NameCensus.

UK surname

Brignall

In the 1881 census there were 189 people recorded with the Brignall surname, ranking it #13,322 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 338, ranked #13,533, down from #13,322 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to Hastings St Mary-in-the-Castle, Hastings St Andrew, London parishes and Cambridge: St Andrew the Less, St Andrew the Great, Holy Trinity, St Benedict. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Redcar and Cleveland, Ashford and East Riding of Yorkshire.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Brignall is 343 in 2000. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 78.8%.

1881 census count

189

Ranked #13,322

Modern count

338

2016, ranked #13,533

Peak year

2000

343 bearers

Map years

9

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Brignall had 189 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #13,322 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 338 in 2016, ranked #13,533.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 319 in 1911.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Spacious Rural Living.

Brignall surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Brignall surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Brignall 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 154 #12,668
1861 historical 156 #14,813
1881 historical 189 #13,322
1891 historical 298 #11,167
1901 historical 302 #11,592
1911 historical 319 #10,967
1997 modern 341 #12,407
1998 modern 341 #12,761
1999 modern 338 #12,922
2000 modern 343 #12,746
2001 modern 335 #12,759
2002 modern 337 #12,965
2003 modern 327 #13,046
2004 modern 330 #12,994
2005 modern 325 #13,080
2006 modern 309 #13,633
2007 modern 304 #13,927
2008 modern 311 #13,800
2009 modern 318 #13,863
2010 modern 331 #13,769
2011 modern 331 #13,641
2012 modern 317 #13,960
2013 modern 326 #13,893
2014 modern 339 #13,581
2015 modern 329 #13,800
2016 modern 338 #13,533

Geography

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Where Brignalls are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around Hastings St Mary-in-the-Castle, Hastings St Andrew, London parishes, Cambridge: St Andrew the Less, St Andrew the Great, Holy Trinity, St Benedict and Lydd. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Redcar and Cleveland, Ashford, East Riding of Yorkshire, Hartlepool and Braintree. 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 Hastings St Mary-in-the-Castle, Hastings St Andrew Sussex
2 London parishes London 3
3 Cambridge: St Andrew the Less, St Andrew the Great, Holy Trinity, St Benedict Cambridgeshire
4 Lydd Kent
5 London parishes London 2

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Redcar and Cleveland 007 Redcar and Cleveland
2 Ashford 014 Ashford
3 East Riding of Yorkshire 032 East Riding of Yorkshire
4 Hartlepool 002 Hartlepool
5 Braintree 015 Braintree

Forenames

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First names often paired with Brignall

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

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Brignall

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

Retired Professionals

Group

Spacious Rural Living

Nationally, the Brignall surname is most associated with neighbourhoods classed as Spacious Rural Living, within Retired Professionals. This does not mean every Brignall household fits that profile, but it gives a useful signal about where the modern surname distribution is strongest.

Read profile summary

Group profile

These predominantly ageing households typically have no resident dependent children. Most are owner-occupiers and live in detached houses in low density residential developments (although renting is more common than in the rest of the Supergroup). White ethnicity predominates. Residents are typically beyond retirement age but those still in work have managerial, professional or skilled trade occupations. White ethnicity and Christian religious affiliation predominate. Neighbourhoods are located throughout rural UK.

Wider pattern

Typically married but no longer with resident dependent children, these well-educated households either remain working in their managerial, professional, administrative or other skilled occupations, or are retired from them – the modal individual age is beyond normal retirement age. Underoccupied detached and semi-detached properties predominate, and unpaid care is more prevalent than reported disability. The prevalence of this Supergroup outside most urban conurbations indicates that rural lifestyles prevail, typically sustained by using two or more cars per household.

London neighbourhood type

London Output Area Classification

Supergroup

The Greater London Mix

Group

Skilled Trades and Construction Workers

Within London, Brignall is most associated with areas classed as Skilled Trades and Construction 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

These scattered, peripheral and often low residential density neighbourhoods house more workers in skilled trades and construction. Few households rent social housing and there are few students. Multiple car ownership is higher than the Supergroup average, perhaps because of poorer public transport connectivity. Incidence of mixed or multiple ethnicity is below the Supergroup average, and the absence of individuals identifying as Pakistani or Other Asian groups is also less pronounced. Flatted accommodation is less dominant than elsewhere in the Supergroup.

