NameCensus.

UK surname

Freeman

An occupational surname referring to a person who was not a serf or slave, but a free man.

In the 1881 census there were 19,062 people recorded with the Freeman surname, ranking it #197 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 26,610, ranked #210, down from #197 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to London parishes, St Pancras and Lambeth. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Forest of Dean, Kettering and Wolverhampton.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Freeman is 27,484 in 1999. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 39.6%.

1881 census count

19,062

Ranked #197

Modern count

26,610

2016, ranked #210

Peak year

1999

27,484 bearers

Map years

9

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Freeman had 19,062 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #197 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 26,610 in 2016, ranked #210.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 26,299 in 1911.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Rural Amenity.

Freeman surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Freeman surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Freeman 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 12,476 #197
1861 historical 12,203 #199
1881 historical 19,062 #197
1891 historical 20,920 #185
1901 historical 24,171 #191
1911 historical 26,299 #158
1997 modern 26,500 #202
1998 modern 27,355 #202
1999 modern 27,484 #203
2000 modern 27,242 #204
2001 modern 26,622 #203
2002 modern 27,180 #203
2003 modern 26,441 #204
2004 modern 26,466 #205
2005 modern 25,956 #208
2006 modern 25,887 #208
2007 modern 25,987 #210
2008 modern 26,128 #210
2009 modern 26,714 #210
2010 modern 27,301 #209
2011 modern 26,875 #209
2012 modern 26,307 #211
2013 modern 26,940 #209
2014 modern 26,999 #210
2015 modern 26,725 #210
2016 modern 26,610 #210

Geography

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Where Freemans are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around London parishes, St Pancras, Lambeth and St Mary Islington. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Forest of Dean, Kettering, Wolverhampton and East Northamptonshire. 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 Pancras London (North Districts)
4 Lambeth London (South Districts)
5 St Mary Islington London (North Districts)

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Forest of Dean 001 Forest of Dean
2 Kettering 003 Kettering
3 Wolverhampton 027 Wolverhampton
4 Kettering 002 Kettering
5 East Northamptonshire 006 East Northamptonshire

Forenames

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First names often paired with Freeman

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

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Freeman

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

Suburbanites and Peri-Urbanities

Group

Rural Amenity

Nationally, the Freeman surname is most associated with neighbourhoods classed as Rural Amenity, within Suburbanites and Peri-Urbanities. This does not mean every Freeman 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 comprises older parents or retirees, with no resident dependent children, and with the lowest residential densities in this Supergroup. Predominantly UK-born, residents typically live in detached houses, although others do live in semi-detached and terraced properties. The level of multiple car ownership is the highest in this Supergroup. Most houses are owner occupied although social renting is also present. Many concentrations occur in high amenity rural locations, such as Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

Wider pattern

Pervasive throughout the UK, members of this Supergroup typically own (or are buying) their detached, semi-detached or terraced homes. They are also typically educated to A Level/Highers or degree level and work in skilled or professional occupations. Typically born in the UK, some families have children, although the median adult age is above 45 and some property has become under-occupied after children have left home. This Supergroup is pervasive not only in suburban locations, but also in neighbourhoods at or beyond the edge of cities that adjoin rural parts of the country.

London neighbourhood type

London Output Area Classification

Supergroup

The Greater London Mix

Group

Social Rented Sector Professional Support Workers

Within London, Freeman 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

Freeman is most concentrated in decile 8 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.

8
Lower access Higher access

Neighbourhood deprivation

Index of Multiple Deprivation

Freeman falls in decile 6 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.

6
More deprived Less deprived

Broadband speed

Fixed broadband download speed

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

Meaning and origin of Freeman

The surname Freeman has its origins in England, dating back to the 11th century. The name is derived from the Old English words "freo" meaning free, and "mann" meaning man. It was initially used to refer to a man who was not a serf or a bondsman, but rather a free tenant or landholder.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as "Francus Homo" or "Francus Hominus," the Latin equivalent of Freeman. This suggests that the surname was already in use among the Anglo-Saxons before the Norman Conquest.

In medieval England, the Freemen were often members of the yeomanry, a class of small landowners who cultivated their own land and enjoyed certain rights and privileges. The name was particularly prevalent in counties like Kent, Sussex, and Essex, where the yeomanry had a strong presence.

