NameCensus.

UK surname

Brand

An occupational surname referring to a person who burned wood to make charcoal or who branded cattle.

In the 1881 census there were 4,412 people recorded with the Brand surname, ranking it #1,015 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 5,786, ranked #1,160, down from #1,015 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to London parishes, St Pancras and Edinburgh. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include The Glens, Braintree and Armadale.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Brand is 5,895 in 1999. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 31.1%.

1881 census count

4,412

Ranked #1,015

Modern count

5,786

2016, ranked #1,160

Peak year

1999

5,895 bearers

Map years

9

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Brand had 4,412 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #1,015 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 5,786 in 2016, ranked #1,160.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 5,657 in 1901.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Ageing Communities.

Brand surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Brand surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Brand 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 2,968 #978
1861 historical 3,180 #905
1881 historical 4,412 #1,015
1891 historical 4,710 #986
1901 historical 5,657 #988
1911 historical 4,505 #1,142
1997 modern 5,588 #1,164
1998 modern 5,859 #1,151
1999 modern 5,895 #1,156
2000 modern 5,846 #1,157
2001 modern 5,708 #1,159
2002 modern 5,823 #1,162
2003 modern 5,698 #1,155
2004 modern 5,641 #1,164
2005 modern 5,550 #1,164
2006 modern 5,523 #1,173
2007 modern 5,588 #1,164
2008 modern 5,641 #1,162
2009 modern 5,772 #1,162
2010 modern 5,863 #1,169
2011 modern 5,881 #1,159
2012 modern 5,793 #1,148
2013 modern 5,850 #1,159
2014 modern 5,888 #1,157
2015 modern 5,808 #1,158
2016 modern 5,786 #1,160

Geography

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Where Brands are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around London parishes, St Pancras, Edinburgh and Dundee, Liff, Benvie and Invergowry. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to The Glens, Braintree, Armadale, Brighton and Hove and Tendring. 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 St Pancras London (North Districts)
4 Edinburgh Edinburgh
5 Dundee, Liff, Benvie and Invergowry Forfar

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 The Glens Dundee City
2 Braintree 002 Braintree
3 Armadale West Lothian
4 Brighton and Hove 002 Brighton and Hove
5 Tendring 001 Tendring

Forenames

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First names often paired with Brand

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

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Brand

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

Ageing Communities

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

Read profile summary

Group profile

Many residents are of normal retirement age or above and live in communal establishments, and there are few dependent children. The dominant property type is a mix of retirement flats and detached houses. Those in work are likely to be employed in managerial and professional occupations, and many residents are educated to degree level. Levels of owner occupation are high, but the private rental sector is also present. Rural locations predominate.

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

Older Residents in Owner-Occupied Suburbs

Group

London Fringe

Within London, Brand is most associated with areas classed as London Fringe, part of Older Residents in Owner-Occupied Suburbs. 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

Predominantly located in neighbourhoods on the outskirts of Greater London, residents of these neighbourhoods typically have their highest qualifications below degree (Level 4) level, with those still in work engaged in skilled trades and occupations in distribution, hotels and restaurants. There is low ethnic diversity in these neighbourhoods and high levels of Christian religious affiliation. Detached or terraced houses predominate, often with spare rooms.

Wider London pattern

The age distribution of these neighbourhoods is skewed towards the middle-aged and old, although few residents live alone or in communal establishments and numbers of dependent children are around average. Owner occupation is the norm, as is residence in detached or semi-detached houses. Residential densities are low and many households have spare rooms. Most residents were born in the UK and, aside from some identifying as members of Chinese or Indian ethnicities, identify as White. Mixed ethnicity households are rare. Incidence of married couples is higher than average and few individuals have never been married. A large proportion of individuals still in employment work in administrative and secretarial occupations, or in the construction industry. Few residents are students, and many households own more than one car.

Healthy neighbourhoods

Access to healthy assets and hazards

Brand is most concentrated in decile 7 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.

7
Lower access Higher access

Neighbourhood deprivation

Index of Multiple Deprivation

Brand falls in decile 10 for neighbourhood deprivation. This puts the surname towards the less deprived end of the index.

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

10
More deprived Less deprived

Broadband speed

Fixed broadband download speed

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

Meaning and origin of Brand

The surname Brand is of German origin, derived from the Old High German word "brant," meaning "to burn" or "fire." It is believed to have originated in the early medieval period, around the 8th or 9th century.

