NameCensus.

UK surname

Ferry

An occupational surname referring to a ferryman or someone who transported people or goods across a river or body of water.

In the 1881 census there were 945 people recorded with the Ferry surname, ranking it #4,082 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 2,123, ranked #3,043, up from #4,082 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to Lanchester (Collierley, Kyo, Billingside, Medomsley, Ebchchester, Benfieldside, Heelyfield, Conside, London parishes and Gateshead. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Toryglen and Oatlands, County Durham and Sunderland.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Ferry is 2,137 in 2014. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 124.7%.

1881 census count

945

Ranked #4,082

Modern count

2,123

2016, ranked #3,043

Peak year

2014

2,137 bearers

Map years

9

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Ferry had 945 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #4,082 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 2,123 in 2016, ranked #3,043.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 1,628 in 1891.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Established but Challenged.

Ferry surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Ferry surname density by area, 1881 census.

Loading map
Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Ferry 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 718 #3,643
1861 historical 1,173 #2,410
1881 historical 945 #4,082
1891 historical 1,628 #2,749
1901 historical 1,380 #3,642
1911 historical 1,386 #3,476
1997 modern 1,957 #3,108
1998 modern 2,041 #3,106
1999 modern 2,065 #3,105
2000 modern 2,120 #3,016
2001 modern 2,042 #3,059
2002 modern 2,059 #3,099
2003 modern 2,003 #3,113
2004 modern 1,999 #3,117
2005 modern 1,968 #3,130
2006 modern 1,979 #3,121
2007 modern 2,009 #3,118
2008 modern 2,046 #3,090
2009 modern 2,096 #3,088
2010 modern 2,123 #3,121
2011 modern 2,126 #3,072
2012 modern 2,060 #3,111
2013 modern 2,123 #3,072
2014 modern 2,137 #3,071
2015 modern 2,125 #3,060
2016 modern 2,123 #3,043

Geography

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Where Ferrys are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around Lanchester (Collierley, Kyo, Billingside, Medomsley, Ebchchester, Benfieldside, Heelyfield, Conside, London parishes, Gateshead, Dundee, Liff, Benvie and Invergowry and St Matthew Bethnal Green. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Toryglen and Oatlands, County Durham, Sunderland and Gorbals and Hutchesontown. 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 Lanchester (Collierley, Kyo, Billingside, Medomsley, Ebchchester, Benfieldside, Heelyfield, Conside Durham
2 London parishes London 3
3 Gateshead Durham
4 Dundee, Liff, Benvie and Invergowry Forfar
5 St Matthew Bethnal Green London (East Districts)

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Toryglen and Oatlands Glasgow City
2 County Durham 009 County Durham
3 County Durham 008 County Durham
4 Sunderland 014 Sunderland
5 Gorbals and Hutchesontown Glasgow City

Forenames

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First names often paired with Ferry

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

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Ferry

Modern surname records can be compared with neighbourhood classifications. For Ferry, 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 Ferry surname is most associated with neighbourhoods classed as Established but Challenged, within Semi- and Un-Skilled Workforce. This does not mean every Ferry 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, Ferry 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

Ferry 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

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

Meaning and origin of Ferry

The surname FERRY is of English origin and dates back to the medieval period. It is derived from the Old English word "ferian," which means "to carry" or "to transport." The name was originally an occupational name for a ferryman, someone who transported people and goods across rivers or bodies of water by boat or ferry.

The FERRY surname is found in various areas of England, particularly in counties with major rivers or waterways, such as Yorkshire, Lincolnshire, and Cambridgeshire. It is also prevalent in regions where ferry services were essential for transportation, like the coastal areas and islands.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the FERRY surname can be found in the Pipe Rolls of Gloucestershire from 1194, where a person named Richard le Feryman is mentioned. The surname appears in various spellings throughout history, including Fery, Ferie, Ferrier, and Ferror.

