NameCensus.

UK surname

Champney

From the Old French word for countryside or field.

In the 1881 census there were 125 people recorded with the Champney surname, ranking it #17,335 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 125, ranked #26,827, down from #17,335 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to Lanchester (Collierley, Kyo, Billingside, Medomsley, Ebchchester, Benfieldside, Heelyfield, Conside, Darlington and Hull Holy Trinity. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include North Tyneside, Wirral and Greenwich.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Champney is 141 in 1891. Compared with 1881, the name has stayed broadly stable by 0.0%.

1881 census count

125

Ranked #17,335

Modern count

125

2016, ranked #26,827

Peak year

1891

141 bearers

Map years

7

1881 to 2016

Key insights

  • Champney had 125 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #17,335 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 125 in 2016, ranked #26,827.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 141 in 1891.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Spacious Rural Living.

Champney surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Champney surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Champney 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 94 #17,837
1861 historical 96 #21,648
1881 historical 125 #17,335
1891 historical 141 #19,108
1901 historical 138 #18,955
1911 historical 140 #18,657
1997 modern 123 #23,792
1998 modern 131 #23,495
1999 modern 128 #24,017
2000 modern 133 #23,462
2001 modern 128 #23,665
2002 modern 117 #25,494
2003 modern 124 #24,378
2004 modern 126 #24,335
2005 modern 126 #24,287
2006 modern 119 #25,413
2007 modern 124 #25,086
2008 modern 127 #25,020
2009 modern 135 #24,594
2010 modern 133 #25,379
2011 modern 130 #25,547
2012 modern 130 #25,559
2013 modern 128 #26,336
2014 modern 134 #25,711
2015 modern 130 #26,093
2016 modern 125 #26,827

Geography

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Where Champneys are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around Lanchester (Collierley, Kyo, Billingside, Medomsley, Ebchchester, Benfieldside, Heelyfield, Conside, Darlington, Hull Holy Trinity, London parishes and Doncaster. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to North Tyneside, Wirral, Greenwich and Carlisle. 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 Lanchester (Collierley, Kyo, Billingside, Medomsley, Ebchchester, Benfieldside, Heelyfield, Conside Durham
2 Darlington Durham
3 Hull Holy Trinity Yorkshire, East Riding
4 London parishes London 3
5 Doncaster Yorkshire, West Riding

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 North Tyneside 024 North Tyneside
2 Wirral 041 Wirral
3 Greenwich 003 Greenwich
4 North Tyneside 026 North Tyneside
5 Carlisle 001 Carlisle

Forenames

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First names often paired with Champney

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

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Champney

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

Social Rented Sector Families with Children

Group

Social Rented Sector Pockets

Within London, Champney is most associated with areas classed as Social Rented Sector Pockets, part of Social Rented Sector Families with Children. 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

Found in pockets across London, residents are less likely to live in private sector rentals and fewer adults are students. Fewer individuals work in transport and communications occupations relative to the Supergroup average. More individuals identify as Black and were born in Africa.

Wider London pattern

Residents of these neighbourhoods include sizable numbers identifying with ethnicities originating outside Europe, particularly in Africa or Bangladesh. The proportion of residents identifying as White, Indian or Pakistani is well below the London average. Neighbourhood age profiles are skewed towards younger adults, and above average numbers of families have children. Rates of use of English at home are below average. Marriage rates are low, and levels of separation or divorce are above average. Housing is predominantly in flats, and renting in the social rented sector the norm - few residents are owner occupiers. Housing is often overcrowded, and neighbourhoods are amongst the most densely populated in London. Disability rates are above average, although levels of unpaid care provision are about average. Employment is in caring, leisure, other service occupations, sales and customer service, or process, plant, and machine operation. Part time working and full-time student study are common. Levels of unemployment are slightly above average. Most residents have only Level 1 or 2 educational qualifications or have completed apprenticeships.

Healthy neighbourhoods

Access to healthy assets and hazards

Champney 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

Champney falls in decile 10 for neighbourhood deprivation. This puts the surname towards the less deprived end of the index.

Decile 1 represents the more deprived end of the scale. Decile 10 represents the less deprived end.

10
More deprived Less deprived

Broadband speed

Fixed broadband download speed

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

Meaning and origin of Champney

The surname Champney has its origins in France, with the earliest records dating back to the 12th century. It is derived from the Old French word "champ," meaning field, and "neit," meaning small or little. This suggests that the name may have initially referred to someone who lived near or worked on a small field or farm.

The name is believed to have first appeared in the region of Normandy, where it was recorded in various medieval documents. One of the earliest known references is in the Cartulary of Fécamp Abbey, where a person named Robertus de Campo Neto is mentioned in the late 12th century.

