NameCensus.

UK surname

Brimson

In the 1881 census there were 252 people recorded with the Brimson surname, ranking it #11,012 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 412, ranked #11,627, down from #11,012 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to Bristol City: St Mary Redcliff, Trowbridge and London parishes. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Bristol, Winchester and Mendip.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Brimson is 468 in 1999. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 63.5%.

1881 census count

252

Ranked #11,012

Modern count

412

2016, ranked #11,627

Peak year

1999

468 bearers

Map years

9

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Brimson had 252 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #11,012 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 412 in 2016, ranked #11,627.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 372 in 1911.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Challenged Communities.

Brimson surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Brimson surname density by area, 1881 census.

Loading map
Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

Back to top

Brimson 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 211 #9,997
1861 historical 172 #13,619
1881 historical 252 #11,012
1891 historical 242 #13,048
1901 historical 294 #11,805
1911 historical 372 #9,807
1997 modern 432 #10,395
1998 modern 454 #10,338
1999 modern 468 #10,160
2000 modern 465 #10,175
2001 modern 455 #10,147
2002 modern 457 #10,314
2003 modern 443 #10,413
2004 modern 447 #10,369
2005 modern 424 #10,691
2006 modern 437 #10,487
2007 modern 440 #10,533
2008 modern 439 #10,640
2009 modern 446 #10,755
2010 modern 459 #10,739
2011 modern 449 #10,807
2012 modern 441 #10,828
2013 modern 437 #11,090
2014 modern 429 #11,347
2015 modern 419 #11,483
2016 modern 412 #11,627

Geography

Back to top

Where Brimsons are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around Bristol City: St Mary Redcliff, Trowbridge, London parishes and Cardiff St John and St Mary. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Bristol, Winchester, Mendip, Sedgemoor and Isle of Wight. 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 Bristol City: St Mary Redcliff Gloucestershire
2 Trowbridge Wiltshire
3 London parishes London 1
4 London parishes London 3
5 Cardiff St John and St Mary Glamorganshire

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Bristol 008 Bristol, City of
2 Winchester 004 Winchester
3 Mendip 007 Mendip
4 Sedgemoor 013 Sedgemoor
5 Isle of Wight 011 Isle of Wight

Forenames

Back to top

First names often paired with Brimson

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

Modern profile

Back to top

Neighbourhood profile for Brimson

Modern surname records can be compared with neighbourhood classifications. For Brimson, 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 Brimson surname is most associated with neighbourhoods classed as Challenged Communities, within Baseline UK. This does not mean every Brimson 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

Young Families and Mainstream Employment

Group

Terraced and Semi-Detached Suburbs

Within London, Brimson is most associated with areas classed as Terraced and Semi-Detached Suburbs, part of Young Families and Mainstream Employment. 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 concentrated in suburban areas, these terraced and semi-detached developments are less overcrowded than the Supergroup average, and resident households are more likely to own two or more cars. There are fewer residents aged 25-44, and a larger share of residents employed in administrative and secretarial occupations. Residents are more likely to have been born in the UK, less likely to have been born in the EU or Africa, and much less likely to self-identify as Bangladeshi.

Wider London pattern

Many families in these neighbourhoods have young children. Housing is principally in the social rented sector, in terraced or semi-detached units. While over-all residential densities are low, overcrowding is also prevalent locally. Residents are drawn from a range of ethnic minorities, with many identifying as Black and above average numbers born in Africa. Numbers identifying as of Chinese, Indian or White ethnicity are below average. Levels of proficiency in English are below average. Levels of separation or divorce and incidence of disability are both above average. Education is typically limited to Level 1, 2, or apprenticeship qualifications. Few residents work in professional or managerial occupations but the employment structure is otherwise diverse: it includes skilled trades, caring, leisure and other service occupations, sales and customer service occupations, construction, and work as process, plant, and machine operatives.

Healthy neighbourhoods

Access to healthy assets and hazards

Brimson 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

Brimson falls in decile 4 for neighbourhood deprivation. This puts the surname near the middle of the scale.