The Domesday Book, a great survey of England commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086, does not contain any direct references to the FERRY surname. However, it does mention individuals with the occupation of "ferryman" or "nauta" (Latin for boatman).

Among notable individuals with the FERRY surname throughout history are:

1. Richard Ferris (c. 1510-1564), an English Protestant martyr who was burned at the stake during the Marian Persecutions. 2. Paul Ferry (1590-1669), a French Jesuit missionary and explorer who traveled extensively in North America and founded the first European settlement in what is now Michigan. 3. Eliza Sproat Turner Ferry (1801-1888), an American abolitionist and women's rights activist who played a significant role in the Underground Railroad. 4. Jules Ferry (1832-1893), a French statesman and Prime Minister who implemented important educational reforms and advocated for colonial expansion. 5. David Ferry (born 1924), an American poet, translator, and professor who has received numerous accolades, including the Rebekah Johnson Bobbitt National Prize for Poetry.

The FERRY surname has also been associated with various place names, such as Ferrybridge in Yorkshire, Ferryside in Carmarthenshire, Wales, and Ferry Farm in Virginia, USA, reflecting the occupation's significance in transportation and settlement patterns.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

1881 census detail

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Ferry families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Ferry 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. Durham leads with 205 Ferrys recorded in 1881 and an index of 7.47x.

County Total Index
Durham 205 7.47x
Middlesex 167 1.81x
Yorkshire 65 0.71x
Dorset 58 9.58x
Kent 54 1.72x
Angus 49 5.73x
Lancashire 42 0.38x
Hampshire 37 1.96x
Surrey 32 0.71x
Northumberland 28 2.04x
Northamptonshire 24 2.77x
Dunbartonshire 23 9.27x
Lanarkshire 19 0.64x
Essex 16 0.88x
Midlothian 13 1.05x
Warwickshire 13 0.56x
Gloucestershire 12 0.66x
Renfrewshire 12 1.68x
Lincolnshire 11 0.75x
Cumberland 10 1.26x
West Lothian 7 5.04x
East Lothian 6 4.91x
Sussex 6 0.39x
Ayrshire 5 0.72x
Selkirkshire 4 4.79x
Aberdeenshire 2 0.23x
Berkshire 2 0.29x
Berwickshire 2 1.79x
Cheshire 2 0.10x
Cornwall 2 0.19x
Glamorgan 2 0.12x
Leicestershire 2 0.20x
Perthshire 2 0.48x
Argyllshire 1 0.39x
Buckinghamshire 1 0.18x
Channel Islands 1 0.37x
Derbyshire 1 0.07x
Fife 1 0.18x
Hertfordshire 1 0.16x
Monmouthshire 1 0.15x
Oxfordshire 1 0.18x
Ross-shire 1 0.39x
Stirlingshire 1 0.29x
Suffolk 1 0.09x
Worcestershire 1 0.08x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Bethnal Green London in Middlesex leads with 82 Ferrys recorded in 1881 and an index of 20.46x.

