NameCensus.

UK surname

Gilliver

In the 1881 census there were 326 people recorded with the Gilliver surname, ranking it #9,167 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 647, ranked #8,204, up from #9,167 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to Stapenhill, Church Gresley and Leicester St Margaret and Bishop's Fee, Leicester All Saints, Blackfriars. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include North Warwickshire, North West Leicestershire and East Lindsey.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Gilliver is 744 in 1998. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 98.5%.

1881 census count

326

Ranked #9,167

Modern count

647

2016, ranked #8,204

Peak year

1998

744 bearers

Map years

9

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Gilliver had 326 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #9,167 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 647 in 2016, ranked #8,204.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 610 in 1911.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Rural Amenity.

Gilliver surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Gilliver surname density by area, 1881 census.

Loading map
Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

Back to top

Gilliver 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 157 #12,504
1861 historical 148 #15,452
1881 historical 326 #9,167
1891 historical 431 #8,330
1901 historical 509 #7,954
1911 historical 610 #6,749
1997 modern 716 #7,127
1998 modern 744 #7,150
1999 modern 728 #7,302
2000 modern 713 #7,395
2001 modern 704 #7,337
2002 modern 712 #7,412
2003 modern 670 #7,656
2004 modern 652 #7,813
2005 modern 638 #7,893
2006 modern 645 #7,853
2007 modern 629 #8,061
2008 modern 624 #8,160
2009 modern 636 #8,208
2010 modern 671 #8,050
2011 modern 663 #8,031
2012 modern 637 #8,192
2013 modern 655 #8,163
2014 modern 666 #8,096
2015 modern 659 #8,109
2016 modern 647 #8,204

Geography

Back to top

Where Gillivers are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around Stapenhill, Church Gresley, Leicester St Margaret and Bishop's Fee, Leicester All Saints, Blackfriars, Enderby and Ashby-de-la-Zouch. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to North Warwickshire, North West Leicestershire, East Lindsey and South Derbyshire. 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 Stapenhill Staffordshire
2 Church Gresley Staffordshire
3 Leicester St Margaret and Bishop's Fee, Leicester All Saints, Blackfriars Leicestershire
4 Enderby Leicestershire
5 Ashby-de-la-Zouch Leicestershire

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 North Warwickshire 003 North Warwickshire
2 North Warwickshire 001 North Warwickshire
3 North West Leicestershire 008 North West Leicestershire
4 East Lindsey 018 East Lindsey
5 South Derbyshire 008 South Derbyshire

Forenames

Back to top

First names often paired with Gilliver

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

Modern profile

Back to top

Neighbourhood profile for Gilliver

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

Gilliver 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

Gilliver falls in decile 7 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.

7
More deprived Less deprived

Broadband speed

Fixed broadband download speed

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

1881 census detail

Back to top

Gilliver families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Gilliver 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. Leicestershire leads with 112 Gillivers recorded in 1881 and an index of 31.86x.

County Total Index
Leicestershire 112 31.86x
Derbyshire 83 16.72x
Warwickshire 50 6.25x
Staffordshire 26 2.43x
Nottinghamshire 16 3.74x
Middlesex 12 0.38x
Yorkshire 9 0.29x
Worcestershire 8 1.93x
Lancashire 3 0.08x
Dorset 2 0.96x
Berkshire 1 0.42x
Hampshire 1 0.15x
Montgomeryshire 1 1.38x
Surrey 1 0.06x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Enderby in Leicestershire leads with 46 Gillivers recorded in 1881 and an index of 2527.47x.

Place Total Index
Enderby 46 2527.47x
Church Gresley 22 278.48x
Birmingham 18 6.76x
Newbold Verdon 17 2098.77x
Stapenhill 16 216.51x
Castle Gresley 14 1647.06x
Hartshorn 11 585.11x
Burton Upon Trent 10 39.94x
Leicester All Sts 9 130.43x
Leicester St Margaret 9 10.50x
Lichfield St Chad 9 373.44x
Nuneaton 9 97.19x
Mansfield 8 54.09x
Polesworth 8 210.53x
Wales 8 322.58x
Pilsley In Chesterfield 7 1186.44x
Ashby De La Zouch 6 73.62x
Lullington 6 740.74x
Belgrave 5 63.05x
Hucknall Torkard 5 46.13x
Kings Norton 5 13.47x
Sheepy Magna 5 1111.11x
Aston 4 1.82x
Hugglescote 4 77.37x
Leicester St Leonard 4 120.12x
Lichfield St Mary 4 129.45x
Whetstone 4 310.08x
Kensington London 3 1.70x
Nether Whitacre 3 468.75x
St Stephen Coleman Street 3 270.27x
Duffield 2 51.15x
Hackney London 2 1.13x
Litchurch 2 10.02x
Nottingham St Peter 2 42.02x
Poole St James 2 25.58x
Stourbridge 2 18.78x
Tamworth 2 34.97x
Turton 2 32.47x
Warwick St Nicholas 2 34.13x
Aldershot 1 4.59x
Alfreton 1 6.63x
Atherstone 1 24.51x
Baginton 1 434.78x
Binley 1 476.19x
Bolehall Glascote 1 29.50x
Derby St Werburgh 1 3.49x
Edgbaston 1 4.03x
Edmonton 1 3.92x
Eggington 1 227.27x
Goole 1 19.01x
Hammersmith London 1 1.28x
Heather 1 204.08x
Humberstone 1 34.60x
Lambeth 1 0.36x
Mancetter 1 43.48x
Markfield 1 57.47x
New Windsor 1 12.50x
Newtown 1 21.51x
Northfield 1 12.74x
St Anne Soho London 1 5.52x
St Pancras London 1 0.39x
Standard Hill 1 98.04x
Wigan 1 1.90x
Wolstanton 1 3.08x

Top female names

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

Name Count
Mary 31
Ann 14
Sarah 12
Elizabeth 11
Hannah 9
Eliza 8
Fanny 7
Alice 5
Emma 5
Annie 4
Ellen 4
Emily 4
Harriett 4
Ada 3
Harriet 3
Jane 3
Selina 3
Caroline 2
Catherine 2
Charlotte 2
Kate 2
Maria 2
Betsy 1
Eadith 1
Elizth. 1
Elsie 1
Epsey 1
Ester 1
Esther 1
Florence 1
Frances 1
Isabella 1
Janet 1
Judith 1
Julia 1
Lavinia 1
Leah 1
Lilly 1
Lizzie 1
Louisa 1
Lydia 1
Matilda 1
Minnie 1
Naomi 1
Nelly 1
Patience 1
Priscilla 1
Rebecca 1
Rhoda 1
Tom 1

Top male names

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

Name Count
William 22
John 17
Joseph 14
Thomas 14
James 13
George 9
Charles 8
Alfred 5
Arthur 5
Henry 5
Daniel 3
Samuel 3
Amos 2
Francis 2
Herbert 2
Robert 2
Walter 2
Albert 1
Baby 1
Cornelius 1
Cyrus 1
David 1
Edward 1
Edwin 1
Enoch 1
Frank 1
Fredrick 1
Freeman 1
G. 1
Isac 1
Jesse 1
Lewis 1
Richard 1
Sidney 1
Thos. 1
W.G.M. 1
Waldren 1

FAQ

Gilliver surname: questions and answers

How common was the Gilliver surname in 1881?

In 1881, 326 people were recorded with the Gilliver surname. That placed it at #9,167 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Gilliver surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 647 in 2016. That gives Gilliver a modern rank of #8,204.

What does the Gilliver map show?

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