NameCensus.

UK surname

Dean

An occupational surname for a dean, the head of a cathedral chapter or a dean of a medieval university.

In the 1881 census there were 20,763 people recorded with the Dean surname, ranking it #174 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 29,014, ranked #189, down from #174 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to Stockport, London parishes and Manchester. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Shropshire, Craven and East Riding of Yorkshire.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Dean is 29,853 in 1999. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 39.7%.

1881 census count

20,763

Ranked #174

Modern count

29,014

2016, ranked #189

Peak year

1999

29,853 bearers

Map years

9

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Dean had 20,763 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #174 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 29,014 in 2016, ranked #189.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 29,022 in 1911.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Rural Amenity.

Dean surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Dean surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Dean 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 13,283 #179
1861 historical 14,451 #166
1881 historical 20,763 #174
1891 historical 22,857 #164
1901 historical 26,407 #165
1911 historical 29,022 #135
1997 modern 28,320 #188
1998 modern 29,658 #187
1999 modern 29,853 #187
2000 modern 29,705 #188
2001 modern 28,957 #188
2002 modern 29,415 #189
2003 modern 28,648 #188
2004 modern 28,517 #190
2005 modern 28,078 #190
2006 modern 28,023 #190
2007 modern 28,154 #190
2008 modern 28,229 #190
2009 modern 28,953 #190
2010 modern 29,504 #190
2011 modern 29,152 #190
2012 modern 28,636 #190
2013 modern 29,280 #189
2014 modern 29,448 #190
2015 modern 29,156 #189
2016 modern 29,014 #189

Geography

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Where Deans are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around Stockport, London parishes, Manchester and St Mary Islington. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Shropshire, Craven, East Riding of Yorkshire, Wigan 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 Stockport Cheshire
2 London parishes London 1
3 London parishes London 3
4 Manchester Lancashire
5 St Mary Islington London (North Districts)

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Shropshire 010 Shropshire
2 Craven 002 Craven
3 East Riding of Yorkshire 045 East Riding of Yorkshire
4 Wigan 018 Wigan
5 Cheshire West and Chester 029 Cheshire West and Chester

Forenames

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First names often paired with Dean

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

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Dean

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

The Greater London Mix

Group

Social Rented Sector Professional Support Workers

Within London, Dean is most associated with areas classed as Social Rented Sector Professional Support Workers, part of The Greater London Mix. 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

Mainly located in Inner London, these neighbourhoods retain a diverse employment structure, with some concentration in associated professional and technical occupations rather than skilled trades or construction. Social renting is more common and levels of homeownership are low. Many residents identify as Black. There is a lower than average rate of marriage or civil partnership, few that are very old (85 or over) and higher than average incidence of disability.

Wider London pattern

A Supergroup embodying London's diversity in many respects, apart from low numbers of residents identifying as of Bangladeshi, Indian, Pakistani or Other (non-Chinese) Asian ethnicity. There is lower than average prevalence of families with dependent children, while there are above average occurrences of never-married individuals and single-person households. The age distribution is skewed towards younger, single residents and couples without children, with many individuals identifying as of mixed or multiple ethnicity. Social rented or private rented housing is slightly more prevalent than average, and many residents live in flats. Individuals typically work in professional and associated roles in public administration, education or health rather than in elementary occupations in agriculture, energy, water, construction or manufacturing. Incidence of students is slightly below average. Individuals declaring no religion are more prevalent than average and non-use of English at home is below average.

Healthy neighbourhoods

Access to healthy assets and hazards

Dean 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

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

Meaning and origin of Dean

The surname DEAN has its origins in medieval England, where it first emerged in the late 12th century. It is derived from the Old English word "denu," meaning a valley or a hollow, and was initially used as a topographic name to identify someone who lived near or in a valley.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname DEAN can be found in the Curia Regis Rolls of 1201, where a certain Robertus de la Dene is mentioned. This suggests that the name was already in use by the early 13th century, with the "de la" prefix indicating the person's association with a particular location.

As the surname continued to spread across England, it evolved into various spellings, such as Deane, Deyn, and Dene, reflecting regional dialects and scribal variations. Some notable early bearers of the name include John de la Dene, who was recorded in the Subsidy Rolls of Worcestershire in 1327, and Thomas de la Dene, mentioned in the Pipe Rolls of Nottinghamshire in 1346.

