NameCensus.

UK surname

Ditchfield

A surname indicating someone who lived near or maintained a ditch or drainage channel.

In the 1881 census there were 1,018 people recorded with the Ditchfield surname, ranking it #3,848 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 1,072, ranked #5,454, down from #3,848 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to Grappenhall (Latchford) , Runcorn (Thelwall), Manchester and Preston. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include East Staffordshire, Tameside and Warrington.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Ditchfield is 1,348 in 1911. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 5.3%.

1881 census count

1,018

Ranked #3,848

Modern count

1,072

2016, ranked #5,454

Peak year

1911

1,348 bearers

Map years

9

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Ditchfield had 1,018 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #3,848 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 1,072 in 2016, ranked #5,454.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 1,348 in 1911.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Small Town Suburbia.

Ditchfield surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Ditchfield surname density by area, 1881 census.

Loading map
Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

Back to top

Ditchfield 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 531 #4,730
1861 historical 678 #3,961
1881 historical 1,018 #3,848
1891 historical 1,142 #3,729
1901 historical 1,270 #3,906
1911 historical 1,348 #3,556
1997 modern 1,132 #4,954
1998 modern 1,134 #5,120
1999 modern 1,159 #5,072
2000 modern 1,150 #5,077
2001 modern 1,108 #5,138
2002 modern 1,107 #5,244
2003 modern 1,105 #5,164
2004 modern 1,103 #5,170
2005 modern 1,100 #5,127
2006 modern 1,095 #5,159
2007 modern 1,105 #5,167
2008 modern 1,095 #5,239
2009 modern 1,120 #5,241
2010 modern 1,140 #5,272
2011 modern 1,113 #5,323
2012 modern 1,063 #5,440
2013 modern 1,091 #5,411
2014 modern 1,074 #5,527
2015 modern 1,063 #5,525
2016 modern 1,072 #5,454

Geography

Back to top

Where Ditchfields are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around Grappenhall (Latchford) , Runcorn (Thelwall), Manchester, Preston, Leigh and Blackburn. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to East Staffordshire, Tameside, Warrington and Trafford. 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 Grappenhall (Latchford) , Runcorn (Thelwall) Lancashire
2 Manchester Lancashire
3 Preston Lancashire
4 Leigh Lancashire
5 Blackburn Lancashire

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 East Staffordshire 001 East Staffordshire
2 Tameside 027 Tameside
3 Warrington 018 Warrington
4 Warrington 023 Warrington
5 Trafford 005 Trafford

Forenames

Back to top

First names often paired with Ditchfield

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

Modern profile

Back to top

Neighbourhood profile for Ditchfield

Modern surname records can be compared with neighbourhood classifications. For Ditchfield, 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

Retired Professionals

Group

Small Town Suburbia

Nationally, the Ditchfield surname is most associated with neighbourhoods classed as Small Town Suburbia, within Retired Professionals. This does not mean every Ditchfield 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 is predominantly comprised of married couples with no resident dependent children, living in areas characterised neither by under-occupancy nor overcrowding throughout the UK in or adjacent to small towns. White ethnic groups and affiliation with Christianity predominates. Housing tends to be predominantly semi-detached or detached and workers are employed principally in managerial and professional occupations, with semi-skilled occupations also in evidence. These areas of the Supergroup are of higher population density.

Wider pattern

Typically married but no longer with resident dependent children, these well-educated households either remain working in their managerial, professional, administrative or other skilled occupations, or are retired from them – the modal individual age is beyond normal retirement age. Underoccupied detached and semi-detached properties predominate, and unpaid care is more prevalent than reported disability. The prevalence of this Supergroup outside most urban conurbations indicates that rural lifestyles prevail, typically sustained by using two or more cars per household.

London neighbourhood type

London Output Area Classification

Supergroup

The Greater London Mix

Group

Skilled Trades and Construction Workers

Within London, Ditchfield is most associated with areas classed as Skilled Trades and Construction 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

These scattered, peripheral and often low residential density neighbourhoods house more workers in skilled trades and construction. Few households rent social housing and there are few students. Multiple car ownership is higher than the Supergroup average, perhaps because of poorer public transport connectivity. Incidence of mixed or multiple ethnicity is below the Supergroup average, and the absence of individuals identifying as Pakistani or Other Asian groups is also less pronounced. Flatted accommodation is less dominant than elsewhere in the Supergroup.

