NameCensus.

UK surname

Cropley

A locational surname derived from a place name meaning "crooked lea" or "crooked meadow".

In the 1881 census there were 477 people recorded with the Cropley surname, ranking it #7,014 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 436, ranked #11,062, down from #7,014 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to Rochdale, London parishes and Lenton, Radford, Papplewick, Nuthall, Greasley, Brewhouse Yard. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include East Lindsey, South Holland and Waveney.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Cropley is 949 in 1861. Compared with 1881, the name has fallen by 8.6%.

1881 census count

477

Ranked #7,014

Modern count

436

2016, ranked #11,062

Peak year

1861

949 bearers

Map years

9

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Cropley had 477 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #7,014 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 436 in 2016, ranked #11,062.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 949 in 1861.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Rural Amenity.

Cropley surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Cropley surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Cropley 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 517 #4,841
1861 historical 949 #2,923
1881 historical 477 #7,014
1891 historical 498 #7,454
1901 historical 463 #8,526
1911 historical 471 #8,201
1997 modern 442 #10,209
1998 modern 464 #10,169
1999 modern 465 #10,202
2000 modern 473 #10,049
2001 modern 463 #10,009
2002 modern 475 #10,014
2003 modern 475 #9,848
2004 modern 465 #10,046
2005 modern 432 #10,531
2006 modern 435 #10,525
2007 modern 440 #10,533
2008 modern 445 #10,521
2009 modern 461 #10,462
2010 modern 472 #10,488
2011 modern 457 #10,651
2012 modern 437 #10,915
2013 modern 449 #10,850
2014 modern 446 #10,981
2015 modern 438 #11,055
2016 modern 436 #11,062

Geography

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Where Cropleys are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around Rochdale, London parishes, Lenton, Radford, Papplewick, Nuthall, Greasley, Brewhouse Yard and Manchester. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to East Lindsey, South Holland, Waveney, Ashfield and Bassetlaw. 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 Rochdale Lancashire
2 London parishes London 1
3 Lenton, Radford, Papplewick, Nuthall, Greasley, Brewhouse Yard Nottinghamshire
4 London parishes London 3
5 Manchester Lancashire

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 East Lindsey 018 East Lindsey
2 South Holland 002 South Holland
3 Waveney 006 Waveney
4 Ashfield 015 Ashfield
5 Bassetlaw 002 Bassetlaw

Forenames

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First names often paired with Cropley

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

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Cropley

Modern surname records can be compared with neighbourhood classifications. For Cropley, 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 Cropley surname is most associated with neighbourhoods classed as Rural Amenity, within Suburbanites and Peri-Urbanities. This does not mean every Cropley 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

Inner London Working Professionals

Within London, Cropley 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

Cropley 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

Cropley falls in decile 6 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.

6
More deprived Less deprived

Broadband speed

Fixed broadband download speed

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

Meaning and origin of Cropley

The surname Cropley has its origins in England, dating back to the 13th century. It is derived from the Old English words "cropp" meaning crop or harvest, and "leah" meaning a meadow or clearing in a forest. This suggests that the name may have originally referred to someone who lived or worked in a crop field or meadow.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Hundred Rolls of Oxfordshire from 1279, where a Richard de Croppelay is mentioned. The surname is also found in various other medieval records, with spellings such as Croppelay, Croppelie, and Croppeley.

During the 14th century, the name appears to have been concentrated in the counties of Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire. In the 1327 Subsidy Rolls of Oxfordshire, a Thomas Croppelay is listed as a taxpayer from the village of Cropredy, which may have influenced the spelling and pronunciation of the name.

One notable individual bearing this surname was Sir John Cropley, a 15th-century English soldier and Member of Parliament. He served in the Hundred Years' War and was appointed Sheriff of Oxfordshire and Berkshire in 1429.

Another historical figure was Thomas Cropley, who lived in the late 16th century and was a prominent merchant and alderman in the city of Norwich. He served as Mayor of Norwich in 1592 and was responsible for the construction of several notable buildings in the city.

In the 17th century, the name Cropley appears in various parish records across England, including those of Warwickshire, Gloucestershire, and Wiltshire. One such record mentions a William Cropley, born in 1612 in the village of Stourton, Wiltshire.

During the 18th century, the surname Cropley was still found in various parts of England, with notable individuals such as William Cropley (1702-1786), a wealthy landowner and philanthropist from Oxfordshire, and John Cropley (1744-1821), a respected clergyman and author from Gloucestershire.

As the name spread across England over the centuries, it also developed various spelling variations, including Cropley, Croplye, Crapley, and Croplie. While the exact origins of the name may remain uncertain, its long history and association with rural areas and agriculture are well-documented in historical records.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

1881 census detail

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Cropley families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Cropley 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 90 Cropleys recorded in 1881 and an index of 1.95x.

County Total Index
Yorkshire 90 1.95x
Lincolnshire 79 10.62x
Cambridgeshire 70 23.75x
Norfolk 53 7.41x
Middlesex 33 0.71x
Lancashire 28 0.51x
Essex 24 2.61x
Surrey 22 0.97x
Suffolk 18 3.18x
Kent 12 0.76x
Sussex 10 1.27x
Derbyshire 8 1.10x
Wiltshire 7 1.70x
Durham 6 0.43x
Nottinghamshire 6 0.96x
Cheshire 2 0.19x
Huntingdonshire 2 2.16x
Oxfordshire 2 0.70x
Cumberland 1 0.25x
Leicestershire 1 0.19x
Rutland 1 2.93x
Staffordshire 1 0.06x
Worcestershire 1 0.16x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Sowerby In Halifax in Yorkshire leads with 26 Cropleys recorded in 1881 and an index of 172.41x.

