NameCensus.

UK surname

Colhoun

A Scottish surname derived from the Gaelic word 'Calmhuidhinn' meaning 'dove.'

In the 1881 census there were 14 people recorded with the Colhoun surname, ranking it #31,604 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 236, ranked #17,470, up from #31,604 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to No data. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Bradford, Muirend and Old Cathcart and Port Glasgow Mid, East and Central.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Colhoun is 243 in 2013. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 1585.7%.

1881 census count

14

Ranked #31,604

Modern count

236

2016, ranked #17,470

Peak year

2013

243 bearers

Map years

3

1998 to 2016

Key insights

  • Colhoun had 14 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #31,604 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 236 in 2016, ranked #17,470.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 42 in 1861.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Established but Challenged.

Colhoun surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Colhoun surname density by area, 2016 modern.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Colhoun 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 3 #32,890
1861 historical 42 #28,691
1881 historical 14 #31,604
1891 historical 24 #32,320
1901 historical 15 #32,383
1911 historical 20 #31,288
1997 modern 195 #17,912
1998 modern 197 #18,283
1999 modern 210 #17,712
2000 modern 212 #17,554
2001 modern 208 #17,513
2002 modern 211 #17,696
2003 modern 206 #17,799
2004 modern 215 #17,384
2005 modern 212 #17,473
2006 modern 212 #17,612
2007 modern 207 #18,080
2008 modern 204 #18,403
2009 modern 228 #17,486
2010 modern 229 #17,805
2011 modern 234 #17,383
2012 modern 225 #17,733
2013 modern 243 #17,114
2014 modern 232 #17,761
2015 modern 237 #17,413
2016 modern 236 #17,470

Geography

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Where Colhouns are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around No data. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Bradford, Muirend and Old Cathcart, Port Glasgow Mid, East and Central and Sandwell. 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 No data No data

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Bradford 009 Bradford
2 Muirend and Old Cathcart Glasgow City
3 Port Glasgow Mid, East and Central Inverclyde
4 Bradford 011 Bradford
5 Sandwell 024 Sandwell

Forenames

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First names often paired with Colhoun

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

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Colhoun

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

Semi- and Un-Skilled Workforce

Group

Established but Challenged

Nationally, the Colhoun surname is most associated with neighbourhoods classed as Established but Challenged, within Semi- and Un-Skilled Workforce. This does not mean every Colhoun household fits that profile, but it gives a useful signal about where the modern surname distribution is strongest.

Read profile summary

Group profile

Many households in these neighbourhoods comprise separated or divorced single parents with dependent children. Residents are typically born in the UK, and these neighbourhoods have relatively few members of ethnic minorities. The prevalence of children, their parents and those at or above normal retirement age, suggests neighbourhood structures may be long-established. Levels of unpaid care are high, and long-term disability is more common than in the Supergroup as a whole. Use of the social rented sector is common, often in terraced houses. Levels of overcrowding are above the Supergroup average. Unemployment is high, while those in work are employed in elementary occupations such as caring, leisure and customer services. Many residents have low level qualifications. Neighbourhood concentrations of this Group are found in the South Wales Valleys, Belfast, Londonderry and the Central Lowlands of Scotland.

Wider pattern

Living in terraced or semi-detached houses, residents of these neighbourhoods typically lack high levels of education and work in elementary or routine service occupations. Unemployment is above average. Residents are predominantly born in the UK, and residents are also predominantly from ethnic minorities. Social (but not private sector) rented sector housing is common. This Supergroup is found throughout the UK’s conurbations and industrial regions but is also an integral part of smaller towns.

London neighbourhood type

London Output Area Classification

Supergroup

Professional Employment and Family Lifecycles

Group

Inner London Working Professionals

Within London, Colhoun 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

Colhoun is most concentrated in decile 9 for access to healthy assets and hazards. This places the surname towards the healthier 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.

9
Lower access Higher access

Neighbourhood deprivation

Index of Multiple Deprivation

Colhoun falls in decile 1 for neighbourhood deprivation. This puts the surname towards the more deprived end of the index.

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

1
More deprived Less deprived

Broadband speed

Fixed broadband download speed

The modern neighbourhood pattern for Colhoun 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 - Irish

This describes the area pattern most associated with Colhoun, not the ethnicity of every person with the surname.

Meaning and origin of Colhoun

The surname Colhoun is of Scottish origin, derived from the Gaelic Colquhoun, which means "descendent of the family who lived by the narrow loch or inlet." It is believed to have originated in the area around Loch Lomond in the 12th century.

The earliest recorded instance of the name can be found in the Ragman Rolls of 1296, where it appears as Colquhoun. This was a record of Scottish nobles and landowners who swore allegiance to King Edward I of England during the Wars of Scottish Independence.

In the 14th century, the Colhouns were a prominent family in the region around Loch Lomond, and their seat was at the castle of Colquhoun near the village of Luss. The name has also been spelled as Colquhoun, Colwhoun, and Calhoun over the centuries.

One notable bearer of the name was Sir John Colquhoun, who lived from 1549 to 1617 and was a Scottish landowner and diplomat. He served as a commissioner for the Union of the Crowns of Scotland and England in 1604.

Another significant figure was Andrew Colhoun, born in 1630, who was a Scottish minister and one of the founders of the Reformed Presbyterian Church of Scotland.

In the 18th century, the Colhouns were involved in the Jacobite Risings, with several family members supporting the Stuart cause against the Hanoverians. One of them was John Colquhoun, born in 1714, who fought at the Battle of Culloden in 1746.

The name Colhoun has also been associated with places like Colhoun Street in Glasgow, Scotland, and Colhoun Lane in Charleston, South Carolina, which was named after a Scottish immigrant family who settled in the area.

Other notable bearers of the name include Patrick Colquhoun, born in 1745, who was a Scottish merchant and author known for his work on policing and crime prevention, and John Colhoun, born in 1798, who was a U.S. Army officer and politician who served as the 16th Governor of Georgia.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

1881 census detail

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Colhoun families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Colhoun 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. Durham leads with 5 Colhouns recorded in 1881 and an index of 12.32x.

County Total Index
Durham 5 12.32x
Devon 4 14.08x
Lanarkshire 4 9.07x
Middlesex 1 0.73x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Middlestone in Durham leads with 5 Colhouns recorded in 1881 and an index of 6250.00x.

Place Total Index
Middlestone 5 6250.00x
Tormoham 4 333.33x
Glasgow 3 38.31x
Govan 1 9.17x
Poplar London 1 38.91x

Top female names

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

Name Count
Alice 1
Edith 1
Hannah 1
Lydia 1

Top male names

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

Name Count
Edward 1
Franz 1
James 1
John 1
Robert 1
Rountree 1

Top occupations

Occupational titles are kept as recorded and later transcribed, so related jobs, spelling variants and mistakes stay separate. Scholar was the census term for a child in education. That means the other rows often tell you more about adult work in Colhoun households.

FAQ

Colhoun surname: questions and answers

How common was the Colhoun surname in 1881?

In 1881, 14 people were recorded with the Colhoun surname. That placed it at #31,604 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Colhoun surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 236 in 2016. That gives Colhoun a modern rank of #17,470.

What does the Colhoun surname mean?

A Scottish surname derived from the Gaelic word 'Calmhuidhinn' meaning 'dove.'

What does the Colhoun map show?

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