NameCensus.

UK surname

Cockroft

A surname derived from a location name meaning "the croft or small farm where cocks (roosters) were kept".

In the 1881 census there were 1,266 people recorded with the Cockroft surname, ranking it #3,221 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 696, ranked #7,738, down from #3,221 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to Bradford and Halifax. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Calderdale and South Kesteven.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Cockroft is 1,365 in 1901. Compared with 1881, the name has fallen by 45.0%.

1881 census count

1,266

Ranked #3,221

Modern count

696

2016, ranked #7,738

Peak year

1901

1,365 bearers

Map years

9

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Cockroft had 1,266 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #3,221 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 696 in 2016, ranked #7,738.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 1,365 in 1901.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Inner Suburbs and Small Town Living.

Cockroft surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Cockroft surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Cockroft 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 825 #3,273
1861 historical 838 #3,292
1881 historical 1,266 #3,221
1891 historical 1,196 #3,583
1901 historical 1,365 #3,682
1911 historical 1,119 #4,152
1997 modern 746 #6,912
1998 modern 774 #6,938
1999 modern 798 #6,805
2000 modern 807 #6,721
2001 modern 786 #6,738
2002 modern 791 #6,837
2003 modern 744 #7,063
2004 modern 745 #7,058
2005 modern 718 #7,177
2006 modern 737 #7,081
2007 modern 732 #7,199
2008 modern 734 #7,229
2009 modern 731 #7,387
2010 modern 754 #7,352
2011 modern 741 #7,381
2012 modern 718 #7,469
2013 modern 716 #7,605
2014 modern 720 #7,612
2015 modern 712 #7,623
2016 modern 696 #7,738

Geography

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Where Cockrofts are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around Bradford and Halifax. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Calderdale and South Kesteven. 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 Bradford Yorkshire, West Riding
2 Halifax Yorkshire, West Riding

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Calderdale 007 Calderdale
2 Calderdale 020 Calderdale
3 Calderdale 027 Calderdale
4 Calderdale 008 Calderdale
5 South Kesteven 004 South Kesteven

Forenames

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First names often paired with Cockroft

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

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Cockroft

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

Inner Suburbs and Small Town Living

Nationally, the Cockroft surname is most associated with neighbourhoods classed as Inner Suburbs and Small Town Living, within Suburbanites and Peri-Urbanities. This does not mean every Cockroft household fits that profile, but it gives a useful signal about where the modern surname distribution is strongest.

Read profile summary

Group profile

Families with resident dependent children (but not students) are common. Established family groups and White ethnicity predominate, as do individuals born in the UK. They are more likely than the Supergroup average to have been resident in their terraced, semi-detached, or detached houses for more than one year. Levels of multiple car ownership are high. Properties are owned and typically have surplus living space. Associate professionals and administrative occupations are prevalent, and parents are likely to be in middle age or approaching retirement. Educational attainment is above the Supergroup average. Scattered developments and concentrations are found in many small towns.

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

Professional Employment and Family Lifecycles

Group

Established Homeowners with Children

Within London, Cockroft is most associated with areas classed as Established Homeowners with Children, 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 predominantly British-born residents are typically married/in civil partnerships and own the properties in which they are raising their children. Parents are typically over 45, and many other residents are beyond normal retirement age. Detached and semi-detached houses predominate and multiple car ownership is common.

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

Cockroft is most concentrated in decile 2 for access to healthy assets and hazards. This places the surname towards the less healthy end of the index.

Lower deciles point towards weaker access to healthy assets or stronger exposure to local hazards. Higher deciles point towards stronger access and fewer hazards.

2
Lower access Higher access

Neighbourhood deprivation

Index of Multiple Deprivation

Cockroft falls in decile 6 for neighbourhood deprivation. This puts the surname near the middle of the scale.

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

6
More deprived Less deprived

Broadband speed

Fixed broadband download speed

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

Meaning and origin of Cockroft

The surname Cockroft has its origins in England, dating back to the 13th century. It is derived from two Old English words: "cocc," meaning a small hill or hillock, and "croft," meaning a small enclosed field or enclosure. The name likely refers to someone who lived near a small hill or hillock with an enclosed field or croft.

The earliest recorded spelling of the name appears in the Hundred Rolls of Yorkshire in 1273, where it is listed as "Cokecroft." Other early spellings include "Cokcroft" in the Subsidy Rolls of Lancashire in 1332 and "Cokecrofte" in the Pipe Rolls of Staffordshire in 1379.

The name is also found in the Domesday Book of 1086, although the precise spelling is not recorded. It is believed to refer to a place name in Lancashire or Yorkshire, where the name was prevalent in medieval times.

One of the earliest recorded individuals with the surname Cockroft was John Cockroft, who was born in Bury, Lancashire, in 1541. Another notable bearer of the name was William Cockroft, a merchant and alderman in the city of York, who lived from 1587 to 1659.

In the 17th century, the surname appears in various records, including the Parish Registers of Rochdale, Lancashire, where a Thomas Cockroft was recorded in 1612. The name also appears in the Hearth Tax Rolls of Yorkshire in 1672, suggesting its continued presence in the region.

During the 18th and 19th centuries, several individuals with the surname Cockroft gained prominence. One such person was Sir John Cockroft (1752-1829), a British politician and Member of Parliament for Tregony and Midhurst. Another notable figure was John Cockroft (1787-1853), a British botanist and author of several works on the flora of Yorkshire.

