NameCensus.

UK surname

Gayford

In the 1881 census there were 231 people recorded with the Gayford surname, ranking it #11,722 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 102, ranked #30,722, down from #11,722 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to Newport, London parishes and Syderstone. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Reading, North Somerset and Hartlepool.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Gayford is 264 in 1901. Compared with 1881, the name has fallen by 55.8%.

1881 census count

231

Ranked #11,722

Modern count

102

2016, ranked #30,722

Peak year

1901

264 bearers

Map years

9

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Gayford had 231 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #11,722 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 102 in 2016, ranked #30,722.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 264 in 1901.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Outer Suburbs.

Gayford surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Gayford surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Gayford 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 135 #13,964
1861 historical 160 #14,468
1881 historical 231 #11,722
1891 historical 260 #12,367
1901 historical 264 #12,693
1911 historical 225 #13,874
1997 modern 120 #24,158
1998 modern 116 #25,332
1999 modern 114 #25,766
2000 modern 116 #25,452
2001 modern 116 #25,089
2002 modern 119 #25,231
2003 modern 115 #25,538
2004 modern 108 #26,741
2005 modern 108 #26,736
2006 modern 116 #25,813
2007 modern 117 #26,066
2008 modern 118 #26,212
2009 modern 122 #26,220
2010 modern 117 #27,557
2011 modern 107 #28,979
2012 modern 115 #27,717
2013 modern 113 #28,502
2014 modern 107 #29,827
2015 modern 109 #29,327
2016 modern 102 #30,722

Geography

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Where Gayfords are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around Newport, London parishes, Syderstone and St Dunstan Stepney. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Reading, North Somerset, Hartlepool, Camden and Barnsley. 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 Newport Essex
2 London parishes London 1
3 London parishes London 3
4 Syderstone Norfolk
5 St Dunstan Stepney London (East Districts)

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Reading 016 Reading
2 North Somerset 004 North Somerset
3 Hartlepool 005 Hartlepool
4 Camden 012 Camden
5 Barnsley 002 Barnsley

Forenames

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First names often paired with Gayford

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

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Gayford

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

Ethnically Diverse Suburban Professionals

Group

Outer Suburbs

Nationally, the Gayford surname is most associated with neighbourhoods classed as Outer Suburbs, within Ethnically Diverse Suburban Professionals. This does not mean every Gayford household fits that profile, but it gives a useful signal about where the modern surname distribution is strongest.

Read profile summary

Group profile

These neighbourhoods are found on the outer edges of many towns and cities. Many residents were born outside the UK. Indian ethnic group representation is high. There are high numbers of families with dependent children aged 5 to 14. Incidences of disability and of provision of unpaid care are low. Neighbourhoods provide a mix of detached housing and flats, and terraced housing is not uncommon. Levels of overcrowding are low and homeownership rates are high. Professional and managerial occupations are prevalent: unemployment is low and education to degree level is the norm.

Wider pattern

Those working within the managerial, professional and administrative occupations typically reflect a wide range of ethnic groups, and reside in detached or semi-detached housing. Their residential locations at the edges of cities and conurbations and car-based lifestyles are more characteristic of Supergroup membership than birthplace or participation in child-rearing. Houses are typically owner-occupied and marriage rates are lower than the national average. This Supergroup is found throughout suburban UK.

London neighbourhood type

London Output Area Classification

Supergroup

Professional Employment and Family Lifecycles

Group

European Enclaves

Within London, Gayford is most associated with areas classed as European Enclaves, 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

Many residents of these accessible neighbourhoods have wide-ranging non-UK European origins. Typically residing in privately rented flats, many residents live alone and are beyond normal retirement age. There are more students than elsewhere in the Supergroup, some of which live in communal establishments. Household residents are often drawn from different ethnic groups.

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

Gayford is most concentrated in decile 9 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.

9
Lower access Higher access

Neighbourhood deprivation

Index of Multiple Deprivation

Gayford falls in decile 8 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.

8
More deprived Less deprived

Broadband speed

Fixed broadband download speed

The modern neighbourhood pattern for Gayford is most associated with a typical fixed broadband download band of Over 70 mbit/s.

The scale below places that band in context, from slower local download bands through to faster ones.

10
Slower band Faster band

Area snapshot

Ethnic group estimate

Most common ethnic group estimate
White - British

This describes the area pattern most associated with Gayford, not the ethnicity of every person with the surname.

1881 census detail

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Gayford families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Gayford 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. Norfolk leads with 112 Gayfords recorded in 1881 and an index of 32.33x.

