NameCensus.

UK surname

Dockray

An English surname deriving from a place with a ray or small stream near a dock.

In the 1881 census there were 358 people recorded with the Dockray surname, ranking it #8,638 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 281, ranked #15,449, down from #8,638 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to Calverley, Carlisle St Cuthbert and Workington (Workington), Clossocks. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include North Warwickshire, Northumberland and Copeland.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Dockray is 405 in 1901. Compared with 1881, the name has fallen by 21.5%.

1881 census count

358

Ranked #8,638

Modern count

281

2016, ranked #15,449

Peak year

1901

405 bearers

Map years

9

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Dockray had 358 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #8,638 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 281 in 2016, ranked #15,449.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 405 in 1901.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Rural Amenity.

Dockray surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Dockray surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Dockray 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 232 #9,296
1861 historical 225 #10,843
1881 historical 358 #8,638
1891 historical 377 #9,302
1901 historical 405 #9,405
1911 historical 389 #9,470
1997 modern 357 #11,998
1998 modern 360 #12,300
1999 modern 358 #12,416
2000 modern 356 #12,408
2001 modern 331 #12,869
2002 modern 328 #13,186
2003 modern 315 #13,384
2004 modern 325 #13,161
2005 modern 312 #13,462
2006 modern 306 #13,724
2007 modern 304 #13,927
2008 modern 301 #14,107
2009 modern 302 #14,353
2010 modern 301 #14,697
2011 modern 299 #14,631
2012 modern 302 #14,451
2013 modern 295 #14,918
2014 modern 303 #14,733
2015 modern 294 #14,971
2016 modern 281 #15,449

Geography

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Where Dockrays are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around Calverley, Carlisle St Cuthbert, Workington (Workington), Clossocks, Bradford and Carlisle St Mary, Eaglesfield Abbey. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to North Warwickshire, Northumberland, Copeland and Lancaster. 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 Calverley Yorkshire, West Riding
2 Carlisle St Cuthbert Cumberland
3 Workington (Workington), Clossocks Cumberland
4 Bradford Yorkshire, West Riding
5 Carlisle St Mary, Eaglesfield Abbey Cumberland

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 North Warwickshire 002 North Warwickshire
2 Northumberland 040 Northumberland
3 Copeland 003 Copeland
4 Copeland 005 Copeland
5 Lancaster 001 Lancaster

Forenames

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First names often paired with Dockray

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

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Dockray

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

Professional Employment and Family Lifecycles

Group

Inner London Working Professionals

Within London, Dockray 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

Dockray 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

Dockray falls in decile 7 for neighbourhood deprivation. This puts the surname near the middle of the scale.

Decile 1 represents the more deprived end of the scale. Decile 10 represents the less deprived end.

7
More deprived Less deprived

Broadband speed

Fixed broadband download speed

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

Meaning and origin of Dockray

The surname Dockray is of English origin and is believed to have originated in the late medieval period, around the 13th or 14th century. It is derived from the Old English words "docca" meaning a dock or waterway, and "ræw" meaning a row or line. This suggests that the name likely referred to someone who lived near a dock or a row of houses along a waterway.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Subsidy Rolls of Yorkshire from the year 1301, where it appears as "Dockeray". This indicates that the name was present in northern England during the early 14th century.

In the Subsidy Rolls of Nottinghamshire from 1377, the name is spelled as "Dokray", which further demonstrates the variations in spelling that were common in medieval times.

The name Dockray is also associated with several place names in England, such as Dockray in Westmorland (now part of Cumbria) and Dockray in Yorkshire. These place names likely contributed to the development of the surname, as it was common for people to adopt surnames based on the places they lived or came from.

One notable individual with the surname Dockray was John Dockray (1659-1742), an English clockmaker and inventor from Yorkshire. He is credited with inventing the three-legged gravitational escapement, a crucial component in the development of precision timekeeping.

Another historical figure with this surname was William Dockray (1773-1847), an English poet and clergyman from Cumberland. He published several collections of poems and was known for his pastoral works celebrating the beauty of the Lake District.

Thomas Dockray (1806-1871) was a British engineer and industrialist who established the Dockray Brothers Ironworks in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, which played a significant role in the industrial revolution in the North East of England.

