NameCensus.

UK surname

Craddock

An English locational surname derived from a place name meaning "cottage by the cart track."

In the 1881 census there were 2,513 people recorded with the Craddock surname, ranking it #1,780 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 3,750, ranked #1,811, down from #1,780 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to Wolverhampton, London parishes and Shenstone. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Kettering, Cannock Chase and Hambleton.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Craddock is 4,037 in 1999. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 49.2%.

1881 census count

2,513

Ranked #1,780

Modern count

3,750

2016, ranked #1,811

Peak year

1999

4,037 bearers

Map years

9

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Craddock had 2,513 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #1,780 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 3,750 in 2016, ranked #1,811.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 3,637 in 1911.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Rural Amenity.

Craddock surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Craddock surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Craddock 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 1,534 #1,867
1861 historical 1,510 #1,869
1881 historical 2,513 #1,780
1891 historical 2,871 #1,653
1901 historical 3,360 #1,656
1911 historical 3,637 #1,435
1997 modern 3,764 #1,726
1998 modern 3,944 #1,715
1999 modern 4,037 #1,684
2000 modern 4,036 #1,677
2001 modern 3,936 #1,680
2002 modern 4,013 #1,683
2003 modern 3,922 #1,682
2004 modern 3,888 #1,706
2005 modern 3,781 #1,735
2006 modern 3,786 #1,724
2007 modern 3,765 #1,753
2008 modern 3,789 #1,750
2009 modern 3,899 #1,746
2010 modern 3,990 #1,742
2011 modern 3,953 #1,726
2012 modern 3,832 #1,750
2013 modern 3,863 #1,775
2014 modern 3,869 #1,778
2015 modern 3,793 #1,795
2016 modern 3,750 #1,811

Geography

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Where Craddocks are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around Wolverhampton, London parishes, Shenstone and Cannock. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Kettering, Cannock Chase and Hambleton. 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 Wolverhampton Staffordshire
2 London parishes London 1
3 London parishes London 3
4 Shenstone Staffordshire
5 Cannock Staffordshire

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Kettering 011 Kettering
2 Cannock Chase 011 Cannock Chase
3 Cannock Chase 007 Cannock Chase
4 Hambleton 007 Hambleton
5 Hambleton 004 Hambleton

Forenames

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First names often paired with Craddock

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

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Craddock

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

Rural Amenity

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

Read profile summary

Group profile

This Group comprises older parents or retirees, with no resident dependent children, and with the lowest residential densities in this Supergroup. Predominantly UK-born, residents typically live in detached houses, although others do live in semi-detached and terraced properties. The level of multiple car ownership is the highest in this Supergroup. Most houses are owner occupied although social renting is also present. Many concentrations occur in high amenity rural locations, such as Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

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

Established Homeowners with Children

Within London, Craddock is most associated with areas classed as Established Homeowners with Children, 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 predominantly British-born residents are typically married/in civil partnerships and own the properties in which they are raising their children. Parents are typically over 45, and many other residents are beyond normal retirement age. Detached and semi-detached houses predominate and multiple car ownership is common.

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

Craddock is most concentrated in decile 7 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.

7
Lower access Higher access

Neighbourhood deprivation

Index of Multiple Deprivation

Craddock falls in decile 7 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.

7
More deprived Less deprived

Broadband speed

Fixed broadband download speed

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

Meaning and origin of Craddock

The surname Craddock has its origins in the English and Welsh borderlands during the medieval period. It is thought to have derived from the Old English word "cradoc", which means "he who gathers crabs or willow shoots". This suggests that the earliest bearers of the name may have been involved in harvesting these items or lived near areas where they grew abundantly.

One of the earliest recorded references to the surname can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as "Cradoc". This entry indicates that the name was already in use during the Norman conquest of England. Over the centuries, various spellings emerged, including Craddocke, Cradock, and Craddock.

In the 13th century, the name Craddock appeared in the Pipe Rolls of Worcestershire, where a person named William Craddock was listed as a landowner. This suggests that by this time, the name had become established among the gentry and landholding classes.

One notable bearer of the Craddock surname was Richard Craddock (c. 1538-1624), an English clergyman and theologian who served as the Bishop of Llandaff in Wales. Another was Samuel Craddock (1620-1695), an English nonconformist minister who was ejected from his living during the Great Ejection of 1662.

In the 17th century, the name Craddock was also found in Virginia, where Richard Craddock (c. 1635-1711) was a wealthy planter and landowner. His descendants continued to use the surname in the American colonies and later the United States.

Another noteworthy individual was Thomas Craddock (1718-1781), an English clergyman and author who wrote several works on religious subjects. In the 19th century, Sir John Craddock (1805-1881) was a British Army officer who served in the Crimean War and later became the Governor of Gibraltar.

Throughout its history, the surname Craddock has been associated with various places in England and Wales, such as the village of Craddock in Staffordshire and the town of Craddock in Worcestershire. These place names likely contributed to the spread and adoption of the surname in those regions.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

1881 census detail

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Craddock families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Craddock 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. Staffordshire leads with 709 Craddocks recorded in 1881 and an index of 8.55x.

