NameCensus.

UK surname

Cawston

In the 1881 census there were 224 people recorded with the Cawston surname, ranking it #11,970 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 408, ranked #11,711, up from #11,970 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to Stanningfield, Hartest and Hawstead, Hardwick. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include King's Lynn and West Norfolk, East Riding of Yorkshire and Bassetlaw.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Cawston is 435 in 2009. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 82.1%.

1881 census count

224

Ranked #11,970

Modern count

408

2016, ranked #11,711

Peak year

2009

435 bearers

Map years

9

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Cawston had 224 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #11,970 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 408 in 2016, ranked #11,711.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 323 in 1911.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Rural Amenity.

Cawston surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Cawston surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Cawston 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 240 #9,068
1861 historical 182 #12,949
1881 historical 224 #11,970
1891 historical 215 #14,155
1901 historical 263 #12,717
1911 historical 323 #10,842
1997 modern 394 #11,129
1998 modern 401 #11,319
1999 modern 414 #11,156
2000 modern 400 #11,402
2001 modern 389 #11,439
2002 modern 421 #11,026
2003 modern 414 #10,980
2004 modern 420 #10,889
2005 modern 402 #11,137
2006 modern 402 #11,213
2007 modern 408 #11,203
2008 modern 412 #11,210
2009 modern 435 #10,991
2010 modern 433 #11,242
2011 modern 412 #11,593
2012 modern 412 #11,479
2013 modern 416 #11,575
2014 modern 425 #11,432
2015 modern 421 #11,435
2016 modern 408 #11,711

Geography

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Where Cawstons are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around Stanningfield, Hartest, Hawstead, Hardwick, Canfield, Little and King's Lynn St Margaret. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to King's Lynn and West Norfolk, East Riding of Yorkshire, Bassetlaw, St Edmundsbury and Babergh. 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 Stanningfield Suffolk
2 Hartest Suffolk
3 Hawstead, Hardwick Suffolk
4 Canfield, Little Essex
5 King's Lynn St Margaret Norfolk

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 King's Lynn and West Norfolk 012 King's Lynn and West Norfolk
2 East Riding of Yorkshire 040 East Riding of Yorkshire
3 Bassetlaw 001 Bassetlaw
4 St Edmundsbury 001 St Edmundsbury
5 Babergh 005 Babergh

Forenames

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First names often paired with Cawston

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

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Cawston

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

Young Families and Mainstream Employment

Group

Social Rented Sector and Diverse Origins

Within London, Cawston 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.

Read profile summary

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

Cawston 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

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

1881 census detail

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Cawston families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Cawston 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. Suffolk leads with 60 Cawstons recorded in 1881 and an index of 22.55x.

County Total Index
Suffolk 60 22.55x
Essex 51 11.82x
Norfolk 44 13.10x
Middlesex 19 0.87x
Oxfordshire 12 8.89x
Surrey 9 0.85x
Kent 7 0.94x
Cambridgeshire 6 4.34x
Northumberland 5 1.54x
Sussex 5 1.36x
Hertfordshire 3 1.99x
Hampshire 2 0.45x
Dorset 1 0.70x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Little Easton in Essex leads with 26 Cawstons recorded in 1881 and an index of 11818.18x.

Place Total Index
Little Easton 26 11818.18x
Caversham 12 444.44x
Kings Lynn St Margaret 12 118.93x
Lawshall 11 1833.33x
South Lynn 10 263.85x
Botesdale 7 1707.32x
Freckenham 6 2142.86x
Shoreditch London 6 6.34x
Walsham Le Willows 6 674.16x
West Ham 6 6.30x
White Colne 6 2142.86x
Brighton 5 6.73x
Bury St Edmunds St Mary 5 100.20x
Hartest 5 1086.96x
Morpeth 5 130.89x
Newington 5 6.20x
Aylmerton 4 1739.13x
Chesterton 4 93.68x
Felbrigg 4 3636.36x
Greenwich 4 11.50x
Norwich St George Tombland 4 677.97x
Roughton 4 1212.12x
Whepstead 4 869.57x
Bradfield Combust 3 2500.00x
Great Baddow 3 196.08x
St George Hanover Square 3 7.79x
St Osyth 3 285.71x
Sudbury St Gregory 3 140.85x
Watford 3 25.68x
Bermondsey 2 3.07x
Bethnal Green London 2 2.11x
Braintree 2 51.68x
Clapham 2 7.32x
Great Thurlow 2 689.66x
Greenstead 2 317.46x
Mile End Old Town London 2 4.30x
Paddington London 2 2.49x
Preston 2 909.09x
Wells Next Sea 2 102.04x
Woolwich 2 7.26x
Alverstoke 1 6.17x
Beccles 1 23.36x
Bodham 1 434.78x
Chilton 1 476.19x
Colchester St Peter 1 57.80x
Fornham St Martin 1 434.78x
Foulsham 1 140.85x
Gillingham 1 6.51x
Gosfield 1 217.39x
Great Ashfield 1 333.33x
Hampstead London 1 2.94x
Kelvedon 1 86.96x
Kensington London 1 0.82x
Little Walsingham 1 131.58x
Norwich St Martin At Oak 1 49.02x
Portsmouth 1 9.70x
St Pancras London 1 0.57x
Stanningfield 1 500.00x
Sudbury St Peter 1 68.49x
West Wratting 1 227.27x
Willesden 1 4.85x
Wimborne St Giles 1 294.12x
Wisbech St Peter 1 14.41x

Top female names

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

Name Count
Mary 14
Elizabeth 6
Emma 6
Alice 5
Ann 4
Anna 4
Ellen 4
Fanny 4
Sarah 4
Anne 3
Florence 3
Jane 3
Louisa 3
Lucy 3
Ada 2
Annie 2
Caroline 2
Eliza 2
Harriet 2
Kate 2
Mabel 2
Margaret 2
Marian 2
Rebecca 2
Sophia 2
Adelaide 1
Catherine 1
Charlotte 1
Clara 1
Elizth. 1
Esther 1
Eva 1
Flora 1
Frances 1
Hannah 1
Helen 1
Jemima 1
Julia 1
Laura 1
Lily 1
Litetia 1
Mable 1
Matilda 1
Minnie 1
Phobe 1
Priscilla 1
Rose 1
Rosetta 1
Sabina 1
Tamar 1

Top male names

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

Name Count
George 11
John 11
William 9
Robert 8
Alfred 7
Harry 7
Edward 5
Fredk. 5
James 5
Samuel 5
Wm. 4
Arthur 3
Charles 3
Thomas 3
Albert 2
Francis 2
Frederick 2
Henry 2
Walter 2
Abram 1
David 1
Earnest 1
Ebenezer 1
Edgar 1
Edmind 1
Geoff 1
Herbert 1
Jas. 1
Joseph 1
Nicklass 1
Richard 1
Sidney 1
Stephen 1
Willam 1

FAQ

Cawston surname: questions and answers

How common was the Cawston surname in 1881?

In 1881, 224 people were recorded with the Cawston surname. That placed it at #11,970 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Cawston surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 408 in 2016. That gives Cawston a modern rank of #11,711.

What does the Cawston map show?

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