NameCensus.

UK surname

Byng

An English surname derived from a word meaning "to burn", referring to someone who lived near a burning or who worked as a charcoal burner.

In the 1881 census there were 310 people recorded with the Byng surname, ranking it #9,488 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 798, ranked #6,931, up from #9,488 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to London parishes, Belbroughton and Halesowen (all except Hunnington, Romsley; partly in Halesowen, Worcestershire). In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Dudley and Bromsgrove.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Byng is 832 in 2013. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 157.4%.

1881 census count

310

Ranked #9,488

Modern count

798

2016, ranked #6,931

Peak year

2013

832 bearers

Map years

9

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Byng had 310 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #9,488 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 798 in 2016, ranked #6,931.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 491 in 1911.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Challenged Communities.

Byng surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Byng surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Byng 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 134 #14,033
1861 historical 120 #18,255
1881 historical 310 #9,488
1891 historical 329 #10,320
1901 historical 474 #8,382
1911 historical 491 #7,928
1997 modern 781 #6,668
1998 modern 804 #6,724
1999 modern 815 #6,693
2000 modern 790 #6,843
2001 modern 767 #6,863
2002 modern 785 #6,883
2003 modern 762 #6,921
2004 modern 780 #6,808
2005 modern 763 #6,859
2006 modern 764 #6,882
2007 modern 771 #6,899
2008 modern 790 #6,822
2009 modern 812 #6,801
2010 modern 831 #6,817
2011 modern 817 #6,826
2012 modern 826 #6,676
2013 modern 832 #6,737
2014 modern 832 #6,771
2015 modern 803 #6,917
2016 modern 798 #6,931

Geography

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Where Byngs are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around London parishes, Belbroughton, Halesowen (all except Hunnington, Romsley; partly in Halesowen, Worcestershire) and Bromsgrove, Upton Warren. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Dudley and Bromsgrove. 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 Belbroughton Worcestershire
3 London parishes London 3
4 Halesowen (all except Hunnington, Romsley; partly in Halesowen, Worcestershire) Staffordshire
5 Bromsgrove, Upton Warren Worcestershire

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Dudley 033 Dudley
2 Dudley 039 Dudley
3 Bromsgrove 010 Bromsgrove
4 Bromsgrove 013 Bromsgrove
5 Bromsgrove 011 Bromsgrove

Forenames

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First names often paired with Byng

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

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Byng

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

Read profile summary

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

Inner London Working Professionals

Within London, Byng is most associated with areas classed as Inner London Working Professionals, 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 primarily Inner London neighbourhoods are more densely populated than the Supergroup average. Residents have a younger over-all age profile than the Supergroup as a whole, and are less likely to be owner occupiers. Full time employment is more common than elsewhere in the Supergroup and multiple car ownership is uncommon. Chinese and non-EU-born European migrants are less in evidence than elsewhere in the Supergroup.

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

Byng 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

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

Meaning and origin of Byng

The surname Byng is believed to have originated in England during the medieval period, likely derived from the Old English word "bynge," which means a small valley or hollow. This suggests that the name may have been initially used as a descriptive term for someone who lived in or near such a geographic feature.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the Byng surname can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, which mentions a landowner named Byng in the county of Norfolk. This indicates that the name was already established in parts of eastern England by the late 11th century.

Over the subsequent centuries, the Byng family spread across various regions of England, with branches settling in counties like Berkshire, Kent, and Yorkshire. Some variations in spelling emerged, such as Bing, Binge, and Bynge, reflecting the inconsistencies in record-keeping during those times.

The Byng surname gained prominence in the 17th and 18th centuries, with several notable figures bearing the name. One of the most famous was Admiral John Byng (1704-1757), a Royal Navy officer who was controversially executed for failing to properly engage the French fleet during the Seven Years' War.

Another prominent individual was George Byng, 1st Viscount Torrington (1663-1733), a celebrated naval commander who played a crucial role in the War of the Spanish Succession. He was rewarded with the title of Viscount Torrington for his services.

In the literary realm, the Byng surname is associated with George Byng, 1st Viscount Torrington's son, John Byng (1692-1763), who was a poet and translator. His works include translations of works by Ovid and Virgil.

The Byng family also had ties to the aristocracy, with notable figures like George Byng, 7th Viscount Torrington (1768-1831), who served as a Member of Parliament and held various government positions.

Another individual of note was Sir John Byng, 1st Earl of Strafford (1772-1860), a British army officer and courtier who served as the Master of the Horse under King George IV and King William IV.

