NameCensus.

UK surname

Brears

In the 1881 census there were 201 people recorded with the Brears surname, ranking it #12,791 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 129, ranked #26,270, down from #12,791 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to Kellington, Silkstone and Hatfield, Fishlake, Thorne, Crowle (Eastoft). In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include North Lincolnshire, Manchester and Sheffield.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Brears is 204 in 1891. Compared with 1881, the name has fallen by 35.8%.

1881 census count

201

Ranked #12,791

Modern count

129

2016, ranked #26,270

Peak year

1891

204 bearers

Map years

9

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Brears had 201 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #12,791 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 129 in 2016, ranked #26,270.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 204 in 1891.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Ageing Communities.

Brears surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Brears surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Brears 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 116 #15,545
1861 historical 145 #15,715
1881 historical 201 #12,791
1891 historical 204 #14,702
1901 historical 192 #15,518
1911 historical 204 #14,784
1997 modern 134 #22,608
1998 modern 140 #22,615
1999 modern 134 #23,378
2000 modern 142 #22,544
2001 modern 136 #22,855
2002 modern 131 #23,793
2003 modern 133 #23,359
2004 modern 137 #23,098
2005 modern 134 #23,406
2006 modern 129 #24,165
2007 modern 128 #24,632
2008 modern 133 #24,350
2009 modern 146 #23,352
2010 modern 145 #24,031
2011 modern 148 #23,520
2012 modern 135 #24,952
2013 modern 137 #25,149
2014 modern 141 #24,855
2015 modern 134 #25,607
2016 modern 129 #26,270

Geography

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Where Brears' are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around Kellington, Silkstone, Hatfield, Fishlake, Thorne, Crowle (Eastoft), Birstall and Sheffield. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to North Lincolnshire, Manchester and Sheffield. 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 Kellington Yorkshire, West Riding
2 Silkstone Yorkshire, West Riding
3 Hatfield, Fishlake, Thorne, Crowle (Eastoft) Yorkshire, West Riding
4 Birstall Yorkshire, West Riding
5 Sheffield Yorkshire, West Riding

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 North Lincolnshire 006 North Lincolnshire
2 Manchester 050 Manchester
3 Sheffield 049 Sheffield
4 Sheffield 055 Sheffield
5 Sheffield 068 Sheffield

Forenames

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First names often paired with Brears

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

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Brears

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

Professional Employment and Family Lifecycles

Group

Inner London Working Professionals

Within London, Brears 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

Brears is most concentrated in decile 8 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.

8
Lower access Higher access

Neighbourhood deprivation

Index of Multiple Deprivation

Brears falls in decile 8 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.

8
More deprived Less deprived

Broadband speed

Fixed broadband download speed

The modern neighbourhood pattern for Brears is most associated with a typical fixed broadband download band of 25-30 mbit/s.

The scale below places that band in context, from slower local download bands through to faster ones.

5
Slower band Faster band

Area snapshot

Ethnic group estimate

Most common ethnic group estimate
White - British

This describes the area pattern most associated with Brears, not the ethnicity of every person with the surname.

1881 census detail

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Brears families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Brears 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. Yorkshire leads with 157 Brears' recorded in 1881 and an index of 8.08x.

County Total Index
Yorkshire 157 8.08x
Lincolnshire 20 6.38x
Glamorgan 7 2.05x
Hampshire 6 1.49x
Lancashire 6 0.26x
Durham 2 0.34x
Middlesex 2 0.10x
Nottinghamshire 1 0.38x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Barnsley in Yorkshire leads with 16 Brears' recorded in 1881 and an index of 79.84x.

Place Total Index
Barnsley 16 79.84x
Nether Hallam 13 49.47x
Sheffield 13 21.02x
Swinefleet 11 1309.52x
Skelbrooke 10 11111.11x
Heckmondwike 9 144.00x
Kirton In Lindsey 9 725.81x
Brightside Bierlow 8 21.00x
Ecclesall Bierlow 8 20.24x
Ecclesfield 8 56.18x
Mirfield 8 74.98x
Garthorpe 7 1842.11x
Normanton 7 119.86x
Roath 7 45.13x
Newchurch 6 659.34x
Sykehouse 6 2222.22x
Whitwood 6 217.39x
Fishlake 5 1351.35x
Beaghall 4 1739.13x
Haxey 3 225.56x
Manchester 3 2.87x
Stanley Cum Wrenthorpe 3 33.22x
Addingham 2 137.93x
Balby Cum Hexthorpe 2 86.21x
Bentley Cum Arksey 2 198.02x
Bradford 2 4.25x
Cadeby 2 1111.11x
Cleckheaton 2 27.93x
Halifax 2 7.01x
Iveston 2 74.35x
Leeds 2 1.82x
Oldham 2 2.66x
Bethnal Green London 1 1.17x
Bowling 1 5.20x
Cantley 1 263.16x
Chelsea London 1 1.69x
Doncaster 1 7.05x
Gainsborough 1 13.53x
Hipperholme Cum 1 11.71x
Hulme 1 2.06x
Moss 1 526.32x
Radford 1 7.45x
Rothwell 1 25.51x

Top female names

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

Name Count
Mary 13
Ann 9
Elizabeth 8
Jane 7
Sarah 7
Hannah 6
Eliza 4
Ada 3
Anne 3
Ellen 3
Emily 3
Agnes 2
Annie 2
Clara 2
Emma 2
Fanny 2
Florence 2
Laura 2
Louisa 2
Lucy 2
Susannah 2
Adeline 1
Alice 1
Amelia 1
Angelina 1
Azuba 1
Charity 1
Charlotte 1
Edna 1
Elizth. 1
Gertrude 1
Harriet 1
Harriett 1
Jemima 1
Margaret 1
Nannie 1
Olive 1
Ruth 1

Top male names

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

Name Count
John 17
James 11
William 11
Thomas 10
George 5
Walter 5
Samuel 4
Charles 3
Henry 3
Fred 2
Abraham 1
Albert 1
Alfred 1
Alma 1
Arthur 1
Chas. 1
David 1
Ed. 1
Edward 1
Ephraim 1
Ernest 1
Frederick 1
Geo.Hy. 1
Harry 1
Hartley 1
Jno. 1
Joseph 1
Leonard 1
Mark 1
Nathan 1
Osborn 1
Peaker 1
Percival 1
Robert 1
Robinson 1
Wilson 1
Wm. 1

FAQ

Brears surname: questions and answers

How common was the Brears surname in 1881?

In 1881, 201 people were recorded with the Brears surname. That placed it at #12,791 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Brears surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 129 in 2016. That gives Brears a modern rank of #26,270.

What does the Brears map show?

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