NameCensus.

UK surname

Butwell

In the 1881 census there were 60 people recorded with the Butwell surname, ranking it #25,133 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 154, ranked #23,293, up from #25,133 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to Wolverhampton, Kings Norton and Oldswinford. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Havant, East Staffordshire and Portsmouth.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Butwell is 161 in 1998. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 156.7%.

1881 census count

60

Ranked #25,133

Modern count

154

2016, ranked #23,293

Peak year

1998

161 bearers

Map years

5

1901 to 2016

Key insights

  • Butwell had 60 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #25,133 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 154 in 2016, ranked #23,293.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 115 in 1911.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Challenged Communities.

Butwell surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Butwell surname density by area, 2016 modern.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Butwell 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 54 #23,577
1861 historical 81 #23,431
1881 historical 60 #25,133
1891 historical 92 #25,109
1901 historical 107 #21,955
1911 historical 115 #20,951
1997 modern 144 #21,660
1998 modern 161 #20,754
1999 modern 159 #21,030
2000 modern 145 #22,259
2001 modern 146 #21,857
2002 modern 143 #22,595
2003 modern 145 #22,172
2004 modern 140 #22,793
2005 modern 133 #23,502
2006 modern 134 #23,590
2007 modern 146 #22,596
2008 modern 146 #22,822
2009 modern 145 #23,473
2010 modern 147 #23,809
2011 modern 151 #23,204
2012 modern 149 #23,372
2013 modern 159 #22,706
2014 modern 161 #22,728
2015 modern 154 #23,306
2016 modern 154 #23,293

Geography

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Where Butwells are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around Wolverhampton, Kings Norton, Oldswinford, Aston, North and Birmingham Town: Birmingham. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Havant, East Staffordshire, Portsmouth, Solihull and Walsall. 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 Wolverhampton Staffordshire
2 Kings Norton Worcestershire
3 Oldswinford Worcestershire
4 Aston, North Oxfordshire
5 Birmingham Town: Birmingham Warwickshire

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Havant 003 Havant
2 East Staffordshire 006 East Staffordshire
3 Portsmouth 017 Portsmouth
4 Solihull 021 Solihull
5 Walsall 011 Walsall

Forenames

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First names often paired with Butwell

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

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Butwell

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

Young Families and Mainstream Employment

Group

Social Rented Sector and Diverse Origins

Within London, Butwell is most associated with areas classed as Social Rented Sector and Diverse Origins, 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.

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Group profile

Scattered across London’s Inner and Outer suburbs, residents of these neighbourhoods are typically housed in the social rented sector. Although terraced and semi-detached houses predominate, more residents live in flats than elsewhere in the Supergroup. Neighbourhoods are more ethnically diverse than the Supergroup average. Those identifying as of Bangladeshi, Pakistani and some Black ethnicities are more prevalent. Europeans born in a overseas non-EU countries make up more of the lower proportion of residents identifying as White. Few residents are very old (85+). Employment in distribution, hotels and restaurants is more common than elsewhere in the Supergroup.

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

Butwell is most concentrated in decile 10 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.

10
Lower access Higher access

Neighbourhood deprivation

Index of Multiple Deprivation

Butwell falls in decile 2 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.

2
More deprived Less deprived

Broadband speed

Fixed broadband download speed

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

1881 census detail

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Butwell families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Butwell 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 12 Butwells recorded in 1881 and an index of 2.05x.

County Total Index
Middlesex 12 2.05x
Warwickshire 12 8.13x
Worcestershire 12 15.70x
Staffordshire 11 5.57x
Oxfordshire 9 24.90x
Essex 1 0.87x
Kent 1 0.50x
Norfolk 1 1.11x
Surrey 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. Kings Norton in Worcestershire leads with 9 Butwells recorded in 1881 and an index of 131.39x.

Place Total Index
Kings Norton 9 131.39x
North Aston 8 16000.00x
Kensington London 7 21.52x
Willenhall 7 189.19x
Birmingham 6 12.20x
Aston 4 9.84x
Harborne 4 63.19x
Mile End Old Town London 4 32.13x
Stourbridge 3 152.28x
Barney 1 1666.67x
Battersea 1 4.64x
Claverdon 1 833.33x
Edgbaston 1 21.83x
Gillingham 1 24.27x
Islington London 1 1.76x
Swyncombe 1 1428.57x
West Ham 1 3.92x

Top female names

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

Name Count
Emma 4
Eliza 3
Mary 3
Agness 1
Ann 1
Catherine 1
Charlotte 1
Eliz. 1
Esther 1
Eva 1
Florence 1
Harriet 1
Louisa 1
Lucy 1
Lydia 1
Maria 1
Rebeca 1
Rose 1
Sarah 1
Sophia 1
Susan 1
Thursa 1

Top male names

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

Name Count
George 3
Henry 3
John 3
William 3
Alfred 2
Charles 2
Edward 2
Albert 1
Alex 1
Chas. 1
Edmund 1
F. 1
Francis 1
Isaac 1
Joseph 1
Joshua 1
Kaleb 1
Thomas 1
Thos. 1
Walter 1

Top occupations

Occupational titles are kept as recorded and later transcribed, so related jobs, spelling variants and mistakes stay separate. Scholar was the census term for a child in education. That means the other rows often tell you more about adult work in Butwell households.

FAQ

Butwell surname: questions and answers

How common was the Butwell surname in 1881?

In 1881, 60 people were recorded with the Butwell surname. That placed it at #25,133 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Butwell surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 154 in 2016. That gives Butwell a modern rank of #23,293.

What does the Butwell map show?

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