NameCensus.

UK surname

Darwent

In the 1881 census there were 306 people recorded with the Darwent surname, ranking it #9,586 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 359, ranked #12,898, down from #9,586 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to Ecclesfield, Glossop and Hope. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Sheffield, Broomhouse and Bankhead and Cheshire West and Chester.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Darwent is 426 in 1911. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 17.3%.

1881 census count

306

Ranked #9,586

Modern count

359

2016, ranked #12,898

Peak year

1911

426 bearers

Map years

9

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Darwent had 306 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #9,586 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 359 in 2016, ranked #12,898.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 426 in 1911.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Rural Amenity.

Darwent surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Darwent surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Darwent 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 258 #8,568
1861 historical 225 #10,843
1881 historical 306 #9,586
1891 historical 331 #10,277
1901 historical 377 #9,876
1911 historical 426 #8,856
1997 modern 361 #11,892
1998 modern 367 #12,121
1999 modern 353 #12,522
2000 modern 366 #12,167
2001 modern 364 #12,033
2002 modern 369 #12,144
2003 modern 351 #12,389
2004 modern 360 #12,205
2005 modern 345 #12,496
2006 modern 357 #12,253
2007 modern 351 #12,571
2008 modern 356 #12,534
2009 modern 366 #12,534
2010 modern 356 #13,071
2011 modern 360 #12,832
2012 modern 349 #12,993
2013 modern 359 #12,917
2014 modern 359 #13,025
2015 modern 365 #12,743
2016 modern 359 #12,898

Geography

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Where Darwents are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around Ecclesfield, Glossop, Hope, Sheffield and Ecclesfield (Ecclesfield), Rotherham (Dalton), Conisborough. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Sheffield, Broomhouse and Bankhead and Cheshire West and Chester. 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 Ecclesfield Yorkshire, West Riding
2 Glossop Derbyshire
3 Hope Derbyshire
4 Sheffield Yorkshire, West Riding
5 Ecclesfield (Ecclesfield), Rotherham (Dalton), Conisborough Yorkshire, West Riding

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Sheffield 009 Sheffield
2 Broomhouse and Bankhead City of Edinburgh
3 Sheffield 006 Sheffield
4 Sheffield 070 Sheffield
5 Cheshire West and Chester 017 Cheshire West and Chester

Forenames

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First names often paired with Darwent

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

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Darwent

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

Darwent 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

Darwent falls in decile 8 for neighbourhood deprivation. This puts the surname towards the less deprived end of the index.

Decile 1 represents the more deprived end of the scale. Decile 10 represents the less deprived end.

8
More deprived Less deprived

Broadband speed

Fixed broadband download speed

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

1881 census detail

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Darwent families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Darwent 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 183 Darwents recorded in 1881 and an index of 6.13x.

County Total Index
Yorkshire 183 6.13x
Derbyshire 56 11.87x
Lancashire 45 1.26x
Surrey 11 0.75x
Warwickshire 7 0.92x
Northumberland 4 0.89x
Lanarkshire 1 0.10x
Royal Navy 1 2.78x
Shropshire 1 0.38x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Sheffield in Yorkshire leads with 38 Darwents recorded in 1881 and an index of 39.96x.

Place Total Index
Sheffield 38 39.96x
Brightside Bierlow 33 56.33x
Glossop Dale 32 144.80x
Ecclesall Bierlow 22 36.21x
Ecclesfield 18 82.19x
Hathersage 13 984.85x
Hulme 12 16.07x
Bradfield 11 95.57x
Gorton 11 32.72x
Thurgoland 11 544.55x
Attercliffe Cum Darnall 8 28.75x
Birmingham 7 2.76x
Dodworth 7 225.81x
Alverthorpe Cum Thornes 6 55.30x
Stoke 6 86.58x
Heeley 5 55.07x
Everton 4 3.51x
Huddersfield 4 9.19x
Liverpool 4 1.84x
Nether Hallam 4 9.90x
Salford 4 3.80x
Swinton In Rotherham 4 50.63x
Thornhill 4 3333.33x
West Lilburn 4 1818.18x
Chinley Bugsworth 3 241.94x
Lambeth 3 1.14x
Stretford 3 15.24x
West Derby 3 2.87x
Whiston 3 208.33x
Ashton Under Lyne 2 2.56x
Bakewell 2 77.52x
Guildford Holy Trinity 2 71.43x
Handsworth 2 25.32x
North Meols 2 5.71x
Rotherham 2 11.88x
Cawthorne In Wortley 1 82.64x
Chesterfield 1 5.65x
Conisbrough 1 35.71x
Govan 1 0.41x
Madeley 1 10.47x
Oxspring 1 277.78x
Royal Navy 1 3.26x
Sculcoates 1 2.11x
Sutton In Doncaster 1 1111.11x
Totley 1 144.93x

Top female names

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

Name Count
Mary 23
Sarah 12
Elizabeth 9
Ann 8
Alice 6
Annie 6
Hannah 6
Harriet 6
Eliza 5
Ellen 5
Emma 5
Ada 4
Jane 4
Margaret 4
Kate 3
Beatrice 2
Caroline 2
Charlotte 2
Elizth. 2
Florence 2
Louisa 2
Ruth 2
Betsey 1
C.A. 1
Caraline 1
Catherine 1
Cicely 1
Clara 1
Edith 1
Emily 1
Esther 1
Eva 1
Gertrude 1
Helen 1
Julia 1
Lavinia 1
Lena 1
Lillie 1
Lilly 1
Lucy 1
M.H. 1
Maria 1
Martha 1
Matilda 1
May 1
Millicent 1
Minnie 1
Pheobe 1
Pollie 1
Rebecca 1

Top male names

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

Name Count
John 21
William 19
Charles 15
George 14
Arthur 10
Joseph 10
Thomas 9
Frederick 4
Herbert 4
Samuel 4
Frank 3
Henry 3
Albert 2
Chas. 2
Christopher 2
Edward 2
Edwin 2
James 2
Luke 2
Robert 2
Walter 2
Wm. 2
Ben 1
Francis 1
Fred 1
Fredrick 1
Henrey 1
J.C. 1
J.W. 1
Jacob 1
Joe 1
Jonathan 1
Matthew 1
Matthias 1
Moses 1
Nathaniel 1
Richard 1
Thos. 1
W.C. 1

FAQ

Darwent surname: questions and answers

How common was the Darwent surname in 1881?

In 1881, 306 people were recorded with the Darwent surname. That placed it at #9,586 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Darwent surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 359 in 2016. That gives Darwent a modern rank of #12,898.

What does the Darwent map show?

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