County Total Index
Staffordshire 709 8.55x
Middlesex 222 0.90x
Northamptonshire 161 6.97x
Kent 132 1.57x
Surrey 130 1.09x
Yorkshire 122 0.50x
Warwickshire 121 1.95x
Worcestershire 118 3.68x
Gloucestershire 105 2.18x
Lancashire 98 0.34x
Cornwall 79 2.84x
Bedfordshire 70 5.50x
Durham 60 0.82x
Hampshire 47 0.93x
Essex 46 0.95x
Shropshire 38 1.79x
Oxfordshire 33 2.17x
Somerset 26 0.66x
Devon 23 0.45x
Cheshire 20 0.37x
Herefordshire 17 1.69x
Hertfordshire 16 0.94x
Nottinghamshire 16 0.48x
Derbyshire 14 0.36x
Sussex 14 0.34x
Berkshire 13 0.70x
Huntingdonshire 8 1.64x
Leicestershire 8 0.29x
Lincolnshire 8 0.20x
Monmouthshire 7 0.39x
Buckinghamshire 6 0.40x
Glamorgan 6 0.14x
Wiltshire 6 0.28x
Royal Navy 5 1.71x
Dumfriesshire 4 0.74x
Northumberland 4 0.11x
Lanarkshire 2 0.03x
Midlothian 2 0.06x
Brecknockshire 1 0.20x
Dorset 1 0.06x
Fife 1 0.07x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Cannock in Staffordshire leads with 128 Craddocks recorded in 1881 and an index of 88.44x.

Place Total Index
Cannock 128 88.44x
Walsall Foreign 125 29.17x
Shenstone 64 303.46x
Wolverhampton 60 9.41x
Islington London 50 2.10x
Burntwood Edial 41 77.39x
Kingsthorpe 37 144.02x
Lambeth 35 1.63x
West Ham 33 3.08x
Birmingham 30 1.45x
Camberwell 28 1.78x
Mile End Old Town London 28 5.35x
Manchester 26 1.98x
Bedford St Paul 22 25.21x
Cheltenham 22 5.92x
Oldbury 21 13.30x
Rushall 21 43.02x
Tewkesbury 21 48.83x
Hammersmith London 20 3.30x
St Stephen In Brannel 20 78.80x
Dudley 19 4.87x
St Marylebone London 19 1.45x
Stoke Upon Trent 19 2.16x
Tipton 19 7.48x
Aston 18 1.05x
Clapham 18 350.88x
Edgbaston 18 9.37x
Wellingborough 18 15.49x
Wolstanton Chesterton 18 42.46x
Liverpool 17 0.96x
St Minver 17 200.47x
Ipsley 16 140.85x
Portsea 16 1.62x
Rugeley 16 26.88x
Sutton Valence 16 168.07x
Burslem 15 6.31x
Norton Canes 15 49.62x
Southwark St George Martyr 15 3.03x
Bethnal Green London 14 1.31x
Ogley Hay 14 81.30x
Aston Cantlow 13 140.24x
Cranford St John 13 412.70x
East Farleigh 13 92.46x
Bedford St Peter 12 36.31x
Crook Billy Row 12 12.82x
Newington 12 1.32x
Northampton St Sepulchre 12 10.21x
Redditch 12 18.44x
St Austell 12 12.62x
Barnsley 11 4.38x
Bilton Cum Harrogate 11 13.21x
Masham 11 122.09x
Northampton All Sts 11 14.03x
Maidstone 10 4.00x
Plumstead 10 3.58x
Stone 10 9.43x
Stroud 10 10.66x
Whitchurch Tilstock 10 190.48x
Byers Green 9 43.65x
Castle Church 9 18.05x
Chapel Allerton 9 24.70x
Charlton Kings 9 26.99x
Claines 9 10.22x
Egloshayle 9 68.97x
Irchester 9 62.72x
Latchford 9 24.98x
Sedgley 9 2.92x
St George Hanover Square 9 2.08x
Wednesfield 9 7.37x
Wrockwardine 9 19.28x
Alvechurch 8 58.61x
Battersea 8 0.88x
Croydon 8 1.20x
Gloucester St Catherine 8 58.91x
Hackney London 8 0.58x
Halesowen 8 28.40x
Northampton Priory St 8 5.77x
Southampton St Mary 8 2.53x
Warrington 8 2.31x
West Derby 8 0.94x

Top female names

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

Name Count
Mary 149
Sarah 101
Elizabeth 93
Eliza 64
Ann 60
Alice 49
Jane 49
Emma 41
Ellen 40
Annie 33
Emily 28
Louisa 26
Harriet 24
Caroline 21
Catherine 21
Hannah 21
Florence 19
Margaret 19
Martha 17
Ada 15
Agnes 15
Charlotte 15
Frances 13
Edith 12
Lucy 12
Maria 12
Esther 11
Fanny 11
Clara 10
Kate 10
Matilda 10
Amy 9
Anne 9
Bertha 9
Minnie 7
Rebecca 7
Amelia 6
Bessie 6
Rose 6
Ruth 6
Eleanor 5
Elizth. 5
Harriett 5
Isabella 5
Julia 5
Maud 5
Sophia 5
Susannah 5
Anna 4
Laura 4

Top male names

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

Name Count
William 140
John 138
George 92
Thomas 77
Charles 63
Henry 54
Joseph 54
James 53
Edward 33
Alfred 32
Frederick 29
Arthur 28
Samuel 23
Richard 22
Albert 17
Robert 17
Edwin 15
Frank 15
Walter 15
Herbert 12
David 11
Ernest 9
Harry 9
Stephen 9
Benjamin 7
Francis 7
Eli 6
Fredk. 6
Jabez 6
Job 6
Anthony 4
Fred 4
Geo. 4
Patrick 4
Tom 4
Wm. 4
Amos 3
Christopher 3
Daniel 3
Edgar 3
Ezra 3
Isaiah 3
Jeremiah 3
Jesse 3
Jno. 3
Levi 3
Percy 3
Reuben 3
Saml. 3
Sidney 3

FAQ

Craddock surname: questions and answers

How common was the Craddock surname in 1881?

In 1881, 2,513 people were recorded with the Craddock surname. That placed it at #1,780 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Craddock surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 3,750 in 2016. That gives Craddock a modern rank of #1,811.

What does the Craddock surname mean?

An English locational surname derived from a place name meaning "cottage by the cart track."

What does the Craddock map show?

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