Notable individuals with the surname Freeman include William Freeman (c. 1590-1670), a successful merchant and one of the founders of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. John Freeman (1590-1663) was an English clergyman and author, best known for his work "A Reall Protestancy." Thomas Freeman (1614-1663) was a member of the Virginia House of Burgesses and a prominent figure in the early history of Virginia.

Another prominent bearer of the name was Richard Freeman (1510-1558), an English Protestant martyr who was burned at the stake during the Marian Persecutions for his religious beliefs. Samuel Freeman (1773-1857) was an American soldier and politician who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from Pennsylvania.

The surname Freeman has also been associated with several place names in England, such as Freeman's Marsh in Kent and Freeman's Farm in Sussex. These locations likely derived their names from early inhabitants bearing the Freeman surname.

Over time, the name has also been subject to various spellings, including Freman, Fremon, and Freymon, reflecting regional variations and linguistic changes. However, the core meaning of the name, signifying a free or independent individual, has remained consistent throughout its long history.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

1881 census detail

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Freeman families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Freeman 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 2,866 Freemans recorded in 1881 and an index of 1.54x.

County Total Index
Middlesex 2,866 1.54x
Surrey 1,480 1.63x
Warwickshire 1,252 2.66x
Yorkshire 1,190 0.64x
Lancashire 987 0.45x
Northamptonshire 764 4.35x
Essex 737 2.00x
Kent 707 1.11x
Worcestershire 672 2.76x
Sussex 554 1.76x
Leicestershire 541 2.62x
Staffordshire 538 0.85x
Gloucestershire 534 1.46x
Nottinghamshire 529 2.10x
Hampshire 436 1.14x
Hertfordshire 386 3.00x
Suffolk 380 1.67x
Norfolk 348 1.21x
Lincolnshire 305 1.02x
Devon 304 0.78x
Cambridgeshire 302 2.56x
Derbyshire 299 1.02x
Oxfordshire 295 2.56x
Berkshire 257 1.84x
Durham 253 0.46x
Buckinghamshire 228 2.02x
Bedfordshire 218 2.26x
Glamorgan 145 0.45x
Cornwall 136 0.64x
Huntingdonshire 133 3.59x
Shropshire 133 0.83x
Northumberland 127 0.46x
Somerset 123 0.41x
Cheshire 109 0.26x
Herefordshire 94 1.23x
Lanarkshire 85 0.14x
Dorset 79 0.65x
Monmouthshire 79 0.59x
Rutland 64 4.67x
Kincardineshire 60 2.64x
Pembrokeshire 40 0.67x
Wiltshire 37 0.22x
Channel Islands 32 0.58x
Royal Navy 28 1.26x
Midlothian 27 0.11x
Aberdeenshire 24 0.14x
Cumberland 24 0.15x
Renfrewshire 23 0.16x
Wigtownshire 23 0.93x
Flintshire 21 0.42x
Angus 16 0.09x
Ayrshire 15 0.11x
Westmorland 14 0.34x
Dunbartonshire 10 0.20x
Denbighshire 7 0.10x
Merionethshire 7 0.21x
Caernarfonshire 6 0.08x
Carmarthenshire 6 0.08x
Inverness-shire 6 0.11x
Roxburghshire 6 0.18x
Brecknockshire 4 0.11x
West Lothian 4 0.14x
Dumfriesshire 3 0.07x
Fife 3 0.03x
Radnorshire 3 0.20x
Isle of Man 2 0.06x
Kirkcudbrightshire 2 0.07x
Perthshire 1 0.01x
Stirlingshire 1 0.01x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Islington London in Middlesex leads with 324 Freemans recorded in 1881 and an index of 1.79x.

