NameCensus.

UK surname

Brownbill

In the 1881 census there were 328 people recorded with the Brownbill surname, ranking it #9,126 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 546, ranked #9,334, down from #9,126 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to Prescot, Halsall and Liverpool. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include St. Helens and Knowsley.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Brownbill is 579 in 2010. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 66.5%.

1881 census count

328

Ranked #9,126

Modern count

546

2016, ranked #9,334

Peak year

2010

579 bearers

Map years

9

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Brownbill had 328 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #9,126 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 546 in 2016, ranked #9,334.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 446 in 1901.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Young Families in Industrial Towns.

Brownbill surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Brownbill surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Brownbill 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 179 #11,346
1861 historical 231 #10,572
1881 historical 328 #9,126
1891 historical 364 #9,538
1901 historical 446 #8,767
1911 historical 317 #11,011
1997 modern 537 #8,823
1998 modern 554 #8,876
1999 modern 564 #8,802
2000 modern 546 #9,001
2001 modern 552 #8,780
2002 modern 548 #9,000
2003 modern 524 #9,181
2004 modern 511 #9,361
2005 modern 509 #9,328
2006 modern 530 #9,074
2007 modern 542 #8,991
2008 modern 539 #9,098
2009 modern 562 #9,013
2010 modern 579 #9,013
2011 modern 549 #9,281
2012 modern 553 #9,126
2013 modern 557 #9,236
2014 modern 548 #9,418
2015 modern 541 #9,451
2016 modern 546 #9,334

Geography

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Where Brownbills are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around Prescot, Halsall, Liverpool, West Derby 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 St. Helens and Knowsley. 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 Prescot Lancashire
2 Halsall Lancashire
3 Liverpool Lancashire
4 West Derby Lancashire
5 Walton-on-the-Hill Lancashire

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 St. Helens 020 St. Helens
2 St. Helens 007 St. Helens
3 St. Helens 012 St. Helens
4 Knowsley 007 Knowsley
5 St. Helens 022 St. Helens

Forenames

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First names often paired with Brownbill

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

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Brownbill

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

Semi- and Un-Skilled Workforce

Group

Young Families in Industrial Towns

Nationally, the Brownbill surname is most associated with neighbourhoods classed as Young Families in Industrial Towns, within Semi- and Un-Skilled Workforce. This does not mean every Brownbill household fits that profile, but it gives a useful signal about where the modern surname distribution is strongest.

Read profile summary

Group profile

These neighbourhoods house predominantly young, UK-born individuals identifying with a White ethnic group with dependent children. Long-term disability and unpaid care are prevalent, and religious affiliations are uncommon. Housing is terraced or semi-detached and social rented sector housing is the norm. Unemployment is above the Supergroup average, and employment is principally in elementary occupations, as process plant and machine operatives, or in caring and leisure services. Educational attainment is low. The group is scattered throughout former industrial towns in the Midlands and the South Wales Valleys.

Wider pattern

Living in terraced or semi-detached houses, residents of these neighbourhoods typically lack high levels of education and work in elementary or routine service occupations. Unemployment is above average. Residents are predominantly born in the UK, and residents are also predominantly from ethnic minorities. Social (but not private sector) rented sector housing is common. This Supergroup is found throughout the UK’s conurbations and industrial regions but is also an integral part of smaller towns.

London neighbourhood type

London Output Area Classification

Supergroup

The Greater London Mix

Group

Social Rented Sector Professional Support Workers

Within London, Brownbill 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

Brownbill 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

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

1881 census detail

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Brownbill families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Brownbill 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 300 Brownbills recorded in 1881 and an index of 7.90x.

County Total Index
Lancashire 300 7.90x
Yorkshire 18 0.57x
Middlesex 3 0.09x
Cheshire 2 0.28x
Cambridgeshire 1 0.49x
Dorset 1 0.48x
Hertfordshire 1 0.45x
Sussex 1 0.19x
Wiltshire 1 0.35x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Sutton in Lancashire leads with 49 Brownbills recorded in 1881 and an index of 384.92x.

Place Total Index
Sutton 49 384.92x
Everton 36 29.75x
Liverpool 26 11.28x
Prescot 23 334.79x
Eccleston In Prescot 20 104.93x
West Derby 17 15.31x
Pendleton In Salford 15 33.16x
Windle 12 56.18x
Melling 11 1250.00x
Broughton In Salford 8 23.05x
Salford 8 7.16x
Wakefield 8 32.87x
Chorlton On Medlock 7 11.61x
Hulme 7 8.83x
Bickerstaffe 6 240.96x
Aintree 5 1666.67x
Bradford 5 28.14x
Hunslet 5 10.11x
Oldham 5 4.08x
Parr 5 36.82x
Beswick 4 41.19x
Bradford 4 5.21x
Newchurch 4 12.88x
Stretford 4 19.15x
Hackney London 3 1.67x
Walton On Hill 3 14.58x
Accrington 2 5.79x
Ardwick 2 5.84x
Hambleton 2 465.12x
Heap 2 9.93x
Huyton With Roby 2 44.94x
North Meols 2 5.38x
Toxteth Park 2 1.56x
Aughton 1 26.60x
Blackburn 1 0.99x
Farnworth 1 4.40x
Hastings Holy Trinity 1 25.13x
Higher Bebington 1 22.12x
Holbeck 1 4.76x
Portland 1 8.86x
Potterne 1 78.74x
Poulton Le Fylde 1 74.07x
Rainhill 1 41.15x
Singleton 1 256.41x
St Peter Cambridge 1 147.06x
Tranmere 1 3.85x
Watford 1 5.85x

Top female names

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

Name Count
Mary 29
Elizabeth 17
Ellen 14
Margaret 13
Sarah 10
Jane 9
Ann 6
Annie 6
Eliza 6
Alice 5
Emma 4
Martha 4
Esther 3
Hannah 3
Anne 2
Catherine 2
Edith 2
Eleanor 2
Emily 2
Fanny 2
Abigal 1
Abigall 1
Agnes 1
Betsy 1
Charlotte 1
Elen 1
Elizth. 1
Ester 1
Ethel 1
Hanna 1
Harriet 1
Hellen 1
Jesse 1
Josephine 1
Louisa 1
Louise 1
Margt. 1
Maria 1
Maud 1
Minnie 1
Paulina 1
Rosanna 1
Susan 1

Top male names

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

Name Count
John 30
James 22
William 14
Thomas 11
George 10
Joseph 9
Edward 8
Henry 8
Richard 5
Alfred 4
Robert 4
Herbert 3
Samuel 3
Charles 2
Edmond 2
Ernest 2
Oliver 2
Peter 2
Roger 2
Thos. 2
Albert 1
Arthur 1
Aurther 1
Blagdon 1
Chas. 1
Daniel 1
David 1
Edmund 1
Frederick 1
Hebert 1
Jas. 1
Jno.T. 1
Jno.T.T. 1
Nathaniel 1
Tom 1
W.H. 1
Walter 1
Wm. 1

FAQ

Brownbill surname: questions and answers

How common was the Brownbill surname in 1881?

In 1881, 328 people were recorded with the Brownbill surname. That placed it at #9,126 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Brownbill surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 546 in 2016. That gives Brownbill a modern rank of #9,334.

What does the Brownbill map show?

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