NameCensus.

UK surname

Dursley

In the 1881 census there were 132 people recorded with the Dursley surname, ranking it #16,744 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 225, ranked #18,105, down from #16,744 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to Bristol City: St Mary Redcliff, Bedminster and Tipton otherwise Tibington. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Manchester, Bristol and Malvern Hills.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Dursley is 233 in 2000. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 70.5%.

1881 census count

132

Ranked #16,744

Modern count

225

2016, ranked #18,105

Peak year

2000

233 bearers

Map years

7

1881 to 2016

Key insights

  • Dursley had 132 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #16,744 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 225 in 2016, ranked #18,105.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 212 in 1911.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Inner Suburbs and Small Town Living.

Dursley surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Dursley surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Dursley 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 64 #21,914
1861 historical 60 #26,313
1881 historical 132 #16,744
1891 historical 133 #19,870
1901 historical 177 #16,342
1911 historical 212 #14,423
1997 modern 224 #16,392
1998 modern 221 #17,021
1999 modern 223 #17,025
2000 modern 233 #16,524
2001 modern 222 #16,806
2002 modern 222 #17,147
2003 modern 206 #17,799
2004 modern 208 #17,758
2005 modern 206 #17,786
2006 modern 209 #17,784
2007 modern 213 #17,744
2008 modern 216 #17,758
2009 modern 224 #17,685
2010 modern 223 #18,096
2011 modern 216 #18,321
2012 modern 201 #19,147
2013 modern 218 #18,441
2014 modern 222 #18,355
2015 modern 223 #18,165
2016 modern 225 #18,105

Geography

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Where Dursleys are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around Bristol City: St Mary Redcliff, Bedminster, Tipton otherwise Tibington, St Philip and Jacob and Wednesbury. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Manchester, Bristol, Malvern Hills and South Gloucestershire. 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 Bristol City: St Mary Redcliff Gloucestershire
2 Bedminster Somerset
3 Tipton otherwise Tibington Staffordshire
4 St Philip and Jacob Gloucestershire
5 Wednesbury Staffordshire

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Manchester 046 Manchester
2 Bristol 035 Bristol, City of
3 Bristol 028 Bristol, City of
4 Malvern Hills 002 Malvern Hills
5 South Gloucestershire 022 South Gloucestershire

Forenames

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First names often paired with Dursley

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

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Dursley

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

Inner Suburbs and Small Town Living

Nationally, the Dursley surname is most associated with neighbourhoods classed as Inner Suburbs and Small Town Living, within Suburbanites and Peri-Urbanities. This does not mean every Dursley household fits that profile, but it gives a useful signal about where the modern surname distribution is strongest.

Read profile summary

Group profile

Families with resident dependent children (but not students) are common. Established family groups and White ethnicity predominate, as do individuals born in the UK. They are more likely than the Supergroup average to have been resident in their terraced, semi-detached, or detached houses for more than one year. Levels of multiple car ownership are high. Properties are owned and typically have surplus living space. Associate professionals and administrative occupations are prevalent, and parents are likely to be in middle age or approaching retirement. Educational attainment is above the Supergroup average. Scattered developments and concentrations are found in many small towns.

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, Dursley 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

Dursley 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

Dursley falls in decile 9 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.

9
More deprived Less deprived

Broadband speed

Fixed broadband download speed

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

1881 census detail

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Dursley families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Dursley 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. Gloucestershire leads with 60 Dursleys recorded in 1881 and an index of 23.23x.

County Total Index
Gloucestershire 60 23.23x
Staffordshire 18 4.05x
Glamorgan 16 6.98x
Yorkshire 13 1.00x
Somerset 10 4.72x
Middlesex 5 0.38x
Isle of Man 3 12.27x
Monmouthshire 3 3.15x
Renfrewshire 3 2.94x
Dorset 1 1.16x
Kent 1 0.22x
Lancashire 1 0.06x
Warwickshire 1 0.30x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Bristol St Philip Jacob in Gloucestershire leads with 28 Dursleys recorded in 1881 and an index of 115.18x.

Place Total Index
Bristol St Philip Jacob 28 115.18x
Bedminster 10 50.20x
Bristol St Peter 9 978.26x
Cardiff St John 9 120.16x
Wednesbury 9 81.01x
West Bromwich 9 35.38x
Clifton 7 53.64x
Bristol St James St Paul 6 69.69x
Pickering 6 365.85x
Roath 6 57.64x
Bristol St Mary Redcliff 5 212.77x
Mexborough 4 154.44x
Bedwellty 3 17.85x
Onchan 3 42.61x
Poplar London 3 12.07x
Yeadon 3 101.69x
West Greenock 2 10.92x
Beckenham 1 17.04x
Bristol St Augustine 1 23.98x
Bristol St George 1 8.38x
Bristol St James In 1 26.32x
Bristol St Michael 1 45.25x
Bristol St Paul In 1 14.53x
Clerkenwell London 1 3.22x
Edgbaston 1 9.71x
Greenock Oldor West 1 357.14x
Kensington London 1 1.37x
Manchester 1 1.42x
Portland 1 21.51x
Ystradyfodwg 1 4.97x

Top female names

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

Name Count
Elizabeth 10
Eliza 6
Mary 5
Sarah 5
Ada 4
Emma 4
Ellen 3
Anne 2
Betsey 2
Emily 2
Esther 2
Fanny 2
Florence 2
Harriet 2
Lowisa 2
Martha 2
Matilda 2
Annie 1
Catherine 1
Charlotte 1
Clara 1
Elvora 1
Frances 1
Harriett 1
Infant 1
Jane 1
Margerett 1
Miriam 1
Phoebe 1
Rebecca 1
Rhoda 1
Ruth 1

Top male names

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

Name Count
Alfred 6
James 6
Thomas 6
Henry 5
George 4
John 4
Edward 3
Leonard 3
William 3
Job 2
Luke 2
Paul 2
Wm. 2
Albert 1
Alfd. 1
Benjamin 1
Charles 1
Clement 1
David 1
Frederick 1
Gilbert 1
Jesse 1
Joseph 1
Lenard 1
Samuel 1

FAQ

Dursley surname: questions and answers

How common was the Dursley surname in 1881?

In 1881, 132 people were recorded with the Dursley surname. That placed it at #16,744 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Dursley surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 225 in 2016. That gives Dursley a modern rank of #18,105.

What does the Dursley map show?

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