NameCensus.

UK surname

Brighouse

In the 1881 census there were 235 people recorded with the Brighouse surname, ranking it #11,573 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 305, ranked #14,576, down from #11,573 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to Sandiacre, Dale Abbey, St Werburgh and Eccles. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Cheshire East, St. Helens and Rotherham.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Brighouse is 340 in 2002. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 29.8%.

1881 census count

235

Ranked #11,573

Modern count

305

2016, ranked #14,576

Peak year

2002

340 bearers

Map years

9

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Brighouse had 235 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #11,573 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 305 in 2016, ranked #14,576.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 317 in 1911.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Rural Amenity.

Brighouse surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Brighouse surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Brighouse 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 140 #13,593
1861 historical 179 #13,127
1881 historical 235 #11,573
1891 historical 296 #11,215
1901 historical 298 #11,695
1911 historical 317 #11,011
1997 modern 320 #12,966
1998 modern 326 #13,146
1999 modern 330 #13,125
2000 modern 329 #13,090
2001 modern 328 #12,944
2002 modern 340 #12,884
2003 modern 335 #12,815
2004 modern 325 #13,161
2005 modern 319 #13,275
2006 modern 319 #13,318
2007 modern 321 #13,403
2008 modern 316 #13,661
2009 modern 315 #13,960
2010 modern 325 #13,946
2011 modern 311 #14,260
2012 modern 302 #14,451
2013 modern 311 #14,368
2014 modern 314 #14,371
2015 modern 313 #14,313
2016 modern 305 #14,576

Geography

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Where Brighouses are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around Sandiacre, Dale Abbey, St Werburgh, Eccles, Liverpool and Walton-on-the-Hill. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Cheshire East, St. Helens, Rotherham, Knowsley and West Lancashire. 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 Sandiacre, Dale Abbey Derbyshire
2 St Werburgh Derbyshire
3 Eccles Lancashire
4 Liverpool Lancashire
5 Walton-on-the-Hill Lancashire

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Cheshire East 007 Cheshire East
2 St. Helens 014 St. Helens
3 Rotherham 029 Rotherham
4 Knowsley 002 Knowsley
5 West Lancashire 007 West Lancashire

Forenames

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First names often paired with Brighouse

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

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Brighouse

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

The Greater London Mix

Group

Social Rented Sector Professional Support Workers

Within London, Brighouse is most associated with areas classed as Social Rented Sector Professional Support Workers, part of The Greater London Mix. 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

Mainly located in Inner London, these neighbourhoods retain a diverse employment structure, with some concentration in associated professional and technical occupations rather than skilled trades or construction. Social renting is more common and levels of homeownership are low. Many residents identify as Black. There is a lower than average rate of marriage or civil partnership, few that are very old (85 or over) and higher than average incidence of disability.

Wider London pattern

A Supergroup embodying London's diversity in many respects, apart from low numbers of residents identifying as of Bangladeshi, Indian, Pakistani or Other (non-Chinese) Asian ethnicity. There is lower than average prevalence of families with dependent children, while there are above average occurrences of never-married individuals and single-person households. The age distribution is skewed towards younger, single residents and couples without children, with many individuals identifying as of mixed or multiple ethnicity. Social rented or private rented housing is slightly more prevalent than average, and many residents live in flats. Individuals typically work in professional and associated roles in public administration, education or health rather than in elementary occupations in agriculture, energy, water, construction or manufacturing. Incidence of students is slightly below average. Individuals declaring no religion are more prevalent than average and non-use of English at home is below average.

Healthy neighbourhoods

Access to healthy assets and hazards

Brighouse is most concentrated in decile 4 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.

4
Lower access Higher access

Neighbourhood deprivation

Index of Multiple Deprivation

Brighouse falls in decile 1 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.

1
More deprived Less deprived

Broadband speed

Fixed broadband download speed

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

1881 census detail

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Brighouse families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Brighouse 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. Lancashire leads with 120 Brighouses recorded in 1881 and an index of 4.41x.

County Total Index
Lancashire 120 4.41x
Derbyshire 38 10.59x
Yorkshire 30 1.32x
Nottinghamshire 8 2.59x
Cheshire 7 1.38x
Kent 6 0.77x
Middlesex 6 0.26x
Warwickshire 6 1.04x
Essex 5 1.10x
Leicestershire 3 1.18x
Gloucestershire 2 0.44x
Staffordshire 2 0.26x
Lincolnshire 1 0.27x
Surrey 1 0.09x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Ormskirk in Lancashire leads with 17 Brighouses recorded in 1881 and an index of 326.92x.

Place Total Index
Ormskirk 17 326.92x
Aughton 13 483.27x
Litchurch 13 90.03x
Liverpool 13 7.87x
West Derby 11 13.82x
Eccleston In Prescot 9 65.89x
Dale Abbey 8 2500.00x
Wingfield South 8 833.33x
Broughton In Salford 7 28.15x
Nottingham St Mary 7 8.76x
Birkdale 6 87.21x
Gillingham 6 37.20x
Lea Marston 6 2500.00x
Whitwell 6 419.58x
Bickerstaffe 5 280.90x
Goathland 5 1250.00x
Harwich St Nicholas 5 142.86x
Saddleworth 5 28.54x
Wortley In Bramley 5 27.79x
Birkenhead 4 9.92x
Blackburn 4 5.53x
Cheetham 4 19.71x
Lathom 4 121.95x
Pendleton In Salford 4 12.34x
St Pancras London 4 2.17x
Droylsden 3 33.82x
Everton 3 3.46x
Hipperholme Cum 3 30.06x
Normanton 3 99.01x
North Meols 3 11.27x
Preston 3 4.12x
Scarisbrick 3 94.94x
Sowerby In Halifax 3 40.38x
Bridlington 2 38.46x
Clayton 2 35.97x
Haughton 2 512.82x
Islington London 2 0.90x
Leckhampton 2 72.20x
Leeds 2 1.56x
Leicester St Margaret 2 3.23x
Tranmere 2 10.75x
Barton Upon Irwell 1 4.88x
Beeston 1 28.17x
Bootle Cum Linacre 1 4.63x
Downholland 1 263.16x
Ecclesall Bierlow 1 2.16x
Ellel 1 71.43x
Horncastle 1 26.46x
Latchford 1 29.76x
Linthwaite 1 20.96x
Maghull 1 88.50x
Packington 1 109.89x
Rawdon 1 37.31x
Rotherhithe 1 3.53x
Tottington Lower End 1 7.73x
Warrington 1 3.10x
Winmarleigh 1 333.33x

Top female names

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

Name Count
James 18
Thomas 14
John 12
William 12
George 7
Henry 7
Joseph 7
Charles 5
Richard 5
Samuel 4
Frederick 3
Albert 2
Alexander 2
Herbert 2
Luke 2
Robert 2
Alfred 1
Ed. 1
Ed.A. 1
Edward 1
Emanuel 1
Ernest 1
Fred 1
Geo. 1
Geo.W. 1
Harold 1
Henery 1
Joe 1
Norman 1
Percy 1
Philip 1
Radcliffe 1
Sidney 1
Stephen 1
W. 1

FAQ

Brighouse surname: questions and answers

How common was the Brighouse surname in 1881?

In 1881, 235 people were recorded with the Brighouse surname. That placed it at #11,573 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Brighouse surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 305 in 2016. That gives Brighouse a modern rank of #14,576.

What does the Brighouse map show?

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