NameCensus.

UK surname

Clayden

In the 1881 census there were 939 people recorded with the Clayden surname, ranking it #4,103 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 1,086, ranked #5,382, down from #4,103 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to London parishes, Steeple Bumpstead, Birdbrook and Clavering. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Uttlesford, Selby and Braintree.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Clayden is 1,264 in 1911. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 15.7%.

1881 census count

939

Ranked #4,103

Modern count

1,086

2016, ranked #5,382

Peak year

1911

1,264 bearers

Map years

9

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Clayden had 939 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #4,103 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 1,086 in 2016, ranked #5,382.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 1,264 in 1911.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Rural Amenity.

Clayden surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Clayden surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Clayden 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 635 #4,088
1861 historical 786 #3,507
1881 historical 939 #4,103
1891 historical 1,062 #3,954
1901 historical 1,210 #4,075
1911 historical 1,264 #3,763
1997 modern 1,142 #4,916
1998 modern 1,152 #5,047
1999 modern 1,171 #5,031
2000 modern 1,139 #5,123
2001 modern 1,106 #5,145
2002 modern 1,137 #5,139
2003 modern 1,083 #5,250
2004 modern 1,071 #5,300
2005 modern 1,061 #5,290
2006 modern 1,062 #5,286
2007 modern 1,064 #5,326
2008 modern 1,061 #5,369
2009 modern 1,088 #5,366
2010 modern 1,105 #5,415
2011 modern 1,088 #5,428
2012 modern 1,037 #5,567
2013 modern 1,080 #5,463
2014 modern 1,083 #5,478
2015 modern 1,085 #5,407
2016 modern 1,086 #5,382

Geography

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Where Claydens are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around London parishes, Steeple Bumpstead, Birdbrook and Clavering. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Uttlesford, Selby and Braintree. 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 London parishes London 3
3 Steeple Bumpstead, Birdbrook Suffolk
4 Clavering Essex
5 London parishes London 2

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Uttlesford 008 Uttlesford
2 Uttlesford 002 Uttlesford
3 Selby 001 Selby
4 Uttlesford 005 Uttlesford
5 Braintree 007 Braintree

Forenames

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First names often paired with Clayden

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

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Clayden

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

Terraced and Semi-Detached Suburbs

Within London, Clayden is most associated with areas classed as Terraced and Semi-Detached Suburbs, 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

Mainly concentrated in suburban areas, these terraced and semi-detached developments are less overcrowded than the Supergroup average, and resident households are more likely to own two or more cars. There are fewer residents aged 25-44, and a larger share of residents employed in administrative and secretarial occupations. Residents are more likely to have been born in the UK, less likely to have been born in the EU or Africa, and much less likely to self-identify as Bangladeshi.

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

Clayden 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

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

1881 census detail

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Clayden families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Clayden 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. Essex leads with 571 Claydens recorded in 1881 and an index of 31.48x.

County Total Index
Essex 571 31.48x
Middlesex 142 1.55x
Cambridgeshire 37 6.36x
Hertfordshire 36 5.68x
Yorkshire 31 0.34x
Surrey 30 0.67x
Suffolk 28 2.50x
Buckinghamshire 20 3.60x
Kent 14 0.45x
Norfolk 6 0.42x
Sussex 6 0.39x
Warwickshire 6 0.26x
Berkshire 5 0.72x
Derbyshire 2 0.14x
Hampshire 2 0.11x
Bedfordshire 1 0.21x
Cumberland 1 0.13x
Royal Navy 1 0.91x
Somerset 1 0.07x
Wiltshire 1 0.12x
Worcestershire 1 0.08x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Saffron Walden in Essex leads with 57 Claydens recorded in 1881 and an index of 297.49x.

