NameCensus.

UK surname

Gauge

In the 1881 census there were 125 people recorded with the Gauge surname, ranking it #17,335 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 83, ranked #32,815, down from #17,335 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to Biggleswade, London parishes and Oswestry. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Central Bedfordshire, Cheshire West and Chester and Cornwall.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Gauge is 125 in 1881. Compared with 1881, the name has fallen by 33.6%.

1881 census count

125

Ranked #17,335

Modern count

83

2016, ranked #32,815

Peak year

1881

125 bearers

Map years

3

1881 to 1998

Key insights

  • Gauge had 125 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #17,335 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 83 in 2016, ranked #32,815.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 125 in 1881.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Rural Amenity.

Gauge surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Gauge surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Gauge 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 32 #27,570
1861 historical 69 #25,057
1881 historical 125 #17,335
1891 historical 100 #24,045
1901 historical 35 #30,194
1911 historical 94 #23,391
1997 modern 95 #27,638
1998 modern 102 #27,314
1999 modern 99 #27,906
2000 modern 96 #28,299
2001 modern 93 #28,382
2002 modern 90 #29,314
2003 modern 91 #29,121
2004 modern 92 #29,197
2005 modern 94 #28,973
2006 modern 95 #29,113
2007 modern 90 #30,228
2008 modern 81 #31,713
2009 modern 88 #31,352
2010 modern 86 #32,081
2011 modern 86 #32,006
2012 modern 79 #32,966
2013 modern 84 #32,745
2014 modern 87 #32,585
2015 modern 83 #32,847
2016 modern 83 #32,815

Geography

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Where Gauges are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around Biggleswade, London parishes, Oswestry, St John Hackney and Bourn. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Central Bedfordshire, Cheshire West and Chester, Cornwall and South Cambridgeshire. 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 Biggleswade Bedfordshire
2 London parishes London 3
3 Oswestry Shropshire
4 St John Hackney London (North Districts)
5 Bourn Cambridgeshire

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Central Bedfordshire 006 Central Bedfordshire
2 Cheshire West and Chester 043 Cheshire West and Chester
3 Cornwall 040 Cornwall
4 South Cambridgeshire 021 South Cambridgeshire
5 Central Bedfordshire 003 Central Bedfordshire

Forenames

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First names often paired with Gauge

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

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Gauge

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

Professional Employment and Family Lifecycles

Group

Inner London Working Professionals

Within London, Gauge is most associated with areas classed as Inner London Working Professionals, 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 primarily Inner London neighbourhoods are more densely populated than the Supergroup average. Residents have a younger over-all age profile than the Supergroup as a whole, and are less likely to be owner occupiers. Full time employment is more common than elsewhere in the Supergroup and multiple car ownership is uncommon. Chinese and non-EU-born European migrants are less in evidence than elsewhere in the Supergroup.

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

Gauge is most concentrated in decile 3 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.

3
Lower access Higher access

Neighbourhood deprivation

Index of Multiple Deprivation

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

1881 census detail

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Gauge families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Gauge 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 43 Gauges recorded in 1881 and an index of 3.58x.

County Total Index
Middlesex 43 3.58x
Cambridgeshire 24 31.58x
Shropshire 15 14.47x
Bedfordshire 7 11.27x
Huntingdonshire 6 25.19x
Denbighshire 5 11.03x
Essex 5 2.11x
Kent 4 0.98x
Devon 2 0.80x
Montgomeryshire 2 7.28x
Somerset 2 1.04x
Surrey 2 0.34x
Cornwall 1 0.74x
Gloucestershire 1 0.43x
Herefordshire 1 2.03x
Lancashire 1 0.07x
Northamptonshire 1 0.89x
Wiltshire 1 0.94x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Oswestry Rural in Shropshire leads with 13 Gauges recorded in 1881 and an index of 817.61x.

Place Total Index
Oswestry Rural 13 817.61x
Hackney London 10 14.87x
Bourn 9 2727.27x
Comberton 9 3750.00x
Limehouse London 9 68.34x
Clerkenwell London 8 28.25x
Biggleswade 7 344.83x
Paddington London 7 15.87x
Godmanchester 6 666.67x
Wrexham Regis 5 148.37x
West Ham 4 7.65x
Great Wilbraham 3 1363.64x
Lewisham 3 13.74x
Chesterton 2 85.47x
Curry Mallet 2 1000.00x
Lambeth 2 1.91x
St Pancras London 2 2.07x
Berriew 1 131.58x
Bristol St Philip Jacob 1 4.51x
Chiswick 1 15.24x
Chorlton On Medlock 1 4.42x
Ealing 1 9.33x
East Stonehouse 1 20.33x
Exeter St Thomas The 1 39.22x
Fisherton Anger 1 51.02x
Hammersmith London 1 3.38x
Hereford St Peter 1 76.34x
Kensington London 1 1.50x
Liskeard 1 44.05x
Little Shelford 1 476.19x
Little Thurrock 1 526.32x
Machynlleth 1 101.01x
Mile End Old Town London 1 3.92x
Minster In Sheppey 1 14.75x
Northampton All Sts 1 26.11x
Oswestry Town 1 30.12x
Ruyton Of Eleven Towns 1 217.39x
St Anne Soho London 1 14.60x
St George In East London 1 8.86x

Top female names

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

Top male names

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

Name Count
William 8
George 6
John 5
Thomas 5
Arthur 2
Charles 2
David 2
Henry 2
Joseph 2
Robert 2
Thos. 2
Albert 1
Alf. 1
Baby 1
Capel 1
E.W.H. 1
Edward 1
Edwin 1
Francis 1
Frederick 1
Fredk. 1
Harry 1
Jabez 1
James 1
Jno. 1
Joshua 1
Leonard 1
Owen 1
Samuel 1
Sidney 1

FAQ

Gauge surname: questions and answers

How common was the Gauge surname in 1881?

In 1881, 125 people were recorded with the Gauge surname. That placed it at #17,335 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Gauge surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 83 in 2016. That gives Gauge a modern rank of #32,815.

What does the Gauge map show?

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