NameCensus.

UK surname

Dobson

An English occupational surname referring to a person who made or sold dobbers, a type of wooden bowl.

In the 1881 census there were 13,189 people recorded with the Dobson surname, ranking it #312 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 16,977, ranked #367, down from #312 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 Allerdale, Bradford and South Lakeland.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Dobson is 17,609 in 1999. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 28.7%.

1881 census count

13,189

Ranked #312

Modern count

16,977

2016, ranked #367

Peak year

1999

17,609 bearers

Map years

9

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Dobson had 13,189 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #312 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 16,977 in 2016, ranked #367.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 16,932 in 1911.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Rural Amenity.

Dobson surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Dobson surname density by area, 1881 census.

Loading map
Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

Back to top

Dobson 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 8,614 #306
1861 historical 8,637 #319
1881 historical 13,189 #312
1891 historical 13,759 #311
1901 historical 16,237 #312
1911 historical 16,932 #279
1997 modern 16,706 #357
1998 modern 17,473 #358
1999 modern 17,609 #356
2000 modern 17,422 #357
2001 modern 17,109 #356
2002 modern 17,443 #357
2003 modern 17,020 #356
2004 modern 16,843 #360
2005 modern 16,555 #361
2006 modern 16,400 #365
2007 modern 16,535 #366
2008 modern 16,615 #363
2009 modern 17,070 #362
2010 modern 17,440 #361
2011 modern 17,170 #364
2012 modern 16,824 #364
2013 modern 17,177 #368
2014 modern 17,264 #369
2015 modern 17,078 #368
2016 modern 16,977 #367

Geography

Back to top

Where Dobsons are most common

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

The modern local-area list points to Allerdale, Bradford, South Lakeland, Gwynedd and Northumberland. 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 3
3 Gateshead Durham
4 Edinburgh Edinburgh
5 Preston Lancashire

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Allerdale 001 Allerdale
2 Bradford 004 Bradford
3 South Lakeland 007 South Lakeland
4 Gwynedd 012 Gwynedd
5 Northumberland 003 Northumberland

Forenames

Back to top

First names often paired with Dobson

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

Modern profile

Back to top

Neighbourhood profile for Dobson

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

Dobson 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

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

Meaning and origin of Dobson

The surname Dobson is of English origin and dates back to the medieval period. It is a patronymic surname, meaning it originated as a name given to the son of someone named Dob or Dobber. These were common nicknames or diminutive forms of the name Robert in the Middle Ages.

The earliest recorded instance of the surname Dobson can be found in the Hundred Rolls of Oxfordshire, England, from 1273. It appeared as 'Dobbessone' in this document. Over time, the spelling evolved to the modern form of Dobson.

The name is also closely associated with the historic county of Yorkshire in northern England. Many Dobson families lived in this region throughout the medieval and early modern periods. The Yorkshire Parish Records from the 16th and 17th centuries contain numerous references to individuals with the surname Dobson.

One notable historical figure with the name was William Dobson (1610-1646), an English portrait painter who was a contemporary of Anthony van Dyck. He painted portraits of many important figures of the English Civil War era, including King Charles I and Oliver Cromwell.

Another prominent Dobson was John Dobson (1787-1865), a renowned architect from the north-east of England. He designed several notable buildings in Newcastle upon Tyne and the surrounding area, including the Anglican cathedral and parts of Newcastle Central Station.

In the literary world, Susanna Dobson (1835-1895) was a notable 19th-century English poet and writer. She published several volumes of poetry and was known for her works depicting rural life and nature.

The Dobson surname also has connections to early American history. One of the first recorded instances was Thomas Dobson (c.1617-1689), who emigrated from England to Massachusetts in the 1630s and became a prominent merchant and landowner in the colony.

Another historically significant figure was James Dobson (1744-1808), an Irish-born American printer and publisher. He established one of the first publishing houses in Philadelphia and printed the first English-language edition of the Bible in the United States in 1808.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

1881 census detail

Back to top

Dobson families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Dobson 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 3,962 Dobsons recorded in 1881 and an index of 3.10x.

County Total Index
Yorkshire 3,962 3.10x
Lancashire 2,191 1.43x
Durham 1,342 3.50x
Middlesex 813 0.63x
Northumberland 556 2.90x
Surrey 410 0.65x
Cheshire 384 1.35x
Westmorland 346 12.22x
Lincolnshire 344 1.67x
Cumberland 276 2.49x
Staffordshire 259 0.60x
Wiltshire 188 1.65x
Essex 171 0.67x
Kent 165 0.38x
Berkshire 159 1.64x
Midlothian 158 0.92x
Lanarkshire 115 0.28x
Nottinghamshire 98 0.56x
Hampshire 94 0.36x
Selkirkshire 91 7.81x
Leicestershire 82 0.57x
Buckinghamshire 80 1.03x
Warwickshire 60 0.18x
Angus 56 0.47x
Norfolk 51 0.26x
Derbyshire 49 0.24x
Isle of Man 47 1.96x
East Lothian 42 2.46x
Gloucestershire 41 0.16x
Sussex 41 0.19x
Cambridgeshire 37 0.45x
Northamptonshire 37 0.31x
Peeblesshire 37 6.10x
Devon 35 0.13x
Somerset 35 0.17x
Glamorgan 32 0.14x
Dumfriesshire 28 0.98x
Worcestershire 27 0.16x
Herefordshire 22 0.42x
Shropshire 22 0.20x
Hertfordshire 20 0.23x
Suffolk 20 0.13x
Fife 18 0.24x
Roxburghshire 17 0.73x
Cornwall 15 0.10x
Ayrshire 14 0.15x
Montgomeryshire 13 0.44x
Aberdeenshire 12 0.10x
Caernarfonshire 11 0.21x
Renfrewshire 10 0.10x
Royal Navy 10 0.65x
Huntingdonshire 9 0.35x
Kirkcudbrightshire 9 0.48x
Oxfordshire 8 0.10x
Stirlingshire 8 0.17x
Monmouthshire 7 0.08x
West Lothian 7 0.36x
Berwickshire 4 0.26x
Argyllshire 3 0.08x
Denbighshire 3 0.06x
Bedfordshire 2 0.03x
Dorset 2 0.02x
Rutland 2 0.21x
Banffshire 1 0.04x
Flintshire 1 0.03x
Pembrokeshire 1 0.02x

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 213 Dobsons recorded in 1881 and an index of 2.95x.