While the Byng surname originated in England, it has since spread to other parts of the world, including North America and Australia, as a result of migration and diaspora over the centuries.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

1881 census detail

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Byng families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Byng 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. Worcestershire leads with 113 Byngs recorded in 1881 and an index of 28.52x.

County Total Index
Worcestershire 113 28.52x
Hampshire 64 10.29x
Middlesex 27 0.89x
Staffordshire 23 2.25x
Kent 13 1.26x
Nottinghamshire 12 2.93x
Essex 10 1.67x
Yorkshire 9 0.30x
Renfrewshire 6 2.55x
Lincolnshire 4 0.82x
Suffolk 4 1.08x
Sussex 4 0.78x
Warwickshire 4 0.52x
Lancashire 3 0.08x
Leicestershire 3 0.89x
Surrey 3 0.20x
Northamptonshire 2 0.70x
Pembrokeshire 2 2.07x
Berkshire 1 0.44x
Buckinghamshire 1 0.55x
Hertfordshire 1 0.48x
Royal Navy 1 2.77x
Wiltshire 1 0.37x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Bromsgrove in Worcestershire leads with 62 Byngs recorded in 1881 and an index of 465.12x.

Place Total Index
Bromsgrove 62 465.12x
Portsea 62 50.88x
Hasbury 34 1312.74x
Kensington London 11 6.52x
Nottingham St Mary 11 10.40x
Rowley Regis 9 31.53x
Belbroughton 8 390.24x
Walsall Foreign 8 15.13x
Quendon 7 3500.00x
Halesowen 6 172.41x
Holbeck 6 30.12x
West Greenock 6 14.22x
Harborne 5 15.23x
Hastings St Mary 4 31.42x
Plumstead 4 11.59x
South Mimms 4 96.15x
Woolwich 4 10.46x
Openshaw 3 17.79x
Rock 3 189.87x
St Martin In Fields 3 16.52x
St Pancras London 3 1.23x
Boxford 2 294.12x
Caistor 2 103.63x
Horton In Bradford 2 4.26x
Ipswich St Peter 2 40.24x
Lambeth 2 0.76x
Northampton St Sepulchre 2 13.77x
Rugby 2 19.32x
Skirbeck 2 73.53x
Tenby St Mary In 2 40.73x
Tonbridge 2 5.36x
Wymondham 2 294.12x
Ashley 1 1000.00x
Aston 1 0.47x
Bethnal Green London 1 0.76x
Burntwood Edial 1 15.29x
Croydon 1 1.22x
Elloughton Cum Brough 1 107.53x
Eton 1 24.04x
Farnborough 1 15.31x
Finchley 1 8.60x
Folkestone 1 4.98x
Hillmorton 1 73.53x
Hythe St Leonard 1 27.32x
Islington London 1 0.34x
Leicester St Margaret 1 1.22x
Norwood 1 14.41x
Plumtree 1 232.56x
Poplar London 1 1.75x
Portsmouth 1 6.98x
Rochester St Margaret 1 9.17x
Royal Navy 1 3.24x
Tollesbury 1 66.67x
Watford 1 6.17x
West Ham 1 0.76x
Westminster St Margaret 1 6.84x
Wicken Bonant 1 588.24x
Windsor Castle 1 476.19x

Top female names

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

Top male names

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

Name Count
John 19
William 14
George 11
Henry 8
Charles 7
James 7
Joseph 7
Arthur 5
Frederick 5
Alfred 4
Robert 4
Thomas 4
Francis 3
Frank 3
Marcus 3
Albert 2
Edward 2
Harold 2
Isaac 2
Swithin 2
Basil 1
C. 1
Charley 1
Daniel 1
Edmund 1
Edwin 1
Eustace 1
Harry 1
Herbert 1
Hugh 1
Israel 1
Ivo 1
Jacob 1
Josiah 1
Julian 1
L. 1
Lancelot 1
Leonard 1
Levi 1
Lewis 1
Nelson 1
Oliver 1
Philip 1
Ragland 1
Ralph 1
Richard 1
Rufus 1
Samuel 1
Schornberg 1
Willm. 1

FAQ

Byng surname: questions and answers

How common was the Byng surname in 1881?

In 1881, 310 people were recorded with the Byng surname. That placed it at #9,488 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Byng surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 798 in 2016. That gives Byng a modern rank of #6,931.

What does the Byng surname mean?

An English surname derived from a word meaning "to burn", referring to someone who lived near a burning or who worked as a charcoal burner.

What does the Byng map show?

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