NameCensus.

UK surname

Bottrell

An English surname derived from "botterel", the Middle English word for a maker of bottles or casks.

In the 1881 census there were 142 people recorded with the Bottrell surname, ranking it #16,012 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 193, ranked #20,039, down from #16,012 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to Madron, Birmingham Town: Birmingham and St Just. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Cornwall, Tameside and Manchester.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Bottrell is 303 in 1911. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 35.9%.

1881 census count

142

Ranked #16,012

Modern count

193

2016, ranked #20,039

Peak year

1911

303 bearers

Map years

9

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Bottrell had 142 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #16,012 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 193 in 2016, ranked #20,039.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 303 in 1911.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Rural Amenity.

Bottrell surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Bottrell surname density by area, 1881 census.

Loading map
Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

Back to top

Bottrell 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 248 #8,840
1861 historical 157 #14,732
1881 historical 142 #16,012
1891 historical 248 #12,849
1901 historical 279 #12,225
1911 historical 303 #11,372
1997 modern 203 #17,457
1998 modern 209 #17,650
1999 modern 214 #17,494
2000 modern 222 #17,032
2001 modern 208 #17,513
2002 modern 214 #17,545
2003 modern 197 #18,311
2004 modern 203 #18,061
2005 modern 203 #17,961
2006 modern 211 #17,662
2007 modern 210 #17,904
2008 modern 208 #18,171
2009 modern 213 #18,284
2010 modern 210 #18,836
2011 modern 198 #19,410
2012 modern 186 #20,141
2013 modern 193 #19,997
2014 modern 195 #20,036
2015 modern 197 #19,774
2016 modern 193 #20,039

Geography

Back to top

Where Bottrells are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around Madron, Birmingham Town: Birmingham, St Just, West Bromwich and St Ives. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Cornwall, Tameside, Manchester and Plymouth. 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 Madron Cornwall
2 Birmingham Town: Birmingham Warwickshire
3 St Just Cornwall
4 West Bromwich Staffordshire
5 St Ives Cornwall

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Cornwall 065 Cornwall
2 Tameside 029 Tameside
3 Cornwall 017 Cornwall
4 Manchester 052 Manchester
5 Plymouth 023 Plymouth

Forenames

Back to top

First names often paired with Bottrell

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

Modern profile

Back to top

Neighbourhood profile for Bottrell

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

Central Connected Professionals and Managers

Group

City Support Workers

Within London, Bottrell is most associated with areas classed as City Support Workers, part of Central Connected Professionals and Managers. 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

Scattered throughout Inner London, these areas house relatively few workers in the most senior roles within organisations, and greater prevalence of administrative roles relative to the Supergroup mean. Residents are less likely to be of Chinese ethnicity and are more likely to have been born in Africa. Relative to the Supergroup average, residents are also more likely to live in social housing and live in overcrowded conditions.

Wider London pattern

Adult residents of these neighbourhoods are typically aged 25 to 44, working full-time in professional, managerial or associate professional occupations. There are few families with dependent children. The predominantly Inner London neighbourhoods have an international character, including many residents born elsewhere in Europe alongside high numbers of individuals identifying as of Chinese ethnicity. Many individuals are never married, childless and/or living alone. Above average numbers of individuals, likely to be full-time students, live in communal establishments. Elsewhere, privately rented flats are the dominant housing type. Residents of these areas are well-qualified, with a significant number holding Level 4 or above qualifications. There is a correspondingly high level of individuals employed full-time in professional, managerial and associated professional or technical occupations. Employing industries are financial, real estate, professional, administration, and, to a lesser degree, transport and communications. Unemployment is uncommon.

Healthy neighbourhoods

Access to healthy assets and hazards

Bottrell is most concentrated in decile 9 for access to healthy assets and hazards. This places the surname towards the healthier 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.

9
Lower access Higher access

Neighbourhood deprivation

Index of Multiple Deprivation

Bottrell falls in decile 4 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.

4
More deprived Less deprived

Broadband speed

Fixed broadband download speed

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

Meaning and origin of Bottrell

The surname Bottrell originates from England and dates back to the 12th century. It is believed to have derived from the Old English words "botl" and "hyll", meaning "a dwelling near a rounded hill or bottle-shaped hill". The earliest known spelling of the name was "Boterhulle", which appeared in the Pipe Rolls of Gloucestershire in 1190.

Bottrell is a locational surname, indicating that the original bearers of this name lived near a distinctive geographical feature such as a rounded hill or a hill resembling a bottle shape. The name was initially associated with places like Botley and Butthill in Hampshire, Bottlesford in Leicestershire, and Bottlesham in Cambridgeshire.