Place Total Index
Leeds 213 2.95x
Preston 150 3.67x
Bradford 124 4.01x
Gateshead 110 3.83x
Horton In Bradford 110 5.52x
Bishopwearmouth 109 3.31x
Hunslet 107 5.37x
Blackburn 106 2.61x
Edinburgh St Cuthberts 97 1.40x
Lambeth 97 0.86x
Liverpool 89 0.96x
Rothwell 88 34.12x
Holbeck 87 10.28x
Lancaster 85 9.34x
Stockton On Tees 80 4.33x
Manchester 76 1.11x
Middlesbrough 75 4.51x
Sheffield 71 1.75x
Thornton In Bradford 70 16.47x
Stoke Upon Trent 66 1.43x
Wakefield 65 6.63x
Islington London 64 0.51x
Toxteth Park 64 1.24x
Nottingham St Mary 59 1.31x
Darlington 58 3.92x
Selby 58 21.73x
Oldham 56 1.13x
Scarborough 56 4.83x
Bethnal Green London 55 0.98x
Everton 55 1.13x
St Pancras London 54 0.52x
Ilkley 52 24.92x
Sculcoates 52 2.57x
Warrington 52 2.87x
Great Grimsby 51 3.90x
Battersea 50 1.05x
Holy Trinity 50 1.63x
Halifax 49 2.61x
Barrow In Furness 46 2.21x
Newcastle Under Lyme 45 5.85x
Westoe 45 2.07x
Elswick 44 2.88x
Ferryhill 44 32.83x
Great Bolton 44 2.17x
Headingley Cum Burley 44 5.35x
Kendal 44 8.49x
Alverthorpe Cum Thornes 43 9.27x
Pickering 43 26.74x
Eccleshill 42 13.52x
Galashiels 42 9.74x
Shipley 42 6.34x
Kimberworth 41 5.79x
Camberwell 40 0.49x
Shoreditch London 40 0.72x
Almondbury 39 6.32x
Bowling 39 3.08x
Newcastle On Tyne St 39 3.92x
Barony 37 0.35x
Croydon 37 1.06x
Ealing 37 3.21x
Hackney London 37 0.51x
Lofthouse Cum Carlton 37 23.78x
St Marylebone London 37 0.54x
Stanley Cum Wrenthorpe 37 6.24x
Great Harwood 36 13.02x
Mexborough 36 14.20x
Portsea 36 0.70x
Hedworth Monkton Jarrow 35 2.11x
Manningham 35 2.22x
Chester St Mary On Hill 34 13.93x
Melrose 34 11.59x
Wingate 34 12.94x
Aston 33 0.37x
Mile End Old Town London 33 1.20x
Northowram 33 3.69x
Redcar 33 32.57x
Winlaton 33 8.97x
Innerleithen 32 19.89x
Paddington London 32 0.68x
Westgate 32 2.70x

Top female names

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

Name Count
Mary 925
Elizabeth 592
Sarah 398
Jane 323
Ann 298
Margaret 254
Annie 200
Alice 188
Hannah 185
Ellen 156
Eliza 133
Emma 133
Martha 130
Emily 109
Isabella 89
Catherine 73
Edith 72
Ada 70
Harriet 70
Maria 68
Charlotte 67
Louisa 64
Agnes 60
Clara 59
Caroline 58
Frances 58
Florence 55
Fanny 49
Kate 47
Anne 39
Eleanor 38
Lucy 34
Elizth. 32
Ruth 31
Susannah 28
Grace 27
Rebecca 27
Amelia 23
Rose 23
Dorothy 21
Esther 21
Ethel 18
Harriett 18
Matilda 18
Rachel 17
Susan 17
Amy 15
Gertrude 15
Margret 15
Sophia 15

Top male names

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

Name Count
John 880
William 786
Thomas 549
George 423
James 378
Joseph 262
Henry 247
Robert 209
Charles 170
Richard 138
Edward 125
Arthur 110
Alfred 103
Samuel 69
Albert 64
Frederick 63
Walter 62
Frank 55
Wm. 51
Harry 50
Herbert 43
Benjamin 42
Christopher 40
David 37
Fred 36
Thos. 34
Isaac 33
Ernest 31
Francis 28
Tom 27
Matthew 24
Geo. 23
Stephen 23
Edwin 21
Leonard 19
Anthony 18
Daniel 18
Joshua 14
Percy 14
Chas. 13
Edmund 13
Jonathan 13
Mark 13
Abraham 12
Elijah 12
Fredrick 12
Ralph 12
Hugh 11
Andrew 10
Jesse 10

FAQ

Dobson surname: questions and answers

How common was the Dobson surname in 1881?

In 1881, 13,189 people were recorded with the Dobson surname. That placed it at #312 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Dobson surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 16,977 in 2016. That gives Dobson a modern rank of #367.

What does the Dobson surname mean?

An English occupational surname referring to a person who made or sold dobbers, a type of wooden bowl.

What does the Dobson map show?

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