The earliest known references to the name can be found in various German records and documents from the Middle Ages. One notable example is the Codex Diplomaticus, a collection of medieval charters and deeds, which mentions individuals with the surname Brand as early as the 11th century.

The name Brand was likely initially used as a descriptive surname, given to individuals who worked with fire or lived near a burned area. It may have also been associated with certain occupations, such as blacksmiths or charcoal burners.

In the 13th century, the surname Brand appeared in the Domesday Book, a comprehensive record of landowners in England commissioned by William the Conqueror. This suggests that individuals with this surname had migrated from Germany to England during the Norman Conquest.

One of the earliest recorded individuals with the surname Brand was Johann Brand (c. 1437-1512), a German theologian and reformer who played a significant role in the Protestant Reformation. Another notable figure was Sebastian Brand (c. 1458-1520), a German satirist and humanist writer best known for his satirical work, Narrenschiff (The Ship of Fools).

In the 16th century, the Brand family established itself in the Netherlands, with notable members including Geeraert Brand (c. 1542-1581), a Dutch Renaissance painter, and Hendrick Brand (1630-1683), a Dutch chemist and physician who discovered phosphorus.

The surname Brand has also been associated with various place names in Germany and the Netherlands, such as Brandenberg, Brandenburger, and Brandsma, which may have contributed to the spread and variation of the name.

Other notable individuals with the surname Brand throughout history include Sir Johannes Brand (1590-1668), a Dutch colonial governor of Suriname, and John Brand (1744-1806), an English antiquary and writer best known for his work, Observations on Popular Antiquities.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

1881 census detail

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Brand families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Brand 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 880 Brands recorded in 1881 and an index of 2.04x.

County Total Index
Middlesex 880 2.04x
Essex 577 6.78x
Kent 237 1.61x
Angus 218 5.46x
Surrey 204 0.97x
Cambridgeshire 191 6.99x
Lanarkshire 186 1.33x
Fife 176 6.89x
Yorkshire 164 0.38x
Midlothian 133 2.30x
Aberdeenshire 120 3.00x
Hertfordshire 109 3.67x
Lancashire 101 0.20x
Perthshire 93 4.80x
Suffolk 92 1.75x
Northumberland 85 1.32x
Norfolk 77 1.16x
Lincolnshire 75 1.09x
Sussex 70 0.96x
Kincardineshire 58 11.04x
Stirlingshire 53 3.33x
West Lothian 53 8.16x
Devon 38 0.42x
Renfrewshire 37 1.11x
Durham 36 0.28x
Hampshire 30 0.34x
Huntingdonshire 25 2.92x
Kinross-shire 22 20.18x
Cheshire 21 0.22x
Nottinghamshire 20 0.34x
Warwickshire 17 0.16x
Morayshire 16 2.39x
Bedfordshire 13 0.58x
Clackmannanshire 13 3.65x
Cumberland 12 0.32x
Dunbartonshire 12 1.04x
Banffshire 11 1.23x
Buckinghamshire 11 0.42x
Berkshire 10 0.31x
Derbyshire 10 0.15x
Royal Navy 9 1.75x
Gloucestershire 8 0.09x
Leicestershire 8 0.17x
Roxburghshire 7 0.90x
Staffordshire 7 0.05x
Dorset 6 0.21x
Shropshire 6 0.16x
Westmorland 6 0.63x
Channel Islands 5 0.39x
Northamptonshire 5 0.12x
Oxfordshire 5 0.19x
Shetland 5 1.14x
Ayrshire 4 0.12x
Dumfriesshire 4 0.42x
Wiltshire 4 0.10x
Argyllshire 3 0.25x
Kirkcudbrightshire 3 0.48x
Somerset 3 0.04x
Worcestershire 3 0.05x
Cornwall 2 0.04x
Glamorgan 2 0.03x
Monmouthshire 2 0.06x
Selkirkshire 2 0.51x
Berwickshire 1 0.19x
Buteshire 1 0.38x
Caernarfonshire 1 0.06x
East Lothian 1 0.18x
Rutland 1 0.32x
Sutherland 1 0.30x

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 98 Brands recorded in 1881 and an index of 2.34x.