Place Total Index
Islington London 324 1.79x
Birmingham 320 2.04x
Aston 308 2.38x
Camberwell 246 2.06x
Lambeth 220 1.35x
St Pancras London 219 1.46x
Shoreditch London 180 2.23x
Hackney London 178 1.70x
Kensington London 160 1.54x
Nottingham St Mary 126 1.94x
West Ham 125 1.54x
Newington 121 1.76x
St Marylebone London 120 1.20x
Chelsea London 117 2.08x
Bethnal Green London 116 1.43x
Paddington London 113 1.65x
Battersea 111 1.62x
Leicester St Margaret 100 1.98x
Mile End Old Town London 100 2.52x
Bermondsey 93 1.67x
Southwark St George Martyr 87 2.32x
Enfield 84 6.86x
Clerkenwell London 83 1.88x
Bexhill 82 52.31x
Deptford St Paul 82 1.67x
Maidstone 76 4.01x
Kingston 75 249.34x
Kings Norton 74 3.39x
Leeds 73 0.70x
Liverpool 73 0.54x
Saffron Walden 71 18.25x
Wandsworth 71 3.95x
Croydon 69 1.37x
Holy Trinity 69 1.55x
Lewisham 67 1.97x
Toxteth Park 64 0.85x
Portsea 63 0.84x
St Andrewthe Less 63 4.67x
St George Hanover Square 63 1.92x
St Ives 59 14.28x
Coventry Holy Trinity 57 4.06x
Hemel Hempstead 57 9.84x
Otley 57 12.70x
Walsall Foreign 56 1.72x
West Derby 56 0.86x
Brighton 54 0.85x
Cheltenham 53 1.88x
St Luke London 52 1.74x
Bromley London 51 1.24x
Crondall 50 24.35x
Handsworth 50 3.22x
Westminster St James 50 2.61x
Poplar London 49 1.39x
Sheepshed 49 17.29x
Fulham London 47 1.74x
Northampton Priory St 47 4.46x
Wellingborough 46 5.21x
Kenilworth 45 16.97x
Stoke Upon Trent 45 0.67x
Plymouth St Andrew 44 1.47x
Sculcoates 44 1.50x
St George In East London 44 2.51x
Manchester 43 0.43x
Hammersmith London 42 0.91x
Northampton St Giles 42 6.28x
Kettering 41 5.78x
Leicester St Mary 41 2.45x
Mansfield 41 4.71x
Tottenham 41 1.38x
Bervie 40 29.72x
Earls Barton 40 26.72x
Limehouse London 40 1.95x
Luton 40 2.39x
Oldham 39 0.55x
Abbots Langley 38 19.90x
Alverstoke 38 2.75x
Brightside Bierlow 37 1.02x
Kingston On Thames 37 1.69x
Northampton St Sepulchre 37 4.14x
Coventry St Michael 36 2.38x

Top female names

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

Name Count
Mary 1,196
Sarah 683
Elizabeth 680
Eliza 347
Ann 346
Jane 335
Emma 322
Ellen 317
Annie 290
Alice 265
Emily 249
Hannah 177
Martha 160
Louisa 156
Harriet 151
Caroline 133
Fanny 127
Maria 123
Charlotte 121
Margaret 118
Ada 113
Florence 111
Kate 102
Edith 99
Catherine 98
Lucy 92
Clara 84
Harriett 76
Susan 74
Agnes 70
Rose 62
Frances 61
Anne 58
Rebecca 57
Amelia 55
Gertrude 54
Sophia 52
Elizth. 48
Esther 45
Amy 43
Julia 43
Selina 39
Susannah 39
Isabella 36
Minnie 35
Matilda 34
Eleanor 33
Laura 33
Lydia 33
Ruth 33

Top male names

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

Name Count
William 1,103
John 975
George 711
Thomas 584
James 540
Charles 487
Henry 432
Joseph 357
Edward 228
Frederick 223
Alfred 222
Arthur 200
Walter 190
Samuel 183
Robert 169
Richard 161
Harry 146
Albert 129
Ernest 87
Frank 85
Herbert 68
Francis 60
Wm. 57
Benjamin 53
David 53
Edwin 49
Thos. 42
Daniel 41
Geo. 38
Fred 34
Fredrick 28
Stephen 28
Tom 27
Isaac 25
Fredk. 24
Chas. 22
Peter 22
Michael 20
Percy 20
Willie 20
Abraham 18
Andrew 18
Edmund 18
Mark 18
Willm. 18
Horace 17
Amos 16
Jno. 16
Sidney 16
Elijah 15

Top occupations

Occupational titles are kept as recorded and later transcribed, so related jobs, spelling variants and mistakes stay separate. Scholar was the census term for a child in education. That means the other rows often tell you more about adult work in Freeman households.

FAQ

Freeman surname: questions and answers

How common was the Freeman surname in 1881?

In 1881, 19,062 people were recorded with the Freeman surname. That placed it at #197 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Freeman surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 26,610 in 2016. That gives Freeman a modern rank of #210.

What does the Freeman surname mean?

An occupational surname referring to a person who was not a serf or slave, but a free man.

What does the Freeman map show?

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