NameCensus.

UK surname

Buttifant

In the 1881 census there were 102 people recorded with the Buttifant surname, ranking it #19,518 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 106, ranked #29,927, down from #19,518 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to St George Tombland, St Peter Mountergate, St John Timberhill, All Saints, St Michael at Thorn, St Ju, London parishes and St Paul, St Saviour, St Edmund, St Simon and Jude, St Peter Hungate, St Michael at Plea, St Martin a. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include North Norfolk, Amber Valley and Broadland.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Buttifant is 173 in 1901. Compared with 1881, the name has stayed broadly stable by 3.9%.

1881 census count

102

Ranked #19,518

Modern count

106

2016, ranked #29,927

Peak year

1901

173 bearers

Map years

7

1881 to 2016

Key insights

  • Buttifant had 102 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #19,518 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 106 in 2016, ranked #29,927.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 173 in 1901.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Spacious Rural Living.

Buttifant surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Buttifant surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Buttifant 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 36 #26,838
1861 historical 36 #29,463
1881 historical 102 #19,518
1891 historical 144 #18,842
1901 historical 173 #16,579
1911 historical 162 #17,003
1997 modern 142 #21,856
1998 modern 156 #21,144
1999 modern 147 #22,110
2000 modern 145 #22,259
2001 modern 141 #22,344
2002 modern 135 #23,398
2003 modern 125 #24,265
2004 modern 123 #24,679
2005 modern 127 #24,178
2006 modern 123 #24,873
2007 modern 123 #25,208
2008 modern 120 #25,922
2009 modern 115 #27,207
2010 modern 113 #28,162
2011 modern 113 #27,967
2012 modern 103 #29,733
2013 modern 105 #29,916
2014 modern 104 #30,365
2015 modern 103 #30,444
2016 modern 106 #29,927

Geography

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Where Buttifants are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around St George Tombland, St Peter Mountergate, St John Timberhill, All Saints, St Michael at Thorn, St Ju, London parishes, St Paul, St Saviour, St Edmund, St Simon and Jude, St Peter Hungate, St Michael at Plea, St Martin a, St Mary Islington and Lakenham , Eaton St Andrew, Town Close, St Stephen, St Peter Mancroft, St Giles, St Andrew, St John. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to North Norfolk, Amber Valley, Broadland and Rochford. 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 St George Tombland, St Peter Mountergate, St John Timberhill, All Saints, St Michael at Thorn, St Ju Norfolk
2 London parishes London 3
3 St Paul, St Saviour, St Edmund, St Simon and Jude, St Peter Hungate, St Michael at Plea, St Martin a Norfolk
4 St Mary Islington London (North Districts)
5 Lakenham , Eaton St Andrew, Town Close, St Stephen, St Peter Mancroft, St Giles, St Andrew, St John Norfolk

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 North Norfolk 001 North Norfolk
2 Amber Valley 012 Amber Valley
3 Broadland 007 Broadland
4 Broadland 015 Broadland
5 Rochford 001 Rochford

Forenames

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First names often paired with Buttifant

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

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Buttifant

Modern surname records can be compared with neighbourhood classifications. For Buttifant, 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 Buttifant surname is most associated with neighbourhoods classed as Spacious Rural Living, within Retired Professionals. This does not mean every Buttifant 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

Young Families and Mainstream Employment

Group

Terraced and Semi-Detached Suburbs

Within London, Buttifant 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

Buttifant is most concentrated in decile 7 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.

7
Lower access Higher access

Neighbourhood deprivation

Index of Multiple Deprivation

Buttifant falls in decile 6 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.

6
More deprived Less deprived

Broadband speed

Fixed broadband download speed

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

1881 census detail

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Buttifant families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Buttifant 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. Norfolk leads with 68 Buttifants recorded in 1881 and an index of 44.46x.

County Total Index
Norfolk 68 44.46x
Middlesex 6 0.60x
Northamptonshire 6 6.41x
Suffolk 6 4.95x
Wiltshire 5 5.68x
Essex 3 1.53x
Cumberland 2 2.34x
Buckinghamshire 1 1.66x
Devon 1 0.48x
Hertfordshire 1 1.46x
Kent 1 0.29x
Lincolnshire 1 0.63x
Surrey 1 0.21x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Heigham in Norfolk leads with 15 Buttifants recorded in 1881 and an index of 182.70x.

Place Total Index
Heigham 15 182.70x
Norwich St Paul 11 1195.65x
Great Yarmouth 9 71.03x
Peterborough 6 88.63x
Blundeston 5 2083.33x
Norwich St Benedict 5 735.29x
Salisbury St Martin 5 543.48x
Aylsham 4 439.56x
Hornsey 4 31.80x
Beaumont 3 2000.00x
Sprowston 3 447.76x
Lakenham 2 92.17x
Mundesley 2 1538.46x
Norwich St Clement 2 112.99x
Norwich St John 2 1428.57x
Norwich St John Timberhill 2 487.80x
Norwich St Stephen 2 142.86x
Poringland 2 1250.00x
St Cuthbert Within 2 202.02x
Boston 1 20.70x
Broxbourne 1 73.53x
Bungay Holy Trinity 1 161.29x
Frettenham 1 1250.00x
Hitcham 1 714.29x
Horsford 1 416.67x
Lambeth 1 1.15x
Lidford 1 107.53x
Norwich St Giles 1 204.08x
Runton 1 588.24x
Sevenoaks 1 36.36x
South Lopham 1 555.56x
St George Hanover 1 7.70x
St Pancras London 1 1.25x
Thorpe Next Norwich 1 61.73x
Topcroft 1 833.33x

Top female names

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

Name Count
Mary 5
Charlotte 4
Elizabeth 4
Sarah 4
Alice 3
Eliza 3
Emma 3
Amelia 2
Ellen 2
Florence 2
Maria 2
Nellie 2
Annie 1
Edith 1
Eleanor 1
Ethel 1
Fanney 1
Fanny 1
Harriet 1
Harriett 1
Jane 1
Laura 1
Leah 1
Louisa 1
Margaret 1
Maude 1
Minnia 1
Sophia 1
Susan 1
Susannah 1

Top male names

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

Name Count
John 9
Arthur 4
Charles 4
Thomas 4
Alfred 3
George 3
Frederick 2
James 2
Joshua 2
Josiah 2
Robert 2
William 2
Edward 1
Ernest 1
Fredrick 1
Henry 1
Herbert 1
Jousha 1
Owen 1
Walter 1

FAQ

Buttifant surname: questions and answers

How common was the Buttifant surname in 1881?

In 1881, 102 people were recorded with the Buttifant surname. That placed it at #19,518 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Buttifant surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 106 in 2016. That gives Buttifant a modern rank of #29,927.

What does the Buttifant map show?

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