NameCensus.

UK surname

Fortnum

In the 1881 census there were 105 people recorded with the Fortnum surname, ranking it #19,183 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 147, ranked #24,071, down from #19,183 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to Winslow, Bowden Magna and Abbots Langley. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Harborough, South Northamptonshire and East Riding of Yorkshire.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Fortnum is 178 in 1999. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 40.0%.

1881 census count

105

Ranked #19,183

Modern count

147

2016, ranked #24,071

Peak year

1999

178 bearers

Map years

7

1881 to 2016

Key insights

  • Fortnum had 105 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #19,183 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 147 in 2016, ranked #24,071.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 159 in 1901.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Legacy Industrial and Coastal Communities.

Fortnum surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Fortnum surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Fortnum 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 78 #19,840
1861 historical 68 #25,196
1881 historical 105 #19,183
1891 historical 133 #19,870
1901 historical 159 #17,442
1911 historical 128 #19,664
1997 modern 141 #21,941
1998 modern 168 #20,181
1999 modern 178 #19,592
2000 modern 169 #20,199
2001 modern 166 #20,129
2002 modern 170 #20,243
2003 modern 157 #21,026
2004 modern 149 #21,905
2005 modern 143 #22,473
2006 modern 146 #22,320
2007 modern 146 #22,596
2008 modern 151 #22,323
2009 modern 146 #23,352
2010 modern 151 #23,377
2011 modern 152 #23,101
2012 modern 149 #23,372
2013 modern 150 #23,653
2014 modern 149 #23,969
2015 modern 145 #24,246
2016 modern 147 #24,071

Geography

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Where Fortnums are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around Winslow, Bowden Magna, Abbots Langley, Leicester St Margaret and Bishop's Fee, Leicester All Saints, Blackfriars and Hemel Hempstead. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Harborough, South Northamptonshire and East Riding of Yorkshire. 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 Winslow Buckinghamshire
2 Bowden Magna Leicestershire
3 Abbots Langley Hertfordshire
4 Leicester St Margaret and Bishop's Fee, Leicester All Saints, Blackfriars Leicestershire
5 Hemel Hempstead Hertfordshire

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Harborough 008 Harborough
2 Harborough 007 Harborough
3 South Northamptonshire 011 South Northamptonshire
4 East Riding of Yorkshire 029 East Riding of Yorkshire
5 Harborough 009 Harborough

Forenames

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First names often paired with Fortnum

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

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Fortnum

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

Legacy Industrial and Coastal Communities

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

Read profile summary

Group profile

Single-person households are common in these neighbourhoods, and these residents are typically divorced rather than never married. A high proportion of residents were born outside the UK in the EU. There are many young adults, some with young children, but relatively few residents are of normal retirement age or over. Although levels of identification with ethnic minorities are in line with the Supergroup average, individuals identifying with Mixed or Multiple ethnicities is more common than average. High long-term disability rates are observed, and unpaid care is more common than in the rest of the Group. The predominant housing types are terraced houses and flats, which are typically part of the social rented sector. This Group is commonly found in coastal areas and (present-day or former) industrial 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

Central Connected Professionals and Managers

Group

City Support Workers

Within London, Fortnum is most associated with areas classed as City Support Workers, part of Central Connected Professionals and Managers. 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 throughout Inner London, these areas house relatively few workers in the most senior roles within organisations, and greater prevalence of administrative roles relative to the Supergroup mean. Residents are less likely to be of Chinese ethnicity and are more likely to have been born in Africa. Relative to the Supergroup average, residents are also more likely to live in social housing and live in overcrowded conditions.

Wider London pattern

Adult residents of these neighbourhoods are typically aged 25 to 44, working full-time in professional, managerial or associate professional occupations. There are few families with dependent children. The predominantly Inner London neighbourhoods have an international character, including many residents born elsewhere in Europe alongside high numbers of individuals identifying as of Chinese ethnicity. Many individuals are never married, childless and/or living alone. Above average numbers of individuals, likely to be full-time students, live in communal establishments. Elsewhere, privately rented flats are the dominant housing type. Residents of these areas are well-qualified, with a significant number holding Level 4 or above qualifications. There is a correspondingly high level of individuals employed full-time in professional, managerial and associated professional or technical occupations. Employing industries are financial, real estate, professional, administration, and, to a lesser degree, transport and communications. Unemployment is uncommon.

Healthy neighbourhoods

Access to healthy assets and hazards

Fortnum 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

Fortnum falls in decile 10 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.

10
More deprived Less deprived

Broadband speed

Fixed broadband download speed

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

1881 census detail

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Fortnum families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Fortnum 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. Hertfordshire leads with 25 Fortnums recorded in 1881 and an index of 35.08x.

County Total Index
Hertfordshire 25 35.08x
Northamptonshire 21 21.60x
Warwickshire 14 5.37x
Middlesex 11 1.06x
Oxfordshire 11 17.23x
Lancashire 5 0.41x
Leicestershire 5 4.36x
Buckinghamshire 4 6.40x
Sussex 4 2.29x
Bedfordshire 3 5.60x
Worcestershire 2 1.48x
Staffordshire 1 0.29x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Kings Sutton in Northamptonshire leads with 12 Fortnums recorded in 1881 and an index of 2790.70x.

Place Total Index
Kings Sutton 12 2790.70x
Abbots Langley 7 660.38x
Aston 7 9.75x
Hackney London 7 12.08x
Hemel Hempstead 7 218.07x
Aldenham 6 923.08x
Bloxham 5 793.65x
Kings Langley 5 961.54x
Leicester St Margaret 5 17.89x
Milverton 5 657.89x
West Derby 5 13.93x
Paulerspury 4 1000.00x
Winslow 4 677.97x
Eastbourne 3 37.41x
Leighton Buzzard 3 130.43x
St Pancras London 3 3.60x
Warkworth 3 340.91x
Oldberrow 2 6666.67x
Stokenchurch 2 350.88x
Wootton 2 526.32x
Birmingham 1 1.15x
Handsworth 1 11.63x
Leamington Priors 1 15.58x
Lower Heyford 1 526.32x
Newbottle 1 555.56x
Peterborough 1 14.20x
St Marylebone London 1 1.81x
Swalcliffe 1 454.55x
Willingdon 1 227.27x

Top female names

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

Name Count
Elizabeth 7
Mary 5
Eliza 4
Sarah 4
Emily 3
Harriet 3
Jane 3
Ann 2
Annie 2
Ellen 2
Emma 2
Gertrude 2
Lucy 2
Margaret 2
Minnie 2
Susannah 2
Ada 1
Edith 1
Eleanor 1
Fanny 1
Florence 1
Frances 1
Hannah 1
Infant 1
Matilda 1
Rose 1
Ruth 1
Sophia 1
Susan 1

Top male names

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

Name Count
William 7
Thomas 6
Edward 4
George 4
Henry 3
John 3
Solomon 3
Arthur 2
Dan 2
Edwin 2
Albert 1
Fredk. 1
Herbert 1
James 1
Jos. 1
Joseph 1
Richard 1
Sidney 1

FAQ

Fortnum surname: questions and answers

How common was the Fortnum surname in 1881?

In 1881, 105 people were recorded with the Fortnum surname. That placed it at #19,183 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Fortnum surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 147 in 2016. That gives Fortnum a modern rank of #24,071.

What does the Fortnum map show?

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