NameCensus.

UK surname

England

A locational surname indicating ancestral origins in the country of England.

In the 1881 census there were 6,130 people recorded with the England surname, ranking it #712 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 8,714, ranked #755, down from #712 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to Ystradyfodwg (incl. Rhigos), Bristol City: St Mary Redcliff and Ratley and Upton. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Kirklees, Ryedale and South Somerset.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for England is 9,089 in 1999. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 42.2%.

1881 census count

6,130

Ranked #712

Modern count

8,714

2016, ranked #755

Peak year

1999

9,089 bearers

Map years

9

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • England had 6,130 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #712 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 8,714 in 2016, ranked #755.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 8,718 in 1911.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Rural Amenity.

England surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

England surname density by area, 1881 census.

Loading map
Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

Back to top

England 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 4,151 #690
1861 historical 4,431 #638
1881 historical 6,130 #712
1891 historical 6,893 #655
1901 historical 7,930 #675
1911 historical 8,718 #563
1997 modern 8,787 #717
1998 modern 9,034 #725
1999 modern 9,089 #727
2000 modern 9,000 #732
2001 modern 8,778 #731
2002 modern 9,048 #733
2003 modern 8,823 #732
2004 modern 8,783 #734
2005 modern 8,538 #745
2006 modern 8,494 #748
2007 modern 8,470 #758
2008 modern 8,476 #762
2009 modern 8,662 #767
2010 modern 8,886 #762
2011 modern 8,825 #753
2012 modern 8,620 #754
2013 modern 8,802 #753
2014 modern 8,874 #748
2015 modern 8,733 #757
2016 modern 8,714 #755

Geography

Back to top

Where Englands are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around Ystradyfodwg (incl. Rhigos), Bristol City: St Mary Redcliff, Ratley and Upton and London parishes. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Kirklees, Ryedale, South Somerset, Rochdale 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 Ystradyfodwg (incl. Rhigos) Glamorganshire
2 Bristol City: St Mary Redcliff Gloucestershire
3 Ratley and Upton Oxfordshire
4 London parishes London 1
5 London parishes London 3

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Kirklees 059 Kirklees
2 Ryedale 008 Ryedale
3 South Somerset 010 South Somerset
4 Rochdale 018 Rochdale
5 South Gloucestershire 013 South Gloucestershire

Forenames

Back to top

First names often paired with England

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

Modern profile

Back to top

Neighbourhood profile for England

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

Older Residents in Owner-Occupied Suburbs

Group

London Fringe

Within London, England is most associated with areas classed as London Fringe, part of Older Residents in Owner-Occupied Suburbs. 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

Predominantly located in neighbourhoods on the outskirts of Greater London, residents of these neighbourhoods typically have their highest qualifications below degree (Level 4) level, with those still in work engaged in skilled trades and occupations in distribution, hotels and restaurants. There is low ethnic diversity in these neighbourhoods and high levels of Christian religious affiliation. Detached or terraced houses predominate, often with spare rooms.

Wider London pattern

The age distribution of these neighbourhoods is skewed towards the middle-aged and old, although few residents live alone or in communal establishments and numbers of dependent children are around average. Owner occupation is the norm, as is residence in detached or semi-detached houses. Residential densities are low and many households have spare rooms. Most residents were born in the UK and, aside from some identifying as members of Chinese or Indian ethnicities, identify as White. Mixed ethnicity households are rare. Incidence of married couples is higher than average and few individuals have never been married. A large proportion of individuals still in employment work in administrative and secretarial occupations, or in the construction industry. Few residents are students, and many households own more than one car.

Healthy neighbourhoods

Access to healthy assets and hazards

England is most concentrated in decile 7 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.

7
Lower access Higher access

Neighbourhood deprivation

Index of Multiple Deprivation

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

Meaning and origin of England

The surname England is of English origin, derived from the name of the country itself. It likely emerged during the Middle Ages as a locational surname, initially assigned to individuals who hailed from or resided in England.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, which mentions a landowner named Richard de Englelande. This spelling variation suggests that the name may have initially been a descriptive phrase "of England" before evolving into a hereditary surname.