The surname DEAN also has a connection to several place names in England, such as Dean in Bedfordshire, Dean in Cumbria, and Dean in Hampshire. These place names, derived from the same Old English word "denu," may have contributed to the widespread adoption of the surname in those regions.

Throughout history, the DEAN surname has been associated with several notable individuals. One of the earliest was Gilbert de la Dene, a 13th-century English churchman who served as the Bishop of Llandaff from 1232 to 1245. In the 16th century, John Dene (c. 1490-1537) was a prominent English churchman and theologian who served as the Archbishop of Canterbury from 1501 to 1503.

Another notable figure was Henry Deane (1597-1653), an English clergyman and mathematician who published several works on mathematics and astronomy. In the literary world, William Dean Howells (1837-1920) was an influential American novelist, literary critic, and playwright who played a significant role in the rise of realism in American literature.

Moving into more recent times, Dizzy Dean (1910-1974), whose full name was Jay Hanna Dean, was a celebrated American baseball player and member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame. He played for the St. Louis Cardinals and was known for his exceptional pitching skills and colorful personality.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

1881 census detail

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Dean families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Dean 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 4,407 Deans recorded in 1881 and an index of 1.83x.

County Total Index
Lancashire 4,407 1.83x
Yorkshire 2,646 1.32x
Middlesex 2,202 1.09x
Cheshire 1,726 3.86x
Staffordshire 1,405 2.05x
Surrey 1,099 1.11x
Kent 649 0.94x
Buckinghamshire 407 3.32x
Sussex 385 1.13x
Derbyshire 362 1.14x
Essex 358 0.89x
Hampshire 343 0.83x
Cambridgeshire 333 2.59x
Warwickshire 329 0.64x
Gloucestershire 320 0.80x
Lincolnshire 283 0.87x
Devon 282 0.67x
Dorset 260 1.95x
Durham 240 0.40x
Hertfordshire 237 1.70x
Nottinghamshire 203 0.74x
Morayshire 197 6.25x
Somerset 188 0.58x
Berkshire 163 1.07x
Bedfordshire 159 1.51x
Wiltshire 139 0.78x
Shropshire 135 0.77x
Oxfordshire 109 0.87x
Leicestershire 103 0.46x
Worcestershire 91 0.34x
Norfolk 89 0.29x
Lanarkshire 80 0.12x
Ayrshire 76 0.50x
Northamptonshire 73 0.38x
Huntingdonshire 65 1.61x
Glamorgan 64 0.18x
Northumberland 64 0.21x
Cornwall 47 0.20x
Westmorland 47 1.05x
Aberdeenshire 44 0.23x
Monmouthshire 41 0.28x
Banffshire 40 0.95x
Herefordshire 39 0.47x
Denbighshire 26 0.34x
Inverness-shire 23 0.38x
Midlothian 23 0.08x
Suffolk 22 0.09x
Royal Navy 21 0.87x
Montgomeryshire 13 0.28x
Brecknockshire 12 0.30x
Flintshire 12 0.22x
Ross-shire 12 0.22x
Pembrokeshire 11 0.17x
Cumberland 8 0.05x
Rutland 8 0.54x
Angus 7 0.04x
Channel Islands 7 0.12x
Isle of Man 7 0.19x
Radnorshire 7 0.43x
Caernarfonshire 6 0.07x
Fife 5 0.04x
Kincardineshire 5 0.20x
Nairnshire 5 0.81x
Berwickshire 3 0.12x
Buteshire 3 0.24x
Carmarthenshire 3 0.04x
Dunbartonshire 3 0.06x
West Lothian 2 0.07x
Anglesey 1 0.03x
Kirkcudbrightshire 1 0.03x
Renfrewshire 1 0.01x
Stirlingshire 1 0.01x
Sutherland 1 0.06x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Islington London in Middlesex leads with 240 Deans recorded in 1881 and an index of 1.22x.

