NameCensus.

UK surname

Clays

An English surname derived from Middle English "cleye" meaning clay.

In the 1881 census there were 108 people recorded with the Clays surname, ranking it #18,888 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 115, ranked #28,348, down from #18,888 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to Bebbington, Tarporley and Manchester. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include York, Cheshire West and Chester and Wrexham.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Clays is 152 in 1891. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 6.5%.

1881 census count

108

Ranked #18,888

Modern count

115

2016, ranked #28,348

Peak year

1891

152 bearers

Map years

7

1881 to 2016

Key insights

  • Clays had 108 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #18,888 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 115 in 2016, ranked #28,348.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 152 in 1891.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Small Town Suburbia.

Clays surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Clays surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Clays 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 35 #27,037
1861 historical 83 #23,189
1881 historical 108 #18,888
1891 historical 152 #18,163
1901 historical 122 #20,344
1911 historical 145 #18,255
1997 modern 117 #24,553
1998 modern 127 #23,940
1999 modern 135 #23,279
2000 modern 132 #23,562
2001 modern 131 #23,343
2002 modern 130 #23,903
2003 modern 118 #25,146
2004 modern 115 #25,740
2005 modern 114 #25,837
2006 modern 122 #25,010
2007 modern 118 #25,913
2008 modern 116 #26,510
2009 modern 112 #27,685
2010 modern 108 #28,996
2011 modern 113 #27,967
2012 modern 108 #28,849
2013 modern 114 #28,347
2014 modern 113 #28,779
2015 modern 114 #28,478
2016 modern 115 #28,348

Geography

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Where Clays' are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around Bebbington, Tarporley, Manchester, Frodsham and Birmingham Town: Birmingham. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to York, Cheshire West and Chester, Wrexham and Wokingham. 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 Bebbington Cheshire
2 Tarporley Cheshire
3 Manchester Lancashire
4 Frodsham Cheshire
5 Birmingham Town: Birmingham Warwickshire

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 York 003 York
2 Cheshire West and Chester 045 Cheshire West and Chester
3 Wrexham 020 Wrexham
4 Cheshire West and Chester 046 Cheshire West and Chester
5 Wokingham 002 Wokingham

Forenames

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First names often paired with Clays

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

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Clays

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

Small Town Suburbia

Nationally, the Clays surname is most associated with neighbourhoods classed as Small Town Suburbia, within Retired Professionals. This does not mean every Clays 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 is predominantly comprised of married couples with no resident dependent children, living in areas characterised neither by under-occupancy nor overcrowding throughout the UK in or adjacent to small towns. White ethnic groups and affiliation with Christianity predominates. Housing tends to be predominantly semi-detached or detached and workers are employed principally in managerial and professional occupations, with semi-skilled occupations also in evidence. These areas of the Supergroup are of higher population density.

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

Professional Employment and Family Lifecycles

Group

Inner London Working Professionals

Within London, Clays is most associated with areas classed as Inner London Working Professionals, 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.

Read profile summary

Group profile

These primarily Inner London neighbourhoods are more densely populated than the Supergroup average. Residents have a younger over-all age profile than the Supergroup as a whole, and are less likely to be owner occupiers. Full time employment is more common than elsewhere in the Supergroup and multiple car ownership is uncommon. Chinese and non-EU-born European migrants are less in evidence than elsewhere in the Supergroup.

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

Clays 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

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

Meaning and origin of Clays

The surname CLAYS is believed to have originated from the Old English word "clæg" or "claeg", meaning "clay" or "clayey soil". This indicates that the name was likely derived from a topographical feature, referring to people who lived in an area with clay soil or worked with clay.

The name first appeared in various regions of England, particularly in counties such as Yorkshire, Cheshire, and Lancashire, where clayey soil was prevalent. The earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it was spelled as "Clai" or "Cley".

One notable early bearer of the name was William Clays, a landowner from Yorkshire who was mentioned in the Pipe Rolls of 1166. Another early record comes from the Chartulary of Rievaulx Abbey, which mentions a Roger de Clays in the late 12th century.

During the medieval period, the name evolved into various spellings, such as Clays, Clayes, Claise, and Clayse, reflecting the regional variations in pronunciation and spelling conventions of the time.

In the 16th century, the name became more widely recorded, with several notable individuals bearing the CLAYS surname. One example is John Clays (c. 1520-1592), an English Catholic priest and martyr who was executed during the reign of Elizabeth I for his religious beliefs.

Another prominent figure was Sir Michael Clays (1568-1624), a Member of Parliament and landowner from Norfolk. He played a significant role in the draining of the Great Fen, a vast marshland in eastern England.

In the 17th century, the name CLAYS was also found in Scotland, as evidenced by the birth of John Clays (1616-1687), a Scottish minister and writer from Kinross-shire.

Moving into the 18th and 19th centuries, the CLAYS surname became more widespread across England and beyond. Notable individuals included Joseph Clays (1751-1827), an English artist and engraver, and William Clays (1786-1865), a British politician and landowner from Norfolk.

Throughout its history, the CLAYS surname has been associated with various occupations, including agriculture, pottery, and mining, reflecting the name's topographical origins and the diverse livelihoods of its bearers.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

1881 census detail

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Clays families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Clays 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. Cheshire leads with 59 Clays' recorded in 1881 and an index of 25.37x.

County Total Index
Cheshire 59 25.37x
Warwickshire 23 8.66x
Lancashire 20 1.60x
Berkshire 1 1.26x
Essex 1 0.48x
Hampshire 1 0.46x
Middlesex 1 0.09x
Monmouthshire 1 1.31x
Surrey 1 0.19x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Birmingham in Warwickshire leads with 17 Clays' recorded in 1881 and an index of 19.20x.

Place Total Index
Birmingham 17 19.20x
Chester St Oswald 11 261.28x
Frodsham 11 1222.22x
Oldham 9 22.30x
Tranmere 8 93.57x
Runcorn 7 130.60x
Coventry St Michael 6 70.34x
Salford 5 13.60x
Spurstow 5 3125.00x
Hulme 4 15.33x
Nantwich 4 148.15x
Tarporley 4 816.33x
Utkinton 4 2105.26x
Calveley 3 3000.00x
Liverpool 2 2.63x
Aldershot 1 13.83x
Hornsey 1 7.51x
Kingston On Thames 1 8.11x
Liscard 1 23.87x
Mamhilad 1 909.09x
New Windsor 1 37.59x
West Ham 1 2.18x
Willington 1 2000.00x

Top female names

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

Name Count
Sarah 11
Ellen 7
Mary 7
Elizabeth 6
Hannah 4
Emma 2
Florence 2
Alice 1
Anne 1
Annie 1
Clara 1
Emily 1
Fanny 1
Gertrude 1
Hepsebah 1
Jane 1
Lavinia 1
Louisa 1
Madeline 1
Maggie 1
Martha 1
Phoebe 1

Top male names

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

Name Count
Joseph 9
Henry 8
Ralph 7
Thomas 6
James 5
John 3
William 3
Daniel 2
Samuel 2
Abraham 1
Albert 1
Arthur 1
Edwin 1
Frank 1
Luke 1
Richard 1
Thos. 1
Walter 1

FAQ

Clays surname: questions and answers

How common was the Clays surname in 1881?

In 1881, 108 people were recorded with the Clays surname. That placed it at #18,888 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Clays surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 115 in 2016. That gives Clays a modern rank of #28,348.

What does the Clays surname mean?

An English surname derived from Middle English "cleye" meaning clay.

What does the Clays map show?

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