NameCensus.

UK surname

Borthwick

A locational surname derived from a place in Scotland.

In the 1881 census there were 1,713 people recorded with the Borthwick surname, ranking it #2,517 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 2,830, ranked #2,383, up from #2,517 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to Kirkliston, Langholm and Hawick and Wilton. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Moffat, Langholm and Eskdale and Hawick Central.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Borthwick is 2,916 in 2010. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 65.2%.

1881 census count

1,713

Ranked #2,517

Modern count

2,830

2016, ranked #2,383

Peak year

2010

2,916 bearers

Map years

9

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Borthwick had 1,713 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #2,517 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 2,830 in 2016, ranked #2,383.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 2,224 in 1901.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Established but Challenged.

Borthwick surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Borthwick surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Borthwick 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 1,164 #2,424
1861 historical 1,265 #2,254
1881 historical 1,713 #2,517
1891 historical 1,888 #2,434
1901 historical 2,224 #2,430
1911 historical 785 #5,548
1997 modern 2,713 #2,357
1998 modern 2,807 #2,371
1999 modern 2,848 #2,364
2000 modern 2,890 #2,329
2001 modern 2,799 #2,349
2002 modern 2,877 #2,337
2003 modern 2,824 #2,328
2004 modern 2,799 #2,349
2005 modern 2,763 #2,353
2006 modern 2,741 #2,363
2007 modern 2,787 #2,352
2008 modern 2,827 #2,329
2009 modern 2,874 #2,344
2010 modern 2,916 #2,369
2011 modern 2,882 #2,358
2012 modern 2,808 #2,379
2013 modern 2,828 #2,401
2014 modern 2,866 #2,382
2015 modern 2,834 #2,392
2016 modern 2,830 #2,383

Geography

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Where Borthwicks are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around Kirkliston, Langholm, Hawick and Wilton, Gateshead and Edinburgh. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Moffat, Langholm and Eskdale, Hawick Central, Kelso North and King's Lynn and West Norfolk. 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 Kirkliston Linlithgow
2 Langholm Dumfries
3 Hawick and Wilton Roxburgh
4 Gateshead Durham
5 Edinburgh Edinburgh

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Moffat Dumfries and Galloway
2 Langholm and Eskdale Dumfries and Galloway
3 Hawick Central Scottish Borders
4 Kelso North Scottish Borders
5 King's Lynn and West Norfolk 002 King's Lynn and West Norfolk

Forenames

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First names often paired with Borthwick

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

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Borthwick

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

Semi- and Un-Skilled Workforce

Group

Established but Challenged

Nationally, the Borthwick surname is most associated with neighbourhoods classed as Established but Challenged, within Semi- and Un-Skilled Workforce. This does not mean every Borthwick household fits that profile, but it gives a useful signal about where the modern surname distribution is strongest.

Read profile summary

Group profile

Many households in these neighbourhoods comprise separated or divorced single parents with dependent children. Residents are typically born in the UK, and these neighbourhoods have relatively few members of ethnic minorities. The prevalence of children, their parents and those at or above normal retirement age, suggests neighbourhood structures may be long-established. Levels of unpaid care are high, and long-term disability is more common than in the Supergroup as a whole. Use of the social rented sector is common, often in terraced houses. Levels of overcrowding are above the Supergroup average. Unemployment is high, while those in work are employed in elementary occupations such as caring, leisure and customer services. Many residents have low level qualifications. Neighbourhood concentrations of this Group are found in the South Wales Valleys, Belfast, Londonderry and the Central Lowlands of Scotland.

Wider pattern

Living in terraced or semi-detached houses, residents of these neighbourhoods typically lack high levels of education and work in elementary or routine service occupations. Unemployment is above average. Residents are predominantly born in the UK, and residents are also predominantly from ethnic minorities. Social (but not private sector) rented sector housing is common. This Supergroup is found throughout the UK’s conurbations and industrial regions but is also an integral part of smaller towns.

London neighbourhood type

London Output Area Classification

Supergroup

Professional Employment and Family Lifecycles

Group

Inner London Working Professionals

Within London, Borthwick is most associated with areas classed as Inner London Working Professionals, part of Professional Employment and Family Lifecycles. 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

These primarily Inner London neighbourhoods are more densely populated than the Supergroup average. Residents have a younger over-all age profile than the Supergroup as a whole, and are less likely to be owner occupiers. Full time employment is more common than elsewhere in the Supergroup and multiple car ownership is uncommon. Chinese and non-EU-born European migrants are less in evidence than elsewhere in the Supergroup.