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

4
More deprived Less deprived

Broadband speed

Fixed broadband download speed

The modern neighbourhood pattern for Brimson is most associated with a typical fixed broadband download band of 60-70 mbit/s.

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

9
Slower band Faster band

Area snapshot

Ethnic group estimate

Most common ethnic group estimate
White - British

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

1881 census detail

Back to top

Brimson families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Brimson 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. Somerset leads with 91 Brimsons recorded in 1881 and an index of 22.82x.

County Total Index
Somerset 91 22.82x
Devon 34 6.59x
Middlesex 33 1.33x
Gloucestershire 19 3.91x
Hampshire 9 1.77x
Kent 9 1.06x
Staffordshire 9 1.08x
Essex 7 1.43x
Glamorgan 7 1.62x
Nottinghamshire 7 2.10x
Sussex 7 1.68x
Wiltshire 7 3.19x
Monmouthshire 6 3.35x
Flintshire 4 6.01x
Northamptonshire 2 0.86x
Herefordshire 1 0.98x
Lancashire 1 0.03x
Royal Navy 1 3.39x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Frome in Somerset leads with 32 Brimsons recorded in 1881 and an index of 335.43x.

Place Total Index
Frome 32 335.43x
Clerkenwell London 12 20.52x
Bedminster 9 24.01x
Bridgewater 9 83.10x
Burton Upon Trent 9 45.99x
Dalwood 9 2571.43x
Walcot 9 42.37x
Tiverton 8 90.09x
Brighton 7 8.31x
Marston Bigott 7 2333.33x
Radford 7 41.25x
Wells St Cuthbert Out 7 218.07x
Bow London 6 19.02x
Clifton 6 24.42x
Kingskerswell 6 697.67x
Stone In Dartford 6 276.50x
Wanstead 6 70.09x
Buckland Dinham 5 1282.05x
Carisbrooke 5 70.92x
Roath 5 25.52x
Trowbridge 5 51.60x
Wapping London 5 264.55x
Wolborough 5 76.69x
Bristol St James St Paul 4 24.69x
Hawarden Saltney 4 430.11x
Lyncombe Widcombe 4 38.31x
Shepton Mallet 4 89.49x
Trevethin 4 23.65x
Westbury On Trym 4 24.30x
Bristol St Ewin 3 15000.00x
Kensington London 3 2.18x
Abbots Kerswell 2 540.54x
Beckington 2 253.16x
Deptford St Paul 2 3.07x
Keynsham 2 69.93x
Llanover 2 32.68x
Plymouth St Andrew 2 5.03x
Poplar London 2 4.28x
St Helens 2 54.20x
St Pancras London 2 1.00x
Warminster 2 41.67x
Aldershot 1 5.88x
Brackley St James 1 188.68x
Bristol St Augustine 1 12.76x
Camerton 1 86.21x
Cardiff St John 1 7.10x
Ealing 1 4.52x
Exeter St Thomas The 1 19.01x
Islington London 1 0.42x
Leominster 1 23.81x
Lewisham 1 2.22x
Poltimore 1 400.00x
Rainhill 1 53.19x
Royal Navy 1 3.96x
Shalfleet 1 102.04x
St John Near Swansea 1 18.76x
Stapleton 1 10.85x
Tottenham 1 2.53x
Warkworth 1 47.62x
West Ham 1 0.93x

Top female names

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

Name Count
William 15
Thomas 13
John 11
George 9
Henry 7
Arthur 5
Robert 5
Walter 5
Alfred 4
Frank 4
Richard 4
Albert 3
Charles 3
Fred 3
James 3
Joseph 3
Clement 2
Edward 2
Ernest 2
Francis 2
Samuel 2
Wm. 2
Benjamin 1
Bertie 1
Carter 1
Fordham 1
Frederick 1
Harry 1
Jesse 1
Jos. 1
Louis 1
M.W. 1
Oliver 1
Sydney 1
Thos. 1
Tom 1

FAQ

Brimson surname: questions and answers

How common was the Brimson surname in 1881?

In 1881, 252 people were recorded with the Brimson surname. That placed it at #11,012 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Brimson surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 412 in 2016. That gives Brimson a modern rank of #11,627.

What does the Brimson map show?

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