NameCensus.

UK surname

Crow

An English occupational surname referring to a person who tended or hunted crows, or had glossy black hair.

In the 1881 census there were 4,509 people recorded with the Crow surname, ranking it #994 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 3,472, ranked #1,952, down from #994 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to London parishes, Gateshead and Edinburgh. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Uttlesford, East Lindsey and Hambleton.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Crow is 4,695 in 1901. Compared with 1881, the name has fallen by 23.0%.

1881 census count

4,509

Ranked #994

Modern count

3,472

2016, ranked #1,952

Peak year

1901

4,695 bearers

Map years

9

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Crow had 4,509 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #994 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 3,472 in 2016, ranked #1,952.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 4,695 in 1901.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Ageing Communities.

Crow surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Crow surname density by area, 1881 census.

Loading map
Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Crow 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 3,523 #806
1861 historical 3,448 #822
1881 historical 4,509 #994
1891 historical 4,427 #1,068
1901 historical 4,695 #1,204
1911 historical 4,328 #1,198
1997 modern 3,674 #1,766
1998 modern 3,766 #1,789
1999 modern 3,747 #1,810
2000 modern 3,652 #1,855
2001 modern 3,566 #1,853
2002 modern 3,636 #1,864
2003 modern 3,560 #1,854
2004 modern 3,541 #1,868
2005 modern 3,454 #1,889
2006 modern 3,459 #1,884
2007 modern 3,475 #1,896
2008 modern 3,461 #1,920
2009 modern 3,529 #1,933
2010 modern 3,572 #1,946
2011 modern 3,525 #1,952
2012 modern 3,480 #1,941
2013 modern 3,545 #1,944
2014 modern 3,547 #1,947
2015 modern 3,509 #1,947
2016 modern 3,472 #1,952

Geography

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Where Crows are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around London parishes, Gateshead, Edinburgh, Tardebigg and Glasgow. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Uttlesford, East Lindsey, Hambleton and Telford and Wrekin. 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 London parishes London 3
2 Gateshead Durham
3 Edinburgh Edinburgh
4 Tardebigg Worcestershire
5 Glasgow Lanark

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Uttlesford 008 Uttlesford
2 East Lindsey 008 East Lindsey
3 Hambleton 004 Hambleton
4 Uttlesford 007 Uttlesford
5 Telford and Wrekin 002 Telford and Wrekin

Forenames

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First names often paired with Crow

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

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Crow

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

Older Residents in Owner-Occupied Suburbs

Group

London Fringe

Within London, Crow is most associated with areas classed as London Fringe, part of Older Residents in Owner-Occupied Suburbs. 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

Predominantly located in neighbourhoods on the outskirts of Greater London, residents of these neighbourhoods typically have their highest qualifications below degree (Level 4) level, with those still in work engaged in skilled trades and occupations in distribution, hotels and restaurants. There is low ethnic diversity in these neighbourhoods and high levels of Christian religious affiliation. Detached or terraced houses predominate, often with spare rooms.

Wider London pattern

The age distribution of these neighbourhoods is skewed towards the middle-aged and old, although few residents live alone or in communal establishments and numbers of dependent children are around average. Owner occupation is the norm, as is residence in detached or semi-detached houses. Residential densities are low and many households have spare rooms. Most residents were born in the UK and, aside from some identifying as members of Chinese or Indian ethnicities, identify as White. Mixed ethnicity households are rare. Incidence of married couples is higher than average and few individuals have never been married. A large proportion of individuals still in employment work in administrative and secretarial occupations, or in the construction industry. Few residents are students, and many households own more than one car.

Healthy neighbourhoods

Access to healthy assets and hazards

Crow 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

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

Meaning and origin of Crow

The surname Crow is of English origin and dates back to the late 12th century. It is derived from the Old English word "crawe", meaning "crow" or "raven". The name likely originated as a nickname for a person with dark hair or complexion, or perhaps as a reference to someone who lived near a place where crows congregated.

One of the earliest recorded references to the name Crow can be found in the Pipe Rolls of Gloucestershire from 1195, which mentions a person named William Crowe. The Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 also contain entries for individuals with the surname Crow, such as Robert Crowe and Reginald Crowe.

