NameCensus.

UK surname

Coultas

An English surname derived from a place name meaning "cottage in a valley".

In the 1881 census there were 602 people recorded with the Coultas surname, ranking it #5,818 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 703, ranked #7,683, down from #5,818 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to Hull Holy Trinity, Pickering and Stranton. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include East Riding of Yorkshire, Leeds and Scarborough.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Coultas is 746 in 2010. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 16.8%.

1881 census count

602

Ranked #5,818

Modern count

703

2016, ranked #7,683

Peak year

2010

746 bearers

Map years

9

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Coultas had 602 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #5,818 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 703 in 2016, ranked #7,683.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 690 in 1901.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Ageing Communities.

Coultas surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Coultas surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Coultas 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 355 #6,654
1861 historical 307 #8,262
1881 historical 602 #5,818
1891 historical 615 #6,260
1901 historical 690 #6,352
1911 historical 680 #6,214
1997 modern 645 #7,704
1998 modern 683 #7,621
1999 modern 678 #7,703
2000 modern 691 #7,557
2001 modern 671 #7,607
2002 modern 683 #7,656
2003 modern 676 #7,608
2004 modern 680 #7,575
2005 modern 677 #7,542
2006 modern 682 #7,525
2007 modern 690 #7,507
2008 modern 710 #7,396
2009 modern 734 #7,366
2010 modern 746 #7,410
2011 modern 727 #7,482
2012 modern 699 #7,616
2013 modern 723 #7,545
2014 modern 728 #7,553
2015 modern 720 #7,561
2016 modern 703 #7,683

Geography

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Where Coultas' are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around Hull Holy Trinity, Pickering, Stranton, Bradford and Scarborough. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to East Riding of Yorkshire, Leeds and Scarborough. 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 Hull Holy Trinity Yorkshire, East Riding
2 Pickering Yorkshire, North Riding
3 Stranton Durham
4 Bradford Yorkshire, West Riding
5 Scarborough Yorkshire, North Riding

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 East Riding of Yorkshire 001 East Riding of Yorkshire
2 East Riding of Yorkshire 045 East Riding of Yorkshire
3 East Riding of Yorkshire 006 East Riding of Yorkshire
4 Leeds 050 Leeds
5 Scarborough 014 Scarborough

Forenames

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First names often paired with Coultas

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

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Coultas

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

Ageing Communities

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

Read profile summary

Group profile

Many residents are of normal retirement age or above and live in communal establishments, and there are few dependent children. The dominant property type is a mix of retirement flats and detached houses. Those in work are likely to be employed in managerial and professional occupations, and many residents are educated to degree level. Levels of owner occupation are high, but the private rental sector is also present. Rural locations predominate.

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

European Enclaves

Within London, Coultas 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

Coultas is most concentrated in decile 6 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.

6
Lower access Higher access

Neighbourhood deprivation

Index of Multiple Deprivation

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

Meaning and origin of Coultas

The surname Coultas is of English origin and dates back to the late medieval period. It is believed to have derived from an old Anglo-Saxon place name, with the most likely source being the village of Coultas in Yorkshire. This place name itself is thought to come from the Old English words "col" meaning charcoal and "tun" meaning settlement or farmstead, suggesting the name may have referred to an area where charcoal burning took place.

One of the earliest recorded mentions of the Coultas surname appears in the Subsidy Rolls of Yorkshire from 1297, where a Geoffrey de Coultas is listed. The surname also appears in various other historical records from the 13th to 15th centuries, with spellings such as Coltasse, Coltays, and Coultasse.

In the 16th century, the surname is found in the Parish Registers of Ripon, Yorkshire, where a John Coultas was recorded in 1592. Around the same time, a William Coultas was noted in the Registers of St. Michael's Church, Alnwick, Northumberland, in 1593.

Notable bearers of the Coultas surname include John Coultas (1608-1698), an English Presbyterian minister and controversialist, and Sir John Coultas (1766-1849), a British naval officer who served in the Royal Navy during the Napoleonic Wars.

Other historical figures with this surname include William Coultas (1751-1823), an English architect who designed several notable buildings in Yorkshire, and Thomas Coultas (1793-1879), a British botanist and author of several works on the flora of Yorkshire.

A more recent example is Henry Coultas (1888-1965), a British trade unionist and Labour Party politician who served as a Member of Parliament for Spennymoor from 1945 to 1950.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

1881 census detail

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Coultas families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Coultas 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 482 Coultas' recorded in 1881 and an index of 8.34x.

County Total Index
Yorkshire 482 8.34x
Lincolnshire 40 4.29x
Durham 32 1.84x
Kent 13 0.65x
Gloucestershire 8 0.70x
Cheshire 7 0.54x
Lancashire 5 0.07x
Middlesex 3 0.05x
Northumberland 3 0.35x
Dunbartonshire 1 0.64x
Hampshire 1 0.08x
Leicestershire 1 0.15x
Suffolk 1 0.14x
Westmorland 1 0.78x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Leeds in Yorkshire leads with 42 Coultas' recorded in 1881 and an index of 12.87x.