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

Ditchfield is most concentrated in decile 9 for access to healthy assets and hazards. This places the surname towards the healthier end of the index.

Lower deciles point towards weaker access to healthy assets or stronger exposure to local hazards. Higher deciles point towards stronger access and fewer hazards.

9
Lower access Higher access

Neighbourhood deprivation

Index of Multiple Deprivation

Ditchfield 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 Ditchfield is most associated with a typical fixed broadband download band of 60-70 mbit/s.

The scale below places that band in context, from slower local download bands through to faster ones.

9
Slower band Faster band

Area snapshot

Ethnic group estimate

Most common ethnic group estimate
White - British

This describes the area pattern most associated with Ditchfield, not the ethnicity of every person with the surname.

Meaning and origin of Ditchfield

The surname Ditchfield is of English origin and dates back to the medieval period. It is a locational surname derived from the Old English words "dic" meaning a ditch or trench, and "feld" meaning a field, essentially denoting someone who lived near a field with a ditch or trench.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Pipe Rolls of Worcestershire, where a Richard de Dichesfeld is mentioned in 1275. The spelling variations at the time included Ditchfield, Dichesfeld, and Dichfeld.

In the renowned Domesday Book of 1086, there are references to settlements with similar names, such as Dichesfelde in Oxfordshire and Dicesfelde in Hertfordshire, which may have been the origins of the Ditchfield surname.

Notable individuals bearing the Ditchfield surname throughout history include John Ditchfield (c. 1555-1625), an English clergyman who served as the Rector of Wilmslow in Cheshire. Another prominent figure was William Ditchfield (1831-1904), an English author and clergyman who wrote extensively on the history and architecture of churches in England.

Robert Ditchfield (1808-1881) was a British architect and surveyor who worked on several notable buildings in London, including the Carlton Club and the Reform Club. Thomas Ditchfield (1837-1920) was an English cricketer who played first-class cricket for Nottinghamshire in the mid-19th century.

In the United States, one of the earliest recorded instances of the Ditchfield surname can be found in the 17th century, with William Ditchfield (1621-1690), who was among the early settlers of Hartford, Connecticut.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

1881 census detail

Back to top

Ditchfield families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Ditchfield 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 702 Ditchfields recorded in 1881 and an index of 5.93x.

County Total Index
Lancashire 702 5.93x
Cheshire 137 6.22x
Staffordshire 66 1.96x
Durham 21 0.71x
Yorkshire 20 0.20x
Middlesex 18 0.18x
Derbyshire 10 0.64x
Isle of Man 7 3.78x
Flintshire 6 2.24x
Hampshire 6 0.29x
Kent 5 0.15x
Surrey 5 0.10x
Warwickshire 5 0.20x
Buckinghamshire 4 0.66x
Shropshire 3 0.35x
Gloucestershire 2 0.10x
Northamptonshire 2 0.21x
Berkshire 1 0.13x
Hertfordshire 1 0.15x
Leicestershire 1 0.09x
Nottinghamshire 1 0.07x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Preston in Lancashire leads with 54 Ditchfields recorded in 1881 and an index of 17.04x.

