NameCensus.

UK surname

Cowsill

In the 1881 census there were 203 people recorded with the Cowsill surname, ranking it #12,717 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 243, ranked #17,131, down from #12,717 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to Manchester, Dean and Leigh. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Trafford, Bury and Wrexham.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Cowsill is 283 in 2002. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 19.7%.

1881 census count

203

Ranked #12,717

Modern count

243

2016, ranked #17,131

Peak year

2002

283 bearers

Map years

7

1881 to 2016

Key insights

  • Cowsill had 203 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #12,717 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 243 in 2016, ranked #17,131.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 253 in 1911.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Challenged Communities.

Cowsill surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Cowsill surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Cowsill 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 66 #21,617
1861 historical 97 #21,503
1881 historical 203 #12,717
1891 historical 214 #14,214
1901 historical 249 #13,172
1911 historical 253 #12,776
1997 modern 266 #14,658
1998 modern 272 #14,846
1999 modern 273 #14,875
2000 modern 277 #14,688
2001 modern 274 #14,576
2002 modern 283 #14,559
2003 modern 266 #14,987
2004 modern 260 #15,309
2005 modern 233 #16,434
2006 modern 234 #16,493
2007 modern 239 #16,449
2008 modern 247 #16,205
2009 modern 256 #16,145
2010 modern 262 #16,252
2011 modern 251 #16,589
2012 modern 251 #16,467
2013 modern 253 #16,642
2014 modern 259 #16,509
2015 modern 255 #16,564
2016 modern 243 #17,131

Geography

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Where Cowsills are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around Manchester, Dean, Leigh, Stockport and Ashton-under-Lyne. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Trafford, Bury, Wrexham and Warrington. 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 Manchester Lancashire
2 Dean Lancashire
3 Leigh Lancashire
4 Stockport Lancashire
5 Ashton-under-Lyne Lancashire

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Trafford 025 Trafford
2 Bury 016 Bury
3 Wrexham 017 Wrexham
4 Bury 008 Bury
5 Warrington 021 Warrington

Forenames

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First names often paired with Cowsill

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

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Cowsill

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

Baseline UK

Group

Challenged Communities

Nationally, the Cowsill surname is most associated with neighbourhoods classed as Challenged Communities, within Baseline UK. This does not mean every Cowsill household fits that profile, but it gives a useful signal about where the modern surname distribution is strongest.

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Group profile

Residents of these neighbourhoods typically live in households with dependent children, and there are fewer-than-average residents of normal retirement age or over. Identification with ethnic minorities, particularly Black, or Mixed or Multiple ethnicities is common. The rate of Christian religious affiliation is low. Housing predominantly consists of semi-detached houses, along with a significant number of terraced properties and flats. Overcrowded social housing is common, and private renting occurs at average UK levels. Those in employment work mainly in caring leisure and other services; process, plant and machine operation; or elementary occupations. Unemployment is high, and few individuals have degree level qualifications. Many of these neighbourhoods occur in commuter towns or less accessible areas of larger towns and cities.

Wider pattern

This Supergroup exemplifies the broad base to the UK’s social structure, encompassing as it does the average or modal levels of many neighbourhood characteristics, including all housing tenures, a range of levels of educational attainment and religious affiliations, and a variety of pre-retirement age structures. Yet, in combination, these mixes are each distinctive of the parts of the UK. Overall, terraced houses and flats are the most prevalent, as is employment in intermediate or low-skilled occupations. However, this Supergroup is also characterised by above average levels of unemployment and lower levels of use of English as the main language. Many neighbourhoods occur in south London and the UK’s other major urban centres.

London neighbourhood type

London Output Area Classification

Supergroup

Professional Employment and Family Lifecycles

Group

Inner London Working Professionals

Within London, Cowsill 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

Cowsill is most concentrated in decile 5 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.

5
Lower access Higher access

Neighbourhood deprivation

Index of Multiple Deprivation

Cowsill 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 Cowsill is most associated with a typical fixed broadband download band of 50-60 mbit/s.

The scale below places that band in context, from slower local download bands through to faster ones.

8
Slower band Faster band

Area snapshot

Ethnic group estimate

Most common ethnic group estimate
White - British

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

1881 census detail

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Cowsill families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Cowsill 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. Lancashire leads with 136 Cowsills recorded in 1881 and an index of 5.79x.

County Total Index
Lancashire 136 5.79x
Cheshire 62 14.18x
Yorkshire 3 0.15x
Bedfordshire 2 1.95x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Farnworth in Lancashire leads with 37 Cowsills recorded in 1881 and an index of 262.78x.

Place Total Index
Farnworth 37 262.78x
Dukinfield 25 123.76x
Altrincham 21 274.87x
Lymm 16 503.14x
Tyldesley Cum Shakerley 15 221.89x
Ashton Under Lyne 11 21.42x
Chorlton On Medlock 10 26.79x
Salford 9 13.02x
Pendleton In Salford 8 28.58x
Elton 7 86.21x
Atherton 6 70.18x
Great Lever 6 240.96x
Hulme 6 12.23x
Broughton In Salford 5 23.28x
Chorley 5 37.94x
Manchester 5 4.73x
Huddersfield 3 10.49x
Little Hulton 3 77.12x
Luton 2 11.27x
North Meols 2 8.70x
Little Bolton 1 3.31x

Top female names

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

Name Count
Mary 16
Sarah 9
Ellen 6
Jane 6
Annie 4
Emma 4
Ann 3
Catherine 3
Eliza 3
Elizabeth 3
Elizh. 3
Emily 3
Margaret 3
Ada 2
Agnes 2
Esther 2
Fanny 2
Hannah 2
Harriet 2
Martha 2
Rachel 2
Alice 1
Amelia 1
Anne 1
Betsy 1
Betty 1
Charlotte 1
Dars 1
Edith 1
Emmaly 1
Frances 1
Infant 1
Kate 1
Kezia 1
Laura 1
Lizzie 1
Lottie 1
Louisa 1
Lydia 1
Maria 1
Marth 1
Minnie 1
Nancy 1
Polly 1

Top male names

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

Name Count
James 14
William 14
Thomas 12
John 8
Charles 7
Arthur 3
Frederick 3
Harry 3
Joseph 3
Nathan 3
Samuel 3
Walter 3
Benjamin 2
George 2
Moses 2
Peter 2
Albert 1
Alexander 1
Armstrong 1
Dan 1
Daniel 1
Edmund 1
Edward 1
Edwin 1
Frank 1
Isiah 1
Richard 1
Robert 1
Sam 1
Vincent 1

FAQ

Cowsill surname: questions and answers

How common was the Cowsill surname in 1881?

In 1881, 203 people were recorded with the Cowsill surname. That placed it at #12,717 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Cowsill surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 243 in 2016. That gives Cowsill a modern rank of #17,131.

What does the Cowsill map show?

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