Place Total Index
Leeds 42 12.87x
Holy Trinity 30 21.58x
Scarborough 26 49.50x
Burniston 23 3285.71x
Great Grimsby 18 30.41x
Scalby In Scarborough 15 1250.00x
Blacktoft Cheapsides 14 4666.67x
Stockton On Tees 14 16.74x
Sawdon 13 3939.39x
Thwing 12 1363.64x
Bramham Cum Oglethorpe 11 476.19x
Yeadon 11 84.29x
Huddersfield 10 11.87x
Old Malton 10 275.48x
Spittlegate 10 77.52x
Stranton 10 17.12x
Bowling 9 15.72x
Cottingham 9 72.23x
Filey 8 171.31x
Bristol St James St Paul 7 18.35x
Darlington 7 10.45x
Falsgrave 7 82.16x
Milton In Gravesend 7 23.45x
New Malton 7 101.30x
Norton In Malton 7 99.86x
Pontefract 7 56.22x
Sculcoates 7 7.64x
Wykeham 7 614.04x
Bridlington 6 45.35x
Churwell 6 152.28x
Clee With Weelsby 6 29.38x
Hackness 6 1428.57x
Newholme Cum Dunsley 6 750.00x
Rawdon 6 88.11x
Rushton 6 895.52x
Seamer In Scarborough 6 320.86x
Sherburn 6 126.32x
Sledmere Cum Croom 6 594.06x
Baildon 5 45.96x
Farmanby 5 505.05x
Guiseley 5 67.57x
Headingley Cum Burley 5 13.44x
Lee 5 17.30x
Pickering Marishes 5 793.65x
York St Mary 5 20.89x
Appleton Le Moors 4 666.67x
Bradford 4 2.86x
Buckton 4 1333.33x
Foston On Wolds 4 701.75x
Gate Fulford 4 29.63x
Leavening 4 512.82x
Pudsey 4 12.95x
Clifton In York 3 24.81x
Eskdaleside 3 105.63x
Ganton 3 441.18x
Garton On Wolds 3 291.26x
Horton In Bradford 3 3.32x
Ilkley 3 31.75x
Langton By Wragby 3 508.47x
Levisham 3 1428.57x
Little Kelk 3 1666.67x
Newcastle On Tyne St 3 6.67x
Ottringham 3 263.16x
Rudston 3 247.93x
Thornham 3 80.21x
Westow 3 447.76x
Willerby In Scarborough 3 361.45x
York St Lawrence 3 49.75x
Brompton In Scarborough 2 144.93x
Cleckheaton 2 9.39x
Ellerker 2 338.98x
Hunslet 2 2.22x
Hutton Cranswick 2 82.30x
Kirkheaton 2 21.34x
Lockwood 2 9.62x
Rillington 2 114.29x
Sutton In Pontefract 2 2500.00x
Tong 2 17.91x
Tottenham 2 2.15x
Wold Newton 2 322.58x

Top female names

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

Name Count
Mary 49
Elizabeth 30
Ann 18
Jane 18
Sarah 18
Hannah 17
Annie 10
Eliza 10
Alice 6
Ellen 6
Clara 5
Emily 5
Emma 5
Maria 5
Esther 4
Florence 4
Margaret 4
Martha 4
Susannah 4
Charlotte 3
Edith 3
Frances 3
Hanah 3
Isabella 3
Louisa 3
Rachel 3
Ada 2
Agnes 2
Anne 2
Elizth. 2
Ethel 2
Harriet 2
Selina 2
Thomasine 2
Bertha 1
Betsy 1
Bricus 1
Catherine 1
Charlott 1
Emley 1
Eshmay 1
Fanny 1
Infant 1
Isabel 1
Judath 1
Julia 1
Katie 1
Laura 1
Lavinia 1
Zillah 1

Top male names

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

Name Count
John 48
William 37
Thomas 22
James 20
George 18
Robert 16
Arthur 10
Henry 9
Joseph 8
Charles 7
David 7
Edward 5
Wm. 5
Alfred 4
Harry 4
Samuel 4
Benjamin 3
Frank 3
Fred 3
Richard 3
Herbert 2
Lional 2
Nathaniel 2
Southwell 2
Walter 2
Alonzo 1
Ambrose 1
Amos 1
Asa 1
Ben 1
Blank 1
Cha.F. 1
Ford 1
Francis 1
Fread 1
Fred. 1
Frederic 1
Frederick 1
Geo. 1
Geo.Wm. 1
J.Edmund 1
J.T. 1
Jackson 1
Jas. 1
Jas.R. 1
Jno. 1
Mark 1
Matthew 1
Mitchell 1
Wm.Henry 1

FAQ

Coultas surname: questions and answers

How common was the Coultas surname in 1881?

In 1881, 602 people were recorded with the Coultas surname. That placed it at #5,818 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Coultas surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 703 in 2016. That gives Coultas a modern rank of #7,683.

What does the Coultas surname mean?

An English surname derived from a place name meaning "cottage in a valley".

What does the Coultas map show?

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