NameCensus.

UK surname

Foggin

An English surname derived from occupational trades involving fog or smoke.

In the 1881 census there were 224 people recorded with the Foggin surname, ranking it #11,970 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 487, ranked #10,172, up from #11,970 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to Newcastle St Andrew, Gateshead and Newcastle All Saints. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Northumberland, Newcastle upon Tyne and North Tyneside.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Foggin is 507 in 2014. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 117.4%.

1881 census count

224

Ranked #11,970

Modern count

487

2016, ranked #10,172

Peak year

2014

507 bearers

Map years

9

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Foggin had 224 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #11,970 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 487 in 2016, ranked #10,172.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 475 in 1911.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Small Town Suburbia.

Foggin surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Foggin surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Foggin 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 134 #14,033
1861 historical 177 #13,265
1881 historical 224 #11,970
1891 historical 368 #9,464
1901 historical 427 #9,054
1911 historical 475 #8,144
1997 modern 485 #9,512
1998 modern 496 #9,658
1999 modern 471 #10,098
2000 modern 478 #9,969
2001 modern 466 #9,984
2002 modern 482 #9,906
2003 modern 478 #9,807
2004 modern 471 #9,942
2005 modern 454 #10,144
2006 modern 462 #10,037
2007 modern 453 #10,281
2008 modern 466 #10,162
2009 modern 471 #10,304
2010 modern 493 #10,161
2011 modern 497 #9,997
2012 modern 473 #10,279
2013 modern 495 #10,093
2014 modern 507 #9,981
2015 modern 496 #10,057
2016 modern 487 #10,172

Geography

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Where Foggins are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around Newcastle St Andrew, Gateshead, Newcastle All Saints, Newcastle St John and Northallerton (Brompton, Northallerton, Romanby ), Lazenby. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Northumberland, Newcastle upon Tyne, North Tyneside and Gateshead. 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 Newcastle St Andrew Northumberland
2 Gateshead Durham
3 Newcastle All Saints Northumberland
4 Newcastle St John Northumberland
5 Northallerton (Brompton, Northallerton, Romanby ), Lazenby Yorkshire, North Riding

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Northumberland 007 Northumberland
2 Newcastle upon Tyne 014 Newcastle upon Tyne
3 North Tyneside 013 North Tyneside
4 Newcastle upon Tyne 026 Newcastle upon Tyne
5 Gateshead 017 Gateshead

Forenames

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First names often paired with Foggin

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

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Foggin

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

Retired Professionals

Group

Small Town Suburbia

Nationally, the Foggin surname is most associated with neighbourhoods classed as Small Town Suburbia, within Retired Professionals. This does not mean every Foggin household fits that profile, but it gives a useful signal about where the modern surname distribution is strongest.

Read profile summary

Group profile

This Group is predominantly comprised of married couples with no resident dependent children, living in areas characterised neither by under-occupancy nor overcrowding throughout the UK in or adjacent to small towns. White ethnic groups and affiliation with Christianity predominates. Housing tends to be predominantly semi-detached or detached and workers are employed principally in managerial and professional occupations, with semi-skilled occupations also in evidence. These areas of the Supergroup are of higher population density.

Wider pattern

Typically married but no longer with resident dependent children, these well-educated households either remain working in their managerial, professional, administrative or other skilled occupations, or are retired from them – the modal individual age is beyond normal retirement age. Underoccupied detached and semi-detached properties predominate, and unpaid care is more prevalent than reported disability. The prevalence of this Supergroup outside most urban conurbations indicates that rural lifestyles prevail, typically sustained by using two or more cars per household.

London neighbourhood type

London Output Area Classification

Supergroup

Professional Employment and Family Lifecycles

Group

Established Homeowners with Children

Within London, Foggin is most associated with areas classed as Established Homeowners with Children, part of Professional Employment and Family Lifecycles. 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

These predominantly British-born residents are typically married/in civil partnerships and own the properties in which they are raising their children. Parents are typically over 45, and many other residents are beyond normal retirement age. Detached and semi-detached houses predominate and multiple car ownership is common.

Wider London pattern

These neighbourhoods house people of all ages, predominantly of White British or European extraction. Resident turnover is low. Religious affiliation is less common than average and tends to be Christian if expressed. Homeownership, typically of terraced houses, is common but use of the social rented sector is not. Employment is typically in professional, managerial and associate professional or technical occupations. There are few full-time students. Level 4 qualifications are common. More households lack dependent children than have them which, considered alongside low levels of crowding and over-all age structure, indicates that many households may be post child-rearing and in late middle age. Incidence of disability is low, as is residence in communal establishments.

Healthy neighbourhoods

Access to healthy assets and hazards

Foggin is most concentrated in decile 1 for access to healthy assets and hazards. This places the surname towards the less healthy 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.

1
Lower access Higher access

Neighbourhood deprivation

Index of Multiple Deprivation

Foggin falls in decile 9 for neighbourhood deprivation. This puts the surname towards the less deprived end of the index.

Decile 1 represents the more deprived end of the scale. Decile 10 represents the less deprived end.

9
More deprived Less deprived

Broadband speed

Fixed broadband download speed

The modern neighbourhood pattern for Foggin 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 Foggin, not the ethnicity of every person with the surname.

