NameCensus.

UK surname

Fairs

In the 1881 census there were 395 people recorded with the Fairs surname, ranking it #8,037 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 557, ranked #9,196, down from #8,037 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to London parishes, West Grinstead and Gateshead. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Ipswich, Waveney and Colchester.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Fairs is 647 in 1911. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 41.0%.

1881 census count

395

Ranked #8,037

Modern count

557

2016, ranked #9,196

Peak year

1911

647 bearers

Map years

9

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Fairs had 395 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #8,037 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 557 in 2016, ranked #9,196.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 647 in 1911.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Spacious Rural Living.

Fairs surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Fairs surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Fairs 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 227 #9,448
1861 historical 262 #9,458
1881 historical 395 #8,037
1891 historical 474 #7,746
1901 historical 573 #7,321
1911 historical 647 #6,468
1997 modern 603 #8,110
1998 modern 631 #8,095
1999 modern 622 #8,240
2000 modern 617 #8,267
2001 modern 589 #8,405
2002 modern 599 #8,472
2003 modern 579 #8,530
2004 modern 593 #8,419
2005 modern 584 #8,431
2006 modern 577 #8,533
2007 modern 577 #8,604
2008 modern 576 #8,675
2009 modern 569 #8,929
2010 modern 582 #8,978
2011 modern 567 #9,055
2012 modern 551 #9,153
2013 modern 579 #8,965
2014 modern 590 #8,922
2015 modern 564 #9,119
2016 modern 557 #9,196

Geography

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Where Fairs' are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around London parishes, West Grinstead, Gateshead, Brighton and Guildford St Nicholas. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Ipswich, Waveney, Colchester and Suffolk Coastal. 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 London parishes London 1
2 West Grinstead Sussex
3 Gateshead Durham
4 Brighton Sussex
5 Guildford St Nicholas Surrey

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Ipswich 016 Ipswich
2 Waveney 015 Waveney
3 Colchester 010 Colchester
4 Suffolk Coastal 001 Suffolk Coastal
5 Waveney 014 Waveney

Forenames

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First names often paired with Fairs

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

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Fairs

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

Retired Professionals

Group

Spacious Rural Living

Nationally, the Fairs surname is most associated with neighbourhoods classed as Spacious Rural Living, within Retired Professionals. This does not mean every Fairs household fits that profile, but it gives a useful signal about where the modern surname distribution is strongest.

Read profile summary

Group profile

These predominantly ageing households typically have no resident dependent children. Most are owner-occupiers and live in detached houses in low density residential developments (although renting is more common than in the rest of the Supergroup). White ethnicity predominates. Residents are typically beyond retirement age but those still in work have managerial, professional or skilled trade occupations. White ethnicity and Christian religious affiliation predominate. Neighbourhoods are located throughout rural UK.

Wider pattern

Typically married but no longer with resident dependent children, these well-educated households either remain working in their managerial, professional, administrative or other skilled occupations, or are retired from them – the modal individual age is beyond normal retirement age. Underoccupied detached and semi-detached properties predominate, and unpaid care is more prevalent than reported disability. The prevalence of this Supergroup outside most urban conurbations indicates that rural lifestyles prevail, typically sustained by using two or more cars per household.

London neighbourhood type

London Output Area Classification

Supergroup

Young Families and Mainstream Employment

Group

Terraced and Semi-Detached Suburbs

Within London, Fairs is most associated with areas classed as Terraced and Semi-Detached Suburbs, part of Young Families and Mainstream Employment. 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 concentrated in suburban areas, these terraced and semi-detached developments are less overcrowded than the Supergroup average, and resident households are more likely to own two or more cars. There are fewer residents aged 25-44, and a larger share of residents employed in administrative and secretarial occupations. Residents are more likely to have been born in the UK, less likely to have been born in the EU or Africa, and much less likely to self-identify as Bangladeshi.

Wider London pattern

Many families in these neighbourhoods have young children. Housing is principally in the social rented sector, in terraced or semi-detached units. While over-all residential densities are low, overcrowding is also prevalent locally. Residents are drawn from a range of ethnic minorities, with many identifying as Black and above average numbers born in Africa. Numbers identifying as of Chinese, Indian or White ethnicity are below average. Levels of proficiency in English are below average. Levels of separation or divorce and incidence of disability are both above average. Education is typically limited to Level 1, 2, or apprenticeship qualifications. Few residents work in professional or managerial occupations but the employment structure is otherwise diverse: it includes skilled trades, caring, leisure and other service occupations, sales and customer service occupations, construction, and work as process, plant, and machine operatives.

Healthy neighbourhoods

Access to healthy assets and hazards

Fairs is most concentrated in decile 5 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.

5
Lower access Higher access

Neighbourhood deprivation

Index of Multiple Deprivation

Fairs falls in decile 5 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.

5
More deprived Less deprived

Broadband speed

Fixed broadband download speed

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

1881 census detail

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Fairs families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Fairs 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. Sussex leads with 105 Fairs' recorded in 1881 and an index of 16.20x.

