NameCensus.

UK surname

Cairnie

In the 1881 census there were 180 people recorded with the Cairnie surname, ranking it #13,735 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 281, ranked #15,449, down from #13,735 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to Govan Combination, Edinburgh and Dundee, Liff, Benvie and Invergowry. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Kirkcudbright, Mid Nithsdale and Ardrossan North East.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Cairnie is 281 in 2016. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 56.1%.

1881 census count

180

Ranked #13,735

Modern count

281

2016, ranked #15,449

Peak year

2016

281 bearers

Map years

8

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Cairnie had 180 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #13,735 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 281 in 2016, ranked #15,449.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 242 in 1901.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Established but Challenged.

Cairnie surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Cairnie surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Cairnie 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 151 #12,840
1861 historical 160 #14,468
1881 historical 180 #13,735
1891 historical 232 #13,429
1901 historical 242 #13,392
1911 historical 15 #31,938
1997 modern 246 #15,445
1998 modern 260 #15,291
1999 modern 273 #14,875
2000 modern 258 #15,427
2001 modern 253 #15,403
2002 modern 264 #15,236
2003 modern 255 #15,416
2004 modern 253 #15,583
2005 modern 243 #15,943
2006 modern 248 #15,820
2007 modern 262 #15,399
2008 modern 266 #15,384
2009 modern 280 #15,141
2010 modern 278 #15,567
2011 modern 273 #15,606
2012 modern 261 #16,041
2013 modern 261 #16,309
2014 modern 274 #15,877
2015 modern 275 #15,707
2016 modern 281 #15,449

Geography

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Where Cairnies are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around Govan Combination, Edinburgh, Dundee, Liff, Benvie and Invergowry, Glasgow and Paisley Abbey. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Kirkcudbright, Mid Nithsdale, Ardrossan North East, Law and Glenkens. Treat these as concentration signals, not proof that every family line began there.

Top historical parishes

Rank Parish Area
1 Govan Combination Lanark
2 Edinburgh Edinburgh
3 Dundee, Liff, Benvie and Invergowry Forfar
4 Glasgow Lanark
5 Paisley Abbey Renfrew

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Kirkcudbright Dumfries and Galloway
2 Mid Nithsdale Dumfries and Galloway
3 Ardrossan North East North Ayrshire
4 Law Dundee City
5 Glenkens Dumfries and Galloway

Forenames

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First names often paired with Cairnie

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

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Cairnie

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

Established but Challenged

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

Read profile summary

Group profile

Many households in these neighbourhoods comprise separated or divorced single parents with dependent children. Residents are typically born in the UK, and these neighbourhoods have relatively few members of ethnic minorities. The prevalence of children, their parents and those at or above normal retirement age, suggests neighbourhood structures may be long-established. Levels of unpaid care are high, and long-term disability is more common than in the Supergroup as a whole. Use of the social rented sector is common, often in terraced houses. Levels of overcrowding are above the Supergroup average. Unemployment is high, while those in work are employed in elementary occupations such as caring, leisure and customer services. Many residents have low level qualifications. Neighbourhood concentrations of this Group are found in the South Wales Valleys, Belfast, Londonderry and the Central Lowlands of Scotland.

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

Professional Employment and Family Lifecycles

Group

Established Homeowners with Children

Within London, Cairnie is most associated with areas classed as Established Homeowners with Children, 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.

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Group profile

These predominantly British-born residents are typically married/in civil partnerships and own the properties in which they are raising their children. Parents are typically over 45, and many other residents are beyond normal retirement age. Detached and semi-detached houses predominate and multiple car ownership is common.

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

Cairnie is most concentrated in decile 1 for access to healthy assets and hazards. This places the surname towards the less healthy 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.

1
Lower access Higher access

Neighbourhood deprivation

Index of Multiple Deprivation

Cairnie falls in decile 3 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.

3
More deprived Less deprived

Broadband speed

Fixed broadband download speed

The modern neighbourhood pattern for Cairnie is most associated with a typical fixed broadband download band of Over 70 mbit/s.

The scale below places that band in context, from slower local download bands through to faster ones.

10
Slower band Faster band

Area snapshot

Ethnic group estimate

Most common ethnic group estimate
White - British

This describes the area pattern most associated with Cairnie, not the ethnicity of every person with the surname.

1881 census detail

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Cairnie families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Cairnie 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. Angus leads with 51 Cairnies recorded in 1881 and an index of 31.35x.

County Total Index
Angus 51 31.35x
Lanarkshire 23 4.05x
Midlothian 16 6.80x
Renfrewshire 16 11.76x
Perthshire 14 17.77x
Dunbartonshire 13 27.55x
Surrey 9 1.05x
Wigtownshire 8 34.32x
Fife 7 6.73x
Lancashire 6 0.29x
Dumfriesshire 5 12.89x
Aberdeenshire 2 1.23x
Berwickshire 2 9.41x
Cheshire 2 0.52x
Stirlingshire 2 3.09x
Ayrshire 1 0.76x
Hampshire 1 0.28x
Kent 1 0.17x
Roxburghshire 1 3.14x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Liff Benvie in Angus leads with 34 Cairnies recorded in 1881 and an index of 137.71x.

Place Total Index
Liff Benvie 34 137.71x
Dundee 17 28.00x
Fowlis Wester 8 1194.03x
Abbey 7 33.72x
Glasgow 7 6.94x
Kirkmaiden 7 472.97x
Barony 6 4.18x
Bonhill 6 79.26x
Dalkeith 6 129.31x
Edinburgh St Cuthberts 6 6.34x
Govan 6 4.27x
Wigan 6 20.61x
Canonbie 5 303.03x
Lambeth 5 3.27x
Row 5 81.97x
Auchterderran 4 153.26x
Old Monkland 4 17.75x
Southwark St Olave 4 298.51x
Colinton 3 114.50x
Kilbarchan 3 72.64x
Port Glasgow 3 45.59x
Cheadle 2 27.03x
Chirnside 2 219.78x
Crieff 2 68.26x
Dunfermline 2 12.52x
Kilmalcolm 2 122.70x
Scone 2 142.86x
Charlton Next Woolwich 1 16.00x
East Greenock 1 7.78x
Edinburgh Canongate 1 16.69x
Elie 1 243.90x
Kelso 1 31.55x
Kemnay 1 101.01x
Killearn 1 147.06x
Kilmarnock 1 6.39x
Kirkcolm 1 89.29x
Kirkintilloch 1 15.60x
Leslie 1 322.58x
Luss 1 227.27x
Meigle 1 169.49x
Perth East Church 1 13.46x
Portsmouth 1 12.06x
Stirling 1 12.25x

Top female names

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

Name Count
Lucy 3
Janet 2
Annie 1
Catherine 1
Christina 1
Emily 1
Isabella 1
Jennet 1
Sarah 1
Wilhemina 1

Top male names

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

Name Count
Abraham 1
Alex 1
Charles 1
Edward 1
John 1
William 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 Cairnie households.

FAQ

Cairnie surname: questions and answers

How common was the Cairnie surname in 1881?

In 1881, 180 people were recorded with the Cairnie surname. That placed it at #13,735 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Cairnie surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 281 in 2016. That gives Cairnie a modern rank of #15,449.

What does the Cairnie map show?

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