Place Total Index
Sowerby In Halifax 26 172.41x
Lambeth 16 3.94x
Ely Holy Trinity St Mary 13 101.17x
Spittlegate 12 116.62x
Lowestoft 11 41.09x
Gosberton 10 303.03x
Great Yarmouth 10 16.87x
Lawford 10 746.27x
New Sleaford 10 209.64x
Potter Newton 10 123.00x
Wilburton 10 1190.48x
Central Wingland 9 2368.42x
Keighley 9 18.31x
Narborough 9 1304.35x
Norwich St Andrew 9 737.70x
Barkstone 8 1012.66x
Manchester 8 3.22x
Crigglestone 7 157.66x
Islington London 7 1.55x
Soham 7 110.41x
Stretham 7 331.75x
Swindon 7 21.93x
Thurlstone 7 153.85x
Bromley 6 24.79x
Edmonton 6 16.00x
Newark Upon Trent 6 26.62x
Norwich St Stephen 6 91.32x
Wingate 6 63.22x
Boston 5 22.15x
Holy Trinity 5 4.51x
Huddersfield 5 7.44x
Kensington London 5 1.93x
Landbeach 5 617.28x
Lidgate 5 757.58x
Lullington 5 420.17x
Manningham 5 8.80x
Quadring 5 349.65x
West Grinstead 5 210.97x
West Ham 5 2.47x
York St Maurice 5 57.60x
Bury 4 6.34x
Castleton 4 7.25x
Finchingfield 4 138.89x
Gomersal 4 18.59x
Norwich St Martin At Oak 4 91.95x
Openshaw 4 15.47x
Parson Drove 4 338.98x
St Andrewthe Less 4 11.88x
St Marylebone London 4 1.61x
Whittlesey St Mary St 4 38.87x
Burwell 3 84.99x
Cuckfield 3 37.88x
Docking 3 133.33x
Folkingham 3 326.09x
Great Bromley 3 260.87x
Manthorpe Cum Little 3 52.72x
Preston 3 2.03x
Spalding 3 20.33x
Tottenham 3 4.05x
Whittington 3 29.76x
Witchford 3 428.57x
Bromley London 2 1.95x
Burnham Sutton Cum Burnham 2 384.62x
Butterworth 2 14.87x
Canterbury St Augustine 2 344.83x
Chesterton 2 22.00x
Colkirk 2 289.86x
Crayford 2 28.86x
Flitcham Cum Appleton 2 270.27x
Great Shelford 2 129.03x
Langfield 2 24.78x
Midgley 2 40.73x
Norwich St Edmund 2 172.41x
Oldham 2 1.12x
Pidley Cum Fenton 2 281.69x
Pinchbeck 2 41.93x
Surfleet 2 129.03x
Sutton 2 81.97x
Threckingham Swaton 2 434.78x
Weston 2 148.15x

Top female names

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

Name Count
Mary 38
Sarah 18
Elizabeth 16
Ann 8
Eliza 8
Emma 8
Alice 7
Hannah 7
Martha 7
Annie 6
Charlotte 6
Harriet 6
Jane 6
Fanny 4
Isabella 4
Julia 4
Maria 4
Catherine 3
Edith 3
Grace 3
Lizzie 3
Rebecca 3
Amelia 2
Carlotta 2
Caroline 2
Elizth. 2
Frances 2
Louisa 2
Lucy 2
Margaret 2
Anna 1
Bessie 1
Betsey 1
C. 1
Catharine 1
E.J. 1
Ellen 1
Emily 1
Ester 1
Eva 1
Florence 1
James 1
Jemima 1
Kate 1
Katy 1
Kezia 1
Laura 1
Letitia 1
Lousa 1
Topsy 1

Top male names

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

Name Count
William 37
John 25
Thomas 25
James 20
George 17
Charles 13
Henry 12
Samuel 10
Edward 7
Frank 5
Robert 5
Arthur 4
Joseph 4
Walter 4
Harry 3
Richard 3
Alfred 2
Benjamin 2
Brook 2
Francis 2
Fred 2
Nathan 2
Sidney 2
Autha 1
Ben 1
Burrell 1
Christopher 1
Crosby 1
Edgar 1
Eli 1
Ernest 1
Frederick 1
Geo. 1
Haigh 1
Hellowell 1
Herbert 1
Hermon 1
J.H. 1
Japheth 1
Jim 1
Johnson 1
Jonathan 1
Maurica 1
Montague 1
Oliver 1
Percy 1
Ralph 1
Rich. 1
Sam 1
Tom 1

FAQ

Cropley surname: questions and answers

How common was the Cropley surname in 1881?

In 1881, 477 people were recorded with the Cropley surname. That placed it at #7,014 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Cropley surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 436 in 2016. That gives Cropley a modern rank of #11,062.

What does the Cropley surname mean?

A locational surname derived from a place name meaning "crooked lea" or "crooked meadow".

What does the Cropley map show?

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