NameCensus.

UK surname

Dixon

An English surname derived from "Dicca's son," referring to a patronymic name meaning "son of Dick" or "son of Richard."

In the 1881 census there were 32,795 people recorded with the Dixon surname, ranking it #97 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 46,180, ranked #107, down from #97 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to Lanchester (Collierley, Kyo, Billingside, Medomsley, Ebchchester, Benfieldside, Heelyfield, Conside, London parishes and Gateshead. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include South Lakeland, Northumberland and County Durham.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Dixon is 47,874 in 2010. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 40.8%.

1881 census count

32,795

Ranked #97

Modern count

46,180

2016, ranked #107

Peak year

2010

47,874 bearers

Map years

9

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Dixon had 32,795 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #97 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 46,180 in 2016, ranked #107.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 44,137 in 1911.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Rural Amenity.

Dixon surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Dixon surname density by area, 1881 census.

Loading map
Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Dixon 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 20,859 #102
1861 historical 20,970 #99
1881 historical 32,795 #97
1891 historical 35,169 #94
1901 historical 41,022 #96
1911 historical 44,137 #83
1997 modern 45,673 #102
1998 modern 47,074 #102
1999 modern 47,502 #102
2000 modern 47,202 #102
2001 modern 46,125 #102
2002 modern 46,974 #104
2003 modern 45,651 #106
2004 modern 45,574 #107
2005 modern 44,901 #108
2006 modern 45,019 #107
2007 modern 45,296 #108
2008 modern 45,563 #108
2009 modern 46,860 #106
2010 modern 47,874 #104
2011 modern 47,261 #105
2012 modern 46,039 #108
2013 modern 46,841 #108
2014 modern 46,955 #108
2015 modern 46,433 #108
2016 modern 46,180 #107

Geography

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Where Dixons are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around Lanchester (Collierley, Kyo, Billingside, Medomsley, Ebchchester, Benfieldside, Heelyfield, Conside, London parishes, Gateshead and Bishop Wearmouth. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to South Lakeland, Northumberland and County Durham. 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 Lanchester (Collierley, Kyo, Billingside, Medomsley, Ebchchester, Benfieldside, Heelyfield, Conside Durham
2 London parishes London 1
3 London parishes London 3
4 Gateshead Durham
5 Bishop Wearmouth Durham

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 South Lakeland 005 South Lakeland
2 Northumberland 006 Northumberland
3 South Lakeland 001 South Lakeland
4 South Lakeland 003 South Lakeland
5 County Durham 017 County Durham

Forenames

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First names often paired with Dixon

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

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Dixon

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

Dixon is most concentrated in decile 8 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.

8
Lower access Higher access

Neighbourhood deprivation

Index of Multiple Deprivation

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

Meaning and origin of Dixon

The surname Dixon has its origins in England, emerging in the late 12th century. It is derived from the Old English words "dic" meaning a dike or ditch, and "sunu" meaning son. The name likely referred to someone who lived near a ditch or was the son of a ditch digger.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Dixon can be found in the Hundred Rolls of 1273, where it is listed as "Dyckesone." This spelling variation highlights the evolution of the name over time. The Domesday Book of 1086 does not include the surname Dixon, as hereditary surnames were not widely adopted until after the Norman Conquest.

In the 13th century, the name Dixon was primarily concentrated in the northern counties of England, particularly Yorkshire and Lancashire. This is likely due to the prevalence of ditch-digging and land drainage in these areas, which were essential for agriculture and settlement.

Notable historical figures bearing the surname Dixon include:

1. William Dixon (1753-1828), a British navigator and explorer who accompanied Captain James Cook on his third voyage to the Pacific Ocean. 2. Jeremiah Dixon (1733-1779), an English surveyor and astronomer who, along with Charles Mason, established the Mason-Dixon line that demarcated the boundary between Pennsylvania and Maryland. 3. Richard Watson Dixon (1833-1900), an English poet and church historian who served as Canon of Ripon Cathedral. 4. Hepworth Dixon (1821-1879), an English writer and historian best known for his biographies of notable figures such as William Penn and Lord Bacon. 5. Thomas Dixon Jr. (1864-1946), an American Baptist minister, playwright, and politician who wrote the controversial novel "The Clansman," which served as inspiration for the film "The Birth of a Nation."

