NameCensus.

UK surname

Glegg

In the 1881 census there were 246 people recorded with the Glegg surname, ranking it #11,201 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 110, ranked #29,225, down from #11,201 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to Larbert, Kilbarchan and Edinburgh. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Broadland, Banchory East and West Dorset.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Glegg is 256 in 1901. Compared with 1881, the name has fallen by 55.3%.

1881 census count

246

Ranked #11,201

Modern count

110

2016, ranked #29,225

Peak year

1901

256 bearers

Map years

8

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Glegg had 246 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #11,201 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 110 in 2016, ranked #29,225.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 256 in 1901.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Spacious Rural Living.

Glegg surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Glegg surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Glegg 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 165 #12,053
1861 historical 236 #10,393
1881 historical 246 #11,201
1891 historical 250 #12,762
1901 historical 256 #12,934
1911 historical 83 #24,531
1997 modern 124 #23,669
1998 modern 124 #24,316
1999 modern 126 #24,239
2000 modern 132 #23,562
2001 modern 114 #25,344
2002 modern 115 #25,749
2003 modern 121 #24,776
2004 modern 119 #25,200
2005 modern 118 #25,301
2006 modern 118 #25,556
2007 modern 114 #26,491
2008 modern 123 #25,505
2009 modern 128 #25,427
2010 modern 132 #25,519
2011 modern 136 #24,819
2012 modern 116 #27,550
2013 modern 116 #27,992
2014 modern 115 #28,439
2015 modern 111 #28,986
2016 modern 110 #29,225

Geography

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Where Gleggs are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around Larbert, Kilbarchan, Edinburgh, London parishes and Fetteresso. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Broadland, Banchory East, West Dorset, Harrogate and Hambleton. 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 Larbert Stirling
2 Kilbarchan Renfrew
3 Edinburgh Edinburgh
4 London parishes London 2
5 Fetteresso Kincardine

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Broadland 001 Broadland
2 Banchory East Aberdeenshire
3 West Dorset 001 West Dorset
4 Harrogate 005 Harrogate
5 Hambleton 008 Hambleton

Forenames

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First names often paired with Glegg

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

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Glegg

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

Retired Professionals

Group

Spacious Rural Living

Nationally, the Glegg surname is most associated with neighbourhoods classed as Spacious Rural Living, within Retired Professionals. This does not mean every Glegg household fits that profile, but it gives a useful signal about where the modern surname distribution is strongest.

Read profile summary

Group profile

These predominantly ageing households typically have no resident dependent children. Most are owner-occupiers and live in detached houses in low density residential developments (although renting is more common than in the rest of the Supergroup). White ethnicity predominates. Residents are typically beyond retirement age but those still in work have managerial, professional or skilled trade occupations. White ethnicity and Christian religious affiliation predominate. Neighbourhoods are located throughout rural UK.

Wider pattern

Typically married but no longer with resident dependent children, these well-educated households either remain working in their managerial, professional, administrative or other skilled occupations, or are retired from them – the modal individual age is beyond normal retirement age. Underoccupied detached and semi-detached properties predominate, and unpaid care is more prevalent than reported disability. The prevalence of this Supergroup outside most urban conurbations indicates that rural lifestyles prevail, typically sustained by using two or more cars per household.

London neighbourhood type

London Output Area Classification

Supergroup

Social Rented Sector Families with Children

Group

Social Rented Sector Pockets

Within London, Glegg is most associated with areas classed as Social Rented Sector Pockets, part of Social Rented Sector Families with Children. 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

Found in pockets across London, residents are less likely to live in private sector rentals and fewer adults are students. Fewer individuals work in transport and communications occupations relative to the Supergroup average. More individuals identify as Black and were born in Africa.

Wider London pattern

Residents of these neighbourhoods include sizable numbers identifying with ethnicities originating outside Europe, particularly in Africa or Bangladesh. The proportion of residents identifying as White, Indian or Pakistani is well below the London average. Neighbourhood age profiles are skewed towards younger adults, and above average numbers of families have children. Rates of use of English at home are below average. Marriage rates are low, and levels of separation or divorce are above average. Housing is predominantly in flats, and renting in the social rented sector the norm - few residents are owner occupiers. Housing is often overcrowded, and neighbourhoods are amongst the most densely populated in London. Disability rates are above average, although levels of unpaid care provision are about average. Employment is in caring, leisure, other service occupations, sales and customer service, or process, plant, and machine operation. Part time working and full-time student study are common. Levels of unemployment are slightly above average. Most residents have only Level 1 or 2 educational qualifications or have completed apprenticeships.