Other individuals with the surname include Joseph Cockroft (1809-1890), a British architect who designed several notable buildings in Manchester, and Sir John Cockroft (1897-1967), a British physicist who won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1951 for his work on the acceleration of atomic particles.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

1881 census detail

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Cockroft families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Cockroft 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 1,125 Cockrofts recorded in 1881 and an index of 9.19x.

County Total Index
Yorkshire 1,125 9.19x
Lancashire 90 0.61x
Middlesex 17 0.14x
Durham 8 0.22x
Cheshire 7 0.26x
Buckinghamshire 6 0.80x
Worcestershire 5 0.31x
Shropshire 4 0.37x
Midlothian 2 0.12x
Essex 1 0.04x
Surrey 1 0.02x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Halifax in Yorkshire leads with 128 Cockrofts recorded in 1881 and an index of 71.25x.

Place Total Index
Halifax 128 71.25x
Northowram 116 135.18x
Ovenden 115 211.16x
Sowerby In Halifax 77 192.40x
Horton In Bradford 57 29.83x
Heptonstall 37 215.49x
Bradford 35 11.81x
Leeds 34 4.92x
Huddersfield 33 18.51x
Stansfield 30 66.62x
Clayton 26 86.81x
Skircoat 26 53.87x
Warley 25 70.68x
Allerton 23 147.44x
Blatchinworth 20 59.93x
Langfield 20 93.41x
Manningham 20 13.27x
Keighley 19 14.57x
Newchurch 19 15.85x
Lockwood 18 40.88x
Thornton In Bradford 18 44.18x
Bowling 17 14.03x
Wadsworth 17 85.34x
Southowram 16 42.84x
Shelf 15 128.31x
Todmorden Walsden 15 38.21x
Gomersal 14 24.51x
Norland 14 166.67x
Almondbury 13 21.97x
Liversedge 11 20.19x
Elland Cum Greetland 10 18.14x
Heaton 10 76.05x
Hipperholme Cum 10 18.60x
Horsforth 9 33.54x
Morton In Keighley 9 93.65x
North Bierley 9 13.62x
Chelsea London 8 2.15x
Cleckheaton 8 17.75x
Bromley London 7 2.58x
Erringden 7 88.50x
Spotland 7 4.30x
Bishop Auckland 6 12.17x
Bradford Girlington 6 109.69x
Headingley Cum Burley 6 7.62x
Pannal 6 51.11x
Rastrick 6 17.65x
Wycombe 6 10.78x
Brightside Bierlow 5 2.08x
Kidderminster Borough 5 5.30x
Soyland 5 34.06x
Barrow In Furness 4 2.01x
Heap 4 5.15x
Otley 4 13.46x
Salford 4 0.93x
Shipley 4 6.30x
Shrewsbury St Chad 4 10.68x
Stainland Cum Old 4 19.10x
Barnsley 3 2.38x
Batley 3 2.58x
Bingley 3 3.85x
Calverley Cum Farsley 3 8.63x
Dalton In Huddersfield 3 10.94x
Dewsbury 3 2.39x
Didsbury 3 15.42x
Habergham Eaves 3 2.24x
Oxton 3 19.46x
Yarm 3 47.77x
Bollington In 2 8.24x
Holbeck 2 2.47x
Kirkdale 2 0.81x
Layton With Warbreck 2 3.72x
Lindley Cum Quarmby 2 6.48x
Middleham 2 57.80x
St Marylebone London 2 0.30x
Stockton On Tees 2 1.13x
Wilsden 2 15.91x
Wuerdle Wardle 2 4.50x
Castleton 1 0.68x
Edinburgh St Cuthberts 1 0.15x
Hunslet 1 0.52x

Top female names

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

Name Count
Mary 101
Sarah 85
Hannah 36
Elizabeth 35
Emma 31
Martha 24
Alice 21
Annie 18
Emily 17
Ada 15
Ann 14
Ellen 13
Jane 13
Harriet 11
Eliza 10
Maria 9
Clara 8
Esther 8
Betty 7
Ruth 7
Florence 6
Isabella 6
Louisa 6
Margaret 6
Anne 5
Edith 5
Nancy 5
Rachel 5
Susan 5
Betsy 4
Frances 4
Grace 4
Lilly 4
Selina 4
Sophia 4
Charlotte 3
Lily 3
Lucy 3
Matilda 3
Sally 3
Agnes 2
Bessie 2
Florance 2
Jessie 2
Kate 2
Lydia 2
Maggie 2
Maude 2
Miriam 2
Nanny 2

Top male names

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

Name Count
John 68
William 44
James 34
Thomas 33
Fred 17
George 17
Henry 17
Joseph 17
Arthur 16
Charles 15
Harry 14
Samuel 14
Walter 12
Sam 10
Albert 9
Herbert 9
Edwin 8
Tom 8
Edward 7
Job 7
Richard 7
Abraham 5
Alfred 5
Frank 5
Joe 5
Joshua 5
Robert 5
Willie 5
Charlie 4
Elijah 4
Ernest 4
Ezra 4
Frederick 4
Lewis 4
Wright 4
Dan 3
Edgar 3
Harrison 3
Jeremiah 3
Wm. 3
Adam 2
Amos 2
Andrew 2
Aquilla 2
Benjamin 2
Charley 2
Emmett 2
Enoch 2
Levi 2
Sylvester 2

FAQ

Cockroft surname: questions and answers

How common was the Cockroft surname in 1881?

In 1881, 1,266 people were recorded with the Cockroft surname. That placed it at #3,221 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Cockroft surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 696 in 2016. That gives Cockroft a modern rank of #7,738.

What does the Cockroft surname mean?

A surname derived from a location name meaning "the croft or small farm where cocks (roosters) were kept".

What does the Cockroft map show?

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