NameCensus.

UK surname

Butcher

An occupational surname referring to a person who slaughters animals or sells meat.

In the 1881 census there were 12,606 people recorded with the Butcher surname, ranking it #332 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 15,086, ranked #421, down from #332 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to London parishes, St Pancras and Lambeth. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include East Cambridgeshire, Fenland and Babergh.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Butcher is 17,411 in 1911. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 19.7%.

1881 census count

12,606

Ranked #332

Modern count

15,086

2016, ranked #421

Peak year

1911

17,411 bearers

Map years

9

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Butcher had 12,606 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #332 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 15,086 in 2016, ranked #421.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 17,411 in 1911.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Rural Amenity.

Butcher surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Butcher surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Butcher 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 8,537 #313
1861 historical 8,910 #306
1881 historical 12,606 #332
1891 historical 13,628 #315
1901 historical 15,870 #323
1911 historical 17,411 #272
1997 modern 15,942 #380
1998 modern 16,545 #382
1999 modern 16,496 #386
2000 modern 16,222 #387
2001 modern 15,822 #387
2002 modern 16,134 #388
2003 modern 15,589 #391
2004 modern 15,513 #395
2005 modern 15,050 #403
2006 modern 14,995 #406
2007 modern 14,947 #409
2008 modern 14,991 #411
2009 modern 15,271 #414
2010 modern 15,637 #412
2011 modern 15,441 #410
2012 modern 15,116 #411
2013 modern 15,504 #409
2014 modern 15,483 #413
2015 modern 15,236 #420
2016 modern 15,086 #421

Geography

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Where Butchers are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around London parishes, St Pancras, Lambeth and St Mary Islington. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to East Cambridgeshire, Fenland, Babergh, Forest Heath and Swale. 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 London parishes London 1
2 London parishes London 3
3 St Pancras London (North Districts)
4 Lambeth London (South Districts)
5 St Mary Islington London (North Districts)

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 East Cambridgeshire 001 East Cambridgeshire
2 Fenland 006 Fenland
3 Babergh 007 Babergh
4 Forest Heath 004 Forest Heath
5 Swale 007 Swale

Forenames

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First names often paired with Butcher

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

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Butcher

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

Older Residents in Owner-Occupied Suburbs

Group

London Fringe

Within London, Butcher is most associated with areas classed as London Fringe, part of Older Residents in Owner-Occupied Suburbs. 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

Predominantly located in neighbourhoods on the outskirts of Greater London, residents of these neighbourhoods typically have their highest qualifications below degree (Level 4) level, with those still in work engaged in skilled trades and occupations in distribution, hotels and restaurants. There is low ethnic diversity in these neighbourhoods and high levels of Christian religious affiliation. Detached or terraced houses predominate, often with spare rooms.

Wider London pattern

The age distribution of these neighbourhoods is skewed towards the middle-aged and old, although few residents live alone or in communal establishments and numbers of dependent children are around average. Owner occupation is the norm, as is residence in detached or semi-detached houses. Residential densities are low and many households have spare rooms. Most residents were born in the UK and, aside from some identifying as members of Chinese or Indian ethnicities, identify as White. Mixed ethnicity households are rare. Incidence of married couples is higher than average and few individuals have never been married. A large proportion of individuals still in employment work in administrative and secretarial occupations, or in the construction industry. Few residents are students, and many households own more than one car.

Healthy neighbourhoods

Access to healthy assets and hazards

Butcher is most concentrated in decile 5 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.

5
Lower access Higher access

Neighbourhood deprivation

Index of Multiple Deprivation

Butcher falls in decile 5 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.

5
More deprived Less deprived

Broadband speed

Fixed broadband download speed

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

Meaning and origin of Butcher

The surname BUTCHER originates from an occupational name for a butcher, derived from the Anglo-Norman French word "boucher". It is believed to have arisen in England in the 12th century.

The name is thought to have first appeared in areas of England with significant Norman influence, such as the counties of Kent, Sussex, and Hampshire. Early variations of the spelling include Bocher, Bucher, and Buchere.

One of the earliest recorded examples of the surname BUTCHER can be found in the Hundredorum Rolls of 1273, which list a Robert le Boucher in Oxfordshire. The name also appears in the Subsidy Rolls of Sussex in 1327, where a Thomas le Boucher is mentioned.

