NameCensus.

UK surname

Dearsley

In the 1881 census there were 276 people recorded with the Dearsley surname, ranking it #10,305 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 354, ranked #13,054, down from #10,305 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to Clare, London parishes and St Pancras. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Tendring, Kensington and Chelsea and King's Lynn and West Norfolk.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Dearsley is 433 in 1998. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 28.3%.

1881 census count

276

Ranked #10,305

Modern count

354

2016, ranked #13,054

Peak year

1998

433 bearers

Map years

9

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Dearsley had 276 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #10,305 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 354 in 2016, ranked #13,054.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 354 in 1911.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Rural Amenity.

Dearsley surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Dearsley surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Dearsley 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 165 #12,053
1861 historical 106 #20,147
1881 historical 276 #10,305
1891 historical 292 #11,351
1901 historical 324 #11,042
1911 historical 354 #10,192
1997 modern 403 #10,955
1998 modern 433 #10,718
1999 modern 431 #10,840
2000 modern 419 #11,028
2001 modern 410 #11,016
2002 modern 407 #11,294
2003 modern 391 #11,441
2004 modern 391 #11,468
2005 modern 390 #11,397
2006 modern 394 #11,383
2007 modern 392 #11,550
2008 modern 387 #11,767
2009 modern 396 #11,815
2010 modern 404 #11,902
2011 modern 388 #12,121
2012 modern 370 #12,417
2013 modern 376 #12,472
2014 modern 372 #12,669
2015 modern 360 #12,880
2016 modern 354 #13,054

Geography

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Where Dearsleys are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around Clare, London parishes, St Pancras, Battersea and Lambeth. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Tendring, Kensington and Chelsea, King's Lynn and West Norfolk, Wiltshire and Southwark. 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 Clare Suffolk
2 London parishes London 3
3 St Pancras London (North Districts)
4 Battersea London (South Districts)
5 Lambeth London (South Districts)

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Tendring 013 Tendring
2 Kensington and Chelsea 006 Kensington and Chelsea
3 King's Lynn and West Norfolk 018 King's Lynn and West Norfolk
4 Wiltshire 001 Wiltshire
5 Southwark 011 Southwark

Forenames

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First names often paired with Dearsley

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

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Dearsley

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

Older Residents in Owner-Occupied Suburbs

Group

London Fringe

Within London, Dearsley 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

Dearsley is most concentrated in decile 5 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.

5
Lower access Higher access

Neighbourhood deprivation

Index of Multiple Deprivation

Dearsley falls in decile 9 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.

9
More deprived Less deprived

Broadband speed

Fixed broadband download speed

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

1881 census detail

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Dearsley families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Dearsley 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. Surrey leads with 80 Dearsleys recorded in 1881 and an index of 6.08x.

County Total Index
Surrey 80 6.08x
Middlesex 76 2.81x
Suffolk 60 18.23x
Essex 15 2.81x
Norfolk 15 3.61x
Yorkshire 12 0.45x
Kent 8 0.87x
Derbyshire 6 1.42x
Sussex 2 0.44x
Cambridgeshire 1 0.58x
Merionethshire 1 2.02x
Northamptonshire 1 0.39x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Lambeth in Surrey leads with 28 Dearsleys recorded in 1881 and an index of 11.88x.

Place Total Index
Lambeth 28 11.88x
Battersea 23 23.13x
Camberwell 17 9.85x
St Pancras London 16 7.36x
Hilgay 10 641.03x
Hackney London 9 5.94x
Ipswich St Clement 9 107.53x
Islington London 9 3.44x
St George Hanover Square 9 18.90x
Clare 8 506.33x
Colchester St Botolph 7 154.19x
Great Thurlow 7 1944.44x
Stradishall 7 2000.00x
Bethnal Green London 6 5.11x
Chiswick 6 40.65x
Hasland 6 139.21x
Moulton 6 1276.60x
Dalham 5 1282.05x
Enfield 5 28.20x
Southery 5 454.55x
Little Bradley 4 4444.44x
Southwark St George Martyr 4 7.36x
Thornaby 4 40.00x
Wooldale 4 88.11x
Croydon 3 4.11x
Hampstead London 3 7.13x
Milton In Gravesend 3 21.71x
Saffron Walden 3 53.19x
Shoreditch London 3 2.56x
Steeple Bumpstead 3 306.12x
Stoke By Clare 3 731.71x
Bishopstone 2 769.23x
Doncaster 2 10.22x
Haverhill 2 68.49x
Hawkedon 2 769.23x
Paddington London 2 2.01x
Warlingham 2 186.92x
Woolwich 2 5.87x
Brightside Bierlow 1 1.90x
Chesterton 1 18.94x
Cowlinge 1 158.73x
Denston 1 400.00x
Deptford St Paul 1 1.41x
Dorking 1 11.31x
Edmonton 1 4.59x
Felixstow 1 125.00x
Feltham 1 37.04x
Fornham All Sts 1 256.41x
Fulham London 1 2.55x
Gazeley 1 129.87x
Gorleston 1 11.96x
Great Clacton 1 54.95x
Kew 1 131.58x
Lewisham 1 2.03x
Llangelynin 1 94.34x
Minster In Sheppey 1 6.55x
Passenham 1 96.15x
Pinner 1 42.19x
Scarborough 1 4.11x
Southwark St Saviour 1 7.20x
St Marylebone London 1 0.69x
St Osyth 1 76.92x
St Sepulchre London 1 25.25x
Westminster St James 1 3.60x
Westminster St Margaret 1 7.67x
Wickhambrook 1 80.65x

Top female names

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

Name Count
Mary 14
Alice 10
Emma 8
Elizabeth 6
Ellen 6
Charlotte 5
Edith 5
Eliza 5
Harriet 4
Minnie 4
Sarah 4
Annie 3
Emily 3
Ethel 3
Adelaide 2
Amelia 2
Ann 2
Fanny 2
Florence 2
Georgeana 2
Hannah 2
Harriett 2
Julia 2
Louisa 2
Lucy 2
Lydia 2
Margaret 2
Maria 2
Martha 2
Rosa 2
Amey 1
Amy 1
Beatrice 1
Caroline 1
Clara 1
Clarissa 1
Elizth. 1
Ellin 1
Emm 1
Georgina 1
Ivy 1
Jane 1
Jemima 1
Kate 1
Laura 1
Lilian 1
Lillia 1
Lizzie 1
Lousia 1
Susan 1

Top male names

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

Name Count
William 13
Robert 11
Charles 9
Henry 9
John 9
Thomas 9
George 7
James 6
Samuel 6
Alfred 5
Arthur 5
Joseph 4
Harry 3
David 2
Edward 2
Walter 2
Willm. 2
Albert 1
Ambrose 1
Archibald 1
Bariglai 1
Barzilla 1
Chas. 1
Chas.F. 1
Chas.Wm. 1
Elijah 1
Ernest 1
Francis 1
Fred. 1
Frederick 1
Hanson 1
Herbert 1
Jackhim 1
Jas. 1
Jesse 1
Lewis 1
Malcolm 1
Mathew 1
Richd. 1
Sydney 1
Wallace 1

FAQ

Dearsley surname: questions and answers

How common was the Dearsley surname in 1881?

In 1881, 276 people were recorded with the Dearsley surname. That placed it at #10,305 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Dearsley surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 354 in 2016. That gives Dearsley a modern rank of #13,054.

What does the Dearsley map show?

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