Place Total Index
Preston 54 17.04x
Blackburn 52 16.51x
Walton Le Dale 28 88.00x
Manchester 27 5.07x
Bedford 25 100.93x
Lymm 24 149.91x
Warrington 24 17.10x
Pendleton In Salford 23 16.30x
Bretherton 20 826.45x
Croston 20 326.80x
Everton 20 5.30x
Great Bolton 20 12.75x
Ashton Under Lyne 18 6.96x
Bishopwearmouth 18 7.06x
Walsall Foreign 18 10.34x
Elford 17 1164.38x
Salford 16 4.59x
Thelwall 16 946.75x
Withington 16 41.94x
Kirkdale 15 7.53x
Runcorn 15 29.53x
Widnes 15 17.56x
Dukinfield 14 13.75x
Latchford 14 95.69x
Sutton 14 35.26x
Broughton In Salford 13 12.01x
Wigan 13 7.86x
Aspull 12 43.09x
Chorley 12 18.06x
Beswick 11 36.33x
Liverpool 11 1.53x
Chadderton 10 17.27x
Church 10 59.81x
Hackney London 10 1.79x
Barrow In Furness 9 5.59x
Bury 9 6.65x
Huddersfield 9 6.25x
Knutsford Nether 9 67.57x
Woolston With 9 523.26x
Appleton 8 160.32x
Fenny Bentley 8 941.18x
Lichfield St Chad 8 105.54x
Oldham 8 2.09x
Tonge With Haulgh 8 34.71x
West Derby 8 2.31x
Accrington 7 6.50x
Bootle Cum Linacre 7 7.44x
Brindle 7 171.57x
Much Woolton 7 43.56x
Tranmere 7 8.65x
Farington 6 87.08x
Grappenhall 6 223.05x
Hulme 6 2.43x
Islington London 6 0.62x
Lower Darwen 6 38.61x
Michael 6 159.15x
Nether Hallam 6 4.48x
Rhuddlan 6 25.41x
Ardwick 5 4.68x
Barton Upon Irwell 5 5.61x
Brinnington 5 24.30x
Deptford St Paul 5 1.90x
Failsworth 5 18.46x
Haigh 5 121.07x
Halliwell 5 11.60x
Ilam 5 704.23x
Kenyon 5 625.00x
Lambeth 5 0.57x
Newchurch 5 5.16x
Upholland 5 32.96x
Adlington 4 36.07x
Haughton 4 23.16x
Little Hulton 4 20.40x
Norton In Moors 4 22.43x
Stockport 4 3.53x
Stony Stratford West 4 96.39x
Westhoughton 4 12.66x
Birkenhead 3 1.71x
Macclesfield 3 3.06x
Skelmersdale 3 15.21x

Top female names

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

Name Count
Mary 89
Elizabeth 53
Sarah 34
Ellen 33
Alice 32
Ann 31
Margaret 26
Martha 17
Jane 16
Emma 12
Annie 10
Eliza 10
Hannah 10
Emily 8
Agnes 7
Harriet 6
Catherine 5
Edith 5
Elizth. 5
Maria 5
Anne 4
Esther 4
Helen 4
Caroline 3
Florence 3
Frances 3
Isabel 3
Margt. 3
Ada 2
Adelaide 2
Amma 2
Amy 2
Bertha 2
Bridget 2
Charlotte 2
Clara 2
Elen 2
Fanny 2
Grace 2
Janet 2
Lizzie 2
Louisa 2
Margeret 2
Matilda 2
Minnie 2
Susanna 2
Barbra 1
Easter 1
Ebth. 1
Susannah 1

Top male names

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

Name Count
John 78
Thomas 58
William 58
James 40
Joseph 29
George 24
Henry 24
Richard 22
Robert 10
Edward 8
Peter 7
Wm. 7
Alfred 6
David 6
Thos. 6
Arthur 5
Herbert 5
Francis 4
Samuel 4
Albert 3
Charles 3
Frank 3
Fred 3
Frederick 3
Harry 3
Jno. 3
Josiah 3
Walter 3
Abraham 2
Edwd. 2
Enoch 2
Frances 2
Geo.Hy. 2
Mathew 2
Nathan 2
Nathaniel 2
Percy 2
Robt. 2
W. 2
Willm. 2
Dinbar 1
Edmund 1
G. 1
Geo. 1
Harold 1
Josham 1
Louisa 1
Mark 1
Mary 1
Wright 1

FAQ

Ditchfield surname: questions and answers

How common was the Ditchfield surname in 1881?

In 1881, 1,018 people were recorded with the Ditchfield surname. That placed it at #3,848 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Ditchfield surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 1,072 in 2016. That gives Ditchfield a modern rank of #5,454.

What does the Ditchfield surname mean?

A surname indicating someone who lived near or maintained a ditch or drainage channel.

What does the Ditchfield map show?

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