The surname Dixon has also been associated with various place names in England, such as Dixonfield in Yorkshire and Dixon's Green in Lancashire. These place names likely originated from the presence of individuals bearing the Dixon surname in those areas.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

1881 census detail

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Dixon families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Dixon 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 5,958 Dixons recorded in 1881 and an index of 1.88x.

County Total Index
Yorkshire 5,958 1.88x
Lancashire 4,932 1.30x
Durham 3,863 4.06x
Northumberland 3,029 6.36x
Middlesex 2,136 0.67x
Cumberland 1,891 6.86x
Lincolnshire 1,259 2.46x
Surrey 984 0.63x
Kent 884 0.81x
Westmorland 607 8.63x
Cheshire 532 0.75x
Warwickshire 508 0.63x
Nottinghamshire 479 1.11x
Norfolk 437 0.89x
Essex 366 0.58x
Staffordshire 342 0.32x
Northamptonshire 317 1.05x
Hampshire 307 0.47x
Wiltshire 289 1.02x
Derbyshire 255 0.51x
Lanarkshire 251 0.24x
Gloucestershire 242 0.39x
Leicestershire 222 0.63x
Worcestershire 216 0.52x
Berkshire 210 0.87x
Oxfordshire 196 0.99x
Hertfordshire 167 0.76x
Sussex 167 0.31x
Shropshire 126 0.46x
Suffolk 124 0.32x
Devon 113 0.17x
Monmouthshire 106 0.46x
Midlothian 99 0.23x
Ayrshire 97 0.41x
Glamorgan 87 0.16x
Somerset 83 0.16x
Cambridgeshire 82 0.40x
Buckinghamshire 78 0.40x
Renfrewshire 62 0.25x
Dumfriesshire 57 0.81x
Cornwall 53 0.15x
Bedfordshire 43 0.26x
Huntingdonshire 42 0.66x
Roxburghshire 35 0.60x
Angus 31 0.10x
Stirlingshire 30 0.25x
Dunbartonshire 27 0.31x
Aberdeenshire 24 0.08x
Dorset 22 0.10x
Morayshire 21 0.42x
Perthshire 21 0.15x
Channel Islands 19 0.20x
Fife 18 0.10x
Flintshire 18 0.21x
Kirkcudbrightshire 18 0.39x
Royal Navy 18 0.47x
Wigtownshire 18 0.42x
Isle of Man 17 0.29x
Carmarthenshire 14 0.10x
Pembrokeshire 14 0.14x
Caernarfonshire 12 0.09x
Denbighshire 12 0.10x
East Lothian 12 0.28x
Herefordshire 12 0.09x
Rutland 12 0.51x
Argyllshire 11 0.12x
Selkirkshire 10 0.35x
Anglesey 8 0.14x
Berwickshire 7 0.18x
Montgomeryshire 7 0.10x
Banffshire 6 0.09x
Clackmannanshire 6 0.23x
Buteshire 5 0.26x
Merionethshire 5 0.09x
Caithness 4 0.09x
Kincardineshire 3 0.08x
Ross-shire 3 0.03x
Brecknockshire 2 0.03x
Cardiganshire 2 0.03x
Inverness-shire 2 0.02x
West Lothian 2 0.04x
Radnorshire 1 0.04x
Sutherland 1 0.04x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Leeds in Yorkshire leads with 460 Dixons recorded in 1881 and an index of 2.57x.