Place Total Index
Bethnal Green London 82 20.46x
Bishopwearmouth 43 18.25x
Gateshead 37 18.00x
Liff Benvie 26 20.03x
Ramsgate 24 46.70x
Southampton St Mary 22 18.50x
Raunds 18 203.62x
Dundee 16 5.01x
Weymouth 14 122.06x
Bonhill 13 32.66x
Hunslet 13 9.12x
Salford 12 3.73x
Witton Gilbert 11 101.48x
Loders 10 332.23x
Brightside Bierlow 9 5.02x
Buriton 9 247.25x
Eastoft 9 471.20x
Kensington London 9 1.75x
Lewisham 9 5.36x
Shoreditch London 9 2.25x
Abbotsbury 8 258.90x
Coxhoe 8 102.70x
Eastwood 8 18.17x
Gravesend 8 30.01x
Halifax 8 5.96x
Islington London 8 0.89x
Newbottle 8 53.37x
Newington 8 2.35x
Poole St James 8 35.15x
Sheffield 8 2.75x
St Clement Danes London 8 41.88x
Battersea 7 2.06x
Brancepeth 7 140.28x
Coundon 7 62.89x
Gloucester Barton St Mary 7 21.14x
Govan 7 0.95x
Hackney London 7 1.35x
Harrington 7 72.99x
Hartlepool 7 17.94x
Hetton Le Hole 7 20.12x
Seaham 7 69.93x
Shadwell London 7 27.11x
Stranton 7 7.57x
West Calder 7 28.72x
Bedlington 6 13.09x
Roseneath 6 126.05x
St Marylebone London 6 1.22x
Stamford Baron St Martin 6 129.03x
Walthamstow 6 9.15x
Whitburn 6 29.88x
Withybrook 6 645.16x
Almondbury 5 11.31x
Camberwell 5 0.85x
Glasgow 5 0.94x
Halstead 5 23.53x
Harraton 5 93.46x
Holy Trinity 5 2.27x
Houghton Le Spring 5 26.34x
Kirkdale 5 2.71x
Liverpool 5 0.75x
Lochee 5 65.53x
Pendleton In Salford 5 3.83x
Pudsey 5 10.23x
Ryhope 5 26.23x
Tottenham 5 3.40x
Wallsend 5 11.48x
Birtley 4 35.71x
Brighton 4 1.27x
Clapham 4 3.47x
Easington 4 100.50x
Heworth 4 7.39x
Kilmarnock 4 4.87x
Lamesley 4 27.06x
Lancaster 4 6.14x
Longbenton 4 6.88x
Paddington London 4 1.18x
Rugby 4 12.71x
St Anne Soho London 4 7.59x
St Giles 4 23.34x
Tranent 4 24.23x

Top female names

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

Name Count
Mary 49
Elizabeth 28
Jane 28
Sarah 19
Annie 17
Margaret 17
Hannah 10
Martha 10
Ann 9
Eliza 9
Emily 9
Emma 9
Esther 8
Isabella 7
Ellen 6
Florence 6
Alice 5
Caroline 5
Frances 5
Agnes 4
Anne 4
Barbara 4
Charlotte 4
Fanny 4
Rebecca 4
Ada 3
Amelia 3
Catherine 3
Clara 3
Ethel 3
Harriet 3
Harriett 3
Kate 3
Louisa 3
Lydia 3
Maria 3
Sophia 3
Beatrice 2
Bertha 2
Bridget 2
Edith 2
Eleanor 2
Elisabeth 2
Jennett 2
Julia 2
Katherine 2
Mabel 2
Margret 2
Margt. 2
Minnie 2

Top male names

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

Name Count
William 51
John 49
George 28
Robert 24
James 22
Henry 19
Thomas 19
Charles 16
Joseph 15
Edward 13
Walter 10
Samuel 8
Alfred 6
Arthur 6
Ernest 6
Edwin 4
Frederick 4
Harry 4
Michael 4
Albert 3
Matthew 3
Richard 3
Ambrose 2
Fred 2
Fredrick 2
Josiah 2
Percy 2
Peter 2
Philip 2
Richd. 2
Saml. 2
Thos. 2
Wm. 2
Adam 1
Aldridge 1
Bailey 1
Benjamin 1
Bernard 1
Carel 1
Earnest 1
Edmond 1
Edmund 1
Elias 1
Eugene 1
Forder 1
Howard 1
Hugh 1
Jacob 1
Jas.William 1
Zephaniah 1

FAQ

Ferry surname: questions and answers

How common was the Ferry surname in 1881?

In 1881, 945 people were recorded with the Ferry surname. That placed it at #4,082 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Ferry surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 2,123 in 2016. That gives Ferry a modern rank of #3,043.

What does the Ferry surname mean?

An occupational surname referring to a ferryman or someone who transported people or goods across a river or body of water.

What does the Ferry map show?

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