NameCensus.

UK surname

Clapson

In the 1881 census there were 353 people recorded with the Clapson surname, ranking it #8,708 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 408, ranked #11,711, down from #8,708 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to London parishes, Tunbridge, Bidborough and Hellingly. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Brent, Dover and North Lincolnshire.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Clapson is 505 in 1901. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 15.6%.

1881 census count

353

Ranked #8,708

Modern count

408

2016, ranked #11,711

Peak year

1901

505 bearers

Map years

9

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Clapson had 353 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #8,708 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 505 in 1901.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Spacious Rural Living.

Clapson surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Clapson surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Clapson 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 260 #8,512
1861 historical 298 #8,485
1881 historical 353 #8,708
1891 historical 476 #7,720
1901 historical 505 #7,988
1911 historical 489 #7,959
1997 modern 439 #10,264
1998 modern 442 #10,547
1999 modern 442 #10,606
2000 modern 454 #10,360
2001 modern 428 #10,653
2002 modern 446 #10,521
2003 modern 428 #10,709
2004 modern 403 #11,224
2005 modern 411 #10,956
2006 modern 397 #11,317
2007 modern 419 #10,954
2008 modern 422 #10,992
2009 modern 424 #11,179
2010 modern 436 #11,189
2011 modern 421 #11,379
2012 modern 417 #11,346
2013 modern 434 #11,158
2014 modern 432 #11,287
2015 modern 419 #11,483
2016 modern 408 #11,711

Geography

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Where Clapsons are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around London parishes, Tunbridge, Bidborough, Hellingly and Maidstone, Linton, Loddington. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Brent, Dover, North Lincolnshire and Manchester. 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 Tunbridge, Bidborough Kent
3 London parishes London 3
4 Hellingly Sussex
5 Maidstone, Linton, Loddington Kent

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Brent 034 Brent
2 Dover 011 Dover
3 North Lincolnshire 001 North Lincolnshire
4 North Lincolnshire 022 North Lincolnshire
5 Manchester 037 Manchester

Forenames

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First names often paired with Clapson

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

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Clapson

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

Clapson is most concentrated in decile 5 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.

5
Lower access Higher access

Neighbourhood deprivation

Index of Multiple Deprivation

Clapson falls in decile 9 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.

9
More deprived Less deprived

Broadband speed

Fixed broadband download speed

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

1881 census detail

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Clapson families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Clapson 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. Sussex leads with 113 Clapsons recorded in 1881 and an index of 19.35x.

County Total Index
Sussex 113 19.35x
Kent 112 9.48x
Middlesex 43 1.24x
Lincolnshire 22 3.97x
Surrey 18 1.07x
Yorkshire 15 0.44x
Berkshire 10 3.85x
Lancashire 8 0.19x
Hampshire 5 0.70x
Gloucestershire 4 0.59x
Essex 2 0.29x
Royal Navy 2 4.85x
Buckinghamshire 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. Eastbourne in Sussex leads with 22 Clapsons recorded in 1881 and an index of 81.88x.

Place Total Index
Eastbourne 22 81.88x
Barton St Mary 20 719.42x
Kensington London 19 9.87x
Hellingly 15 769.23x
Lamberhurst 13 884.35x
Westham 13 1092.44x
Reading St Giles 10 39.22x
Tonbridge 10 23.46x
Chelsea London 9 8.62x
Maidstone 9 25.58x
Salehurst 9 355.73x
Camberwell 8 3.62x
Minster In Sheppey 8 40.88x
Ramsgate 8 41.47x
Wadhurst 8 208.88x
Bromley 7 38.87x
East Peckham 7 285.71x
Penshurst 7 351.76x
Hastings Holy Trinity 6 139.53x
Hinxhill 6 3750.00x
Hulme 6 6.99x
Attercliffe Cum Darnall 5 15.64x
Croydon 5 5.34x
Ewhurst 5 384.62x
Goudhurst 5 152.91x
Heathfield 5 210.97x
Kemsing 5 943.40x
Marden 5 180.51x
Deptford St Paul 4 4.39x
Egerton 4 388.35x
Hastings St Mary In The 4 32.10x
Islington London 4 1.19x
Portsea 4 2.88x
St Pancras London 4 1.44x
Thorne 4 93.90x
Great Chart 3 340.91x
Hadlow 3 102.39x
Hailsham 3 84.99x
Kemerton 3 517.24x
Milton In Gravesend 3 16.93x
Shadoxhurst 3 1304.35x
Burton Upon Stather 2 281.69x
Greenwich 2 3.63x
Herstmonceaux 2 113.64x
Knottingley 2 33.17x
Lympne 2 298.51x
Royal Navy 2 5.67x
Shoreditch London 2 1.33x
Stretford 2 8.85x
Ticehurst 2 56.02x
Woodchurch 2 136.05x
Clapham 1 2.31x
Cottingham 1 13.51x
Cranbrook 1 20.00x
Ealing 1 3.23x
East Hoathly 1 98.04x
Ecclesall Bierlow 1 1.43x
Grange Gillingham 1 192.31x
Grays Thurrock 1 15.75x
Guestling 1 105.26x
Hammersmith London 1 1.17x
Headcorn 1 56.50x
Hollington 1 48.08x
Holy Trinity 1 1.21x
Horton 1 98.04x
Hove 1 3.90x
Minster In Thanet 1 40.65x
Ninfield 1 140.85x
Pevensey 1 232.56x
Reigate Foreign 1 5.47x
Selling 1 103.09x
Sheffield 1 0.92x
Sittingbourne 1 10.72x
Speldhurst 1 16.61x
St Marylebone London 1 0.54x
Stoke Newington London 1 3.71x
Sutton 1 8.19x
Theydon Mount 1 555.56x
Wandsworth 1 3.00x
Wimbledon 1 5.28x

Top female names

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

Name Count
Mary 14
Elizabeth 10
Emily 10
Annie 9
Sarah 9
Alice 7
Ann 7
Eliza 6
Ellen 6
Harriet 6
Clara 5
Esther 5
Kate 4
Charlotte 3
Edith 3
Florence 3
Frances 3
Jane 3
Catherine 2
Elizth. 2
Harriett 2
Isabella 2
Louisa 2
Minnie 2
Rhoda 2
Ruth 2
Betsey 1
C.A.W. 1
Caroline 1
Diannah 1
Emma 1
Ethel 1
Fanny 1
Georgina 1
Gertrude 1
Grace 1
Hannah 1
Ida 1
Infant 1
Josephine 1
Lilian 1
Lilias 1
Lois 1
Lucy 1
Lydia 1
Maria 1
Martha 1
Matilda 1
Mercy 1
Vashtie 1

Top male names

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

Name Count
William 31
George 21
Charles 13
John 11
Thomas 11
Henry 9
James 9
Joseph 9
Arthur 6
Albert 5
Ernest 5
Richard 4
Alfred 3
Chas. 3
Horace 3
Samuel 3
Andrew 2
Edmond 2
Edward 2
Francis 2
Frank 2
Frederick 2
Geo. 2
Harold 2
Harry 2
Herbert 2
Robert 2
Thos. 2
Amos 1
Carlton 1
David 1
Edwin 1
Ethgert 1
Filmer 1
Godfrey 1
Jonathan 1
Lomas 1
Michael 1
Temple 1
Tom 1
Walter 1
Wilfred 1
Willm. 1
Wm. 1

FAQ

Clapson surname: questions and answers

How common was the Clapson surname in 1881?

In 1881, 353 people were recorded with the Clapson surname. That placed it at #8,708 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Clapson surname today?

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

What does the Clapson map show?

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