Place Total Index
Leeds 460 2.57x
Bishopwearmouth 273 3.34x
Gateshead 271 3.80x
Preston 240 2.36x
Westoe 231 4.28x
Islington London 218 0.70x
Lambeth 210 0.75x
St Pancras London 204 0.79x
Bedlington 191 12.01x
Aston 186 0.84x
Oldham 184 1.50x
Elswick 180 4.74x
Liverpool 177 0.77x
Kendal 171 13.28x
Sheffield 152 1.51x
Holy Trinity 151 1.98x
Hunslet 150 3.03x
Salford 148 1.33x
Toxteth Park 148 1.15x
Hackney London 145 0.81x
Manchester 145 0.85x
Newcastle On Tyne All Sts 145 5.10x
Birmingham 142 0.53x
Cowpen 141 12.86x
Barrow In Furness 138 2.67x
Darlington 137 3.73x
Tynemouth 137 5.37x
Westgate 136 4.61x
Dalton In Furness 135 9.21x
Byker 134 5.69x
Sculcoates 134 2.66x
Bethnal Green London 133 0.96x
Blackburn 130 1.29x
Stockton On Tees 129 2.81x
Bradford 125 1.63x
Everton 119 0.98x
Newton 118 4.03x
Hedworth Monkton Jarrow 117 2.84x
Heworth 115 6.13x
Crosscanonby 111 12.18x
Hulme 110 1.39x
Kensington London 109 0.61x
Newcastle On Tyne St 109 4.42x
St Marylebone London 109 0.64x
Dewsbury 106 3.26x
Allendale 104 23.56x
Nottingham St Mary 98 0.88x
West Derby 98 0.88x
Great Little Marsden 96 5.52x
Newington 95 0.80x
Stranton 93 2.90x
Brandon Byshottles 92 7.71x
Bermondsey 91 0.96x
Camberwell 91 0.45x
Penrith 89 8.74x
Morley 88 5.34x
Burnley 87 2.72x
Keighley 84 2.48x
West Ham 81 0.58x
Dawdon 80 6.83x
Lancaster 80 3.54x
Paddington London 80 0.68x
Hammersmith London 78 0.99x
Govan 77 0.30x
Habergham Eaves 75 2.16x
Chorlton On Medlock 74 1.23x
Scarborough 74 2.57x
Leicester St Margaret 73 0.84x
Parr 73 5.37x
Wortley In Bramley 73 2.91x
Brinkworth 72 56.55x
Millom 72 8.53x
Bridlington 71 9.78x
Gildersome 71 18.62x
Headingley Cum Burley 71 3.48x
Hexham 71 9.63x
Wakefield 71 2.92x
Birkenhead 70 1.24x
Chirton 70 6.50x
Middlesbrough 70 1.69x
Seaton Delaval 69 16.50x
Chelsea London 68 0.71x
St Cuthbert W O 68 5.06x

Top female names

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

Name Count
Mary 2,421
Elizabeth 1,383
Sarah 1,124
Jane 939
Ann 700
Margaret 649
Annie 476
Hannah 445
Alice 412
Ellen 400
Isabella 337
Emma 332
Eliza 330
Emily 259
Martha 244
Maria 170
Catherine 167
Agnes 162
Ada 155
Eleanor 142
Charlotte 137
Edith 135
Harriet 135
Louisa 135
Florence 131
Fanny 129
Anne 122
Frances 119
Clara 113
Kate 112
Lucy 100
Caroline 92
Esther 85
Rebecca 83
Susan 77
Elizth. 76
Jessie 68
Susannah 65
Amelia 63
Grace 59
Betsy 56
Harriett 56
Dorothy 54
Ethel 53
Matilda 52
Amy 51
Sophia 51
Rose 49
Gertrude 48
Ruth 46

Top male names

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

Name Count
John 2,366
William 1,956
Thomas 1,284
George 1,149
James 1,056
Joseph 703
Robert 673
Henry 539
Charles 453
Edward 294
Richard 278
Alfred 237
Arthur 236
Frederick 199
Samuel 181
Walter 172
Harry 133
Albert 127
David 121
Frank 110
Wm. 110
Herbert 99
Francis 96
Benjamin 86
Matthew 85
Thos. 78
Fred 75
Isaac 75
Ernest 73
Edwin 67
Ralph 60
Geo. 58
Tom 56
Andrew 51
Christopher 45
Daniel 44
Stephen 42
Peter 41
Robt. 38
Jonathan 35
Mark 32
Joshua 29
Alexander 28
Michael 27
Percy 26
Abraham 25
Mathew 25
Anthony 24
Chas. 21
Fredk. 21

FAQ

Dixon surname: questions and answers

How common was the Dixon surname in 1881?

In 1881, 32,795 people were recorded with the Dixon surname. That placed it at #97 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Dixon surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 46,180 in 2016. That gives Dixon a modern rank of #107.

What does the Dixon surname mean?

An English surname derived from "Dicca's son," referring to a patronymic name meaning "son of Dick" or "son of Richard."

What does the Dixon map show?

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