Wider London pattern

These neighbourhoods house people of all ages, predominantly of White British or European extraction. Resident turnover is low. Religious affiliation is less common than average and tends to be Christian if expressed. Homeownership, typically of terraced houses, is common but use of the social rented sector is not. Employment is typically in professional, managerial and associate professional or technical occupations. There are few full-time students. Level 4 qualifications are common. More households lack dependent children than have them which, considered alongside low levels of crowding and over-all age structure, indicates that many households may be post child-rearing and in late middle age. Incidence of disability is low, as is residence in communal establishments.

Healthy neighbourhoods

Access to healthy assets and hazards

Borthwick 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

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

Meaning and origin of Borthwick

The surname Borthwick originated in the Scottish Borders region of Scotland. It is derived from a place name, referring to a village called Borthwick near Gorebridge, Midlothian. The earliest recorded spelling of the place name was Locherwort in the 12th century, from the Gaelic loch meaning "inlet" and the Old English word worth meaning "enclosed homestead or settlement".

The Borthwick family held lands in Midlothian from the 12th century onwards. One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname dates back to around 1159, when Richard de Borthwick witnessed a charter by King William the Lion. In the 13th century, Sir William de Borthwick was a prominent figure and held the lands of Borthwick.

The surname Borthwick appears in several historical records, including the Ragman Rolls of 1296, which lists individuals who swore fealty to King Edward I of England. The Domesday Book, a great survey of England commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086, does not contain the name Borthwick, as the surname originated in Scotland.

One of the most notable individuals with the surname Borthwick was Sir William Borthwick, Lord of Borthwick (c.1450-1516), who fought alongside King James IV of Scotland at the Battle of Flodden in 1513. Another prominent figure was John Borthwick (c.1480-1570), a Scottish Protestant reformer and writer who was accused of heresy and fled to England.

Other historical figures include William Borthwick (1605-1668), a Scottish clergyman and writer, and John Borthwick (1784-1840), a Scottish poet and writer. In the 19th century, William Borthwick (1805-1892) was a Scottish-born Australian politician and landowner.

During the medieval and early modern periods, various spellings of the surname were used, including Borthwic, Borthwyk, Borthwic, and Borthwick. The name was also associated with several place names in Scotland, such as Borthwick Castle and the village of Borthwick, reflecting the family's landholdings and influence in the region.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

1881 census detail

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Borthwick families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Borthwick 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. Midlothian leads with 337 Borthwicks recorded in 1881 and an index of 15.34x.

County Total Index
Midlothian 337 15.34x
Dumfriesshire 123 33.96x
Northumberland 103 4.22x
Lanarkshire 101 1.90x
East Lothian 92 42.36x
West Lothian 88 35.64x
Roxburghshire 86 28.95x
Durham 80 1.64x
Renfrewshire 80 6.30x
Lancashire 57 0.29x
Stirlingshire 52 8.60x
Middlesex 45 0.27x
Selkirkshire 41 27.64x
Fife 38 3.91x
Cumberland 34 2.41x
Berwickshire 31 15.61x
Yorkshire 29 0.18x
Peeblesshire 25 32.41x
Angus 20 1.32x
Perthshire 20 2.72x
Kirkcudbrightshire 17 7.16x
Sutherland 17 13.48x
Inverness-shire 16 3.27x
Ayrshire 14 1.14x
Glamorgan 13 0.46x
Kent 11 0.20x
Aberdeenshire 10 0.66x
Staffordshire 10 0.18x
Hampshire 9 0.27x
Morayshire 9 3.53x
Somerset 9 0.34x
Surrey 7 0.09x
Denbighshire 6 0.97x
Kincardineshire 6 3.00x
Buckinghamshire 5 0.50x
Hertfordshire 5 0.44x
Monmouthshire 5 0.42x
Oxfordshire 5 0.49x
Argyllshire 4 0.88x
Leicestershire 4 0.22x
Buteshire 2 2.01x
Clackmannanshire 2 1.48x
Essex 2 0.06x
Warwickshire 2 0.05x
Anglesey 1 0.34x
Berkshire 1 0.08x
Caithness 1 0.45x
Devon 1 0.03x
Dorset 1 0.09x
Dunbartonshire 1 0.23x
Huntingdonshire 1 0.31x
Pembrokeshire 1 0.19x
Sussex 1 0.04x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Edinburgh St Cuthberts in Midlothian leads with 101 Borthwicks recorded in 1881 and an index of 11.43x.

