NameCensus.

UK surname

Brackett

An occupational surname for a maker or seller of leather armor or metal brackets and clasps.

In the 1881 census there were 108 people recorded with the Brackett surname, ranking it #18,888 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 150, ranked #23,724, down from #18,888 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to Tunbridge, Bidborough, London parishes and Sudbury All Saints, Sudbury St Gregory, Sudbury St Peter, Sudbury St Bartholomew. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Oxford, Castle Point and Wolverhampton.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Brackett is 175 in 2010. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 38.9%.

1881 census count

108

Ranked #18,888

Modern count

150

2016, ranked #23,724

Peak year

2010

175 bearers

Map years

7

1881 to 2016

Key insights

  • Brackett had 108 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #18,888 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 150 in 2016, ranked #23,724.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 135 in 1911.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Challenged Communities.

Brackett surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Brackett surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Brackett 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 64 #21,914
1861 historical 75 #24,238
1881 historical 108 #18,888
1891 historical 119 #21,415
1901 historical 122 #20,344
1911 historical 135 #19,058
1997 modern 140 #22,031
1998 modern 169 #20,104
1999 modern 169 #20,233
2000 modern 151 #21,684
2001 modern 144 #22,040
2002 modern 144 #22,501
2003 modern 154 #21,308
2004 modern 158 #21,077
2005 modern 158 #21,052
2006 modern 162 #20,886
2007 modern 166 #20,811
2008 modern 163 #21,238
2009 modern 166 #21,469
2010 modern 175 #21,186
2011 modern 175 #21,035
2012 modern 169 #21,437
2013 modern 161 #22,521
2014 modern 159 #22,930
2015 modern 151 #23,613
2016 modern 150 #23,724

Geography

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Where Bracketts are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around Tunbridge, Bidborough, London parishes, Sudbury All Saints, Sudbury St Gregory, Sudbury St Peter, Sudbury St Bartholomew, Colchester St Peter and St Matthew Bethnal Green. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Oxford, Castle Point, Wolverhampton and Kensington and Chelsea. 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 Tunbridge, Bidborough Kent
2 London parishes London 3
3 Sudbury All Saints, Sudbury St Gregory, Sudbury St Peter, Sudbury St Bartholomew Suffolk
4 Colchester St Peter Essex
5 St Matthew Bethnal Green London (East Districts)

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Oxford 017 Oxford
2 Castle Point 012 Castle Point
3 Oxford 018 Oxford
4 Wolverhampton 035 Wolverhampton
5 Kensington and Chelsea 004 Kensington and Chelsea

Forenames

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First names often paired with Brackett

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

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Brackett

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

Baseline UK

Group

Challenged Communities

Nationally, the Brackett surname is most associated with neighbourhoods classed as Challenged Communities, within Baseline UK. This does not mean every Brackett household fits that profile, but it gives a useful signal about where the modern surname distribution is strongest.

Read profile summary

Group profile

Residents of these neighbourhoods typically live in households with dependent children, and there are fewer-than-average residents of normal retirement age or over. Identification with ethnic minorities, particularly Black, or Mixed or Multiple ethnicities is common. The rate of Christian religious affiliation is low. Housing predominantly consists of semi-detached houses, along with a significant number of terraced properties and flats. Overcrowded social housing is common, and private renting occurs at average UK levels. Those in employment work mainly in caring leisure and other services; process, plant and machine operation; or elementary occupations. Unemployment is high, and few individuals have degree level qualifications. Many of these neighbourhoods occur in commuter towns or less accessible areas of larger towns and cities.

Wider pattern

This Supergroup exemplifies the broad base to the UK’s social structure, encompassing as it does the average or modal levels of many neighbourhood characteristics, including all housing tenures, a range of levels of educational attainment and religious affiliations, and a variety of pre-retirement age structures. Yet, in combination, these mixes are each distinctive of the parts of the UK. Overall, terraced houses and flats are the most prevalent, as is employment in intermediate or low-skilled occupations. However, this Supergroup is also characterised by above average levels of unemployment and lower levels of use of English as the main language. Many neighbourhoods occur in south London and the UK’s other major urban centres.

London neighbourhood type

London Output Area Classification

Supergroup

Social Rented Sector Families with Children

Group

Social Rented Sector Pockets

Within London, Brackett is most associated with areas classed as Social Rented Sector Pockets, part of Social Rented Sector Families with Children. 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

Found in pockets across London, residents are less likely to live in private sector rentals and fewer adults are students. Fewer individuals work in transport and communications occupations relative to the Supergroup average. More individuals identify as Black and were born in Africa.