Meaning and origin of Foggin

The surname Foggin is an English habitational name derived from a place called Foggathorpe, a township in the North Riding of Yorkshire. The name is believed to have originated in the late 12th or early 13th century, derived from the Old English words "fog" meaning moss or boggy ground, and "thorpe" meaning a small village or hamlet.

The earliest recorded reference to the surname Foggin dates back to 1273, when a Richard de Fogheton was mentioned in the Yorkshire Feet of Fines. This document was a record of land transactions and legal agreements made in medieval England. The spelling variations in early records include Foggathorp, Foggethorp, and Foggathorpe.

One of the earliest known individuals with the surname Foggin was John Foggin, who was born in Foggathorpe around 1380. He was a landowner and farmer in the area. Another notable figure was William Foggin, born in 1512 in Kirby Grindalythe, Yorkshire. He was a member of the Guild of Corpus Christi, a religious fraternity in York.

In the 16th century, the surname Foggin appeared in the records of the nearby town of Malton, Yorkshire. Thomas Foggin, born around 1540, was a prominent merchant and landowner in the area. His son, John Foggin, born in 1570, was a member of the local gentry and served as a magistrate.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname outside of Yorkshire was in the 17th century, when a family with the name Foggin settled in the county of Norfolk. Robert Foggin, born in 1621 in Swanton Morley, Norfolk, was a yeoman farmer and landowner.

Another notable figure was Reverend Thomas Foggin, born in 1690 in Foggathorpe, Yorkshire. He was a Church of England clergyman and served as the Vicar of Lockington, a village in the East Riding of Yorkshire, from 1726 until his death in 1753.

Throughout the centuries, various individuals with the surname Foggin have made their mark in various fields, including agriculture, trade, religion, and local governance. While the name originated from a specific location in Yorkshire, it has since spread to other parts of England and beyond.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

1881 census detail

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Foggin families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Foggin 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. Yorkshire leads with 95 Foggins recorded in 1881 and an index of 4.39x.

County Total Index
Yorkshire 95 4.39x
Northumberland 82 25.22x
Durham 45 6.92x
Devon 1 0.22x
Lancashire 1 0.04x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Gateshead in Durham leads with 27 Foggins recorded in 1881 and an index of 55.48x.

Place Total Index
Gateshead 27 55.48x
Northallerton 23 833.33x
Newcastle On Tyne St 20 118.69x
Westgate 20 99.35x
Newcastle On Tyne St John 13 304.45x
Ingleby Barwick 11 11000.00x
York St Mary 11 122.63x
Osmotherley 8 1159.42x
Sculcoates 8 23.30x
Gomersal 7 69.24x
Newcastle On Tyne All Sts 7 36.05x
Long Witton 6 7500.00x
Ford 5 256.41x
Stockton On Tees 5 15.96x
Ecclesall Bierlow 4 9.08x
West Thornton 4 6666.67x
Bishopwearmouth 3 5.38x
Brompton In 3 309.28x
Givendale 3 10000.00x
Heaton 3 277.78x
Ormesby 3 51.55x
Wallsend 3 29.10x
West Rounton 3 1875.00x
Westoe 3 8.14x
Upper Poppleton 2 952.38x
Coxlodge 1 40.49x
East Harlsey 1 357.14x
Elswick 1 3.85x
Esh 1 21.14x
Great Crosby 1 14.14x
Huggate 1 243.90x
Ilderton 1 1111.11x
Kirby Sigston 1 1250.00x
Kirklington With 1 526.32x
Normanby In 1 17.27x
Prudhoe 1 44.25x
Redcar 1 58.14x
Ritton White House 1 5000.00x
Seaton 1 57.14x
Thornaby 1 12.36x
Tynemouth 1 5.74x
West Herrington 1 43.86x
Whitcliffe Cum Thorpe 1 500.00x
York St Saviour 1 48.31x

Top female names

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

Name Count
Mary 16
Elizabeth 14
Margaret 11
Jane 9
Sarah 9
Ann 7
Annie 5
Ada 3
Alice 3
Isabella 3
Maria 3
Christiana 2
Eliza 2
Ellen 2
Emma 2
Esther 2
Margret 2
Martha 2
Catherine 1
Clara 1
Dinah 1
Dorothy 1
Easter 1
Edith 1
Elizth. 1
Elling 1
Florence 1
Frances 1
Lillie 1
Louisa 1
Ruthian 1
Susan 1

Top male names

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

Name Count
William 22
John 15
Thomas 11
Robert 10
George 9
James 6
Gilbert 5
Charles 4
Henry 4
Timothy 3
Alfred 2
Anthony 2
Cuthbert 2
Joseph 2
Richard 2
Albert 1
Arthur 1
David 1
Francis 1
Frederick 1
Jimes 1
Lancelot 1
Matthew 1
Nathaniel 1
Robt. 1
Walter 1
Wm. 1
Wm.Morton 1

FAQ

Foggin surname: questions and answers

How common was the Foggin surname in 1881?

In 1881, 224 people were recorded with the Foggin surname. That placed it at #11,970 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Foggin surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 487 in 2016. That gives Foggin a modern rank of #10,172.

What does the Foggin surname mean?

An English surname derived from occupational trades involving fog or smoke.

What does the Foggin map show?

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