County Total Index
Sussex 105 16.20x
Durham 66 5.77x
Surrey 56 2.99x
Essex 42 5.54x
Middlesex 34 0.88x
Suffolk 32 6.84x
Northumberland 19 3.32x
Yorkshire 10 0.26x
Cheshire 6 0.71x
Pembrokeshire 6 4.91x
Aberdeenshire 5 1.40x
Glamorgan 4 0.60x
Buckinghamshire 3 1.29x
Dumfriesshire 1 1.18x
Hertfordshire 1 0.38x
Kent 1 0.08x
Leicestershire 1 0.23x
Royal Navy 1 2.18x
Staffordshire 1 0.08x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Gateshead in Durham leads with 18 Fairs' recorded in 1881 and an index of 21.03x.

Place Total Index
Gateshead 18 21.03x
Longbenton 13 53.67x
Brighton 12 9.18x
Tunstall 11 193.32x
West Grinstead 11 564.10x
Ashurst 9 1836.73x
Broadwater 9 60.57x
Kingswood 9 1764.71x
Leatherhead 9 191.90x
Shipley 9 612.24x
Cobham 8 260.59x
Cowfold 8 583.94x
Shermanbury 8 1666.67x
Albourne 7 1750.00x
Brightlingsea 7 161.66x
Guildford St Nicholas 7 211.48x
St Marylebone London 7 3.41x
Barnham 6 2500.00x
Itchingfield 6 1052.63x
Pembroke St Mary 6 38.14x
Burgh 5 1470.59x
Fulham London 5 8.97x
Great Tey 5 543.48x
Hedworth Monkton Jarrow 5 10.10x
Horley 5 159.24x
Horsham 5 39.71x
Islington London 5 1.34x
Rendham 5 1041.67x
Tranmere 5 16.04x
West Auckland 5 119.62x
Aberdeen St Nicholas 4 6.01x
Birch 4 322.58x
Bow London 4 8.17x
Elmswell 4 400.00x
Goole 4 62.70x
Great Coggeshall 4 101.27x
Harton 4 88.50x
Horringer 4 459.77x
Layer Breton 4 1025.64x
Sunderland 4 19.81x
Worth 4 85.11x
Bradford 3 3.25x
Byker 3 10.61x
Carlton 3 2500.00x
Caterham 3 36.23x
Chester Le Street 3 34.17x
Feering 3 300.00x
Fingrinhoe 3 697.67x
Kensington London 3 1.40x
Mile End Old Town London 3 3.67x
Ryhope 3 37.78x
Betchworth 2 86.58x
Birtley 2 42.83x
Bromeswell 2 714.29x
Bury St Edmunds St James 2 16.00x
Escomb 2 38.10x
Ewell 2 50.63x
Guildford Holy Trinity 2 56.02x
Heybridge 2 90.50x
Holy Trinity 2 2.18x
Ifield 2 74.07x
Ipswich St Margaret 2 12.59x
Lindfield 2 72.99x
Melton 2 108.70x
Newcastle On Tyne St 2 6.75x
Ouston 2 119.76x
Pelton 2 36.76x
Portslade 2 50.51x
Rhyndwyclydach 2 43.10x
Shoreditch London 2 1.20x
South Weald 2 30.77x
Stranton 2 5.20x
Swansea Town 2 3.65x
Walton Le Soken 2 111.11x
Birkenhead 1 1.48x
Chelsea London 1 0.86x
Coulsdon 1 29.41x
Epsom 1 10.95x
Harwich St Nicholas 1 17.06x
Royal Navy 1 2.55x

Top female names

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

Name Count
Mary 24
Annie 12
Jane 11
Sarah 10
Eliza 9
Ann 7
Elizabeth 7
Ellen 7
Alice 6
Emily 6
Caroline 5
Agnes 4
Amy 4
Emma 4
Fanny 4
Hannah 4
Margaret 4
Maria 4
Edith 3
Martha 3
Rebecca 3
Anne 2
Dorothy 2
Esther 2
Ethel 2
Harriet 2
Kate 2
Louisa 2
Rosa 2
Ruth 2
Susan 2
Anna 1
Clara 1
Eilen 1
Florence 1
Frances 1
Georgina 1
H. 1
Harriett 1
Helena 1
Jessy 1
Keziah 1
Leucra 1
Lousia 1
Margt 1
Maryann 1
May 1
Meggie 1
Minnie 1
Thirza 1

Top male names

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

Name Count
George 20
John 17
Thomas 17
Joseph 15
William 14
James 13
Henry 11
Alfred 8
Harry 8
Christopher 6
Walter 5
Albert 4
Charles 4
Richard 4
Robert 4
Arthur 3
Mark 3
Ralph 3
David 2
Elijah 2
Frank 2
Frederick 2
Herbert 2
Jesse 2
Mathew 2
Matthew 2
Samuel 2
Cecil 1
Edmun 1
Edmund 1
Edwin 1
Fred 1
Henery 1
Jessie 1
Jonathan 1
Levi 1
Marshall 1
Michael 1
Percy 1
Peter 1
Reuben 1
Saml. 1
Samson 1
Shadrack 1
Stephen 1
Stephenson 1
Willm. 1
Wm. 1

FAQ

Fairs surname: questions and answers

How common was the Fairs surname in 1881?

In 1881, 395 people were recorded with the Fairs surname. That placed it at #8,037 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Fairs surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 557 in 2016. That gives Fairs a modern rank of #9,196.

What does the Fairs map show?

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