Place Total Index
Islington London 98 2.34x
Govan 71 2.06x
Dundee 65 4.36x
West Ham 65 3.46x
St Pancras London 64 1.84x
Bethnal Green London 56 2.99x
Edinburgh St Cuthberts 56 2.41x
Mile End Old Town London 47 5.12x
Elsworth 45 452.72x
St Marylebone London 45 1.95x
Tynemouth 43 12.51x
Aberdeen Old Machar 41 4.92x
Barony 40 1.13x
Purleigh 37 291.11x
Shoreditch London 36 1.93x
Hackney London 35 1.45x
Hammersmith London 35 3.29x
Montrose 34 14.04x
Old Monkland 34 6.14x
South Leith 34 5.23x
Great Waltham 32 92.27x
Kensington London 31 1.29x
Lambeth 29 0.77x
Aberdeen St Nicholas 28 3.75x
Henham 28 231.21x
St George Hanover Square 28 3.68x
Chelsea London 27 2.08x
Prittlewell 27 22.89x
Barking 26 10.44x
Camberwell 26 0.94x
Chrishall 25 295.16x
Edmonton 25 7.19x
St Giles In Fields London 25 11.82x
Dunfermline 24 6.11x
Newington 24 1.51x
St Vigeans 24 11.13x
Clerkenwell London 23 2.26x
St Luke London 23 3.32x
Braintree 22 28.78x
Glasgow 22 0.89x
Gosberton 22 71.83x
Norton In Malton 22 42.47x
Bathgate 21 14.89x
Hampstead London 21 3.13x
Liff Benvie 21 3.46x
Tottenham 21 3.06x
West Mersea 21 128.76x
Bengeo 20 57.97x
Markinch 20 23.08x
Peterhead 20 9.47x
Falkirk 19 5.10x
Forgan 18 36.80x
Nigg 18 41.43x
Barrow 17 126.58x
Barry 17 35.45x
Plumstead 17 3.47x
Tewin 17 217.67x
Brechin 16 10.19x
Elmdon 16 176.60x
Fulham London 16 2.56x
Hulme 16 1.50x
St George In East London 16 3.94x
Birse 15 92.71x
Brighton 15 1.02x
Ceres 15 48.88x
Ely Holy Trinity St Mary 15 12.59x
Farnborough 15 69.93x
Nottingham St Mary 15 1.00x
Rochester St Margaret 15 9.67x
Saffron Walden 15 16.68x
Bromley London 14 1.48x
Chesterton 14 16.62x
Kirkliston 14 36.96x
Linton 14 53.91x
Minster In Sheppey 14 5.74x
Netteswell 14 285.71x
Brightside Bierlow 13 1.55x
Great Coggeshall 13 29.37x
St George Bloomsbury 13 5.25x
Ware 13 15.26x

Top female names

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

Name Count
Mary 176
Elizabeth 125
Sarah 102
Alice 58
Emma 58
Ann 57
Eliza 56
Jane 56
Ellen 42
Annie 41
Emily 38
Florence 29
Martha 29
Caroline 27
Maria 27
Harriet 24
Margaret 24
Agnes 22
Charlotte 19
Susan 18
Louisa 17
Ada 16
Edith 16
Hannah 15
Harriett 14
Clara 13
Fanny 13
Lydia 13
Anne 12
Catherine 11
Isabella 11
Kate 11
Rebecca 11
Sophia 11
Julia 10
Susannah 10
Amy 9
Esther 9
Frances 9
Jemima 9
Lucy 9
Amelia 8
Eleanor 8
Matilda 8
Ethel 7
Jessie 7
Rose 7
Gertrude 6
Marion 6
Minnie 6

Top male names

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

Name Count
William 198
John 147
George 118
James 110
Charles 89
Thomas 87
Henry 64
Joseph 63
Edward 51
Alfred 45
Arthur 45
Robert 40
Frederick 36
Richard 26
Harry 23
Walter 22
Albert 20
Frank 19
Herbert 19
David 14
Ernest 14
Samuel 14
Mark 10
Wm. 10
Edwin 9
Benjamin 8
Daniel 8
Thos. 7
Francis 6
Joshua 6
Sydney 6
Edgar 5
Fredk. 5
Isaac 5
Stephen 5
Willm. 5
Alexander 4
Chas. 4
Edmund 4
Jesse 4
Lewis 4
Peter 4
Oliver 3
Phillip 3
Roger 3
Wilfred 3
Benjamine 2
Jas. 2
Levi 2
Mary 2

FAQ

Brand surname: questions and answers

How common was the Brand surname in 1881?

In 1881, 4,412 people were recorded with the Brand surname. That placed it at #1,015 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Brand surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 5,786 in 2016. That gives Brand a modern rank of #1,160.

What does the Brand surname mean?

An occupational surname referring to a person who burned wood to make charcoal or who branded cattle.

What does the Brand map show?

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