NameCensus.

UK surname

Fensome

In the 1881 census there were 269 people recorded with the Fensome surname, ranking it #10,506 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 805, ranked #6,877, up from #10,506 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to London parishes, Wilden and Renhold. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Luton.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Fensome is 1,038 in 1998. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 199.3%.

1881 census count

269

Ranked #10,506

Modern count

805

2016, ranked #6,877

Peak year

1998

1,038 bearers

Map years

8

1861 to 2016

Key insights

  • Fensome had 269 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #10,506 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 805 in 2016, ranked #6,877.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 793 in 1911.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Challenged Communities.

Fensome surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Fensome surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Fensome 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 80 #19,558
1861 historical 128 #17,375
1881 historical 269 #10,506
1891 historical 463 #7,902
1901 historical 695 #6,324
1911 historical 793 #5,505
1997 modern 980 #5,593
1998 modern 1,038 #5,497
1999 modern 1,017 #5,638
2000 modern 996 #5,706
2001 modern 975 #5,692
2002 modern 1,001 #5,680
2003 modern 935 #5,911
2004 modern 910 #6,045
2005 modern 887 #6,088
2006 modern 878 #6,149
2007 modern 880 #6,198
2008 modern 914 #6,064
2009 modern 918 #6,157
2010 modern 912 #6,328
2011 modern 882 #6,426
2012 modern 836 #6,613
2013 modern 835 #6,722
2014 modern 816 #6,870
2015 modern 809 #6,860
2016 modern 805 #6,877

Geography

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Where Fensomes are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around London parishes, Wilden, Renhold, Houghton Regis and Dunstable. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Luton. 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 3
2 Wilden Bedfordshire
3 Renhold Bedfordshire
4 Houghton Regis Bedfordshire
5 Dunstable Bedfordshire

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Luton 020 Luton
2 Luton 003 Luton
3 Luton 009 Luton
4 Luton 005 Luton
5 Luton 014 Luton

Forenames

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First names often paired with Fensome

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

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Fensome

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

Baseline UK

Group

Challenged Communities

Nationally, the Fensome surname is most associated with neighbourhoods classed as Challenged Communities, within Baseline UK. This does not mean every Fensome household fits that profile, but it gives a useful signal about where the modern surname distribution is strongest.

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Group profile

Residents of these neighbourhoods typically live in households with dependent children, and there are fewer-than-average residents of normal retirement age or over. Identification with ethnic minorities, particularly Black, or Mixed or Multiple ethnicities is common. The rate of Christian religious affiliation is low. Housing predominantly consists of semi-detached houses, along with a significant number of terraced properties and flats. Overcrowded social housing is common, and private renting occurs at average UK levels. Those in employment work mainly in caring leisure and other services; process, plant and machine operation; or elementary occupations. Unemployment is high, and few individuals have degree level qualifications. Many of these neighbourhoods occur in commuter towns or less accessible areas of larger towns and cities.

Wider pattern

This Supergroup exemplifies the broad base to the UK’s social structure, encompassing as it does the average or modal levels of many neighbourhood characteristics, including all housing tenures, a range of levels of educational attainment and religious affiliations, and a variety of pre-retirement age structures. Yet, in combination, these mixes are each distinctive of the parts of the UK. Overall, terraced houses and flats are the most prevalent, as is employment in intermediate or low-skilled occupations. However, this Supergroup is also characterised by above average levels of unemployment and lower levels of use of English as the main language. Many neighbourhoods occur in south London and the UK’s other major urban centres.

London neighbourhood type

London Output Area Classification

Supergroup

Young Families and Mainstream Employment

Group

Social Rented Sector and Diverse Origins

Within London, Fensome is most associated with areas classed as Social Rented Sector and Diverse Origins, 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

Scattered across London’s Inner and Outer suburbs, residents of these neighbourhoods are typically housed in the social rented sector. Although terraced and semi-detached houses predominate, more residents live in flats than elsewhere in the Supergroup. Neighbourhoods are more ethnically diverse than the Supergroup average. Those identifying as of Bangladeshi, Pakistani and some Black ethnicities are more prevalent. Europeans born in a overseas non-EU countries make up more of the lower proportion of residents identifying as White. Few residents are very old (85+). Employment in distribution, hotels and restaurants is more common than elsewhere in the Supergroup.

