NameCensus.

UK surname

Fiddler

An occupational surname for someone who played the fiddle or violin.

In the 1881 census there were 649 people recorded with the Fiddler surname, ranking it #5,499 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 678, ranked #7,909, down from #5,499 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to London parishes, Manchester and Stromness. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include West Lancashire, Walsall and Fylde.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Fiddler is 841 in 1901. Compared with 1881, the name has stayed broadly stable by 4.5%.

1881 census count

649

Ranked #5,499

Modern count

678

2016, ranked #7,909

Peak year

1901

841 bearers

Map years

9

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Fiddler had 649 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #5,499 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 678 in 2016, ranked #7,909.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 841 in 1901.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Challenged Communities.

Fiddler surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Fiddler surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Fiddler 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 386 #6,216
1861 historical 449 #5,764
1881 historical 649 #5,499
1891 historical 655 #5,925
1901 historical 841 #5,411
1911 historical 594 #6,890
1997 modern 666 #7,533
1998 modern 675 #7,689
1999 modern 685 #7,639
2000 modern 668 #7,767
2001 modern 647 #7,824
2002 modern 662 #7,839
2003 modern 646 #7,860
2004 modern 663 #7,722
2005 modern 649 #7,781
2006 modern 643 #7,868
2007 modern 649 #7,873
2008 modern 671 #7,721
2009 modern 687 #7,750
2010 modern 699 #7,787
2011 modern 687 #7,803
2012 modern 678 #7,806
2013 modern 682 #7,897
2014 modern 699 #7,777
2015 modern 691 #7,806
2016 modern 678 #7,909

Geography

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Where Fiddlers are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around London parishes, Manchester, Stromness, Preston and Cromarty. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to West Lancashire, Walsall, Fylde, Swansea and Sheffield. 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 Manchester Lancashire
3 Stromness Orkney
4 Preston Lancashire
5 Cromarty Ross And Cromarty

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 West Lancashire 002 West Lancashire
2 Walsall 038 Walsall
3 Fylde 007 Fylde
4 Swansea 001 Swansea
5 Sheffield 075 Sheffield

Forenames

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First names often paired with Fiddler

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

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Fiddler

Modern surname records can be compared with neighbourhood classifications. For Fiddler, 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 Fiddler surname is most associated with neighbourhoods classed as Challenged Communities, within Baseline UK. This does not mean every Fiddler household fits that profile, but it gives a useful signal about where the modern surname distribution is strongest.

Read profile summary

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, Fiddler 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

Fiddler is most concentrated in decile 7 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.

7
Lower access Higher access

Neighbourhood deprivation

Index of Multiple Deprivation

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

Meaning and origin of Fiddler

The surname Fiddler is an occupational name of English origin, derived from the Middle English word "fideler" or "fitheler," which referred to someone who played the fiddle or violin. The name can be traced back to the 13th century in various parts of England.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Fiddler appears in the Hundred Rolls of Cambridgeshire, a census-like record compiled in 1273. In this document, a man named Robert le Fytheler is listed as a resident of the town of Ely.

The name Fiddler is also found in the Lay Subsidy Rolls of 1334, which were tax records from various counties in England. In these records, individuals with the surnames Fydeler, Fideler, and Fitheler are mentioned, indicating the varying spellings of the name during that time period.

A notable early bearer of the name was John Fiddler, who was born around 1350 in the village of Ringstead, Northamptonshire. He was a skilled musician and is believed to have performed at various royal courts and noble households during the late 14th century.

Another significant figure was William Fiddler, a prominent merchant and alderman in the city of London during the 15th century. He was born in 1420 and served as the Sheriff of London in 1467.

In the 16th century, the Fiddler name was associated with the town of Fiddler's Green, a fictional place mentioned in sea shanties and folklore, where sailors believed they would go upon retirement or death to enjoy eternal rest and merriment.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the Fiddler surname in America can be found in the records of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, where a man named John Fiddler is listed as arriving in 1635 from England.

Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the surname Fiddler, including:

1. James Fiddler (1572-1648), an English composer and lutenist during the Jacobean and Caroline eras. 2. Mary Fiddler (1688-1762), a British diarist and writer who kept detailed accounts of daily life in 18th-century London. 3. Isaac Fiddler (1764-1842), an American Revolutionary War soldier and frontiersman who later became a prominent settler in the Ohio Territory. 4. Elizabeth Fiddler (1828-1898), a British philanthropist and social reformer who founded several charitable organizations to support the poor and underprivileged. 5. Charles Fiddler (1892-1971), a Canadian artist and painter known for his landscapes depicting the rugged beauty of the Canadian Rockies.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

1881 census detail

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Fiddler families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Fiddler 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 167 Fiddlers recorded in 1881 and an index of 2.23x.

County Total Index
Lancashire 167 2.23x
Orkney 61 87.85x
Middlesex 56 0.89x
Staffordshire 48 2.25x
Cumberland 36 6.63x
Aberdeenshire 28 4.79x
Surrey 23 0.75x
Yorkshire 22 0.35x
Northumberland 20 2.13x
Cheshire 19 1.36x
Durham 16 0.85x
Warwickshire 15 0.94x
Dorset 13 3.14x
Oxfordshire 13 3.34x
Shropshire 13 2.38x
Leicestershire 12 1.71x
Gloucestershire 11 0.89x
Hampshire 10 0.77x
Kent 9 0.42x
Midlothian 9 1.06x
Buckinghamshire 8 2.10x
Derbyshire 6 0.61x
Worcestershire 6 0.73x
Sussex 5 0.47x
Nottinghamshire 4 0.47x
Lincolnshire 3 0.30x
Wiltshire 3 0.54x
Berkshire 2 0.42x
Royal Navy 2 2.66x
Banffshire 1 0.76x
Glamorgan 1 0.09x
Herefordshire 1 0.39x
Hertfordshire 1 0.23x
Monmouthshire 1 0.22x
Stirlingshire 1 0.43x
Westmorland 1 0.72x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Preston in Lancashire leads with 38 Fiddlers recorded in 1881 and an index of 18.96x.

