UK surname
A surname derived from the plant fennel, likely for someone who lived near fennel fields.
In the 1881 census there were 234 people recorded with the Fennel surname, ranking it #11,607 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 59, ranked #34,401, down from #11,607 in 1881.
The strongest historical links point to London parishes, St Pancras and Manchester. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include No data.
Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Fennel is 234 in 1881. Compared with 1881, the name has fallen by 74.8%.
1881 census count
234
Ranked #11,607
Modern count
59
2016, ranked #34,401
Peak year
1881
234 bearers
Map years
5
1851 to 1901
Key insights
Map
Back to topThe map shows where the Fennel surname is concentrated in each census or modern distribution year. Darker areas mean a stronger local concentration.
Distribution map
Fennel surname density by area, 1881 census.
Timeline
Back to topThe 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 | 154 | #12,668 |
| 1861 | historical | 114 | #19,011 |
| 1881 | historical | 234 | #11,607 |
| 1891 | historical | 135 | #19,692 |
| 1901 | historical | 142 | #18,633 |
| 1911 | historical | 84 | #24,442 |
| 1997 | modern | 84 | #29,106 |
| 1998 | modern | 78 | #30,192 |
| 1999 | modern | 81 | #30,037 |
| 2000 | modern | 74 | #30,785 |
| 2001 | modern | 71 | #30,907 |
| 2002 | modern | 64 | #32,007 |
| 2003 | modern | 67 | #31,796 |
| 2004 | modern | 62 | #32,478 |
| 2005 | modern | 65 | #32,387 |
| 2006 | modern | 65 | #32,743 |
| 2007 | modern | 67 | #32,871 |
| 2008 | modern | 70 | #32,856 |
| 2009 | modern | 70 | #33,182 |
| 2010 | modern | 76 | #33,009 |
| 2011 | modern | 73 | #33,230 |
| 2012 | modern | 64 | #34,028 |
| 2013 | modern | 65 | #34,059 |
| 2014 | modern | 64 | #34,141 |
| 2015 | modern | 61 | #34,284 |
| 2016 | modern | 59 | #34,401 |
Geography
Back to topHistorical parish links are strongest around London parishes, St Pancras, Manchester and Abbots Ann (incl. Little Ann). These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.
The modern local-area list points to No data. Treat these as concentration signals, not proof that every family line began there.
| Rank | Parish | Area |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | London parishes | London 3 |
| 2 | St Pancras | London (North Districts) |
| 3 | Manchester | Lancashire |
| 4 | Abbots Ann (incl. Little Ann) | Hampshire |
| 5 | London parishes | London 2 |
| Rank | Area | District |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | No data | No data |
Forenames
Back to topThese lists show first names that appear often with the Fennel surname in historical and recent records.
Recent female names
Recent male names
Modern profile
Back to topModern surname records can be compared with neighbourhood classifications. For Fennel, 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
Supergroup
No data
Group
No data
Nationally, the Fennel surname is most associated with neighbourhoods classed as No data, within No data. This does not mean every Fennel household fits that profile, but it gives a useful signal about where the modern surname distribution is strongest.
London neighbourhood type
Supergroup
No data
Group
No data
Within London, Fennel is most associated with areas classed as No data, part of No data. This gives the surname a London-specific profile rather than forcing the capital into the same pattern as the rest of the country.
Broadband speed
The modern neighbourhood pattern for Fennel is most associated with a typical fixed broadband download band of No data.
Area snapshot
This describes the area pattern most associated with Fennel, not the ethnicity of every person with the surname.
Origin
Back to topThe surname Fennel is of English origin, derived from the Old English word "fenol" or "fenyl," meaning "fennel," the aromatic herb. This surname is believed to have emerged in the 12th or 13th century as an occupational name for someone who cultivated or traded in fennel.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Fennel can be found in the Pipe Rolls of Yorkshire from 1199, where a person named William Fennel is mentioned. The Fennel surname also appears in the Hundred Rolls of Bedfordshire from 1273, indicating its presence across various regions of England during the Middle Ages.
In the 14th century, the Fennel surname was recorded in the Subsidy Rolls of Sussex in 1327, where a John Fennel is listed. The Fennels were particularly concentrated in the southern counties of England, such as Sussex, Hampshire, and Dorset, during this period.
Notably, the Fennel surname is connected to several place names in England, including Fennel Street in London and Fennel's Grove in Buckinghamshire. These place names likely derived from individuals bearing the Fennel surname who resided or owned land in those areas.
Among the notable individuals with the Fennel surname throughout history are:
1. Richard Fennel (c. 1450 - c. 1520), an English clergyman and academic who served as the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cambridge. 2. John Fennel (c. 1570 - 1642), an English soldier and colonist who was among the early settlers of Jamestown, Virginia. 3. Thomas Fennel (1603 - 1678), an English author and playwright who wrote the tragedy "The Woman's Prize, or the Tamer Tamed," a sequel to Shakespeare's "The Taming of the Shrew." 4. William Fennel (1717 - 1794), a British Army officer who served during the American Revolutionary War and was captured at the Siege of Yorktown. 5. Mary Fennel (1856 - 1929), a British educator and co-founder of Fennel House School in Berkshire, which operated from 1889 to 1920.
