NameCensus.

UK surname

Gatehouse

A surname derived from the gatekeeper's house or lodge at the entrance of an estate or fortified place.

In the 1881 census there were 662 people recorded with the Gatehouse surname, ranking it #5,431 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 755, ranked #7,252, down from #5,431 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to Shaftesbury Holy Trinity, Dover St James, Dover St Mary and London parishes. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Wiltshire, Shropshire and North Dorset.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Gatehouse is 970 in 1911. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 14.0%.

1881 census count

662

Ranked #5,431

Modern count

755

2016, ranked #7,252

Peak year

1911

970 bearers

Map years

9

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Gatehouse had 662 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #5,431 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 755 in 2016, ranked #7,252.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 970 in 1911.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Rural Amenity.

Gatehouse surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Gatehouse surname density by area, 1881 census.

Loading map
Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Gatehouse 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 415 #5,850
1861 historical 475 #5,480
1881 historical 662 #5,431
1891 historical 760 #5,241
1901 historical 874 #5,249
1911 historical 970 #4,661
1997 modern 790 #6,602
1998 modern 827 #6,585
1999 modern 836 #6,567
2000 modern 814 #6,689
2001 modern 795 #6,674
2002 modern 803 #6,754
2003 modern 781 #6,787
2004 modern 769 #6,888
2005 modern 752 #6,941
2006 modern 716 #7,232
2007 modern 739 #7,145
2008 modern 748 #7,122
2009 modern 780 #7,024
2010 modern 803 #7,003
2011 modern 776 #7,117
2012 modern 769 #7,093
2013 modern 787 #7,058
2014 modern 769 #7,219
2015 modern 753 #7,283
2016 modern 755 #7,252

Geography

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Where Gatehouses are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around Shaftesbury Holy Trinity, Dover St James, Dover St Mary, London parishes, Lambeth and Mere. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Wiltshire, Shropshire, North Dorset, Lambeth and Dover. 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 Shaftesbury Holy Trinity Dorset
2 Dover St James, Dover St Mary Kent
3 London parishes London 3
4 Lambeth London (South Districts)
5 Mere Wiltshire

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Wiltshire 050 Wiltshire
2 Shropshire 036 Shropshire
3 North Dorset 001 North Dorset
4 Lambeth 004 Lambeth
5 Dover 011 Dover

Forenames

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First names often paired with Gatehouse

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

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Gatehouse

Modern surname records can be compared with neighbourhood classifications. For Gatehouse, 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 Gatehouse surname is most associated with neighbourhoods classed as Rural Amenity, within Suburbanites and Peri-Urbanities. This does not mean every Gatehouse 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, Gatehouse 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

Gatehouse is most concentrated in decile 4 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.

4
Lower access Higher access

Neighbourhood deprivation

Index of Multiple Deprivation

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

Meaning and origin of Gatehouse

The surname Gatehouse is of Anglo-Saxon origin and refers to someone who lived near or worked at a gatehouse. It is derived from the Old English words "gate" meaning gate and "hus" meaning house. The name first appeared in England during the medieval period, specifically in Yorkshire and surrounding areas.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name is found in the Pipe Rolls of Yorkshire in 1194, where a John del Gatehouse is mentioned. This suggests that the surname had already been established by the late 12th century. It is also found in the Hundred Rolls of Bedfordshire from 1273, referring to a William de la Gatehouse.

The name Gatehouse is closely linked to various place names in England, such as Gatehouse of Fleet in Dumfriesshire, Scotland, and the village of Gatehouse in Norfolk. These locations likely acquired their names from the presence of a gatehouse structure, which later influenced the development of the surname.

Notable individuals with the surname Gatehouse include:

1. William Gatehouse (c. 1630-1688), an English mathematician and astronomer who worked on calculating the orbit of comets.

2. John Gatehouse (fl. 1370), an English cleric and academic who served as Chancellor of the University of Oxford in 1370.

3. Robert Gatehouse (1756-1808), an English architect known for his work on various country houses and churches in Lincolnshire.

4. Edward Gatehouse (1857-1935), a British engineer and inventor who patented several improvements to steam engines and boilers.

5. Thomas Gatehouse (1798-1884), an English landscape painter and etcher who specialized in depicting rural scenes and architectural subjects.

While the surname Gatehouse is not among the most common in England, it has a well-documented history dating back to the Middle Ages and is associated with various occupations and professions throughout the centuries.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

1881 census detail

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Gatehouse families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Gatehouse 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 Gatehouses recorded in 1881 and an index of 1.48x.

County Total Index
Yorkshire 95 1.48x
Kent 70 3.17x
Wiltshire 70 12.22x
Surrey 66 2.09x
Dorset 53 12.47x
Middlesex 47 0.73x
Herefordshire 46 17.32x
Somerset 34 3.26x
Hampshire 27 2.03x
Monmouthshire 23 4.91x
Shropshire 18 3.22x
Sussex 15 1.37x
Warwickshire 14 0.86x
Worcestershire 14 1.66x
Berkshire 12 2.47x
Durham 7 0.36x
Brecknockshire 6 4.63x
Gloucestershire 6 0.47x
Lancashire 6 0.08x
Cornwall 5 0.68x
Derbyshire 5 0.49x
Glamorgan 5 0.44x
Hertfordshire 4 0.90x
Staffordshire 4 0.18x
Buckinghamshire 3 0.77x
Cheshire 3 0.21x
Devon 1 0.07x
Essex 1 0.08x
Oxfordshire 1 0.25x
Perthshire 1 0.34x
Radnorshire 1 1.91x
Royal Navy 1 1.30x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Mere in Wiltshire leads with 38 Gatehouses recorded in 1881 and an index of 583.72x.

