NameCensus.

UK surname

Elwes

In the 1881 census there were 133 people recorded with the Elwes surname, ranking it #16,676 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 169, ranked #21,884, down from #16,676 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to Melrose, London parishes and Bedford St Paul. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Cotswold, King's Lynn and West Norfolk and Kensington and Chelsea.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Elwes is 178 in 2013. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 27.1%.

1881 census count

133

Ranked #16,676

Modern count

169

2016, ranked #21,884

Peak year

2013

178 bearers

Map years

7

1881 to 2016

Key insights

  • Elwes had 133 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #16,676 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 169 in 2016, ranked #21,884.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 154 in 1891.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Rural Amenity.

Elwes surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Elwes surname density by area, 1881 census.

Loading map
Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

Back to top

Elwes 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 78 #19,840
1861 historical 45 #28,296
1881 historical 133 #16,676
1891 historical 154 #18,004
1901 historical 117 #20,830
1911 historical 132 #19,313
1997 modern 127 #23,352
1998 modern 120 #24,793
1999 modern 123 #24,643
2000 modern 130 #23,785
2001 modern 114 #25,344
2002 modern 119 #25,231
2003 modern 133 #23,359
2004 modern 131 #23,756
2005 modern 139 #22,887
2006 modern 146 #22,320
2007 modern 145 #22,693
2008 modern 146 #22,822
2009 modern 147 #23,248
2010 modern 150 #23,482
2011 modern 149 #23,408
2012 modern 167 #21,598
2013 modern 178 #21,108
2014 modern 177 #21,340
2015 modern 177 #21,220
2016 modern 169 #21,884

Geography

Back to top

Where Elwes' are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around Melrose, London parishes, Bedford St Paul, Pinchbeck, Cowbit and St Paul Shadwell, Ratcliff hamlet. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Cotswold, King's Lynn and West Norfolk, Kensington and Chelsea, Chichester and Vale of White Horse. 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 Melrose Roxburgh
2 London parishes London 1
3 Bedford St Paul Bedfordshire
4 Pinchbeck, Cowbit Lincolnshire
5 St Paul Shadwell, Ratcliff hamlet London (East Districts)

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Cotswold 004 Cotswold
2 King's Lynn and West Norfolk 012 King's Lynn and West Norfolk
3 Kensington and Chelsea 017 Kensington and Chelsea
4 Chichester 007 Chichester
5 Vale of White Horse 016 Vale of White Horse

Forenames

Back to top

First names often paired with Elwes

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

Modern profile

Back to top

Neighbourhood profile for Elwes

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

Elwes 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

Elwes falls in decile 6 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.

6
More deprived Less deprived

Broadband speed

Fixed broadband download speed

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

1881 census detail

Back to top

Elwes families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Elwes 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. Middlesex leads with 18 Elwes' recorded in 1881 and an index of 1.37x.

County Total Index
Middlesex 18 1.37x
Hampshire 17 6.30x
Bedfordshire 13 19.07x
Gloucestershire 13 5.03x
Essex 9 3.46x
Roxburghshire 9 37.74x
Durham 8 2.04x
Lincolnshire 8 3.80x
Sussex 7 3.15x
Norfolk 5 2.47x
Northumberland 5 2.55x
Midlothian 4 2.27x
Somerset 4 1.89x
Suffolk 3 1.87x
Devon 2 0.73x
Kent 2 0.45x
Oxfordshire 2 2.46x
Royal Navy 2 12.75x
Surrey 2 0.31x
Hertfordshire 1 1.10x
Staffordshire 1 0.23x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Bedford St Paul in Bedfordshire leads with 13 Elwes' recorded in 1881 and an index of 277.78x.

Place Total Index
Bedford St Paul 13 277.78x
Melrose 9 436.89x
Whitworth 8 278.75x
Cowbit 7 2413.79x
Finchley 7 138.61x
Colchester Holy Trinity 6 1034.48x
Eastbourne 6 58.71x
Holdenhurst 6 84.75x
Colesbourne 5 3846.15x
St Pancras London 5 4.72x
Tynemouth 5 47.66x
Cheltenham 4 20.08x
Compton 4 3333.33x
Edinburgh St Cuthberts 4 5.64x
Over Stowey 4 1666.67x
Preston 4 3333.33x
Crondall 3 206.90x
Dummer 3 1666.67x
Congham 2 1333.33x
Dartmouth St Petrox 2 500.00x
Kirkley 2 149.25x
Lakenham 2 69.44x
Royal Navy 2 14.91x
St George Bloomsbury 2 26.49x
St Marylebone London 2 2.85x
Wanstead 2 43.96x
Barmer 1 5000.00x
Christchurch 1 17.09x
Croydon 1 2.81x
Dover Castle 1 303.03x
Farnham 1 20.04x
Gestingthorpe 1 344.83x
Great Amwell 1 109.89x
Henley On Thames 1 59.88x
Kingsey 1 909.09x
Lewisham 1 4.17x
Lichfield Close 1 1000.00x
Mildenhall 1 58.82x
St George Hanover Square 1 4.31x
Surfleet 1 227.27x
West Hoathly 1 142.86x
Westminster St James 1 7.39x

Top female names

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

Name Count
Mary 4
Sarah 4
Charlotte 3
Ellen 3
Emily 3
Hannah 3
Ann 2
Emma 2
Isabella 2
Selina 2
Sophia 2
Abigail 1
Aimie 1
Alice 1
Amy 1
Annie 1
Avis 1
Caroline 1
Catherine 1
Cathern 1
Christania 1
Constance 1
Daisy 1
Elizabeth 1
Ethel 1
Evelyn 1
Frances 1
Grace 1
Henerett 1
Ida 1
Isabel 1
Kate 1
Katherine 1
Kathleen 1
Louisa 1
Margaret 1
Marien 1
Maud 1
Muriel 1
Susan 1
Thurzza 1
Violet 1

Top male names

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

Name Count
Henry 5
John 5
William 5
Walter 4
Alfred 3
Arthur 2
Benjamin 2
Dudley 2
Edward 2
Ernest 2
Frederick 2
Geoffrey 2
Richard 2
Robert 2
Thomas 2
Albert 1
Allen 1
Basil 1
Charles 1
E.(Revd.) 1
Frank 1
George 1
Gervase 1
Gervose 1
Harry 1
Herbert 1
Hervey 1
Hugh 1
Jonathan 1
Reginald 1
Samuel 1
Trevellyan 1

FAQ

Elwes surname: questions and answers

How common was the Elwes surname in 1881?

In 1881, 133 people were recorded with the Elwes surname. That placed it at #16,676 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Elwes surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 169 in 2016. That gives Elwes a modern rank of #21,884.

What does the Elwes map show?

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