NameCensus.

UK surname

Brookhouse

A locational surname referring to someone who lived by a brook or stream near a house.

In the 1881 census there were 239 people recorded with the Brookhouse surname, ranking it #11,446 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 318, ranked #14,159, down from #11,446 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to Basford, St Peter and Lenton, Radford, Papplewick, Nuthall, Greasley, Brewhouse Yard. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Walsall and Warrington.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Brookhouse is 320 in 2013. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 33.1%.

1881 census count

239

Ranked #11,446

Modern count

318

2016, ranked #14,159

Peak year

2013

320 bearers

Map years

9

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Brookhouse had 239 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #11,446 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 318 in 2016, ranked #14,159.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 283 in 1901.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Challenged Communities.

Brookhouse surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Brookhouse surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Brookhouse 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 156 #12,552
1861 historical 127 #17,469
1881 historical 239 #11,446
1891 historical 242 #13,048
1901 historical 283 #12,117
1911 historical 255 #12,719
1997 modern 298 #13,593
1998 modern 307 #13,690
1999 modern 300 #13,958
2000 modern 299 #13,937
2001 modern 303 #13,645
2002 modern 288 #14,373
2003 modern 279 #14,506
2004 modern 280 #14,530
2005 modern 273 #14,708
2006 modern 271 #14,880
2007 modern 278 #14,773
2008 modern 281 #14,782
2009 modern 282 #15,059
2010 modern 307 #14,485
2011 modern 303 #14,506
2012 modern 309 #14,236
2013 modern 320 #14,104
2014 modern 316 #14,301
2015 modern 319 #14,118
2016 modern 318 #14,159

Geography

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Where Brookhouses are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around Basford, St Peter, Lenton, Radford, Papplewick, Nuthall, Greasley, Brewhouse Yard, Sutton Coldfield and Aldridge. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Walsall and Warrington. 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 Basford Nottinghamshire
2 St Peter Derbyshire
3 Lenton, Radford, Papplewick, Nuthall, Greasley, Brewhouse Yard Nottinghamshire
4 Sutton Coldfield Warwickshire
5 Aldridge Staffordshire

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Walsall 015 Walsall
2 Walsall 004 Walsall
3 Walsall 016 Walsall
4 Walsall 022 Walsall
5 Warrington 008 Warrington

Forenames

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First names often paired with Brookhouse

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

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Brookhouse

Modern surname records can be compared with neighbourhood classifications. For Brookhouse, 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 Brookhouse surname is most associated with neighbourhoods classed as Challenged Communities, within Baseline UK. This does not mean every Brookhouse household fits that profile, but it gives a useful signal about where the modern surname distribution is strongest.

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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

Professional Employment and Family Lifecycles

Group

Established Homeowners with Children

Within London, Brookhouse is most associated with areas classed as Established Homeowners with Children, 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 predominantly British-born residents are typically married/in civil partnerships and own the properties in which they are raising their children. Parents are typically over 45, and many other residents are beyond normal retirement age. Detached and semi-detached houses predominate and multiple car ownership is common.

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

Brookhouse 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

Brookhouse 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 Brookhouse is most associated with a typical fixed broadband download band of 50-60 mbit/s.

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

8
Slower band Faster band

Area snapshot

Ethnic group estimate

Most common ethnic group estimate
White - British

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

Meaning and origin of Brookhouse

The surname Brookhouse has its origins in England, dating back to the medieval period. It is a locational surname, derived from a place name that referred to a house or settlement near a brook or stream. The name is composed of two elements: the Old English word "broc," meaning a small stream or brook, and the word "hus," meaning a house or dwelling.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Brookhouse can be found in the Pipe Rolls of Yorkshire from 1166, where a person named William de Brochusum is mentioned. This spelling variation reflects the evolving nature of the surname over time, as it adapted to different regional dialects and scribal conventions.

The Brookhouse surname is also documented in the Hundred Rolls of 1273, which were surveys conducted in various counties throughout England. These records provide valuable insights into the distribution and prevalence of surnames during that era.

In the 14th century, the Brookhouse surname appears in the Poll Tax Returns of Yorkshire from 1379. This tax record lists several individuals bearing the name, including John de Brokhouse and Willelmus de Brokhouse, indicating the presence of the surname in that region.

One notable individual with the Brookhouse surname was Robert Brookhouse (c. 1486-1558), a English Catholic priest and martyr. He was executed during the reign of Queen Mary I for his refusal to conform to the Protestant reforms of the Church of England.

Another prominent figure was Sir Robert Brookhouse (1570-1647), an English lawyer and politician who served as a Member of Parliament for Shropshire in the early 17th century. He was also involved in the colonization efforts in Virginia and held positions in the Virginia Company.

In the 18th century, John Brookhouse (1706-1767) was a notable English businessman and entrepreneur. He established a successful textile manufacturing company in Yorkshire, which contributed to the region's thriving wool industry during the Industrial Revolution.

The surname Brookhouse also has connections to place names, such as Brookhouse in Yorkshire and Brookhouse Hill in Lancashire. These locations likely derived their names from the same linguistic roots as the surname, reflecting the close relationship between surnames and geographical features in England.