Healthy neighbourhoods

Access to healthy assets and hazards

Glegg is most concentrated in decile 2 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.

2
Lower access Higher access

Neighbourhood deprivation

Index of Multiple Deprivation

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

1881 census detail

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Glegg families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Glegg 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. Aberdeenshire leads with 42 Gleggs recorded in 1881 and an index of 18.90x.

County Total Index
Aberdeenshire 42 18.90x
Lancashire 40 1.40x
Midlothian 33 10.27x
Stirlingshire 30 33.90x
Kincardineshire 24 82.14x
Surrey 12 1.03x
Yorkshire 12 0.50x
Cumberland 8 3.87x
Middlesex 8 0.33x
Angus 6 2.70x
Renfrewshire 6 3.23x
Staffordshire 6 0.74x
Cheshire 4 0.76x
Herefordshire 4 4.07x
Lanarkshire 4 0.52x
Kent 3 0.37x
Caithness 1 3.04x
Durham 1 0.14x
Gloucestershire 1 0.21x
Shropshire 1 0.48x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Aberdeen Old Machar in Aberdeenshire leads with 28 Gleggs recorded in 1881 and an index of 60.34x.

Place Total Index
Aberdeen Old Machar 28 60.34x
Larbert 23 434.78x
Edinburgh St Cuthberts 21 16.24x
Clitheroe 14 167.06x
Aberdeen St Nicholas 13 31.27x
Preston 10 13.13x
Fetteresso 8 174.67x
St Cuthbert W O 8 79.44x
Batley 7 30.97x
Falkirk 7 33.78x
North Leith 7 47.04x
Battersea 6 6.80x
Kilbarchan 6 106.19x
Stoke Newington London 6 32.10x
Dunnottar 5 242.72x
Manchester 5 3.90x
Montrose 5 37.12x
Bervie 4 231.21x
Gorton 4 14.94x
Laurencekirk 4 236.69x
Newcastle Under Lyme 4 27.91x
Burnley 3 12.51x
Clapham 3 10.00x
Lea By Backford 3 1875.00x
Lewisham 3 6.87x
Nutfield 3 340.91x
Accrington 2 7.73x
Arbuthnott 2 298.51x
Edinburgh St Marys 2 32.00x
Handsworth 2 10.02x
Hereford St Owen 2 61.54x
Honley 2 48.08x
Morley 2 16.18x
Rutherglen 2 17.56x
Barony 1 0.51x
Brancepeth 1 76.92x
Culsalmond 1 147.06x
Dewsbury 1 4.10x
Dundee 1 1.21x
Fordoun 1 60.98x
Glasgow 1 0.73x
Habergham Eaves 1 3.84x
Hatfield 1 909.09x
Hornsey 1 3.30x
Lasswade 1 13.61x
Leominster 1 24.57x
Liberton 1 20.16x
Liverpool 1 0.58x
Penicuik 1 22.88x
Sandbach 1 22.12x
Shrewsbury Holy Cross 1 43.67x
St Giles In Fields London 1 8.50x
Westbury On Trym 1 6.27x
Wick 1 9.43x

Top female names

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

Name Count
Mary 9
Sarah 4
Jane 3
Ann 2
Elizabeth 2
Grace 2
Harriet 2
Helen 2
Martha 2
Rachel 2
Blanche 1
Elizth.J. 1
Ellen 1
Emily 1
Eva 1
Florence 1
Frances 1
Hannah 1
Isabella 1
Julia 1
Leah 1
Lizzie 1
Margaret 1
Maria 1
Robina 1
Selina 1

Top male names

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

Name Count
James 7
Robert 4
Thomas 4
David 3
Ernest 3
William 3
Alexander 2
George 2
Henry 2
John 2
Adam 1
Amos 1
Arthur 1
Birkenhead 1
Charles 1
Edmund 1
Edward 1
Edwin 1
Francis 1
Frank 1
Grahame 1
Harold 1
Harry 1
Jas. 1
Jno 1
Joseph 1
Luke 1
Patrick 1
Pearson 1
Reginald 1
Samuel 1
Thos.Edwd. 1

FAQ

Glegg surname: questions and answers

How common was the Glegg surname in 1881?

In 1881, 246 people were recorded with the Glegg surname. That placed it at #11,201 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Glegg surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 110 in 2016. That gives Glegg a modern rank of #29,225.

What does the Glegg map show?

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