In the 14th century, the surname BUTCHER is found in various records, including the Poll Tax Returns of Yorkshire in 1379, which lists a Johannes Bocher. The Friary Rolls of York in 1388 also mention a William Boucher.

Notable individuals with the surname BUTCHER include John Butcher (c.1553-1625), an English Catholic priest and martyr, and Humphrey Butcher (c.1594-1660), an English clergyman and religious writer. Samuel Butcher (1811-1876) was an English classical scholar and translator, while Henry Charles Butcher (1832-1909) was an English classical scholar and educator.

Another prominent figure was Samuel Butcher (1625-1685), an English physician and author who wrote works on ancient Greek medicine. Richard Butcher (1817-1891) was a notable English lawyer and judge who served as a Baron of the Exchequer.

The BUTCHER surname has also been associated with various place names, such as Butcher's Green in Essex and Butcher's Lane in Gloucestershire, reflecting the occupational origins of the name.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

1881 census detail

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Butcher families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Butcher 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. Middlesex leads with 1,578 Butchers recorded in 1881 and an index of 1.28x.

County Total Index
Middlesex 1,578 1.28x
Essex 1,179 4.85x
Kent 1,153 2.75x
Surrey 1,121 1.87x
Suffolk 1,031 6.88x
Yorkshire 786 0.64x
Lancashire 729 0.50x
Hampshire 505 2.00x
Norfolk 464 2.45x
Sussex 427 2.06x
Cambridgeshire 299 3.83x
Wiltshire 295 2.71x
Warwickshire 237 0.76x
Gloucestershire 223 0.92x
Somerset 222 1.12x
Buckinghamshire 171 2.30x
Derbyshire 165 0.86x
Bedfordshire 161 2.53x
Durham 161 0.44x
Staffordshire 161 0.39x
Berkshire 159 1.72x
Shropshire 142 1.34x
Devon 115 0.45x
Worcestershire 107 0.67x
Hertfordshire 103 1.21x
Lincolnshire 96 0.49x
Huntingdonshire 95 3.89x
Northamptonshire 92 0.79x
Dorset 85 1.05x
Oxfordshire 76 1.00x
Monmouthshire 72 0.81x
Nottinghamshire 51 0.31x
Northumberland 47 0.26x
Cheshire 42 0.15x
Glamorgan 34 0.16x
Leicestershire 34 0.25x
Herefordshire 30 0.59x
Cumberland 24 0.23x
Brecknockshire 21 0.85x
Rutland 16 1.77x
Lanarkshire 15 0.04x
Channel Islands 11 0.30x
Royal Navy 9 0.61x
Westmorland 9 0.33x
Cornwall 7 0.05x
Denbighshire 7 0.15x
Morayshire 7 0.37x
Carmarthenshire 6 0.12x
Midlothian 6 0.04x
Renfrewshire 5 0.05x
Dunbartonshire 4 0.12x
Pembrokeshire 4 0.10x
Flintshire 3 0.09x
Peeblesshire 3 0.52x
Argyllshire 2 0.06x
Ayrshire 2 0.02x
Caernarfonshire 2 0.04x
Fife 2 0.03x
Perthshire 2 0.04x
Angus 1 0.01x
Isle of Man 1 0.04x
Montgomeryshire 1 0.04x
Selkirkshire 1 0.09x
West Lothian 1 0.05x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Lambeth in Surrey leads with 181 Butchers recorded in 1881 and an index of 1.69x.

