NameCensus.

UK surname

Faulkner

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

In the 1881 census there were 8,124 people recorded with the Faulkner surname, ranking it #514 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 13,228, ranked #489, up from #514 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to London parishes, Manchester and Northampton St Giles, Northampton St Sepulchre, Northampton Priory. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include South Northamptonshire, Doncaster and Stratford-on-Avon.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Faulkner is 13,911 in 1999. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 62.8%.

1881 census count

8,124

Ranked #514

Modern count

13,228

2016, ranked #489

Peak year

1999

13,911 bearers

Map years

9

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Faulkner had 8,124 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #514 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 13,228 in 2016, ranked #489.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 12,345 in 1911.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Rural Amenity.

Faulkner surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Faulkner surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Faulkner 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 4,689 #590
1861 historical 4,509 #629
1881 historical 8,124 #514
1891 historical 9,044 #487
1901 historical 11,343 #463
1911 historical 12,345 #396
1997 modern 12,985 #466
1998 modern 13,707 #463
1999 modern 13,911 #457
2000 modern 13,704 #462
2001 modern 13,381 #462
2002 modern 13,598 #464
2003 modern 13,189 #466
2004 modern 13,175 #468
2005 modern 12,910 #474
2006 modern 12,770 #479
2007 modern 12,837 #482
2008 modern 12,923 #482
2009 modern 13,257 #480
2010 modern 13,489 #484
2011 modern 13,325 #482
2012 modern 13,007 #488
2013 modern 13,378 #486
2014 modern 13,421 #487
2015 modern 13,271 #488
2016 modern 13,228 #489

Geography

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Where Faulkners are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around London parishes, Manchester and Northampton St Giles, Northampton St Sepulchre, Northampton Priory. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to South Northamptonshire, Doncaster, Stratford-on-Avon, Northampton and Aylesbury Vale. 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 London parishes London 3
3 Manchester Lancashire
4 Northampton St Giles, Northampton St Sepulchre, Northampton Priory Northamptonshire
5 London parishes London 2

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 South Northamptonshire 001 South Northamptonshire
2 Doncaster 002 Doncaster
3 Stratford-on-Avon 015 Stratford-on-Avon
4 Northampton 014 Northampton
5 Aylesbury Vale 006 Aylesbury Vale

Forenames

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First names often paired with Faulkner

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

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Faulkner

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

Faulkner 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

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

Meaning and origin of Faulkner

The surname Faulkner is an English occupational name derived from the Middle English word "faukener" or "fawkener," which means "falconer" or someone who hunted with falcons. It originated in the 12th or 13th century when the Norman aristocracy introduced the sport of falconry to England.

The earliest recorded instance of the name can be found in the Hundred Rolls of Cambridgeshire from 1273, where it appears as "Fauconer." The name is also mentioned in the Subsidy Rolls of Worcestershire in 1327 as "Faukener."

One of the earliest notable individuals with the surname was Sir Thomas Faulkner (c. 1456–1534), a Member of Parliament and landowner from Berkshire, England. Another early Faulkner was William Faulkner (c. 1480–1554), a merchant and alderman from the City of London.

The name is also associated with several places in England, such as Faulkner's Green in Suffolk and Faulkner's Hall in Essex. These place names likely originated from individuals with the surname Faulkner who lived or owned property in those areas.

During the 16th and 17th centuries, the surname underwent various spelling variations, including Fawkener, Fawkner, and Falconer. One notable individual from this period was Sir Everard Faulkner (1615–1685), a Member of Parliament and Lord Mayor of London in 1661.

In the 18th century, the most famous bearer of the name was William Faulkner (1701–1768), a renowned English dramatist and poet who wrote plays such as "The Rival Milliners" and "The Beggar's Opera."

The 19th century saw the rise of the American writer William Faulkner (1897–1962), a Nobel Prize laureate widely regarded as one of the most influential authors of the 20th century. His works, including "The Sound and the Fury" and "Absalom, Absalom!," explored the complexities of the American South.

Other notable individuals with the surname Faulkner include Sir Arthur Faulkner (1851–1936), a British colonial administrator and Governor of Newfoundland, and John Alfred Faulkner (1857–1931), an American artist known for his landscape paintings of the American West.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

1881 census detail

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Faulkner families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Faulkner 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. Lancashire leads with 1,242 Faulkners recorded in 1881 and an index of 1.32x.

County Total Index
Lancashire 1,242 1.32x
Middlesex 966 1.22x
Cheshire 711 4.07x
Surrey 663 1.72x
Staffordshire 582 2.18x
Northamptonshire 494 6.63x
Warwickshire 444 2.22x
Oxfordshire 290 5.93x
Yorkshire 282 0.36x
Kent 278 1.03x
Lincolnshire 267 2.11x
Buckinghamshire 239 4.99x
Derbyshire 178 1.44x
Hampshire 172 1.06x
Worcestershire 148 1.43x
Sussex 145 1.09x
Essex 126 0.81x
Bedfordshire 111 2.71x
Leicestershire 95 1.08x
Berkshire 94 1.58x
Gloucestershire 47 0.30x
Shropshire 46 0.67x
Herefordshire 43 1.32x
Westmorland 39 2.24x
Norfolk 36 0.30x
Devon 35 0.21x
Rutland 28 4.82x
Somerset 28 0.22x
Durham 27 0.11x
Cambridgeshire 25 0.50x
Glamorgan 25 0.18x
Nottinghamshire 25 0.23x
Huntingdonshire 23 1.46x
Hertfordshire 21 0.38x
Lanarkshire 17 0.07x
Northumberland 16 0.14x
Suffolk 16 0.17x
Wiltshire 15 0.21x
Monmouthshire 14 0.24x
Flintshire 13 0.61x
Angus 9 0.12x
Radnorshire 7 1.10x
Aberdeenshire 6 0.08x
Royal Navy 6 0.64x
Renfrewshire 5 0.08x
Dorset 4 0.08x
Ayrshire 3 0.05x
Denbighshire 3 0.10x
Cumberland 2 0.03x
Channel Islands 1 0.04x
Cornwall 1 0.01x
Midlothian 1 0.01x
Stirlingshire 1 0.03x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Birmingham in Warwickshire leads with 144 Faulkners recorded in 1881 and an index of 2.16x.