Throughout history, the Brookhouse surname has been subject to various spelling variations, including Brokehouse, Brokhous, Brokehous, and Brookhous, among others. These variations reflect the fluidity of surname spelling in earlier periods before standardization became more common.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

1881 census detail

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Brookhouse families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Brookhouse 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. Nottinghamshire leads with 45 Brookhouses recorded in 1881 and an index of 14.32x.

County Total Index
Nottinghamshire 45 14.32x
Staffordshire 45 5.72x
Derbyshire 27 7.40x
Warwickshire 26 4.42x
Yorkshire 21 0.91x
Leicestershire 15 5.80x
Lancashire 14 0.51x
Northumberland 10 2.88x
Middlesex 8 0.34x
Essex 6 1.30x
Kent 5 0.63x
Sussex 5 1.27x
Lanarkshire 3 0.40x
Surrey 3 0.26x
Hampshire 2 0.42x
Cheshire 1 0.19x
Lincolnshire 1 0.27x
Somerset 1 0.27x
Worcestershire 1 0.33x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Sutton Coldfield in Warwickshire leads with 18 Brookhouses recorded in 1881 and an index of 291.26x.

Place Total Index
Sutton Coldfield 18 291.26x
Nottingham St Mary 17 20.92x
Snenton 16 129.55x
Stoke Upon Trent 14 16.78x
Wednesbury 11 55.92x
Prudhoe 10 414.94x
Basford 9 62.15x
Belper 8 112.99x
Derby St Werburgh 8 37.97x
Shenstone 8 400.00x
Barnsley 7 29.37x
Aldridge 6 397.35x
Great Baddow 6 365.85x
Kirkdale 6 12.89x
Ripley 6 133.04x
Aston 5 3.09x
Belgrave 5 85.76x
Brighton 5 6.31x
Deptford St Paul 5 8.15x
Hunslet 5 13.88x
Derby St Peter 4 34.39x
Leicester St Margaret 4 6.35x
Salford 4 4.92x
Chelsea London 3 4.27x
Chorlton On Medlock 3 6.83x
Leeds 3 2.30x
Radford 3 18.80x
Rotherham 3 23.04x
Willenhall 3 20.35x
Aldershot 2 12.49x
Bedworth 2 46.62x
Easingwold 2 122.70x
Glasgow 2 1.49x
Lambeth 2 0.98x
Leicester St Leonard 2 81.63x
Melton Mowbray 2 43.01x
St George Hanover Square 2 4.87x
Trentham 2 29.90x
Bath St Michael 1 52.63x
Blaby 1 96.15x
Caverswall 1 24.45x
Derby All Sts 1 32.79x
Didsbury 1 27.25x
Govan 1 0.54x
Huddersfield 1 2.97x
Islington London 1 0.44x
Leicester All Sts 1 19.69x
Newington 1 1.16x
Redditch 1 16.21x
Solihull 1 23.64x
Spittlegate 1 19.38x
St Marylebone London 1 0.80x
Timperley 1 55.87x
Westminster St James 1 4.17x

Top female names

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

Name Count
Mary 16
Sarah 11
Elizabeth 10
Alice 6
Emily 6
Emma 6
Jane 5
Annie 4
Fanny 4
Hannah 4
Maria 4
Martha 4
Ann 3
Eliza 3
Ellen 2
Margaret 2
Rachael 2
Ada 1
Amelia 1
Anne 1
Bettsey 1
Catharine 1
Clara 1
Daisy 1
Edith 1
Elizath. 1
Elizth. 1
Esther 1
Eveline 1
Florance 1
Florence 1
Frances 1
Harriet 1
Harriett 1
Harriot 1
Helena 1
Lillian 1
Lydia 1
Maud 1
Nelly 1
Phoebe 1
Rachel 1
Rosanna 1
Rose 1
Ruth 1
Selina 1
Sophia 1

Top male names

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

Name Count
John 12
Joseph 12
William 9
Thomas 8
Charles 6
Henry 6
Frederick 5
George 5
Arthur 4
Harry 3
James 3
Richard 3
Robert 3
Albert 2
Edward 2
Francis 2
Saml. 2
Walter 2
Alfred 1
Andrew 1
Bertie 1
Bertram 1
Clement 1
Edwin 1
Elijah 1
Elisha 1
Enoch 1
Ernest 1
Fred 1
Frederic 1
Fredric 1
Harold 1
J. 1
Lewis 1
Nathaniel 1
Not 1
Ralph 1
Saml.G. 1
Samuel 1
Tom 1
Willm 1
Wm. 1
Wm.N. 1

FAQ

Brookhouse surname: questions and answers

How common was the Brookhouse surname in 1881?

In 1881, 239 people were recorded with the Brookhouse surname. That placed it at #11,446 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Brookhouse surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 318 in 2016. That gives Brookhouse a modern rank of #14,159.

What does the Brookhouse surname mean?

A locational surname referring to someone who lived by a brook or stream near a house.

What does the Brookhouse map show?

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