NameCensus.

UK surname

Dore

A French topographic surname for someone who lived near a golden-colored hill or ridge.

In the 1881 census there were 1,567 people recorded with the Dore surname, ranking it #2,705 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 2,101, ranked #3,078, down from #2,705 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to Burghfield, London parishes and Newchurch. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include West Oxfordshire, Gosport and Brent.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Dore is 2,201 in 1999. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 34.1%.

1881 census count

1,567

Ranked #2,705

Modern count

2,101

2016, ranked #3,078

Peak year

1999

2,201 bearers

Map years

9

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Dore had 1,567 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #2,705 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 2,101 in 2016, ranked #3,078.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 2,046 in 1911.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Rural Amenity.

Dore surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Dore surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Dore 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 1,119 #2,519
1861 historical 929 #2,990
1881 historical 1,567 #2,705
1891 historical 1,851 #2,483
1901 historical 1,928 #2,738
1911 historical 2,046 #2,438
1997 modern 2,022 #3,033
1998 modern 2,176 #2,944
1999 modern 2,201 #2,942
2000 modern 2,168 #2,957
2001 modern 2,109 #2,974
2002 modern 2,172 #2,954
2003 modern 2,090 #2,993
2004 modern 2,100 #2,981
2005 modern 2,048 #3,014
2006 modern 2,039 #3,032
2007 modern 2,051 #3,051
2008 modern 2,072 #3,045
2009 modern 2,129 #3,042
2010 modern 2,166 #3,060
2011 modern 2,113 #3,087
2012 modern 2,073 #3,091
2013 modern 2,121 #3,074
2014 modern 2,158 #3,047
2015 modern 2,111 #3,077
2016 modern 2,101 #3,078

Geography

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Where Dores are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around Burghfield, London parishes, Newchurch and Portsmouth, Portsea. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to West Oxfordshire, Gosport, Brent, Worthing and Wychavon. 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 Burghfield Berkshire
2 London parishes London 1
3 Newchurch Hampshire
4 London parishes London 3
5 Portsmouth, Portsea Hampshire

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 West Oxfordshire 003 West Oxfordshire
2 Gosport 008 Gosport
3 Brent 027 Brent
4 Worthing 011 Worthing
5 Wychavon 013 Wychavon

Forenames

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First names often paired with Dore

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

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Dore

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

Dore is most concentrated in decile 10 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.

10
Lower access Higher access

Neighbourhood deprivation

Index of Multiple Deprivation

Dore falls in decile 8 for neighbourhood deprivation. This puts the surname towards the less deprived end of the index.

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

8
More deprived Less deprived

Broadband speed

Fixed broadband download speed

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

Meaning and origin of Dore

The surname Dore has its origins in England and dates back to the 13th century. It is derived from the Old English word "dor," meaning a door or entrance, and was likely a topographic name for someone who lived near a prominent door or gate.

One of the earliest recorded references to the name Dore can be found in the Hundredorum Rolls of Oxfordshire from 1273, where it appears as "de la Dore." This suggests that the name was initially a descriptive phrase meaning "of the door" or "near the door."

In the 14th century, the surname appears in various records, such as the Court Rolls of the Manor of Wakefield in Yorkshire, where it is spelled as "del Dore" and "atte Dore." These early spellings further reinforce the connection to the Old English word "dor" and the name's topographic origins.

The Dore surname may also be associated with certain place names, such as Dore Abbey in Herefordshire, which was founded in the 12th century. It is possible that some individuals adopted the surname based on their proximity to this or other locations with similar names.

One notable figure from history bearing the surname Dore was John Dore (c. 1460-1527), an English diplomat and Catholic priest who served as the ambassador to Spain and Portugal under King Henry VIII. Another was Richard Dore (c. 1510-1571), an English Catholic priest and martyr who was executed during the Elizabethan persecution of Catholics.

In the arts, the French artist and illustrator Gustave Dore (1832-1883) is perhaps the most famous bearer of this surname. His engravings and illustrations for works such as Dante's Divine Comedy and the Bible are widely celebrated.

Other notable individuals with the surname Dore include Thomas Dore (1598-1689), an English politician who served as a Member of Parliament, and Benjamin Dore (1688-1768), an English painter and etcher known for his landscapes and portraits.

While the surname Dore has evolved in spelling and pronunciation over the centuries, its roots can be traced back to the Old English topographic reference, highlighting the connection between names and the physical environments in which they originated.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

1881 census detail

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Dore families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Dore 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. Hampshire leads with 382 Dores recorded in 1881 and an index of 12.16x.

County Total Index
Hampshire 382 12.16x
Middlesex 276 1.80x
Oxfordshire 217 22.93x
Berkshire 101 8.78x
Yorkshire 80 0.53x
Surrey 49 0.66x
Wiltshire 40 2.95x
Somerset 39 1.58x
Devon 36 1.13x
Nottinghamshire 36 1.74x
Warwickshire 35 0.91x
Lancashire 30 0.17x
Derbyshire 23 0.96x
Lincolnshire 23 0.94x
Worcestershire 23 1.15x
Gloucestershire 18 0.60x
Suffolk 18 0.96x
Northamptonshire 16 1.11x
Leicestershire 15 0.88x
Sussex 14 0.54x
Cheshire 13 0.38x
Dorset 13 1.29x
Essex 13 0.43x
Radnorshire 10 8.09x
Channel Islands 7 1.54x
Glamorgan 7 0.26x
Buckinghamshire 6 0.65x
Kent 5 0.10x
Lanarkshire 5 0.10x
Norfolk 5 0.21x
Cambridgeshire 3 0.31x
Cumberland 3 0.23x
Royal Navy 3 1.64x
Hertfordshire 2 0.19x
Monmouthshire 2 0.18x
Bedfordshire 1 0.13x
Clackmannanshire 1 0.79x
Staffordshire 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. Portsea in Hampshire leads with 66 Dores recorded in 1881 and an index of 10.72x.