Wider London pattern

Residents of these neighbourhoods include sizable numbers identifying with ethnicities originating outside Europe, particularly in Africa or Bangladesh. The proportion of residents identifying as White, Indian or Pakistani is well below the London average. Neighbourhood age profiles are skewed towards younger adults, and above average numbers of families have children. Rates of use of English at home are below average. Marriage rates are low, and levels of separation or divorce are above average. Housing is predominantly in flats, and renting in the social rented sector the norm - few residents are owner occupiers. Housing is often overcrowded, and neighbourhoods are amongst the most densely populated in London. Disability rates are above average, although levels of unpaid care provision are about average. Employment is in caring, leisure, other service occupations, sales and customer service, or process, plant, and machine operation. Part time working and full-time student study are common. Levels of unemployment are slightly above average. Most residents have only Level 1 or 2 educational qualifications or have completed apprenticeships.

Healthy neighbourhoods

Access to healthy assets and hazards

Brackett is most concentrated in decile 10 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.

10
Lower access Higher access

Neighbourhood deprivation

Index of Multiple Deprivation

Brackett falls in decile 2 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.

2
More deprived Less deprived

Broadband speed

Fixed broadband download speed

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

Meaning and origin of Brackett

The surname Brackett is of English origin and is derived from the Old English word "bræc", meaning a thicket or dense undergrowth. It is believed to have first emerged as a surname during the 11th century, referring to someone who lived near or worked with thickets or dense vegetation.

The name can be traced back to the Domesday Book of 1086, which mentions several individuals with variations of the name, such as Bractot and Bracholt. These early spellings indicate that the name had already begun to evolve and take on different forms by the time of the Norman Conquest.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Brackett can be found in the Pipe Rolls of Gloucestershire from 1195, where a William Brachett is mentioned. In the 13th century, the name appeared in various records, including the Feet of Fines for Essex in 1237, which references a Robert Brakete.

The name Brackett has also been associated with several place names in England, such as Brackett Farm in Berkshire and Brackett's Green in Essex. These place names likely originated from individuals with the surname Brackett who lived or owned land in those areas.

Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals with the surname Brackett. One of the earliest was Thomas Brackett (c. 1480 - c. 1550), an English politician who served as a Member of Parliament for Cricklade in 1542. Another prominent figure was John Brackett (1612 - 1663), an early settler in colonial Massachusetts and a founder of the town of Braintree.

In the 18th century, Joshua Brackett (1733 - 1804) was an American soldier and politician who served as a brigadier general during the American Revolutionary War. Later, Walter M. Brackett (1828 - 1919) was an American architect and designer who is known for his work on several notable buildings in Boston.

More recently, Charles Brackett (1892 - 1969) was an American novelist, playwright, and film writer who co-wrote the screenplay for the classic film "Sunset Boulevard" in 1950, for which he won an Academy Award.

While the surname Brackett has evolved over time and taken on various spellings, its origins can be traced back to the Old English word for a thicket, reflecting the occupations or living situations of its earliest bearers.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

1881 census detail

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Brackett families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Brackett 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. Middlesex leads with 37 Bracketts recorded in 1881 and an index of 3.48x.

County Total Index
Middlesex 37 3.48x
Essex 18 8.58x
Suffolk 15 11.58x
Kent 9 2.48x
Hertfordshire 5 6.82x
Warwickshire 5 1.86x
Yorkshire 5 0.47x
Lanarkshire 4 1.16x
Surrey 4 0.77x
Bedfordshire 2 3.63x
Lancashire 2 0.16x
Cambridgeshire 1 1.49x
Gloucestershire 1 0.48x
Royal Navy 1 7.89x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Bethnal Green London in Middlesex leads with 14 Bracketts recorded in 1881 and an index of 30.32x.

Place Total Index
Bethnal Green London 14 30.32x
West Ham 11 23.74x
Mile End Old Town London 10 44.19x
Tonbridge 9 68.81x
Sudbury All Sts 8 2051.28x
Hackney London 6 10.07x
Braintree 5 265.96x
Hemel Hempstead 5 151.52x
Leamington Priors 5 75.76x
Middlesbrough 5 36.44x
Maryhill 4 59.44x
Bury St Edmunds St James 3 86.71x
St George In East London 3 30.00x
Sudbury St Gregory 3 288.46x
Great Bardfield 2 588.24x
Ham 2 869.57x
Rotherhithe 2 15.23x
Salford 2 5.39x
St Giles In Fields London 2 38.31x
Goldington 1 476.19x
Lowestoft 1 16.34x
Luton 1 10.49x
Lydney 1 92.59x
Orwell 1 344.83x
Royal Navy 1 9.23x
Shoreditch London 1 2.17x
St Marylebone London 1 1.76x

Top female names

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

Top male names

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

FAQ

Brackett surname: questions and answers

How common was the Brackett surname in 1881?

In 1881, 108 people were recorded with the Brackett surname. That placed it at #18,888 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Brackett surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 150 in 2016. That gives Brackett a modern rank of #23,724.

What does the Brackett surname mean?

An occupational surname for a maker or seller of leather armor or metal brackets and clasps.

What does the Brackett map show?

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