County Total Index
Norfolk 112 32.33x
Middlesex 35 1.55x
Suffolk 21 7.65x
Surrey 18 1.64x
Essex 16 3.60x
Sussex 10 2.63x
Warwickshire 6 1.06x
Gloucestershire 5 1.13x
Yorkshire 5 0.22x
Kent 1 0.13x
Lancashire 1 0.04x
Lincolnshire 1 0.28x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Mile End Old Town London in Middlesex leads with 12 Gayfords recorded in 1881 and an index of 25.02x.

Place Total Index
Mile End Old Town London 12 25.02x
Thetford St Mary 11 1170.21x
Norwich St Benedict 10 649.35x
Eaton St Andrew 9 937.50x
Guestwick 9 6428.57x
Hackford In Aylsham 8 1290.32x
Lambeth 8 4.07x
Newport 8 1038.96x
East Wretham 7 5384.62x
Netteswell 6 2307.69x
Brighton 5 6.52x
Bristol St Thomas 5 1000.00x
Camberwell 5 3.47x
Earlham 5 2777.78x
Fakenham Magna 5 25000.00x
Hove 5 29.99x
Ketteringham 5 3571.43x
Woodbridge 5 142.45x
Attleborough 4 228.57x
Cawston 4 470.59x
Redenhall 4 296.30x
West Wretham 4 3636.36x
Aston 3 1.92x
Birmingham 3 1.58x
East Raynham 3 2727.27x
Faceby 3 2307.69x
Holbrook 3 500.00x
Islington London 3 1.37x
Lakenham 3 60.98x
Paddington London 3 3.62x
Saxlingham Nethergate 3 731.71x
Southwold 3 185.19x
St George Hanover Square 3 7.56x
Terrington St Clement 3 192.31x
Thetford St Cuthbert 3 240.00x
Wolferton 3 2142.86x
Banham 2 227.27x
Barrow 2 285.71x
Chelsea London 2 2.95x
Dorking 2 27.14x
Heigham 2 10.75x
Honington 2 869.57x
Kensington London 2 1.60x
Romford 2 28.45x
St George Bloomsbury 2 15.47x
St Pancras London 2 1.10x
Stoke Newington London 2 11.40x
Streatham 2 11.96x
Sudbourne 2 444.44x
Bawburgh 1 303.03x
Bradford 1 1.85x
Drayton 1 312.50x
East Dereham 1 22.83x
Halesworth 1 51.28x
Hendon 1 12.33x
Ipswich St Margaret 1 10.74x
Kirkheaton 1 27.62x
Lewisham 1 2.44x
Newchurch 1 4.57x
Norwich St John Sepulchre 1 44.44x
Orford 1 113.64x
Penge 1 6.95x
Rougham 1 158.73x
Salmonby 1 1250.00x
St Paul Covent Garden 1 44.44x
Syderstone 1 250.00x
Tottenham 1 2.79x
Westminster St Margaret 1 9.20x

Top female names

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

Name Count
Mary 9
Ellen 7
Eliza 6
Annie 5
Maria 5
Alice 4
Elizabeth 4
Kate 4
Lucy 4
Agnes 3
Ann 3
Catherine 3
Edith 3
Sarah 3
Emma 2
Gertrude 2
Jane 2
Louisa 2
Martha 2
Anna 1
Bertha 1
Bessie 1
Charlotte 1
Clara 1
E. 1
Eleanor 1
Elenor 1
Elizth. 1
Elvina 1
Emily 1
Ethel 1
Evelyn 1
Fanny 1
Florence 1
Georgiana 1
Gwendolene 1
Hanah 1
Hannah 1
Harriet 1
Hattie 1
Jessie 1
Lavinia 1
Lettitia 1
Lilian 1
Lousia 1
Maralina 1
Margaret 1
Maud 1
Mildred 1
Millicent 1

Top male names

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

Name Count
George 14
William 11
Arthur 9
Henry 8
John 6
Thomas 6
Charles 5
Ernest 5
Herbert 4
James 4
Frederick 3
Dennis 2
Dudley 2
Edward 2
Frank 2
Geo. 2
Harry 2
Henery 2
Joseph 2
Robert 2
Walter 2
Willm. 2
Alan 1
Albert 1
Alfred 1
Aurther 1
Benjamin 1
Chestefield 1
Chesterfield 1
Clarke 1
Earnest 1
Fred 1
Fredk. 1
Fredk.C. 1
Gerald 1
Harold 1
Horace 1
Hy. 1
Jesse 1
Kitton 1
Leonard 1
Sidney 1
Sydney 1

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 Gayford households.

FAQ

Gayford surname: questions and answers

How common was the Gayford surname in 1881?

In 1881, 231 people were recorded with the Gayford surname. That placed it at #11,722 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Gayford surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 102 in 2016. That gives Gayford a modern rank of #30,722.

What does the Gayford map show?

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