1881 census county

Durham surnames in the 1881 census

This page ranks surnames recorded in Durham in 1881. The total column counts people with each surname in the county. Frequency shows the local share of the population. Index compares that share with the wider census.

County summary

14,386 surnames are listed for Durham, covering 770,684 people in the county records.

The leading surname here is Smith, with 12,173 people recorded in 1881.

Most common surnames in Durham

Total favours larger counties and larger families. Frequency and index are better clues for where a surname stood out locally. Values above 1.00x mean the surname was more concentrated here than in the wider 1881 census.

#	Surname	Total	Frequency	Index
1	Smith	12,173	1.40%	0.99x
2	Brown	9,553	1.10%	1.67x
3	Thompson	9,203	1.06%	3.53x
4	Wilson	8,568	0.990%	2.15x
5	Robinson	7,742	0.890%	2.79x
6	Robson	7,075	0.810%	12.37x
7	Bell	6,679	0.770%	4.09x
8	Hall	6,537	0.750%	2.56x
9	Watson	5,839	0.670%	2.90x
10	Johnson	5,832	0.670%	2.00x
11	Richardson	4,895	0.560%	3.31x
12	Scott	4,886	0.560%	2.22x
13	Taylor	4,817	0.550%	0.87x
14	Walker	4,083	0.470%	1.40x
15	Harrison	3,923	0.450%	2.03x
16	Dixon	3,863	0.440%	4.06x
17	Young	3,814	0.440%	2.04x
18	Wilkinson	3,747	0.430%	2.83x
19	Armstrong	3,702	0.430%	5.57x
20	Atkinson	3,532	0.410%	4.17x
21	Jackson	3,509	0.400%	1.44x
22	Davison	3,462	0.400%	11.14x
23	Clark	3,397	0.390%	1.30x
24	Henderson	3,378	0.390%	3.58x
25	Hunter	3,208	0.370%	3.59x
26	Anderson	3,184	0.370%	1.85x
27	Simpson	3,126	0.360%	2.06x
28	Graham	3,089	0.360%	3.10x
29	Carr	2,888	0.330%	4.60x
30	Hutchinson	2,885	0.330%	5.84x
31	Hodgson	2,883	0.330%	4.79x
32	Wright	2,859	0.330%	1.03x
33	Jones	2,817	0.320%	0.29x
34	Gibson	2,737	0.310%	2.59x
35	Nicholson	2,716	0.310%	4.40x
36	Turnbull	2,706	0.310%	7.39x
37	Forster	2,628	0.300%	9.22x
38	Wood	2,598	0.300%	0.94x
39	White	2,515	0.290%	0.90x
40	Walton	2,439	0.280%	3.99x
41	Charlton	2,339	0.270%	9.39x
42	Elliott	2,322	0.270%	3.15x
43	Gray	2,243	0.260%	1.81x
44	Miller	2,200	0.250%	1.41x
45	Pearson	2,133	0.250%	2.11x
46	Foster	2,100	0.240%	1.81x
47	Dawson	2,092	0.240%	2.18x
48	Dunn	2,063	0.240%	2.85x
49	Reed	2,062	0.240%	3.25x
50	Williams	2,008	0.230%	0.32x
51	Ward	1,989	0.230%	1.05x
52	Dodds	1,926	0.220%	10.53x
53	Cook	1,919	0.220%	1.11x
54	Marshall	1,874	0.220%	1.29x
55	Green	1,866	0.210%	0.76x
56	Moore	1,839	0.210%	1.06x
57	Todd	1,764	0.200%	3.99x
58	Martin	1,743	0.200%	0.81x
59	Lawson	1,725	0.200%	3.37x
60	Oliver	1,708	0.200%	2.75x
61	Lee	1,697	0.200%	1.19x
62	Turner	1,636	0.190%	0.68x
63	Parker	1,635	0.190%	0.99x
64	Sanderson	1,535	0.180%	4.28x
65	Chapman	1,502	0.170%	1.22x
66	Kelly	1,499	0.170%	1.57x
67	Murray	1,493	0.170%	1.39x
68	Mason	1,483	0.170%	1.27x
69	Bainbridge	1,476	0.170%	12.08x
70	Potts	1,460	0.170%	5.03x
71	Patterson	1,436	0.170%	4.74x
72	Ridley	1,427	0.160%	8.50x
73	Curry	1,409	0.160%	11.32x
74	Coates	1,372	0.160%	4.23x
75	Lamb	1,366	0.160%	2.98x
76	Carter	1,361	0.160%	0.93x
77	Maddison	1,354	0.160%	15.90x
78	Cooper	1,351	0.160%	0.64x
79	Dobson	1,342	0.150%	3.50x
80	Storey	1,340	0.150%	6.07x
81	Burns	1,295	0.150%	2.22x
82	Newton	1,295	0.150%	1.94x
83	Hughes	1,292	0.150%	0.53x
84	Stewart	1,289	0.150%	0.95x
85	Campbell	1,279	0.150%	0.87x
86	Pattison	1,273	0.150%	9.20x
87	Raine	1,264	0.150%	17.46x
88	Alderson	1,252	0.140%	10.38x
89	Barker	1,232	0.140%	1.08x
90	Hudson	1,219	0.140%	1.71x
91	Shaw	1,216	0.140%	0.76x
92	Allen	1,213	0.140%	0.74x
93	Davidson	1,205	0.140%	1.65x
94	Adamson	1,204	0.140%	5.24x
95	Holmes	1,204	0.140%	1.14x
96	Rutherford	1,186	0.140%	5.59x
97	Fenwick	1,162	0.130%	10.20x
98	Coulson	1,140	0.130%	7.31x
99	Liddle	1,132	0.130%	11.06x
100	King	1,126	0.130%	0.59x