As the name spread across France, it underwent various spelling variations, including Champneys, Champenois, and Champnay. Some of these variations may have been influenced by regional dialects or scribal errors in transcribing the name.

In England, the name Champney is thought to have been introduced after the Norman Conquest of 1066. One of the earliest recorded instances is in the Domesday Book of 1086, where a landowner named Roger de Campo Neto is listed in Berkshire.

Notable individuals with the surname Champney throughout history include:

1. William Champney (c. 1290 - c. 1350), an English landowner and Member of Parliament for Buckinghamshire in the 14th century. 2. John Champney (c. 1540 - 1615), an English Catholic martyr who was executed during the reign of King James I for his religious beliefs. 3. Benjamin Champney (1617 - 1695), an early settler in Massachusetts Bay Colony and one of the founders of Woburn, Massachusetts. 4. James Champney (1749 - 1809), an American Revolutionary War soldier and later a prominent landowner in New Hampshire. 5. Benjamin Champney (1817 - 1907), an American painter and founding member of the Boston Art Club, known for his landscape and marine paintings.

The surname Champney has also been associated with various place names, such as Champneys in Hertfordshire, England, and Champney's Creek in New Hampshire, which was named after the Champney family who settled in the area.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

1881 census detail

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Champney families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Champney 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. Yorkshire leads with 50 Champneys recorded in 1881 and an index of 4.11x.

County Total Index
Yorkshire 50 4.11x
Middlesex 30 2.44x
Nottinghamshire 14 8.45x
Durham 10 2.73x
Surrey 10 1.67x
Somerset 3 1.52x
Gloucestershire 2 0.83x
Cambridgeshire 1 1.28x
Cumberland 1 0.95x
Hampshire 1 0.40x
Lincolnshire 1 0.51x
Monmouthshire 1 1.13x
Northumberland 1 0.55x
Sussex 1 0.48x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. St Pancras London in Middlesex leads with 12 Champneys recorded in 1881 and an index of 12.13x.

Place Total Index
St Pancras London 12 12.13x
Doncaster 11 123.60x
Hunslet 9 47.39x
Battersea 8 17.69x
Hampstead London 8 41.80x
Holy Trinity 7 23.90x
Epperstone 6 3333.33x
Heworth 6 83.33x
Marnham 5 6250.00x
Islington London 4 3.36x
Whitwood 4 231.21x
Balby Cum Hexthorpe 3 206.90x
Darlington 3 21.25x
Hessle In Sculcoates 3 277.78x
Hutton 3 2142.86x
Mile End Old Town London 3 11.47x
Scarborough 3 27.10x
Little Houghton 2 2500.00x
Manningham 2 13.33x
Northowram 2 23.42x
South Hamlet 2 134.23x
Southwark Christchurch 2 34.72x
St Marylebone London 2 3.05x
Brighton 1 2.39x
Darfield 1 90.09x
Darlton 1 1666.67x
Elswick 1 6.85x
Greatford 1 1111.11x
Hornsey 1 6.44x
Leeds 1 1.45x
Mexborough 1 41.32x
Monmouth 1 42.37x
Nottingham St Mary 1 2.33x
Penrith 1 25.58x
Portsea 1 2.03x
St Andrewthe Less 1 11.25x
Tuxford 1 243.90x
Westoe 1 4.82x
York St Maurice 1 43.67x

Top female names

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

Name Count
Mary 13
Sarah 7
Elizabeth 4
Alice 3
Jane 3
Edith 2
Eliza 2
Ellen 2
Emily 2
Emma 2
Margaret 2
Amelia 1
Ann 1
Anna 1
Annie 1
Celia 1
Clara 1
Clarissa 1
Eleanor 1
Emiley 1
Frances 1
Hannah 1
Harriet 1
Helena 1
Jemima 1
Jessie 1
Louisa 1
Lucinda 1
Lucy 1
Margt. 1
Maria 1
Marry 1
Martha 1
Matilda 1
Nellie 1
Rebecca 1
Rosanna 1
Rose 1
Susan 1

Top male names

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

Name Count
William 10
Robert 6
Thomas 6
John 5
Richard 3
Charles 2
James 2
Albert 1
Alex 1
Alfred 1
Amos 1
Anna 1
Arthur 1
Basil 1
Edward 1
Elija 1
Emily 1
F. 1
F.J. 1
Felix 1
Frank 1
Frederick 1
George 1
Harry 1
Henry 1
Herbert 1
J.W. 1
M. 1
Walter 1

FAQ

Champney surname: questions and answers

How common was the Champney surname in 1881?

In 1881, 125 people were recorded with the Champney surname. That placed it at #17,335 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Champney surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 125 in 2016. That gives Champney a modern rank of #26,827.

What does the Champney surname mean?

From the Old French word for countryside or field.

What does the Champney map show?

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