In the 13th century, the name Crow appeared in various place names across England, including Crowborough in Sussex, Crowland in Lincolnshire, and Crowhurst in Surrey. These place names may have influenced the spelling and pronunciation of the surname over time.

Notable individuals with the surname Crow throughout history include:

1. Sir Sackville Crow (1595-1672), an English politician and Member of Parliament for East Grinstead. 2. Francis Crow (1670-1735), an English clergyman and Fellow of Lincoln College, Oxford. 3. Martha Crow (1795-1872), an American pioneer and one of the first settlers in Quincy, Illinois. 4. Levi Crow (1806-1888), an American frontiersman and trader who established a trading post in present-day Kansas. 5. Martha Foote Crow (1854-1924), an American educator and suffragist who played a significant role in the women's suffrage movement in the United States.

The surname Crow has also been associated with various occupations and professions over the centuries, such as farmers, merchants, and tradesmen. While the name is predominantly found in England and the United States, it has also spread to other parts of the world through migration and settlement patterns.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

1881 census detail

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Crow families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Crow 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. Middlesex leads with 530 Crows recorded in 1881 and an index of 1.20x.

County Total Index
Middlesex 530 1.20x
Yorkshire 472 1.08x
Essex 378 4.34x
Lincolnshire 337 4.78x
Lancashire 238 0.45x
Surrey 218 1.01x
Durham 205 1.56x
Kent 188 1.25x
Northumberland 170 2.59x
Norfolk 167 2.46x
Worcestershire 152 2.64x
Lanarkshire 126 0.88x
Midlothian 121 2.05x
Angus 119 2.91x
Warwickshire 106 0.95x
Perthshire 79 3.99x
Suffolk 74 1.38x
Staffordshire 73 0.49x
Cambridgeshire 70 2.51x
Leicestershire 70 1.43x
Northamptonshire 45 1.09x
Huntingdonshire 43 4.91x
Nottinghamshire 38 0.64x
Berwickshire 35 6.55x
Renfrewshire 33 0.97x
Cumberland 30 0.79x
Hampshire 24 0.27x
Derbyshire 23 0.33x
Bedfordshire 22 0.96x
Kincardineshire 21 3.91x
East Lothian 20 3.42x
Stirlingshire 19 1.17x
Argyllshire 18 1.47x
Devon 18 0.20x
Fife 17 0.65x
West Lothian 16 2.41x
Gloucestershire 14 0.16x
Isle of Man 14 1.71x
Shropshire 14 0.37x
Ayrshire 12 0.36x
Clackmannanshire 12 3.30x
Buckinghamshire 11 0.41x
Glamorgan 11 0.14x
Royal Navy 9 1.71x
Monmouthshire 8 0.25x
Selkirkshire 8 2.01x
Somerset 8 0.11x
Dunbartonshire 7 0.59x
Montgomeryshire 7 0.69x
Sussex 7 0.09x
Wiltshire 7 0.18x
Cheshire 6 0.06x
Oxfordshire 6 0.22x
Aberdeenshire 5 0.12x
Berkshire 5 0.15x
Dorset 5 0.17x
Roxburghshire 5 0.63x
Cornwall 4 0.08x
Hertfordshire 3 0.10x
Banffshire 2 0.22x
Caithness 2 0.33x
Denbighshire 2 0.12x
Flintshire 2 0.17x
Herefordshire 2 0.11x
Buteshire 1 0.37x
Carmarthenshire 1 0.05x
Dumfriesshire 1 0.10x
Inverness-shire 1 0.08x
Peeblesshire 1 0.48x
Pembrokeshire 1 0.07x
Rutland 1 0.31x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Redditch in Worcestershire leads with 100 Crows recorded in 1881 and an index of 85.66x.