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

Fensome is most concentrated in decile 9 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.

9
Lower access Higher access

Neighbourhood deprivation

Index of Multiple Deprivation

Fensome falls in decile 6 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.

6
More deprived Less deprived

Broadband speed

Fixed broadband download speed

The modern neighbourhood pattern for Fensome is most associated with a typical fixed broadband download band of 60-70 mbit/s.

The scale below places that band in context, from slower local download bands through to faster ones.

9
Slower band Faster band

Area snapshot

Ethnic group estimate

Most common ethnic group estimate
White - British

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

1881 census detail

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Fensome families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Fensome 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. Bedfordshire leads with 180 Fensomes recorded in 1881 and an index of 132.48x.

County Total Index
Bedfordshire 180 132.48x
Huntingdonshire 31 59.50x
Hertfordshire 19 10.50x
Middlesex 12 0.46x
Buckinghamshire 8 5.04x
Derbyshire 8 1.95x
Yorkshire 4 0.15x
Northamptonshire 2 0.81x
Surrey 2 0.16x
Kent 1 0.11x
Lancashire 1 0.03x
Leicestershire 1 0.34x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Luton in Bedfordshire leads with 129 Fensomes recorded in 1881 and an index of 548.47x.

Place Total Index
Luton 129 548.47x
Caddington 20 1005.03x
Harpenden 9 326.09x
Offord Cluny 9 3461.54x
Godmanchester 8 406.09x
Pilsley In Chesterfield 8 1632.65x
Colmworth 7 2000.00x
Graffham 7 2333.33x
Wilden 7 1750.00x
Dunstable 6 143.88x
Great Staughton 6 594.06x
Islington London 5 1.97x
Acton 4 26.01x
Astwood 4 2000.00x
Chellington 4 4444.44x
Walton 4 3636.36x
Wheathampstead 4 191.39x
Bedford St Mary 3 85.71x
Gomersal 3 24.71x
Houghton Regis 3 138.25x
St Albans St Peter 3 49.18x
Lambeth 2 0.87x
St Albans 2 53.91x
St Luke London 2 4.75x
Bawtry 1 121.95x
Bedford St Cuthbert 1 82.64x
Billesdon 1 133.33x
Cheetham 1 4.31x
Denford 1 222.22x
Hampstead London 1 2.45x
Hertford St Andrew 1 44.84x
Higham Ferrers 1 74.63x
Hythe St Leonard 1 31.65x
Kimbolton 1 90.91x

Top female names

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

Name Count
Mary 17
Elizabeth 15
Sarah 13
Annie 9
Emily 9
Emma 6
Louisa 6
Alice 5
Ellen 5
Harriet 4
Sophia 4
Jane 3
Ruth 3
Ann 2
Clara 2
Eliza 2
Florence 2
Hannah 2
Harriett 2
Lizzie 2
Martha 2
Minnie 2
Albertina 1
Amelia 1
Benjamina 1
Caroline 1
Catherine 1
Cecilia 1
Charlott 1
Edith 1
Eugenie 1
Fanny 1
Helen 1
Julia 1
Kate 1
Letitia 1
Lydia 1
Margaret 1
Marian 1
Mathilda 1
Mercy 1
Miriam 1
Naomi 1
Nellie 1
Phoebe 1
Polly 1
Rebecca 1
Rhoda 1
Rosa 1
Sussanah 1

Top male names

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

Name Count
William 15
George 14
Thomas 9
John 7
Arthur 5
James 5
Joseph 5
Alfred 4
Richard 4
Sidney 4
Charles 3
Frederick 3
Henry 3
Benjamin 2
Daniel 2
David 2
Edward 2
Frank 2
Fred 2
Herbert 2
Samuel 2
Walter 2
Wm. 2
Albert 1
Charlie 1
Chas. 1
Edgar 1
Harry 1
Isaac 1
Joel 1
Oliver 1
Percy 1
Philip 1
R. 1
Reginald 1
Roland 1
Thos. 1
Willie 1
Willm. 1

FAQ

Fensome surname: questions and answers

How common was the Fensome surname in 1881?

In 1881, 269 people were recorded with the Fensome surname. That placed it at #10,506 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Fensome surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 805 in 2016. That gives Fensome a modern rank of #6,877.

What does the Fensome map show?

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