Place Total Index
Preston 38 18.96x
Manchester 25 7.42x
Oldham 18 7.45x
Stronsay Eday 18 396.48x
Walls Flotta 17 523.08x
Stromness 16 307.10x
Birmingham 13 2.45x
Chelsea London 13 6.84x
Wolverhampton 13 7.94x
Broseley 11 113.52x
Dalston Buckabank 10 909.09x
Sheffield 10 5.02x
Burgh By Sands 9 511.36x
Edinburgh St Cuthberts 9 2.65x
Great Clifton 9 428.57x
Silton 9 1666.67x
Kensington London 8 2.28x
Longton 8 253.97x
North Leigh 8 563.38x
Ashton Under Lyne 7 4.28x
Darlaston 7 23.78x
Lambeth 7 1.27x
Much Hoole 7 555.56x
Newcastle Under Lyme 7 18.57x
Pitsligo 7 125.22x
Quorndon 7 178.12x
Spitalfields London 7 14.75x
Upton Cum Chalvey 7 46.05x
Beswick 6 31.33x
Blackburn 6 3.01x
Camberwell 6 1.49x
Chiswick 6 17.40x
Harnhill 6 4000.00x
New Deer 6 56.71x
Penkridge 6 109.29x
St Pancras London 6 1.18x
Staveley 6 34.21x
Twyford 6 194.17x
Wallsend 6 20.15x
Bishopwearmouth 5 3.10x
Caversham 5 64.10x
Chirton 5 23.53x
Greenwich 5 4.98x
Hackney London 5 1.41x
Leicester St Margaret 5 2.93x
Salford 5 2.27x
Southwark St Saviour 5 15.41x
Stafford St Chad 5 505.05x
Taxal 5 735.29x
Warrington 5 5.63x
Wharton 5 65.88x
Aspull 4 22.70x
Brighton 4 1.86x
Chorlton On Medlock 4 3.36x
Cruden 4 53.12x
Firth Stenness 4 134.23x
Fraserburgh 4 24.32x
Kingston On Thames 4 5.41x
Maghull 4 128.62x
Melcombe Regis 4 23.30x
North Shields 4 21.34x
Speke 4 360.36x
Stafford St Mary 4 13.26x
Stockport 4 5.58x
Toxteth Park 4 1.58x
Westminster St John 4 5.20x
Bradford 3 8.56x
Bristol St George 3 5.24x
Claines 3 13.26x
Elswick 3 4.00x
Gateshead 3 2.13x
Peterhead 3 9.71x
Radford 3 6.94x
Westoe 3 2.82x
Worcester St Helen 3 113.64x
Dalston 2 47.62x
Heckmondwike 2 9.94x
Hedworth Monkton Jarrow 2 2.46x
Priors Dean 2 555.56x
Rumworth 2 18.69x

Top female names

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

Name Count
Mary 34
Elizabeth 23
Sarah 21
Margaret 17
Ann 13
Ellen 11
Jane 11
Eliza 8
Alice 7
Annie 7
Fanny 7
Emma 6
Martha 6
Susan 6
Caroline 5
Emily 5
Lucy 5
Edith 4
Hannah 4
Maria 4
Anne 3
Catherine 3
Esther 3
Rachael 3
Ada 2
Charlotte 2
Dorothy 2
Harriet 2
Isabella 2
Kate 2
Margret 2
Maud 2
Pheobe 2
Rose 2
Amy 1
Bella 1
Bertha 1
Betsy 1
Christian 1
Clara 1
Dora 1
Eada 1
Elizb. 1
Elizth 1
Elizth. 1
Helen 1
Janet 1
Jessy 1
Jimima 1
Josephine 1

Top male names

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

Name Count
John 44
William 39
Thomas 26
James 21
George 15
Joseph 13
Henry 12
Isaac 7
Robert 7
Benjamin 6
Edward 6
Richard 5
Samuel 4
Wm. 4
Charles 3
Frederick 3
Willm. 3
Alfred 2
Arthur 2
Edmund 2
Edwin 2
Ernest 2
Harrison 2
Hugh 2
Josiah 2
Luke 2
Peter 2
Allan 1
Benizem 1
Benjimin 1
Bertram 1
Christopher 1
Daniel 1
David 1
Donald 1
Fredk. 1
Harcourt 1
Henery 1
Herbert 1
Herrman 1
Jno. 1
Lawrence 1
Margaret 1
Mark 1
Phillip 1
Rewben 1
Telford 1
Thos. 1
Walter 1
Wm.J. 1

FAQ

Fiddler surname: questions and answers

How common was the Fiddler surname in 1881?

In 1881, 649 people were recorded with the Fiddler surname. That placed it at #5,499 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Fiddler surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 678 in 2016. That gives Fiddler a modern rank of #7,909.

What does the Fiddler surname mean?

An occupational surname for someone who played the fiddle or violin.

What does the Fiddler map show?

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