Throughout the medieval period, the name appeared in various records and manuscripts, often with spelling variations such as Englelande, Engelande, and Englande. These variations reflect the fluid nature of surname spellings during that era, as standardization was not yet established.

The surname's origins can be traced back to the Old English word "Englaland," which referred to the land inhabited by the Angles, a Germanic tribe that settled in central, northern, and eastern parts of what is now England during the 5th and 6th centuries.

Notable historical figures bearing the surname England include:

1. Sir George England (1592-1644), an English soldier and politician who served as a Member of Parliament during the English Civil War. 2. John England (c. 1486-1558), an English clergyman who served as Bishop of Lincoln from 1551 until his death. 3. Thomas England (c. 1635-1691), an English settler in Maryland and one of the founders of the town of Annapolis. 4. John England (1786-1842), an Irish-born prelate who became the first Roman Catholic Bishop of Charleston, South Carolina. 5. Eustace England (c. 1330-1399), an English knight and military commander who fought in the Hundred Years' War.

Additionally, the name has been associated with various place names in England, such as England's Wood in Hertfordshire and England's Hill in Buckinghamshire, further underscoring its locational origins.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

1881 census detail

Back to top

England families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the England 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 1,366 Englands recorded in 1881 and an index of 2.29x.

County Total Index
Yorkshire 1,366 2.29x
Middlesex 637 1.06x
Somerset 430 4.44x
Gloucestershire 393 3.33x
Lancashire 379 0.53x
Surrey 335 1.14x
Devon 248 1.98x
Derbyshire 225 2.39x
Warwickshire 224 1.48x
Norfolk 187 2.02x
Wiltshire 143 2.69x
Glamorgan 137 1.31x
Kent 132 0.64x
Northamptonshire 115 2.03x
Hampshire 99 0.80x
Nottinghamshire 96 1.18x
Essex 78 0.66x
Aberdeenshire 68 1.22x
Hertfordshire 68 1.64x
Staffordshire 67 0.33x
Monmouthshire 65 1.49x
Lincolnshire 62 0.64x
Leicestershire 59 0.88x
Cheshire 45 0.34x
Suffolk 43 0.59x
Worcestershire 41 0.52x
Durham 40 0.22x
Oxfordshire 37 1.00x
Berkshire 34 0.75x
Dorset 34 0.86x
Herefordshire 33 1.34x
Cornwall 31 0.45x
Angus 27 0.48x
Sussex 27 0.27x
Channel Islands 25 1.40x
Shropshire 18 0.35x
Cambridgeshire 14 0.37x
Cumberland 14 0.27x
Northumberland 14 0.16x
Royal Navy 14 1.95x
Bedfordshire 10 0.32x
Westmorland 7 0.53x
Carmarthenshire 6 0.24x
Lanarkshire 6 0.03x
Midlothian 6 0.07x
Pembrokeshire 5 0.26x
Banffshire 4 0.32x
Huntingdonshire 4 0.33x
Perthshire 4 0.15x
Buckinghamshire 3 0.08x
Fife 3 0.08x
Kincardineshire 2 0.27x
Renfrewshire 2 0.04x
Brecknockshire 1 0.08x
Caernarfonshire 1 0.04x
Dumfriesshire 1 0.08x
Isle of Man 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. Leeds in Yorkshire leads with 112 Englands recorded in 1881 and an index of 3.33x.