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

Brignall is most concentrated in decile 6 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.

6
Lower access Higher access

Neighbourhood deprivation

Index of Multiple Deprivation

Brignall 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 Brignall 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 Brignall, not the ethnicity of every person with the surname.

1881 census detail

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Brignall families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Brignall 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 46 Brignalls recorded in 1881 and an index of 2.52x.

County Total Index
Yorkshire 46 2.52x
Essex 33 9.07x
Kent 27 4.29x
Surrey 23 2.56x
Middlesex 17 0.92x
Durham 12 2.19x
Glamorgan 8 2.49x
Lancashire 8 0.37x
Staffordshire 6 0.96x
Cambridgeshire 5 4.28x
Cornwall 1 0.48x
Devon 1 0.26x
Gloucestershire 1 0.28x
Lincolnshire 1 0.34x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Newington in Surrey leads with 10 Brignalls recorded in 1881 and an index of 14.68x.

Place Total Index
Newington 10 14.68x
Southcoates 9 88.76x
Woodham Ferris 9 2093.02x
Brookland 8 2962.96x
Cardiff St John 8 76.26x
Thorpe Bassett 8 6666.67x
Braintree 7 214.07x
East Hanningfield 7 2800.00x
Lambeth 6 3.73x
Ramsden Bell House 6 2400.00x
Thornaby 6 87.85x
Tutbury 6 394.74x
Hart 5 373.13x
Linthorpe 5 45.87x
Lydd 5 370.37x
St Andrewthe Less 5 37.48x
Stoke Newington London 5 34.82x
Godstone 4 248.45x
Sandhurst 4 540.54x
Stokesley 4 350.88x
West Derby 4 6.25x
Bishopwearmouth 3 6.37x
Chiswick 3 29.79x
Hackney London 3 2.90x
Little Baddow 3 882.35x
Rillington 3 545.45x
Southwick 3 57.80x
St Ann Blackfriars London 3 882.35x
Wittersham 3 535.71x
Camberwell 2 1.70x
Folkestone 2 16.39x
Holy Trinity 2 4.55x
Islington London 2 1.12x
Rochester St Nicholas 2 102.04x
Sheffield 2 3.44x
Walmersley Cum 2 57.14x
York Holy Trinity 2 126.58x
Bourton On The Water 1 135.14x
Brandsby Cum Stearsby 1 526.32x
Charlton 1 23.92x
Falmouth 1 13.53x
Goudhurst 1 57.47x
Great Grimsby 1 5.34x
Leeds 1 0.97x
Plymouth St Andrew 1 3.38x
Prestwich 1 18.32x
Shipley 1 10.55x
Southwark St George Martyr 1 2.70x
St Bartholomew Great 1 59.52x
Stock 1 256.41x
Stockton On Tees 1 3.78x
Thirsk 1 47.39x
Thornholm 1 1428.57x
Tonbridge 1 4.41x
Toxteth Park 1 1.35x

Top female names

These are the female first names most often recorded with the Brignall 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 Brignall 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
George 9
Thomas 9
Charles 5
Henry 4
James 4
Edward 3
Frederick 3
Joseph 3
Robert 3
Jacob 2
Richard 2
Samuel 2
Stephen 2
Abraham 1
Adolphus 1
Alfred 1
Arthur 1
Cecil 1
Clifford 1
Edgar 1
Edwin 1
Francis 1
Frank 1
Herbert 1
Jack 1
Mark 1
Peter 1
Saml. 1
Sydney 1
Walter 1

FAQ

Brignall surname: questions and answers

How common was the Brignall surname in 1881?

In 1881, 189 people were recorded with the Brignall surname. That placed it at #13,322 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Brignall surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 338 in 2016. That gives Brignall a modern rank of #13,533.

What does the Brignall map show?

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