Place Total Index
Portsea 66 10.72x
Shipton Under Wychwood 42 689.66x
Burghfield 37 544.12x
Islington London 36 2.42x
Ryde 35 51.87x
St Pancras London 31 2.51x
Brading 30 71.86x
Northwood 30 67.07x
Leafield 27 720.00x
Hackney London 26 3.03x
Sheffield 26 5.38x
Birmingham 24 1.86x
Newport 22 129.11x
Hailey 19 285.71x
Finstock Fawler 18 571.43x
Charlbury 16 150.66x
Clee With Weelsby 16 29.83x
Newbury 16 43.42x
St George Hanover Square 16 5.93x
Arreton 14 139.03x
Bethnal Green London 14 2.10x
Clerkenwell London 14 3.87x
Wychwood 14 1250.00x
Battersea 13 2.31x
Milton Under Wychwood 13 296.13x
Southampton St Mary 13 6.58x
St Marylebone London 13 1.59x
Alverstoke 12 10.55x
Edmonton 12 9.72x
Hornsey 12 6.19x
Lambeth 12 0.90x
Carisbrooke 11 25.22x
Claylane 11 32.98x
Mile End Old Town London 11 3.37x
Normanton 11 24.11x
North Leigh 11 319.77x
Salford 11 2.06x
West Alvington 11 245.54x
Whippingham 11 46.26x
Newchurch 10 140.45x
Shoreditch London 10 1.51x
Skelton In Guisbrough 10 24.34x
Abingdon St Helen 9 26.76x
Bitton 9 34.40x
Camberwell 9 0.92x
Eling 9 28.28x
Ensham 9 183.67x
Langley 9 3461.54x
Linthorpe 9 9.93x
Mere 9 58.44x
Ruddington 9 64.98x
Southampton All Sts 9 16.70x
St Helens 9 39.42x
Willesden 9 6.23x
Ashton Keynes 8 158.73x
Birkenhead 8 2.97x
Brighton 8 1.53x
Cowley 8 27.08x
Fareham 8 21.19x
Freshwater 8 55.75x
Gorleston 8 16.87x
Kensington London 8 0.94x
Kidderminster Borough 8 6.83x
Llanyre 8 217.98x
Lymington 8 34.65x
Reading St Lawrence 8 32.51x
Williton 8 96.85x
Wolborough 8 19.84x
Badsey 7 231.02x
Hartlebury 7 58.77x
Ilkestonderbypart 7 99.72x
Leicester St Margaret 7 1.69x
Lockwood 7 12.81x
Mortimer 7 127.04x
Peterborough 7 6.71x
Roxby Cum Risby 7 319.63x
Upton 7 321.10x
Whitwell 7 188.68x
Moulton 6 74.81x
Walcot 6 4.57x

Top female names

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

Name Count
Mary 93
Sarah 49
Elizabeth 47
Ellen 31
Jane 28
Eliza 26
Emily 26
Ann 25
Louisa 21
Emma 20
Fanny 20
Annie 19
Florence 17
Alice 16
Charlotte 16
Amelia 14
Maria 13
Hannah 12
Anne 11
Caroline 11
Harriet 11
Martha 11
Ada 10
Clara 9
Edith 9
Kate 8
Lucy 8
Susan 8
Agnes 7
Beatrice 7
Harriett 6
Margaret 6
Rosa 6
Ethel 5
Laura 5
Minnie 5
Amy 4
Bridget 4
Esther 4
Evelyn 4
Gertrude 4
Henrietta 4
Leah 4
Lily 4
Lizzie 4
Matilda 4
May 4
Sophia 4
Eva 3
Mabel 3

Top male names

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

Name Count
William 92
John 68
George 60
James 58
Charles 44
Henry 33
Thomas 30
Joseph 27
Edward 19
Alfred 18
Frank 17
Albert 16
Robert 16
Arthur 15
Richard 13
Walter 12
Frederick 10
Samuel 10
David 9
Benjamin 8
Edwin 7
Ernest 7
Harry 7
Herbert 7
Daniel 5
Sidney 5
Stephen 5
Edmund 4
Francis 4
Victor 4
Augustus 3
Edgar 3
G. 3
Michael 3
Peter 3
Wilfred 3
Andrew 2
Fred 2
Gustave 2
Harold 2
Luke 2
Patrick 2
Percy 2
Silas 2
Thos. 2
Uri 2
Wm. 2
Bernard 1
Edw. 1
Edwd. 1

FAQ

Dore surname: questions and answers

How common was the Dore surname in 1881?

In 1881, 1,567 people were recorded with the Dore surname. That placed it at #2,705 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Dore surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 2,101 in 2016. That gives Dore a modern rank of #3,078.

What does the Dore surname mean?

A French topographic surname for someone who lived near a golden-colored hill or ridge.

What does the Dore map show?

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