Place Total Index
Islington London 240 1.22x
Leeds 228 2.01x
Salford 218 3.08x
Manchester 213 1.97x
Stoke Upon Trent 206 2.84x
St Pancras London 188 1.15x
Macclesfield 149 7.49x
Camberwell 145 1.12x
Battersea 141 1.89x
Ashton Under Lyne 138 2.62x
Aston 131 0.93x
Blackburn 131 2.05x
Burnley 131 6.46x
Liverpool 130 0.89x
Stockport 129 5.60x
Birmingham 127 0.75x
Shoreditch London 124 1.41x
Hulme 122 2.43x
Audley 120 17.72x
Hackney London 120 1.06x
Lambeth 120 0.68x
Padiham 118 20.30x
Habergham Eaves 117 5.32x
Accrington 116 5.30x
Wolstanton 116 5.58x
Kensington London 111 0.98x
Barton Upon Irwell 110 6.07x
Everton 104 1.36x
Brighton 101 1.46x
Newton 101 5.45x
Croydon 95 1.73x
Wigan 94 2.80x
Newington 93 1.24x
St Marylebone London 92 0.85x
Hammersmith London 91 1.82x
West Derby 89 1.26x
Burslem 84 4.28x
Bethnal Green London 83 0.94x
Elland Cum Greetland 82 9.06x
Halifax 82 2.78x
Wycombe 81 8.86x
Heaton Norris 79 5.77x
Mile End Old Town London 79 1.83x
Toxteth Park 79 0.97x
Holy Trinity 77 1.59x
Horton In Bradford 75 2.39x
Chorlton On Medlock 74 1.94x
West Ham 73 0.83x
Gorton 70 3.09x
Great Shelford 70 103.75x
Little Missenden 67 86.72x
Bermondsey 66 1.09x
North Meols 65 2.76x
Pendleton In Salford 65 2.27x
St George Hanover Square 64 1.79x
Ardwick 62 2.86x
Newcastle Under Lyme 62 5.12x
Oldham 62 0.80x
Altrincham 61 7.80x
Bradford 59 1.21x
Dukinfield 59 2.85x
Wallasey 58 38.07x
Christchurch 56 6.21x
Deptford St Paul 56 1.05x
Paddington London 56 0.75x
Cannock 55 4.60x
Chesham 55 12.17x
Birkenhead 54 1.51x
Broughton In Salford 54 2.45x
Great Little Marsden 54 4.90x
Headingley Cum Burley 54 4.17x
Kirkdale 54 1.33x
Holdenhurst 53 4.86x
Bromley London 52 1.17x
Ealing 52 2.87x
Westminster St John 51 2.07x
Derby St Werburgh 50 2.73x
Lewisham 50 1.36x
Southwark St George Martyr 50 1.23x
West Bromwich 50 1.28x

Top female names

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

Name Count
Mary 1,407
Elizabeth 861
Sarah 764
Ann 418
Jane 352
Annie 348
Ellen 338
Alice 334
Eliza 293
Emma 271
Martha 247
Hannah 246
Emily 244
Margaret 215
Louisa 144
Harriet 123
Fanny 114
Ada 113
Caroline 106
Florence 106
Maria 104
Charlotte 100
Edith 100
Clara 91
Frances 81
Susan 79
Anne 77
Agnes 75
Kate 74
Catherine 71
Esther 69
Lucy 66
Isabella 55
Rebecca 54
Amelia 52
Harriett 51
Jessie 51
Amy 46
Rose 45
Sophia 44
Susannah 44
Minnie 40
Elizth. 39
Lydia 37
Matilda 35
Eleanor 32
Laura 32
Betsy 29
Ruth 29
Rachel 28

Top male names

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

Name Count
William 1,268
John 1,246
George 756
James 683
Thomas 683
Joseph 428
Charles 414
Henry 387
Samuel 247
Arthur 229
Edward 207
Alfred 201
Robert 197
Frederick 187
Albert 153
Richard 152
Walter 150
Harry 126
Herbert 91
Frank 80
Ernest 71
Daniel 70
Benjamin 67
David 66
Edwin 62
Peter 51
Wm. 50
Francis 48
Fred 48
Isaac 39
Thos. 35
Tom 31
Stephen 25
Fredrick 22
Edmund 21
Fredk. 21
Geo. 21
Matthew 21
Joshua 20
Abraham 19
Mark 17
Jesse 16
Michael 16
Percy 16
Sidney 16
Alexander 15
Hugh 14
Enoch 13
Jabez 13
Ralph 13

Top occupations

Occupational titles are kept as recorded and later transcribed, so related jobs, spelling variants and mistakes stay separate. Scholar was the census term for a child in education. That means the other rows often tell you more about adult work in Dean households.

FAQ

Dean surname: questions and answers

How common was the Dean surname in 1881?

In 1881, 20,763 people were recorded with the Dean surname. That placed it at #174 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Dean surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 29,014 in 2016. That gives Dean a modern rank of #189.

What does the Dean surname mean?

An occupational surname for a dean, the head of a cathedral chapter or a dean of a medieval university.

What does the Dean map show?

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