Place Total Index
Lambeth 181 1.69x
Islington London 167 1.40x
St Pancras London 144 1.45x
Lowestoft 133 18.78x
Camberwell 122 1.55x
St Marylebone London 120 1.83x
Layton With Warbreck 110 20.52x
Mildenhall 109 68.41x
Battersea 101 2.23x
West Ham 101 1.88x
Hackney London 100 1.45x
Brighton 91 2.17x
Chelsea London 91 2.45x
Kensington London 87 1.27x
Sheffield 83 2.14x
Bocking 80 54.74x
Littleport 80 53.70x
Aston 79 0.92x
Bromley London 62 2.29x
Portsea 60 1.21x
Bethnal Green London 59 1.10x
Lewisham 59 2.63x
Birmingham 57 0.55x
Preston 57 1.46x
Bermondsey 53 1.45x
Deptford St Paul 52 1.61x
Paddington London 52 1.15x
Newington 49 1.08x
Ealing 44 4.00x
Leighton Buzzard 44 16.05x
Southwark St George Martyr 44 1.78x
Ryde 43 7.93x
St George Hanover Square 43 1.98x
Shoreditch London 41 0.77x
Braintree 40 18.33x
Ipswich St Clement 40 10.49x
Strood 40 16.69x
Wavendon 40 96.95x
Maidstone 39 3.12x
Tonbridge 39 2.57x
Hornsey 38 2.44x
Ecclesall Bierlow 37 1.49x
Frome 36 7.60x
Kings Lynn St Margaret 36 6.34x
Trowbridge 35 7.27x
Ecclesfield 34 3.80x
Fulham London 34 1.90x
Gestingthorpe 34 125.46x
Cam 33 44.55x
Penge 33 4.20x
Barrow In Furness 32 1.61x
Kimberworth 32 4.73x
Swanscombe 32 16.96x
Twerton 32 15.66x
Broadwater 31 6.51x
Halstead 31 10.94x
Rotherhithe 31 2.04x
Toppesfield 31 85.45x
Alburgh 30 114.81x
Assington 30 95.69x
Croydon 30 0.90x
Wonersh 30 40.09x
Brightside Bierlow 29 1.21x
Clapham 29 1.88x
Folkestone 29 3.56x
Manchester 29 0.44x
Norwich St James 29 19.53x
Tottenham 29 1.48x
Whitwell 29 37.83x
Ashford 28 6.85x
Epsom 28 9.58x
Poplar London 28 1.21x
Streatham 28 3.07x
Aldeburgh 27 30.42x
Ipswich St Margaret 27 5.31x
Lakenheath 27 34.10x
Mile End Old Town London 27 1.03x
Monks Eleigh 27 110.84x
Putney 27 4.81x
Wethersfield 27 44.07x

Top female names

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

Name Count
Mary 756
Elizabeth 453
Sarah 437
Jane 236
Emma 230
Eliza 224
Alice 221
Ann 208
Ellen 194
Emily 193
Annie 163
Hannah 138
Charlotte 109
Martha 102
Harriet 100
Louisa 100
Maria 84
Caroline 82
Florence 82
Kate 76
Margaret 75
Susan 75
Fanny 72
Edith 69
Ada 66
Harriett 65
Clara 57
Frances 54
Rose 52
Lucy 51
Agnes 46
Catherine 44
Sophia 38
Jessie 37
Amelia 36
Anne 36
Esther 35
Susannah 35
Julia 33
Rebecca 29
Amy 28
Anna 28
Matilda 27
Eleanor 25
Isabella 24
Lizzie 23
Laura 22
Rosa 22
Minnie 21
Rachel 20

Top male names

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

Name Count
William 755
John 621
George 540
James 428
Charles 351
Thomas 346
Henry 328
Robert 168
Alfred 160
Edward 156
Arthur 154
Frederick 151
Joseph 145
Samuel 105
Walter 96
Harry 94
Albert 82
Richard 75
Benjamin 61
Herbert 61
Frank 60
Ernest 54
David 38
Edwin 33
Francis 33
Isaac 31
Wm. 31
Stephen 29
Fred 27
Thos. 26
Geo. 24
Jacob 20
Mark 20
Percy 19
Sidney 17
Fredrick 16
Matthew 15
Tom 14
Chas. 13
Jesse 13
Edmund 12
Abraham 11
Fredk. 11
Horace 11
Andrew 10
Daniel 10
Edwd. 10
Philip 10
Willie 10
Willm. 10

FAQ

Butcher surname: questions and answers

How common was the Butcher surname in 1881?

In 1881, 12,606 people were recorded with the Butcher surname. That placed it at #332 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Butcher surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 15,086 in 2016. That gives Butcher a modern rank of #421.

What does the Butcher surname mean?

An occupational surname referring to a person who slaughters animals or sells meat.

What does the Butcher map show?

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