NameCensus.

UK surname

Fenson

In the 1881 census there were 132 people recorded with the Fenson surname, ranking it #16,744 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 90, ranked #32,202, down from #16,744 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to London parishes, St Dunstan Stepney and Nottingham St Mary. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Wakefield, Worcester and Bromley.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Fenson is 241 in 1911. Compared with 1881, the name has fallen by 31.8%.

1881 census count

132

Ranked #16,744

Modern count

90

2016, ranked #32,202

Peak year

1911

241 bearers

Map years

7

1851 to 1998

Key insights

  • Fenson had 132 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #16,744 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 90 in 2016, ranked #32,202.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 241 in 1911.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Challenged Communities.

Fenson surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Fenson surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Fenson 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 131 #14,243
1861 historical 224 #10,882
1881 historical 132 #16,744
1891 historical 153 #18,078
1901 historical 167 #16,943
1911 historical 241 #13,229
1997 modern 95 #27,638
1998 modern 101 #27,479
1999 modern 102 #27,468
2000 modern 95 #28,441
2001 modern 88 #29,056
2002 modern 89 #29,428
2003 modern 80 #30,425
2004 modern 84 #30,244
2005 modern 82 #30,617
2006 modern 85 #30,556
2007 modern 81 #31,408
2008 modern 85 #31,247
2009 modern 89 #31,235
2010 modern 81 #32,582
2011 modern 82 #32,449
2012 modern 81 #32,796
2013 modern 92 #31,909
2014 modern 93 #32,025
2015 modern 85 #32,693
2016 modern 90 #32,202

Geography

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Where Fensons are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around London parishes, St Dunstan Stepney, Nottingham St Mary and Houghton Regis. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Wakefield, Worcester, Bromley, Harborough and Malvern Hills. 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 St Dunstan Stepney London (East Districts)
4 Nottingham St Mary Nottinghamshire
5 Houghton Regis Bedfordshire

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Wakefield 044 Wakefield
2 Worcester 005 Worcester
3 Bromley 039 Bromley
4 Harborough 006 Harborough
5 Malvern Hills 005 Malvern Hills

Forenames

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First names often paired with Fenson

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

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Fenson

Modern surname records can be compared with neighbourhood classifications. For Fenson, 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 Fenson surname is most associated with neighbourhoods classed as Challenged Communities, within Baseline UK. This does not mean every Fenson 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, Fenson 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.

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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

Fenson is most concentrated in decile 6 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.

6
Lower access Higher access

Neighbourhood deprivation

Index of Multiple Deprivation

Fenson falls in decile 4 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.

4
More deprived Less deprived

Broadband speed

Fixed broadband download speed

The modern neighbourhood pattern for Fenson is most associated with a typical fixed broadband download band of 25-30 mbit/s.

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

5
Slower band Faster band

Area snapshot

Ethnic group estimate

Most common ethnic group estimate
White - British

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

1881 census detail

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Fenson families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Fenson 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. Middlesex leads with 30 Fensons recorded in 1881 and an index of 2.33x.

County Total Index
Middlesex 30 2.33x
Bedfordshire 29 43.50x
Cambridgeshire 16 19.62x
Surrey 7 1.12x
Derbyshire 6 2.98x
Durham 6 1.57x
Northamptonshire 6 4.96x
Suffolk 5 3.19x
Lincolnshire 4 1.94x
Warwickshire 4 1.23x
Yorkshire 4 0.31x
Nottinghamshire 3 1.73x
Buckinghamshire 2 2.57x
Hertfordshire 2 2.25x
Huntingdonshire 2 7.82x
Kent 2 0.46x
Berkshire 1 1.03x
Cornwall 1 0.69x
Lancashire 1 0.07x
Wiltshire 1 0.88x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Dunstable in Bedfordshire leads with 19 Fensons recorded in 1881 and an index of 926.83x.

Place Total Index
Dunstable 19 926.83x
Elsworth 16 5333.33x
Mile End Old Town London 11 40.15x
Luton 9 77.99x
Stranton 6 46.55x
Ashborne 5 364.96x
Ipswich St Margaret 5 93.99x
Southwark St George Martyr 5 19.30x
Birmingham 4 3.70x
Hackney London 4 5.54x
Spalding 4 97.80x
Nottingham St Mary 3 6.68x
St Giles In Fields London 3 47.47x
Wellingborough 3 49.26x
Bilton Cum Harrogate 2 45.87x
Langley Marish 2 208.33x
Pinner 2 176.99x
Shafton 2 1052.63x
Spratton 2 555.56x
St Ives 2 150.38x
St Pancras London 2 1.93x
Watford 2 29.07x
Battersea 1 2.11x
Bethnal Green London 1 1.79x
Bexley 1 25.77x
Bodmin 1 41.49x
Bradford On Avon 1 27.40x
Clerkenwell London 1 3.29x
Farningham 1 256.41x
Feltham 1 77.52x
Hendon 1 21.60x
Kempston 1 66.23x
Lambeth 1 0.89x
Little Stanmore 1 263.16x
Manchester 1 1.46x
Marcham 1 285.71x
Northampton Priory St 1 13.76x
Paddington London 1 2.11x
Stanwell 1 105.26x
Westminster St James 1 7.55x
Wingerworth 1 555.56x

Top female names

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

Name Count
Elizabeth 8
Sarah 7
Mary 5
Annie 4
Eliza 4
Emma 3
Ellen 2
Emily 2
Louise 2
Ada 1
Alice 1
Amy 1
Ann 1
Bertha 1
Celia 1
Charlotte 1
Florence 1
Georgie 1
Hannah 1
Harriet 1
Isebella 1
Jane 1
Linda 1
Lizzie 1
Lizzy 1
Louisa 1
Martha 1
Matilda 1
Rebecca 1
Rhoda 1
Rosa 1
Rosetta 1
Ruth 1
Susan 1

Top male names

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

Name Count
William 10
George 7
John 7
Charles 5
Frederick 5
Thomas 5
Alfred 4
Arthur 4
Henry 3
Joseph 3
Samuel 3
Benjamin 2
Richard 2
Walter 2
Albert 1
David 1
Frank 1
Harry 1
Infant 1
Jacob 1
James 1
Oliver 1

FAQ

Fenson surname: questions and answers

How common was the Fenson surname in 1881?

In 1881, 132 people were recorded with the Fenson surname. That placed it at #16,744 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Fenson surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 90 in 2016. That gives Fenson a modern rank of #32,202.

What does the Fenson map show?

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