and answers

How common was the Bond surname in 1881?

In 1881, 15,814 people were recorded with the Bond surname. That placed it at #251 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Bond surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 21,216 in 2016. That gives Bond a modern rank of #280.

What does the Bond surname mean?

An English occupational surname referring to a peasant farmer or husbandman in the feudal system.

What does the Bond map show?

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