In the Domesday Book of 1086, a record of landholders in England compiled by order of William the Conqueror, there are several references to places with similar names, such as "Botelesforde" and "Botelega", which may have contributed to the development of the Bottrell surname.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the Bottrell name was in 1273, when a Richard de Boterhull was mentioned in the Hundred Rolls of Oxfordshire. Another early record dates back to 1327, when a John Botrell was listed in the Subsidy Rolls of Worcestershire.

Over the centuries, the Bottrell surname has been associated with several notable individuals. William Bottrell (1719-1789) was an English clergyman and author who wrote a book on the antiquities of Cornwall. Samuel Bottrell (1784-1846) was a British author and poet known for his works on local history and folklore.

Other notable figures include John Bottrell (1853-1922), an English cricketer who played for Gloucestershire County Cricket Club, and William Bottrell (1859-1936), a British trade unionist and Labour politician who served as a Member of Parliament for Eastbourne from 1923 to 1924.

The Bottrell name has also been found in various historical records and documents throughout England, such as parish registers, tax records, and military rolls, reflecting the widespread presence of this surname across different regions of the country over time.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

1881 census detail

Back to top

Bottrell families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Bottrell 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. Cornwall leads with 58 Bottrells recorded in 1881 and an index of 37.52x.

County Total Index
Cornwall 58 37.52x
Middlesex 19 1.39x
Devon 8 2.81x
Warwickshire 8 2.32x
Northamptonshire 7 5.45x
Surrey 7 1.05x
Derbyshire 5 2.34x
Essex 5 1.86x
Leicestershire 4 2.64x
Worcestershire 4 2.24x
Lancashire 3 0.19x
Staffordshire 3 0.65x
Herefordshire 2 3.57x
Oxfordshire 2 2.37x
Yorkshire 2 0.15x
Kent 1 0.21x
Somerset 1 0.46x
Suffolk 1 0.60x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Madron Penzance in Cornwall leads with 11 Bottrells recorded in 1881 and an index of 195.73x.

Place Total Index
Madron Penzance 11 195.73x
Sancreed 11 2500.00x
Sennen 9 2647.06x
St Just In Penwith 9 300.00x
St Ives 8 264.03x
Watford 7 3181.82x
Birmingham 6 5.23x
Shoreditch London 6 10.14x
Ashwater 5 1250.00x
St George Hanover Square 5 20.78x
Winshill 5 367.65x
Battersea 4 7.96x
Bromsgrove 4 66.67x
Leicester St Mary 4 32.71x
St Breock 4 476.19x
Gorton 3 19.70x
Madron 3 240.00x
Paddington London 3 5.97x
Tottenham 3 13.79x
West Ham 3 5.04x
Camberwell 2 2.29x
Harborne 2 13.54x
Hereford St Nicholas 2 263.16x
Paul 2 71.17x
Seaton 2 181.82x
Wanstead 2 42.37x
Ansley 1 256.41x
Aston 1 1.05x
Bicester Market End 1 64.52x
Greenwich 1 4.60x
Islington London 1 0.76x
Kilkhampton 1 217.39x
Lowestoft 1 12.72x
Lyncombe Widcombe 1 17.39x
Middlesbrough 1 5.68x
Mile End Old Town London 1 3.44x
Plymouth St Andrew 1 4.57x
Putney 1 16.08x
Shilton 1 769.23x
Southcoates 1 13.32x
Trentham 1 25.51x

Top female names

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

Name Count
Mary 16
Eliza 6
Elizabeth 6
Alice 3
Annie 3
Ellen 3
Sarah 3
Ann 2
Anna 2
Bessie 2
Emily 2
Fanny 2
Harriet 2
Jane 2
Johannah 2
Maria 2
Prudence 2
Ada 1
Blanche 1
Caroline 1
Catherine 1
Elizth. 1
Emma 1
Esther 1
Issabella 1
Jenny 1
Joanna 1
Marenda 1
Margaret 1
Margery 1
Marth 1
Philis 1
Susanna 1
Wilhelmina 1

Top male names

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

Name Count
John 15
William 13
Thomas 7
James 3
Richard 3
Benjamin 2
Charles 2
Edwin 2
Frederick 2
George 2
Joseph 2
...ry 1
Albert 1
Alfred 1
Arthur 1
Frank 1
Halford 1
Harold 1
Luke 1
Sampson 1
Tom 1

FAQ

Bottrell surname: questions and answers

How common was the Bottrell surname in 1881?

In 1881, 142 people were recorded with the Bottrell surname. That placed it at #16,012 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Bottrell surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 193 in 2016. That gives Bottrell a modern rank of #20,039.

What does the Bottrell surname mean?

An English surname derived from "botterel", the Middle English word for a maker of bottles or casks.

What does the Bottrell map show?

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