Place Total Index
Saffron Walden 57 297.49x
Steeple Bumpstead 45 1355.42x
West Ham 35 8.74x
Clavering 31 945.12x
Islington London 31 3.48x
Bishop Stortford 29 137.05x
Lexden 26 357.14x
Rickling 24 1690.14x
Linton 22 397.83x
Wanstead 18 56.66x
Wimbish 18 671.64x
Haverhill 16 160.97x
Littlebury 16 640.00x
Peldon 16 1111.11x
White Roothing 16 1203.01x
St Pancras London 14 1.89x
Harlow 13 166.24x
High Easter 13 517.93x
Barking 12 22.61x
Hanwell 12 73.66x
Radwinter 12 452.83x
Wendens Ambo 11 948.28x
Camberwell 10 1.70x
Leaden Roothing 10 1785.71x
Bromley London 9 4.45x
Great Sampford 9 461.54x
Hempstead 9 454.55x
Shudy Camps 9 857.14x
Aythorpe Roothing 8 1066.67x
Cranham 8 610.69x
Greenford 8 473.37x
Lambeth 8 1.00x
Monks Risborough 8 300.75x
St Luke London 8 5.43x
West Bergholt 8 235.99x
Wilstrop 8 3333.33x
Bramford 7 166.27x
Chigwell 7 40.89x
Hackney London 7 1.36x
High Laver 7 466.67x
Leyton 7 22.41x
Quendon 7 1166.67x
Rainham 7 177.22x
Stanway 7 219.44x
Wycombe 7 16.90x
Bromley 6 12.56x
Debden 6 233.46x
Epping 6 81.41x
Greenwich 6 4.10x
Takeley 6 231.66x
Waltham Holy Cross 6 35.40x
Bethnal Green London 5 1.25x
Grays Thurrock 5 29.66x
Great Massingham 5 179.21x
Hambleden 5 105.26x
Henham 5 193.80x
Hessay 5 1724.14x
High Ongar 5 149.70x
Rayne 5 393.70x
Stansted Mountfitchet 5 109.17x
Wokingham 5 31.77x
Colchester St Nicholas 4 245.40x
Ecclesall Bierlow 4 2.16x
Enfield 4 6.63x
Hatfield Broad Oak 4 65.36x
Hornsey 4 3.44x
Hunslet 4 2.82x
St George Hanover Square 4 2.47x
St Marylebone London 4 0.82x
Strensall 4 285.71x
Sutton Coldfield 4 16.42x
Tottenham 4 2.73x
Upminster 4 106.10x
Walthamstow 4 6.13x
Barley 3 153.85x
Bow London 3 2.56x
Kensington London 3 0.59x
Nazeing 3 128.76x
Tadcaster West 3 41.61x
Ugley 3 236.22x

Top female names

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

Name Count
Mary 40
Sarah 30
Elizabeth 26
Emma 26
Eliza 24
Emily 21
Ellen 20
Alice 17
Jane 15
Ann 13
Annie 12
Hannah 11
Kate 10
Susan 10
Charlotte 9
Edith 7
Harriet 7
Louisa 7
Ada 6
Florence 6
Maria 6
Elizth. 5
Esther 5
Martha 5
Rebecca 5
Susannah 5
Agnes 4
Caroline 4
Clara 4
Fanny 4
Frances 4
Amelia 3
Anne 3
Matilda 3
Minnie 3
Priscilla 3
Susanah 3
Amy 2
Christiana 2
Eleanor 2
Ethel 2
Gertrude 2
H. 2
Julia 2
Laura 2
Lavinia 2
Lilian 2
Lydia 2
Maryann 2
May 2

Top male names

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

Name Count
William 53
John 45
Charles 33
George 33
James 30
Thomas 26
Joseph 17
Henry 15
Frederick 14
Walter 14
Arthur 13
Robert 13
Harry 11
Alfred 10
Edward 8
Frank 8
Samuel 8
Daniel 7
David 6
Ernest 6
Francis 5
Herbert 5
Peter 4
Sidney 3
Wm. 3
Abraham 2
Allen 2
Benjamin 2
Chas. 2
Frederic 2
Horace 2
Richard 2
Wm.Henry 2
Alexander 1
Amos 1
Chas.W. 1
Chs.Edward 1
Edmund 1
Edwin 1
Fred 1
Fredrick 1
Hy. 1
Isaac 1
J.C. 1
Jabez 1
Jas. 1
Jegib 1
Jim 1
Jona 1
Wm.James 1

FAQ

Clayden surname: questions and answers

How common was the Clayden surname in 1881?

In 1881, 939 people were recorded with the Clayden surname. That placed it at #4,103 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Clayden surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 1,086 in 2016. That gives Clayden a modern rank of #5,382.

What does the Clayden map show?

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