Place Total Index
Birmingham 144 2.16x
Manchester 110 2.60x
Salford 100 3.62x
Islington London 99 1.29x
Lambeth 93 1.35x
Aston 86 1.56x
St Marylebone London 73 1.73x
St Pancras London 70 1.10x
Stockport 67 7.45x
Hulme 65 3.31x
Walsall Foreign 65 4.71x
Kensington London 63 1.43x
Oldham 63 2.08x
Barking 54 11.81x
Camberwell 53 1.05x
Battersea 51 1.75x
Northampton St Sepulchre 51 13.46x
Burslem 49 6.40x
Runcorn 49 12.16x
Ringwood 48 46.24x
Croydon 46 2.15x
Shoreditch London 46 1.34x
Chorlton On Medlock 43 2.88x
Chelsea London 42 1.76x
Pendleton In Salford 42 3.75x
Hackney London 41 0.92x
Liverpool 40 0.70x
Stewkley 40 109.83x
Brize Norton 39 187.41x
Lingfield 39 51.88x
Walton On Thames 39 22.02x
Willenhall 38 7.59x
Cheadle 36 10.79x
Dudley 36 2.86x
Northampton Priory St 35 7.83x
Brighton 34 1.26x
Everton 34 1.14x
Ludgershall 33 288.46x
Ashton Under Lyne 32 1.56x
Bethnal Green London 32 0.93x
West Ham 31 0.90x
St Luke London 29 2.28x
Erith 28 10.52x
Hammersmith London 28 1.44x
Mile End Old Town London 28 1.66x
St George Hanover Square 28 2.01x
Clerkenwell London 27 1.45x
Deptford St Paul 27 1.30x
Holcot 27 264.97x
Leicester St Margaret 27 1.26x
Southill 27 81.28x
Wavertree 27 8.98x
Ardwick 26 3.07x
Hale 26 43.15x
Kingston On Thames 26 2.81x
Lewisham 26 1.81x
Newington 26 0.89x
Peterborough 26 4.82x
Tichmarsh 26 103.75x
Austrey 25 253.55x
Broughton In Salford 25 2.91x
Derby St Peter 25 6.33x
Gorton 25 2.83x
Kings Norton 24 2.59x
Northampton St Giles 24 8.46x
Oxford St Aldate 24 46.64x
Oxford St Thomas 24 10.52x
Rowley Regis 24 3.22x
Checkley 23 33.14x
Duston 23 34.03x
Wandsworth 23 3.02x
West Derby 23 0.84x
Barton Upon Irwell 22 3.11x
Birkenhead 22 1.58x
Sale 22 10.26x
Southwark St George Martyr 22 1.38x
Whaddon 22 200.00x
Ealing 21 2.97x
Heaton Norris 21 3.93x
Stoke Upon Trent 21 0.74x

Top female names

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

Name Count
Mary 534
Elizabeth 316
Sarah 306
Ann 172
Emma 138
Ellen 136
Jane 135
Annie 132
Alice 119
Emily 119
Eliza 117
Martha 99
Hannah 85
Margaret 68
Fanny 58
Louisa 54
Harriet 53
Edith 52
Caroline 48
Charlotte 48
Ada 47
Florence 47
Lucy 43
Clara 42
Maria 42
Anne 39
Rose 37
Catherine 36
Frances 36
Kate 31
Harriett 30
Susan 29
Agnes 24
Elizth. 22
Sophia 22
Amelia 21
Esther 19
Amy 18
Rebecca 17
Bertha 16
Gertrude 16
Ruth 16
Lydia 15
Minnie 15
Beatrice 14
Eleanor 14
Jessie 14
Matilda 13
Julia 12
May 12

Top male names

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

Name Count
William 573
John 470
George 301
Thomas 276
James 256
Joseph 185
Henry 163
Charles 159
Samuel 96
Alfred 88
Edward 78
Arthur 77
Frederick 76
Richard 65
Walter 59
Albert 54
Harry 47
Frank 46
Robert 42
Ernest 37
Herbert 33
Edwin 25
Wm. 23
David 22
Benjamin 21
Francis 21
Daniel 19
Peter 18
Thos. 18
Matthew 16
Percy 16
Fredrick 15
Fred 14
Isaac 14
Sidney 14
Fredk. 12
Geo. 11
Willm. 11
Philip 10
Jesse 9
Frederic 8
Abraham 7
Enoch 7
Leonard 7
Mark 7
Michael 7
Owen 7
Luke 6
Nathan 6
Ralph 6

FAQ

Faulkner surname: questions and answers

How common was the Faulkner surname in 1881?

In 1881, 8,124 people were recorded with the Faulkner surname. That placed it at #514 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Faulkner surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 13,228 in 2016. That gives Faulkner a modern rank of #489.

What does the Faulkner surname mean?

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

What does the Faulkner map show?

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