Place Total Index
Redditch 100 85.66x
Bethnal Green London 76 3.97x
West Ham 69 3.59x
Edinburgh St Cuthberts 61 2.57x
Great Dunmow 60 132.30x
Gateshead 44 4.48x
Camberwell 42 1.49x
Mile End Old Town London 42 4.48x
Birmingham 40 1.08x
Liverpool 38 1.20x
Dalserf 36 25.30x
Bishopwearmouth 34 3.02x
Islington London 34 0.80x
Holy Trinity 33 3.14x
St Pancras London 33 0.93x
Battersea 31 1.91x
Chelsea London 31 2.33x
Sandon 31 440.97x
Almondbury 30 14.20x
Lockwood 30 19.09x
Montrose 29 11.71x
Huddersfield 27 4.24x
Tynemouth 27 7.69x
Great Yarmouth 26 4.63x
Lambeth 25 0.65x
Gorleston 24 17.59x
Hammersmith London 24 2.21x
Dundee 22 1.44x
Louth 22 13.62x
Canterbury St Mary 21 20.80x
Elswick 21 4.01x
Farnham 21 12.57x
Aston 20 0.65x
Filby 20 227.01x
Alconbury 19 182.69x
St George In East London 19 4.58x
Barrow In Furness 18 2.53x
Horton In Bradford 18 2.64x
Nether Hallam 18 3.05x
Shoreditch London 18 0.94x
Aby 17 318.95x
Barony 17 0.47x
Campsie 17 19.05x
Lakenheath 17 59.94x
Berwick Upon Tweed 16 11.51x
Brechin 16 9.97x
Manchester 16 0.68x
Perth Middle Church 16 21.50x
Barwell 15 58.03x
Bermondsey 15 1.14x
Cleator 15 9.49x
Croydon 15 1.26x
Friskney 15 66.96x
Govan 15 0.43x
Hackney London 15 0.61x
Dalton In Furness 14 6.93x
Greenwich 14 1.99x
Harraton 14 54.75x
Hough On Hill 14 238.50x
Kings Lynn St Margaret 14 6.88x
Limehouse London 14 2.89x
Portsea 14 0.79x
Sheffield 14 1.01x
South Weald 14 18.78x
Stratford On Avon 14 22.70x
Ashton Under Lyne 13 1.14x
Barnsley 13 2.88x
Clerkenwell London 13 1.25x
Ecclesall Bierlow 13 1.46x
Liff Benvie 13 2.10x
Newcastle On Tyne All Sts 13 3.32x
North Shields 13 9.93x
Ramsgate 13 5.29x
Studley 13 27.35x
Walsall Foreign 13 1.69x
West Calder 13 11.17x
Mansfield 12 5.83x
Perth East Church 12 6.43x
Rotherhithe 12 2.20x
Shitlington 12 26.55x

Top female names

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

Name Count
Mary 252
Elizabeth 163
Sarah 116
Ann 84
Jane 83
Alice 69
Eliza 66
Emma 61
Annie 52
Emily 45
Ellen 40
Margaret 37
Caroline 36
Catherine 30
Charlotte 30
Hannah 27
Fanny 25
Louisa 25
Martha 25
Ada 24
Harriet 24
Clara 22
Florence 22
Susan 18
Frances 17
Lucy 17
Maria 17
Edith 16
Kate 15
Agnes 14
Anne 14
Isabella 14
Rebecca 13
Eleanor 12
Minnie 12
Amelia 10
Bridget 10
Esther 10
Julia 10
Harriett 9
Rachel 9
Jessie 8
Lydia 7
Rose 7
Sophia 7
Susannah 7
Amy 6
Henrietta 6
Laura 5
Lizzie 5

Top male names

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

Name Count
John 233
William 233
George 168
Thomas 101
James 93
Charles 91
Henry 84
Arthur 56
Edward 56
Robert 56
Joseph 54
Frederick 47
Alfred 40
Richard 35
Walter 33
Harry 29
Albert 26
Samuel 21
Wm. 19
Benjamin 18
Edwin 16
Frank 16
Herbert 15
Ernest 14
David 12
Daniel 10
Fred 9
Geo. 9
Fredk. 8
Michael 8
Peter 7
Ralph 7
Stephen 7
Tom 7
Christopher 6
Isaac 6
Mark 6
Edmund 5
Jim 5
Patrick 5
Thos. 5
Amos 4
Andrew 4
Francis 4
Frederic 4
Fredrick 4
Josiah 4
Martin 4
Saml. 4
Willie 4

FAQ

Crow surname: questions and answers

How common was the Crow surname in 1881?

In 1881, 4,509 people were recorded with the Crow surname. That placed it at #994 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Crow surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 3,472 in 2016. That gives Crow a modern rank of #1,952.

What does the Crow surname mean?

An English occupational surname referring to a person who tended or hunted crows, or had glossy black hair.

What does the Crow map show?

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