Place Total Index
Mere 38 583.72x
Leeds 27 7.45x
Lambeth 25 4.43x
Shaftesbury Holy Trinity 25 1141.55x
Camberwell 20 4.83x
Newport 18 80.57x
Armley 17 60.05x
Portsea 17 6.53x
Donhead St Mary 15 515.46x
Bramley In Bramley 14 56.98x
Dover St Mary Virgin 14 65.45x
Clerkenwell London 12 7.85x
Dudley 12 11.67x
Enfield 11 25.88x
Wortley In Bramley 10 19.67x
Chieveley 9 348.84x
Hougham 9 68.49x
Dilwyn 8 343.35x
Elham 8 303.03x
Kingsland 8 340.43x
Twerton 8 74.42x
Yeadon 8 55.21x
Aston 7 1.56x
Bitterley 7 316.74x
Ovenden 7 24.50x
Upton Lovell 7 1521.74x
Alton 6 59.94x
Cann 6 483.87x
Chichester St Peter 6 681.82x
Folkestone 6 14.00x
Middle Hulton 6 131.87x
Stourton 6 487.80x
Birmingham 5 0.92x
Buckland In Dover 5 68.31x
Charlton 5 34.06x
Deptford St Nicholas 5 28.51x
Eye 5 320.51x
Frimley 5 55.62x
Funtington 5 203.25x
Greenwich 5 4.85x
Ludlow St Lawrence 5 44.92x
Maker 5 73.86x
Motcombe 5 159.74x
North Cheriton 5 961.54x
Rotherhithe 5 6.25x
Stoke Trister 5 537.63x
Wigmore 5 543.48x
Yeovil 5 23.60x
Bilston 4 9.44x
Bodenham 4 205.13x
Bow London 4 4.85x
Leintwardine 4 148.15x
Leominster Out 4 160.00x
Lewisham 4 3.39x
Litchurch 4 9.80x
Morley 4 11.99x
North Cadbury 4 200.00x
Pudsey 4 11.66x
Pulham 4 666.67x
St Marylebone London 4 1.16x
St Woollos 4 7.65x
Battersea 3 1.26x
Birkenhead 3 2.63x
Bristol St Mary Redcliff 3 25.93x
Eglwysilan 3 15.33x
Hay 3 62.37x
Hornsey 3 3.66x
Kensington London 3 0.83x
Linslade 3 78.13x
Newington 3 1.25x
Radstock 3 43.73x
St George Hanover Square 3 2.63x
Stalbridge 3 74.26x
Welwyn 3 77.52x
Bermondsey 2 1.04x
Bristol St Philip Jacob 2 1.67x
Farlow 2 259.74x
Holmer 2 41.84x
Monkwearmouth Shore 2 5.32x
Wilton 2 73.80x

Top female names

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

Name Count
Mary 32
Sarah 31
Elizabeth 30
Jane 22
Eliza 14
Emma 12
Ann 10
Alice 9
Emily 9
Ellen 8
Fanny 8
Martha 7
Caroline 6
Harriet 6
Annie 5
Margaret 5
Agnes 4
Clara 4
Edith 4
Kate 4
Anne 3
Catherine 3
Charlotte 3
E. 3
Esther 3
Hannah 3
Harriett 3
Louisa 3
Matilda 3
Elizth. 2
Florence 2
Frances 2
Hester 2
Lucy 2
Mabel 2
Maria 2
Marian 2
Rosa 2
Agustia 1
Angelina 1
Beatrice 1
Bella 1
Bessie 1
Blanche 1
Eilien 1
Ella 1
H.M. 1
Heneritta 1
J. 1
Uniss 1

Top male names

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

Name Count
John 41
William 40
James 30
Charles 21
George 20
Thomas 18
Arthur 13
Henry 12
Joseph 12
Alfred 9
Richard 7
Walter 7
Edwin 6
Frank 6
Herbert 6
Samuel 6
Ernest 5
Albert 4
Edward 4
Frederick 3
Percy 3
Robert 3
Elias 2
Fred 2
Harry 2
Jno. 2
R.H. 2
Sidney 2
Tom 2
Zacariah 2
Alexander 1
Algernon 1
Arnold 1
Augustus 1
Ben 1
Benjamin 1
C. 1
Earnest 1
Edgar 1
Felix 1
Francis 1
Fred. 1
Isaac 1
Jasper 1
Jeram 1
Joe 1
Lewis 1
Matthew 1
Morgan 1
R. 1

FAQ

Gatehouse surname: questions and answers

How common was the Gatehouse surname in 1881?

In 1881, 662 people were recorded with the Gatehouse surname. That placed it at #5,431 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Gatehouse surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 755 in 2016. That gives Gatehouse a modern rank of #7,252.

What does the Gatehouse surname mean?

A surname derived from the gatekeeper's house or lodge at the entrance of an estate or fortified place.

What does the Gatehouse map show?

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