NameCensus.

UK surname

Dobbing

In the 1881 census there were 192 people recorded with the Dobbing surname, ranking it #13,185 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 298, ranked #14,801, down from #13,185 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to Middleton St George, Sunderland and Darlington. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Sunderland and Stockton-on-Tees.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Dobbing is 332 in 2010. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 55.2%.

1881 census count

192

Ranked #13,185

Modern count

298

2016, ranked #14,801

Peak year

2010

332 bearers

Map years

8

1861 to 2016

Key insights

  • Dobbing had 192 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #13,185 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 298 in 2016, ranked #14,801.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 232 in 1901.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Established but Challenged.

Dobbing surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Dobbing surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Dobbing 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 85 #18,940
1861 historical 102 #20,797
1881 historical 192 #13,185
1891 historical 194 #15,277
1901 historical 232 #13,769
1911 historical 230 #13,686
1997 modern 306 #13,353
1998 modern 321 #13,275
1999 modern 329 #13,147
2000 modern 308 #13,685
2001 modern 311 #13,423
2002 modern 323 #13,325
2003 modern 299 #13,850
2004 modern 303 #13,812
2005 modern 289 #14,166
2006 modern 294 #14,092
2007 modern 307 #13,822
2008 modern 311 #13,800
2009 modern 326 #13,630
2010 modern 332 #13,745
2011 modern 322 #13,907
2012 modern 288 #14,934
2013 modern 294 #14,961
2014 modern 296 #14,982
2015 modern 301 #14,727
2016 modern 298 #14,801

Geography

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Where Dobbings are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around Middleton St George, Sunderland, Darlington, Middlesborough 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 Sunderland and Stockton-on-Tees. 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 Middleton St George Durham
2 Sunderland Durham
3 Darlington Durham
4 Middlesborough Durham
5 Bishop Wearmouth Durham

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Sunderland 021 Sunderland
2 Stockton-on-Tees 008 Stockton-on-Tees
3 Stockton-on-Tees 011 Stockton-on-Tees
4 Sunderland 024 Sunderland
5 Stockton-on-Tees 012 Stockton-on-Tees

Forenames

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First names often paired with Dobbing

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

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Dobbing

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

Semi- and Un-Skilled Workforce

Group

Established but Challenged

Nationally, the Dobbing surname is most associated with neighbourhoods classed as Established but Challenged, within Semi- and Un-Skilled Workforce. This does not mean every Dobbing household fits that profile, but it gives a useful signal about where the modern surname distribution is strongest.

Read profile summary

Group profile

Many households in these neighbourhoods comprise separated or divorced single parents with dependent children. Residents are typically born in the UK, and these neighbourhoods have relatively few members of ethnic minorities. The prevalence of children, their parents and those at or above normal retirement age, suggests neighbourhood structures may be long-established. Levels of unpaid care are high, and long-term disability is more common than in the Supergroup as a whole. Use of the social rented sector is common, often in terraced houses. Levels of overcrowding are above the Supergroup average. Unemployment is high, while those in work are employed in elementary occupations such as caring, leisure and customer services. Many residents have low level qualifications. Neighbourhood concentrations of this Group are found in the South Wales Valleys, Belfast, Londonderry and the Central Lowlands of Scotland.

Wider pattern

Living in terraced or semi-detached houses, residents of these neighbourhoods typically lack high levels of education and work in elementary or routine service occupations. Unemployment is above average. Residents are predominantly born in the UK, and residents are also predominantly from ethnic minorities. Social (but not private sector) rented sector housing is common. This Supergroup is found throughout the UK’s conurbations and industrial regions but is also an integral part of smaller towns.

London neighbourhood type

London Output Area Classification

Supergroup

Professional Employment and Family Lifecycles

Group

Inner London Working Professionals

Within London, Dobbing 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

Dobbing 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

Dobbing 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 Dobbing is most associated with a typical fixed broadband download band of Over 70 mbit/s.

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

10
Slower band Faster band

Area snapshot

Ethnic group estimate

Most common ethnic group estimate
White - British

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

1881 census detail

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Dobbing families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Dobbing 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. Durham leads with 122 Dobbings recorded in 1881 and an index of 21.90x.

County Total Index
Durham 122 21.90x
Yorkshire 31 1.67x
Northumberland 10 3.59x
Middlesex 7 0.37x
Lancashire 6 0.27x
Cheshire 5 1.21x
Kent 5 0.78x
Surrey 3 0.33x
Devon 2 0.51x
Gloucestershire 1 0.27x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Bishopwearmouth in Durham leads with 48 Dobbings recorded in 1881 and an index of 100.36x.

Place Total Index
Bishopwearmouth 48 100.36x
Sunderland 12 121.95x
Greatham 10 2127.66x
Middleton St George 10 1428.57x
Billingham 7 729.17x
St Marylebone London 7 7.00x
Heaton 6 645.16x
Linthorpe 6 54.15x
Middlesbrough 6 24.82x
Stranton 6 31.98x
Birkenhead 5 15.17x
Chislehurst 5 145.77x
Halifax 5 18.35x
Bishopton 4 1739.13x
Elswick 4 17.99x
Gateshead 4 9.59x
Hartlepool 4 50.51x
Kirkleatham 4 159.36x
Low Dinsdale 4 2500.00x
Thornaby 4 57.72x
Tudhoe 4 82.14x
Burnley 3 16.03x
Darlington 3 13.95x
Penge 3 25.08x
Wingate 3 78.53x
Accrington 2 9.90x
Devonport 2 44.64x
Guisbrough 2 49.26x
Normanton 2 35.84x
Northowram 2 15.37x
Newsham 1 2500.00x
Preston 1 1.68x
Stockton On Tees 1 3.72x
Westbury On Severn East 1 12.05x
Wolviston 1 256.41x

Top female names

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

Name Count
Elizabeth 14
Mary 10
Annie 7
Ann 6
Margaret 6
Isabella 5
Alice 4
Catherine 4
Ada 3
Emily 3
Dorothy 2
Esther 2
Ethel 2
Florence 2
Sarah 2
Anne 1
Christiana 1
Clara 1
Daisy 1
Eliza 1
Elizth. 1
Emma 1
Ester 1
Eveline 1
Frances 1
Francis 1
Gertrude 1
Grace 1
Gwendoline 1
Hannah 1
Harriet 1
Isabel 1
Jane 1
Mabel 1
Mable 1
Marg. 1
Margt. 1
Marion 1
Rachael 1
Rachel 1
Sedoney 1
Selina 1
Susanna 1

Top male names

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

Name Count
John 19
William 11
Thomas 8
George 7
Henry 7
Charles 5
Robert 4
Anthony 3
Joseph 3
Frederick 2
James 2
Richard 2
Thos. 2
Alan 1
Alfred 1
Allen 1
Arthur 1
Chas.Henry 1
Clarence 1
Douglas 1
Edward 1
Ernest 1
Gerald 1
Herbert 1
Jonathan 1
R. 1
Silvester 1
Stanley 1
Walter 1
Willm. 1

FAQ

Dobbing surname: questions and answers

How common was the Dobbing surname in 1881?

In 1881, 192 people were recorded with the Dobbing surname. That placed it at #13,185 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Dobbing surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 298 in 2016. That gives Dobbing a modern rank of #14,801.

What does the Dobbing map show?

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