Place Total Index
Edinburgh St Cuthberts 101 11.43x
Kirkliston 64 444.44x
Langholm 63 242.03x
West Greenock 51 22.36x
Berwick Upon Tweed 43 83.17x
Barony 33 2.46x
Duddingston 31 70.29x
Govan 31 2.36x
Falkirk 29 20.48x
Stranton 29 17.66x
Cockpen 26 101.29x
South Leith 24 9.71x
Liberton 23 67.83x
Berwick North 21 138.07x
Melrose 21 56.24x
Hawick 20 30.08x
North Leith 20 19.67x
Hulme 18 4.43x
Eyemouth 16 96.56x
Dalkeith 15 34.61x
Eastwood 15 19.17x
Gateshead 15 4.11x
Inverness 14 11.37x
Minto 14 576.13x
Newburgh 14 113.54x
Dunbar 13 42.69x
Alnwick 12 28.61x
Cathcart 12 17.45x
Currie 12 89.22x
Linlithgow 12 37.89x
Whitekirk Tynninghame 12 202.02x
Haddington 11 34.31x
Muiravonside 11 71.61x
Westerkirk 11 405.90x
Dundee 10 1.76x
Edinburgh St Andrews 10 55.13x
Galashiels 10 18.23x
Hunslet 10 3.95x
Innerleithen 10 48.85x
St Pancras London 10 0.76x
Stoke Upon Trent 10 1.70x
Teviothead 10 364.96x
Bathgate 9 16.79x
Cambusnethan 9 7.64x
Creich 9 71.66x
Oldham 9 1.43x
St George Hanover Square 9 3.12x
Wallsend 9 11.63x
Balmaclellan 8 151.23x
Bishopwearmouth 8 1.91x
Lesmahagow 8 14.26x
Lilliesleaf 8 198.51x
Muirkirk 8 27.76x
Spott 8 246.15x
Wilton 8 24.55x
Bassenthwaite 7 244.76x
Caldewgate 7 9.05x
Canonbie 7 45.48x
Carham 7 110.94x
Dunse 7 37.17x
Edinburgh Canongate 7 12.52x
Gladsmuir 7 72.31x
Greenlaw 7 99.57x
Greenwich 7 2.68x
Hetton Le Hole 7 11.32x
Kirkmahoe 7 99.57x
Melrose 7 27.26x
Monquhitter 7 44.53x
Newcastle On Tyne St 7 5.53x
Newton 7 94.72x
Pendleton In Salford 7 3.02x
Prestonkirk 7 64.46x
Tinwald 7 144.93x
Traquair 7 163.55x
Ayr 6 10.36x
Cramond 6 36.04x
Golspie 6 68.65x
St Faith Winchester 6 38.29x
Tundergarth 6 227.27x
Tynron 6 254.24x

Top female names

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

Name Count
Mary 31
Jane 13
Elizabeth 10
Isabella 10
Agnes 9
Ann 9
Alice 8
Ellen 8
Emily 7
Margaret 6
Sarah 6
Annie 5
Eleanor 5
Hannah 5
Charlotte 4
Florence 3
Frances 3
Martha 3
Anne 2
Christina 2
Eliza 2
Grace 2
Harriet 2
Harriette 2
Janet 2
Jessie 2
Letitia 2
M.A. 2
Margret 2
Nellie 2
Rosanna 2
Sophia 2
Blanche 1
Caroline 1
Catherine 1
Charlot 1
Elizear 1
Ella 1
Ellin 1
Emma 1
Esther 1
Eva 1
Harriett 1
Helen 1
Isabel 1
J.B. 1
J.H. 1
J.Jane 1
J.R. 1
Wihelmina 1

Top male names

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

Name Count
John 32
James 23
William 23
Thomas 18
Alexander 14
David 9
George 8
Robert 7
Walter 6
Charles 5
Joseph 4
Andrew 3
Chas. 3
Henry 3
Johnston 3
Richard 3
Adam 2
Archibald 2
Arthur 2
Edward 2
Frances 2
Francis 2
Hugh 2
J. 2
Peter 2
Wm. 2
Archd. 1
Christopher 1
Cunningham 1
Douglas 1
Ed. 1
Edwin 1
Frank 1
G.J. 1
Geo 1
Geo. 1
Gilbert 1
Hanby 1
Harry 1
Hudson 1
Isaac 1
J.F. 1
Jas. 1
Johnson 1
Leonard 1
Mark 1
Oscar 1
Reginald 1
Robt.B. 1
Samuel 1

FAQ

Borthwick surname: questions and answers

How common was the Borthwick surname in 1881?

In 1881, 1,713 people were recorded with the Borthwick surname. That placed it at #2,517 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Borthwick surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 2,830 in 2016. That gives Borthwick a modern rank of #2,383.

What does the Borthwick surname mean?

A locational surname derived from a place in Scotland.

What does the Borthwick map show?

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