Place Total Index
Leeds 112 3.33x
St Pancras London 70 1.44x
Ratley 59 703.22x
Camberwell 58 1.51x
Alfreton 57 19.91x
Lambeth 55 1.05x
St Marylebone London 49 1.52x
Manchester 47 1.46x
Shepton Beauchamp 47 356.33x
Alderbury 45 180.07x
Crewkerne 45 43.74x
Shoreditch London 44 1.69x
Nottingham St Mary 42 2.00x
Aston 40 0.96x
Bethnal Green London 40 1.53x
Fulstone 39 89.37x
Mile End Old Town London 39 3.04x
Great Yarmouth 38 4.96x
Kensington London 36 1.08x
Islington London 35 0.60x
Aberdeen Old Machar 34 2.92x
Addingham 34 76.30x
Barugh 34 67.50x
Chard 34 28.97x
Battersea 32 1.44x
Merriott 32 112.87x
Clifton 31 5.19x
Paddington London 31 1.40x
Almondsbury 29 64.33x
Brightside Bierlow 29 2.48x
Newington 29 1.30x
Sculcoates 29 3.07x
Barnsley 28 4.55x
Birmingham 28 0.55x
Castleford 28 12.89x
Adel Cum Eccup 27 109.58x
Bradford 27 1.87x
Manningham 27 3.67x
Sheffield 27 1.42x
Winterbourne 27 41.39x
Ystradyfodwg 27 2.94x
Hackney London 26 0.77x
Attercliffe Cum Darnall 25 4.50x
Blackwell 25 53.98x
Kingston On Thames 25 3.55x
Toxteth Park 25 1.03x
Bromley London 24 1.81x
Croydon 24 1.47x
Wandsworth 24 4.14x
Henbury 23 39.93x
Clerkenwell London 22 1.55x
Holy Trinity 22 1.53x
Dundee 21 1.01x
Martock 21 33.34x
Pontefract 21 16.35x
Great Driffield 20 16.34x
Heigham 20 4.03x
Ilton 20 221.73x
Minster In Sheppey 20 5.88x
Portsea 20 0.83x
Westbury On Trym 20 5.00x
Bristol St James St Paul 19 4.83x
Cardiff St Mary 19 3.29x
Derby St Werburgh 19 3.49x
High Hoyland 19 397.49x
Kildwick 19 34.98x
Llandaff 19 5.45x
Lopen 19 260.63x
Marshfield 19 60.24x
Oldham 19 0.82x
Wooldale 19 18.78x
Cottingham 18 14.00x
Dyrham Hinton 18 217.92x
Harlestone 18 153.58x
Keighley 18 2.83x
Leicester St Margaret 18 1.11x
Northampton St Giles 18 8.35x
St Albans St Peter 18 12.86x
Walcot 18 3.49x
Westerleigh 18 68.00x

Top female names

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

Name Count
Mary 418
Elizabeth 238
Sarah 208
Eliza 119
Ann 114
Annie 100
Jane 94
Ellen 86
Emma 85
Alice 77
Hannah 57
Emily 56
Martha 50
Louisa 48
Caroline 45
Harriet 44
Charlotte 43
Maria 40
Susan 37
Edith 36
Ada 32
Fanny 32
Margaret 29
Rose 29
Lucy 27
Florence 26
Catherine 24
Sophia 24
Clara 22
Frances 22
Isabella 22
Kate 21
Anne 18
Amelia 17
Amy 16
Esther 16
Harriett 16
Matilda 16
Rebecca 15
Agnes 14
Beatrice 13
Selina 13
Julia 12
Lydia 12
Ruth 12
Anna 11
Jessie 11
Maud 11
Minnie 11
Laura 10

Top male names

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

Name Count
William 354
John 316
George 259
Thomas 182
James 172
Charles 132
Henry 115
Joseph 105
Samuel 79
Robert 72
Arthur 62
Alfred 51
Albert 47
Walter 46
Edward 45
Richard 44
Frederick 41
Harry 39
Frank 37
Herbert 33
Edwin 31
Ernest 29
David 25
Wm. 22
Francis 19
Fred 16
Isaac 13
Stephen 13
Daniel 11
Geo. 11
Mark 10
Fredk. 9
Thos. 9
Chas. 8
Edmund 8
Percy 8
Sidney 8
Tom 8
Ben 7
Benjamin 7
Fredrick 7
Robt. 7
Abraham 6
Martin 6
Matthew 6
Philip 6
Sydney 6
Willie 6
Willm. 6
Andrew 5

Top occupations

Occupational titles are kept as recorded and later transcribed, so related jobs, spelling variants and mistakes stay separate. Scholar was the census term for a child in education. That means the other rows often tell you more about adult work in England households.

FAQ

England surname: questions and answers

How common was the England surname in 1881?

In 1881, 6,130 people were recorded with the England surname. That placed it at #712 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the England surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 8,714 in 2016. That gives England a modern rank of #755.

What does the England surname mean?

A locational surname indicating ancestral origins in the country of England.

What does the England map show?

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