NameCensus.

UK surname

Congreve

In the 1881 census there were 114 people recorded with the Congreve surname, ranking it #18,324 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 284, ranked #15,323, up from #18,324 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to Crossmichael, St Giles Camberwell and Sheffield. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include South Holland and Blaenau Gwent.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Congreve is 304 in 2005. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 149.1%.

1881 census count

114

Ranked #18,324

Modern count

284

2016, ranked #15,323

Peak year

2005

304 bearers

Map years

8

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Congreve had 114 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #18,324 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 284 in 2016, ranked #15,323.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 188 in 1911.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Spacious Rural Living.

Congreve surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Congreve surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Congreve 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 141 #13,507
1861 historical 85 #22,922
1881 historical 114 #18,324
1891 historical 147 #18,592
1901 historical 164 #17,144
1911 historical 188 #15,550
1997 modern 268 #14,585
1998 modern 287 #14,289
1999 modern 290 #14,281
2000 modern 289 #14,272
2001 modern 281 #14,329
2002 modern 300 #13,990
2003 modern 288 #14,192
2004 modern 297 #13,971
2005 modern 304 #13,724
2006 modern 293 #14,116
2007 modern 295 #14,198
2008 modern 297 #14,230
2009 modern 294 #14,628
2010 modern 294 #14,940
2011 modern 297 #14,698
2012 modern 281 #15,198
2013 modern 284 #15,358
2014 modern 288 #15,285
2015 modern 285 #15,307
2016 modern 284 #15,323

Geography

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Where Congreves are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around Crossmichael, St Giles Camberwell, Sheffield, Luton and Holbeach. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to South Holland and Blaenau Gwent. 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 Crossmichael Kirkcudbright
2 St Giles Camberwell London (South Districts)
3 Sheffield Yorkshire, West Riding
4 Luton Bedfordshire
5 Holbeach Lincolnshire

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 South Holland 004 South Holland
2 South Holland 010 South Holland
3 Blaenau Gwent 007 Blaenau Gwent
4 South Holland 003 South Holland
5 South Holland 009 South Holland

Forenames

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First names often paired with Congreve

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

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Congreve

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

Professional Employment and Family Lifecycles

Group

European Enclaves

Within London, Congreve is most associated with areas classed as European Enclaves, 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

Many residents of these accessible neighbourhoods have wide-ranging non-UK European origins. Typically residing in privately rented flats, many residents live alone and are beyond normal retirement age. There are more students than elsewhere in the Supergroup, some of which live in communal establishments. Household residents are often drawn from different ethnic groups.

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

Congreve 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

Congreve falls in decile 5 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.

5
More deprived Less deprived

Broadband speed

Fixed broadband download speed

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

1881 census detail

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Congreve families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Congreve 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 33 Congreves recorded in 1881 and an index of 2.99x.

County Total Index
Yorkshire 33 2.99x
Lincolnshire 24 13.50x
Bedfordshire 12 20.84x
Warwickshire 7 2.50x
Middlesex 6 0.54x
Staffordshire 6 1.60x
Surrey 6 1.11x
Cheshire 4 1.63x
Kirkcudbrightshire 3 18.63x
Shropshire 3 3.12x
Lancashire 2 0.15x
Oxfordshire 2 2.91x
Essex 1 0.46x
Hertfordshire 1 1.30x
Monmouthshire 1 1.24x
Northumberland 1 0.60x
Perthshire 1 2.00x
Sussex 1 0.53x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Sheffield in Yorkshire leads with 17 Congreves recorded in 1881 and an index of 48.46x.

Place Total Index
Sheffield 17 48.46x
Nether Hallam 11 73.78x
Luton 9 90.27x
Gosberton 8 1012.66x
Camberwell 5 7.04x
Holbeach 5 252.53x
Castle Church 4 176.99x
Escrick 4 1818.18x
Spalding 4 113.31x
Stockport 4 31.67x
Crossmichael 3 588.24x
Dunstable 3 169.49x
St George Hanover Square 3 15.31x
St Pancras London 3 3.35x
Sutton St Edmunds 3 1200.00x
Wem 3 209.79x
Coventry St Michael 2 22.20x
Great Barr 2 465.12x
Harbrough Magna 2 1538.46x
Polesworth 2 150.38x
Sutton St Mary St James 2 952.38x
Aston 1 1.30x
Battersea 1 2.44x
Brightside Bierlow 1 4.63x
Chorlton On Medlock 1 4.77x
Cowley 1 46.73x
Deeping St Nicholas 1 192.31x
Elswick 1 7.58x
Hove 1 12.15x
Newport 1 26.11x
Perth East Church 1 21.28x
S Stoke 1 312.50x
South Weald 1 53.19x
St Albans 1 63.69x
Theddlethorpe St Helen 1 625.00x
Warrington 1 6.39x

Top female names

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

Name Count
Mary 5
Ann 4
Sarah 4
Ellen 3
Fanny 3
Betsy 2
Emily 2
Emma 2
Hannah 2
Jane 2
Louisa 2
Matilda 2
Alice 1
Anne 1
Annie 1
Beatrice 1
Charlotte 1
Edith 1
Eliza 1
Elizabeth 1
Ethel 1
Etheldred 1
Florence 1
Frances 1
Gertrude 1
Jean 1
Jessie 1
Josephine 1
Kate 1
Lucy 1
Lydia 1
Maria 1
Minnie 1
Mrs 1
Rose 1
Ruth 1
Selina 1

Top male names

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

Name Count
Thomas 10
James 5
George 4
John 4
William 4
Charles 2
Daniel 2
Herbert 2
Peter 2
Samuel 2
Walter 2
Alfred 1
David 1
Edward 1
Galfred 1
Geo. 1
Henry 1
Not 1
Philip 1
Richard 1
Robert 1
Wilson 1
Wm.Hy. 1

FAQ

Congreve surname: questions and answers

How common was the Congreve surname in 1881?

In 1881, 114 people were recorded with the Congreve surname. That placed it at #18,324 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Congreve surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 284 in 2016. That gives Congreve a modern rank of #15,323.

What does the Congreve map show?

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