The Fennel surname has a rich history rooted in the English language and culture, reflecting the significance of the fennel herb in various aspects of life, from occupation to place names and notable individuals who carried this distinctive surname through the centuries.
Sourced from namecensus.com.
1881 census detail
Back to topThese tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Fennel surname. Use the location tables for concentration, then the name and occupation tables for the people behind the surname.
Total is the county count. Frequency and index adjust for local population size, so they are better concentration signals. Lancashire leads with 49 Fennels recorded in 1881 and an index of 1.82x.
| County | Total | Index |
|---|---|---|
| Lancashire | 49 | 1.82x |
| Warwickshire | 24 | 4.21x |
| Yorkshire | 24 | 1.07x |
| Kent | 22 | 2.85x |
| Middlesex | 21 | 0.93x |
| Berkshire | 18 | 10.60x |
| Surrey | 10 | 0.91x |
| Oxfordshire | 9 | 6.44x |
| Hampshire | 8 | 1.72x |
| Cambridgeshire | 5 | 3.49x |
| Cheshire | 5 | 1.00x |
| Durham | 5 | 0.74x |
| Sussex | 5 | 1.31x |
| Northumberland | 4 | 1.19x |
| Derbyshire | 3 | 0.85x |
| Lanarkshire | 3 | 0.41x |
| Wiltshire | 3 | 1.50x |
| Glamorgan | 2 | 0.51x |
| Shropshire | 2 | 1.02x |
| Devon | 1 | 0.21x |
| Essex | 1 | 0.22x |
| Gloucestershire | 1 | 0.23x |
| Hertfordshire | 1 | 0.64x |
| Monmouthshire | 1 | 0.61x |
| Northamptonshire | 1 | 0.47x |
| Nottinghamshire | 1 | 0.33x |
| Somerset | 1 | 0.27x |
| Staffordshire | 1 | 0.13x |
| Westmorland | 1 | 2.01x |
Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Chadderton in Lancashire leads with 14 Fennels recorded in 1881 and an index of 106.63x.
These are the female first names most often recorded with the Fennel surname in 1881. Names are not merged, so initials, variant spellings and transcription quirks can appear as separate rows.
| Name | Count |
|---|---|
| Mary | 17 |
| Sarah | 7 |
| Elizabeth | 5 |
| Hannah | 5 |
| Susan | 5 |
| Eliza | 4 |
| Ada | 3 |
| Ann | 3 |
| Edith | 3 |
| Emma | 3 |
| Jane | 3 |
| Kate | 3 |
| Margaret | 3 |
| Alice | 2 |
| Bertha | 2 |
| Caroline | 2 |
| Charlotte | 2 |
| Ellen | 2 |
| Emily | 2 |
| Fanny | 2 |
| Gertrude | 2 |
| Harriett | 2 |
| Julia | 2 |
| Rose | 2 |
| Alexandria | 1 |
| Betty | 1 |
| Bridget | 1 |
| Catherine | 1 |
| Christie | 1 |
| Christine | 1 |
| Edwina | 1 |
| Elizth. | 1 |
| Ella | 1 |
| Eseneath | 1 |
| Ester | 1 |
| Eva | 1 |
| Florence | 1 |
| Florrie | 1 |
| Harriet | 1 |
| Isabella | 1 |
| Janet | 1 |
| Letitia | 1 |
| Lily | 1 |
| Louise | 1 |
| Martha | 1 |
| Maud | 1 |
| Maude | 1 |
| Minnie | 1 |
| Phoebe | 1 |
| Priscilla | 1 |
These are the male first names most often recorded with the Fennel surname in 1881. Names are not merged, so initials, variant spellings and transcription quirks can appear as separate rows.
| Name | Count |
|---|---|
| William | 14 |
| George | 12 |
| John | 10 |
| James | 8 |
| Joseph | 7 |
| Thomas | 4 |
| Albert | 3 |
| Charles | 3 |
| David | 3 |
| Edward | 3 |
| Frederick | 3 |
| Henry | 3 |
| Herbert | 2 |
| Martin | 2 |
| Michael | 2 |
| Peter | 2 |
| Richard | 2 |
| Walter | 2 |
| Alfred | 1 |
| Ambrose | 1 |
| Benn. | 1 |
| Bertie | 1 |
| Brierley | 1 |
| Cecil | 1 |
| D.W. | 1 |
| Daniel | 1 |
| Ebenezer | 1 |
| Edwin | 1 |
| Enoch | 1 |
| Francis | 1 |
| Frank | 1 |
| Fredk.G. | 1 |
| Harold | 1 |
| Jonathan | 1 |
| Josep. | 1 |
| Percy | 1 |
| Riley | 1 |
| Robert | 1 |
| Robt. | 1 |
| Sam | 1 |
| Saml. | 1 |
| Samuel | 1 |
| Stephen | 1 |
| Sydney | 1 |
| Too | 1 |
| Valentine | 1 |
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 Fennel households.
FAQ
In 1881, 234 people were recorded with the Fennel surname. That placed it at #11,607 in the surname rankings for that year.
The latest modern count shown here is 59 in 2016. That gives Fennel a modern rank of #34,401.
A surname derived from the plant fennel, likely for someone who lived near fennel fields.
The map shows local surname concentration for the selected year. Darker areas have a stronger concentration of Fennel bearers relative to the surrounding population.
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.