NameCensus.

UK surname

Falcon

An occupational surname referring to a falconer, one who hunts with or trains falcons.

In the 1881 census there were 139 people recorded with the Falcon surname, ranking it #16,228 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 387, ranked #12,170, up from #16,228 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to London parishes, Millom, Muncaster and Workington (Workington), Clossocks. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Allerdale, The Vale of Glamorgan and Northumberland.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Falcon is 397 in 2010. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 178.4%.

1881 census count

139

Ranked #16,228

Modern count

387

2016, ranked #12,170

Peak year

2010

397 bearers

Map years

7

1881 to 2016

Key insights

  • Falcon had 139 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #16,228 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 387 in 2016, ranked #12,170.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 142 in 1911.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Established but Challenged.

Falcon surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Falcon surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Falcon 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 88 #18,569
1861 historical 71 #24,765
1881 historical 139 #16,228
1891 historical 132 #19,976
1901 historical 125 #20,061
1911 historical 142 #18,487
1997 modern 309 #13,268
1998 modern 319 #13,330
1999 modern 339 #12,892
2000 modern 337 #12,901
2001 modern 337 #12,702
2002 modern 351 #12,583
2003 modern 340 #12,685
2004 modern 328 #13,058
2005 modern 332 #12,881
2006 modern 324 #13,183
2007 modern 328 #13,196
2008 modern 345 #12,839
2009 modern 365 #12,558
2010 modern 397 #12,068
2011 modern 374 #12,464
2012 modern 361 #12,647
2013 modern 379 #12,399
2014 modern 391 #12,214
2015 modern 388 #12,188
2016 modern 387 #12,170

Geography

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Where Falcons are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around London parishes, Millom, Muncaster, Workington (Workington), Clossocks, Perth and Cheltenham. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Allerdale, The Vale of Glamorgan and Northumberland. 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 Millom, Muncaster Cumberland
3 Workington (Workington), Clossocks Cumberland
4 Perth Perth
5 Cheltenham Gloucestershire

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Allerdale 009 Allerdale
2 Allerdale 008 Allerdale
3 Allerdale 004 Allerdale
4 The Vale of Glamorgan 005 Vale of Glamorgan
5 Northumberland 008 Northumberland

Forenames

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First names often paired with Falcon

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

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Falcon

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

Semi- and Un-Skilled Workforce

Group

Established but Challenged

Nationally, the Falcon surname is most associated with neighbourhoods classed as Established but Challenged, within Semi- and Un-Skilled Workforce. This does not mean every Falcon household fits that profile, but it gives a useful signal about where the modern surname distribution is strongest.

Read profile summary

Group profile

Many households in these neighbourhoods comprise separated or divorced single parents with dependent children. Residents are typically born in the UK, and these neighbourhoods have relatively few members of ethnic minorities. The prevalence of children, their parents and those at or above normal retirement age, suggests neighbourhood structures may be long-established. Levels of unpaid care are high, and long-term disability is more common than in the Supergroup as a whole. Use of the social rented sector is common, often in terraced houses. Levels of overcrowding are above the Supergroup average. Unemployment is high, while those in work are employed in elementary occupations such as caring, leisure and customer services. Many residents have low level qualifications. Neighbourhood concentrations of this Group are found in the South Wales Valleys, Belfast, Londonderry and the Central Lowlands of Scotland.

Wider pattern

Living in terraced or semi-detached houses, residents of these neighbourhoods typically lack high levels of education and work in elementary or routine service occupations. Unemployment is above average. Residents are predominantly born in the UK, and residents are also predominantly from ethnic minorities. Social (but not private sector) rented sector housing is common. This Supergroup is found throughout the UK’s conurbations and industrial regions but is also an integral part of smaller towns.

London neighbourhood type

London Output Area Classification

Supergroup

The Greater London Mix

Group

Social Rented Sector Professional Support Workers

Within London, Falcon 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

Falcon 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

Falcon falls in decile 1 for neighbourhood deprivation. This puts the surname towards the more deprived end of the index.

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

1
More deprived Less deprived

Broadband speed

Fixed broadband download speed

The modern neighbourhood pattern for Falcon 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 - Other

This describes the area pattern most associated with Falcon, not the ethnicity of every person with the surname.

Meaning and origin of Falcon

The surname Falcon is of Old French origin, derived from the Old French word "faucon" meaning "falcon" or "hawk". It first emerged as a surname in the 12th century in northern France and Normandy.

The name likely originated as a descriptive nickname for someone who excelled in falconry, the hunting sport involving trained birds of prey. It may also have been an occupational name for someone who bred or trained falcons. Some early bearers of the name may have been employed as falconers by noble households.