In the 18th century, the Dockray family was prominent in the textile industry in Yorkshire, with several members involved in the production and trade of woolen cloth.

The surname Dockray has also been recorded in various historical documents, such as parish registers, wills, and court records, providing further evidence of its longevity and presence throughout English history.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

1881 census detail

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Dockray families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Dockray 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 170 Dockrays recorded in 1881 and an index of 5.00x.

County Total Index
Yorkshire 170 5.00x
Cumberland 93 31.46x
Lancashire 51 1.25x
Durham 17 1.66x
Kirkcudbrightshire 7 14.08x
Surrey 7 0.42x
Devon 2 0.28x
Dumfriesshire 2 2.64x
Middlesex 2 0.06x
Kent 1 0.09x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Hunslet in Yorkshire leads with 35 Dockrays recorded in 1881 and an index of 65.98x.

Place Total Index
Hunslet 35 65.98x
Leeds 31 16.14x
Calverley Cum Farsley 18 186.34x
Holbeck 17 75.42x
Workington 14 82.69x
Crosscanonby 13 132.92x
Bramley In Bramley 11 84.49x
Oldham 11 8.37x
Wortley In Bramley 11 40.82x
Whitehaven 10 63.45x
Rawdon 9 224.44x
Liverpool 8 3.23x
St Cuthbert W O 8 55.52x
Cabus 7 3333.33x
Headingley Cum Burley 7 31.96x
Irongray 7 760.87x
Lambeth 7 2.34x
Over Kellet 7 1206.90x
Sandal Magna 7 139.17x
Brigham 6 428.57x
Horsforth 6 80.43x
Rottington 6 7500.00x
Salford 6 5.01x
Shincliffe 6 526.32x
Chester Le Street 5 63.78x
Chorlton On Medlock 5 7.73x
Cleator 5 40.65x
Hulme 5 5.88x
Rickergate 5 80.00x
Armley 4 26.65x
Caldewgate 4 24.69x
Hedworth Monkton Jarrow 4 9.04x
Selby 4 56.26x
Harrington 3 84.03x
Annan 2 30.72x
Arlecdon 2 25.45x
Chapel Allerton 2 39.29x
Dalston 2 87.72x
Eccleshill 2 24.15x
Hetton Le Hole 2 15.46x
Holy Trinity 2 2.44x
St Cuthbert W O Carleton 2 246.91x
St Mary Within 2 54.20x
Stanwix 2 83.68x
Tormoham 2 6.61x
Alwoodley 1 188.68x
Bassenthwaite 1 166.67x
Batley 1 3.09x
Gosforth 1 69.44x
Haile 1 294.12x
Hammersmith London 1 1.18x
Isel Old Park 1 1250.00x
Kensington London 1 0.52x
Lamplugh 1 67.57x
Lee 1 5.88x
Moresby 1 88.50x
Muncaster 1 158.73x
Parlington 1 384.62x
Preston Quarter 1 12.08x
Rockcliff 1 108.70x
Rowley 1 135.14x
Warton With Lindeth 1 58.48x
Wavertree 1 7.67x

Top female names

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

Name Count
Mary 33
Jane 16
Sarah 13
Elizabeth 12
Hannah 11
Margaret 7
Isabella 6
Ann 5
Annie 5
Martha 5
Alice 4
Anne 4
Charlotte 4
Ellen 4
Ada 3
Grace 3
Agnes 2
Caroline 2
Eliza 2
Elleanor 2
Emma 2
Harriet 2
Maria 2
Nancy 2
Susannah 2
Alma 1
Annas 1
Bethia 1
Casandra 1
Catherine 1
Christiana 1
Edith 1
Eleanor 1
Elizebeth 1
Elizth. 1
Ellinor 1
Florence 1
Henrietta 1
Janet 1
Kate 1
Lily 1
Lydia 1
Mable 1
Margarate 1
Mark 1
Sabrey 1
Susanna 1
Zillah 1

Top male names

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

FAQ

Dockray surname: questions and answers

How common was the Dockray surname in 1881?

In 1881, 358 people were recorded with the Dockray surname. That placed it at #8,638 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Dockray surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 281 in 2016. That gives Dockray a modern rank of #15,449.

What does the Dockray surname mean?

An English surname deriving from a place with a ray or small stream near a dock.

What does the Dockray map show?

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