One of the earliest recorded examples of the surname Falcon can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, which lists a Norman landowner named Falco in Lincolnshire, England. This was likely a variant spelling of the same name.

In the 13th century, the surname Falcon appeared in various medieval records across England and France, including the Hundred Rolls of 1273, which mentions a John Faucun in Oxfordshire. The variant spelling "Fawcon" was also common during this period.

Notable historical figures with the surname Falcon include Sir John Falcon (c.1330-1395), a prominent English knight who fought in the Hundred Years' War, and Barthélemy Falcon (c.1485-1540), a French jurist and legal scholar who served as a counselor in the Parlement of Paris.

Other early bearers of the name include Jehan Faucon, a French merchant recorded in Paris in 1292, and William Fawcon, an English landowner mentioned in the Feet of Fines records for Yorkshire in 1379.

The surname Falcon was sometimes associated with place names, such as Falconhurst (from the Old English "falca" meaning "falcon" and "hyrst" meaning "wooded hill") and Falconbridge (from the Old English "brycg" meaning "bridge"), indicating that some families may have taken their surname from the location where they resided.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

1881 census detail

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Falcon families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Falcon 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. Cumberland leads with 36 Falcons recorded in 1881 and an index of 30.84x.

County Total Index
Cumberland 36 30.84x
Yorkshire 23 1.71x
Lancashire 16 0.99x
Perthshire 10 16.43x
Middlesex 9 0.66x
Somerset 9 4.12x
Cheshire 7 2.34x
Gloucestershire 7 2.63x
Oxfordshire 5 5.97x
Devon 4 1.42x
Berkshire 3 2.95x
Renfrewshire 2 1.90x
Warwickshire 2 0.58x
Kent 1 0.22x
Norfolk 1 0.48x
Surrey 1 0.15x
Sussex 1 0.44x
Westmorland 1 3.36x
Wigtownshire 1 5.56x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Perth East Church in Perthshire leads with 10 Falcons recorded in 1881 and an index of 174.22x.

Place Total Index
Perth East Church 10 174.22x
Bedminster 8 39.01x
Millom 8 223.46x
Dearham 7 454.55x
Leeds 7 9.23x
Toxteth Park 7 12.85x
Ellenborough Ewanrigg 6 740.74x
Huddersfield 6 30.66x
Stainburn 6 5454.55x
Charlton On Otmoor 5 2000.00x
Cheltenham 5 24.37x
Litherland 5 148.81x
Altrincham 4 76.48x
Bramley In Bramley 4 77.82x
Dalton In Huddersfield 4 132.89x
Holme Low 4 1250.00x
Kensington London 4 5.31x
Twickenham 4 68.85x
Birkenhead 3 12.57x
Rickergate 3 121.46x
Doynton 2 1052.63x
Plymouth Charles The 2 16.09x
Port Glasgow 2 39.37x
Pudsey 2 27.86x
Warrington 2 10.49x
Bathwick 1 41.32x
Birmingham 1 0.88x
Bootle 1 263.16x
East Stonehouse 1 17.99x
Erith 1 21.93x
Godalming 1 24.04x
Heversham With Milnthorpe 1 138.89x
Horstead With Stanninghall 1 384.62x
Lancing 1 158.73x
Liverpool 1 1.02x
Mile End Old Town London 1 3.47x
Nuthurst 1 2500.00x
Sandhurst 1 50.76x
Sorbie 1 126.58x
Sulhamstead Banister 1 833.33x
Thatcham 1 63.69x
Tormoham 1 8.38x
Windle 1 11.05x
Workington 1 14.97x

Top female names

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

Top male names

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

Name Count
John 11
Robert 7
William 7
Thomas 5
Charles 4
George 4
Joseph 4
Michael 4
Archibald 2
Wm. 2
Albert 1
Christopher 1
Duncan 1
Edward 1
Francis 1
Frank 1
Gordon 1
Guy 1
Harry 1
Henry 1
James 1
Lue 1
Matthew 1
Nicholas 1
Patsey 1
Peter 1
R.S. 1
Richard 1
Wright 1

FAQ

Falcon surname: questions and answers

How common was the Falcon surname in 1881?

In 1881, 139 people were recorded with the Falcon surname. That placed it at #16,228 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Falcon surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 387 in 2016. That gives Falcon a modern rank of #12,170.

What does the Falcon surname mean?

An occupational surname referring to a falconer, one who hunts with or trains falcons.

What does the Falcon map show?

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