NameCensus.

UK surname

Granger

A topographic surname referring to someone who lived near or worked on a granary or grain farm.

In the 1881 census there were 3,061 people recorded with the Granger surname, ranking it #1,467 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 2,725, ranked #2,464, down from #1,467 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to Bristol City: St Mary Redcliff, Govan Combination and St Pancras. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include North Barlanark and Easterhouse South, Forest Heath and South Cambridgeshire.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Granger is 3,061 in 1881. Compared with 1881, the name has fallen by 11.0%.

1881 census count

3,061

Ranked #1,467

Modern count

2,725

2016, ranked #2,464

Peak year

1881

3,061 bearers

Map years

9

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Granger had 3,061 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #1,467 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 2,725 in 2016, ranked #2,464.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 3,061 in 1881.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Rural Amenity.

Granger surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Granger surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Granger 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 2,612 #1,131
1861 historical 2,613 #1,126
1881 historical 3,061 #1,467
1891 historical 2,921 #1,608
1901 historical 2,888 #1,939
1911 historical 2,599 #1,969
1997 modern 2,667 #2,391
1998 modern 2,755 #2,410
1999 modern 2,793 #2,397
2000 modern 2,710 #2,449
2001 modern 2,631 #2,465
2002 modern 2,719 #2,437
2003 modern 2,629 #2,463
2004 modern 2,623 #2,469
2005 modern 2,583 #2,467
2006 modern 2,599 #2,464
2007 modern 2,601 #2,478
2008 modern 2,594 #2,497
2009 modern 2,728 #2,449
2010 modern 2,825 #2,432
2011 modern 2,747 #2,458
2012 modern 2,712 #2,447
2013 modern 2,754 #2,457
2014 modern 2,799 #2,440
2015 modern 2,750 #2,456
2016 modern 2,725 #2,464

Geography

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Where Grangers are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around Bristol City: St Mary Redcliff, Govan Combination, St Pancras, London parishes and Leicester St Margaret and Bishop's Fee, Leicester All Saints, Blackfriars. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to North Barlanark and Easterhouse South, Forest Heath, South Cambridgeshire, Doncaster and Oadby and Wigston. 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 Bristol City: St Mary Redcliff Gloucestershire
2 Govan Combination Lanark
3 St Pancras London (North Districts)
4 London parishes London 3
5 Leicester St Margaret and Bishop's Fee, Leicester All Saints, Blackfriars Leicestershire

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 North Barlanark and Easterhouse South Glasgow City
2 Forest Heath 001 Forest Heath
3 South Cambridgeshire 001 South Cambridgeshire
4 Doncaster 010 Doncaster
5 Oadby and Wigston 005 Oadby and Wigston

Forenames

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First names often paired with Granger

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

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Granger

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

Social Rented Sector Families with Children

Group

Social Rented Sector Pockets

Within London, Granger 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

Granger is most concentrated in decile 6 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.

6
Lower access Higher access

Neighbourhood deprivation

Index of Multiple Deprivation

Granger 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 Granger is most associated with a typical fixed broadband download band of 60-70 mbit/s.

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

9
Slower band Faster band

Area snapshot

Ethnic group estimate

Most common ethnic group estimate
White - British

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

Meaning and origin of Granger

The surname Granger has its origins in medieval France, deriving from the Old French word 'grainger', which meant a keeper of granaries or farms. The name likely emerged during the 12th or 13th century in northern France, particularly in the regions of Normandy and Brittany.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Granger appears in the Cartulary of Bayeux in 1180, where a certain Radulfus Granger is mentioned as a witness to a land transaction. This suggests that the name was already established in that region by the late 12th century.

Over time, the name spread across other parts of France and eventually made its way to England following the Norman Conquest in 1066. The Domesday Book of 1086 does not contain any direct references to the Granger surname, but it does mention several places with names derived from the Old French word 'grainger', indicating the presence of granaries or farms in those areas.

One notable early bearer of the Granger name was Sir Thomas Granger (c. 1320-1380), a prominent English knight who served under King Edward III during the Hundred Years' War. He is mentioned in several contemporary chronicles for his valor and military exploits.

Another influential figure was Gaspard Granger (1615-1694), a French Benedictine monk and scholar who compiled one of the earliest comprehensive bibliographies of religious literature, titled "Bibliotheca Regularis."

In the 18th century, James Granger (1723-1776) was an English writer and biographer best known for his influential work "A Biographical History of England", which contained engraved portraits and biographies of notable figures throughout English history.

During the 19th century, the surname Granger was borne by several prominent individuals, including Gordon Granger (1825-1876), a Union Army general during the American Civil War, and Gideon Granger (1767-1822), an American lawyer and politician who served as the United States Postmaster General under Presidents Thomas Jefferson and James Madison.

The Granger surname has also been associated with various place names, such as Grange-over-Sands in Cumbria, England, and Grangemouth in Scotland, both of which derive from the Old French word 'grainger' and reflect the agricultural roots of the name.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

1881 census detail

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Granger families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Granger 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 366 Grangers recorded in 1881 and an index of 1.24x.

County Total Index
Yorkshire 366 1.24x
Middlesex 332 1.11x
Lanarkshire 234 2.42x
Staffordshire 176 1.75x
Surrey 151 1.04x
Leicestershire 124 3.74x
Nottinghamshire 118 2.93x
Derbyshire 115 2.46x
Lancashire 106 0.30x
Worcestershire 104 2.67x
Cambridgeshire 101 5.34x
Kent 98 0.96x
Durham 95 1.07x
Devon 80 1.29x
Suffolk 79 2.17x
Somerset 64 1.33x
Warwickshire 60 0.80x
Essex 55 0.93x
Hampshire 55 0.90x
Gloucestershire 53 0.90x
Northamptonshire 40 1.42x
Renfrewshire 39 1.68x
Sussex 38 0.75x
Cheshire 34 0.52x
Lincolnshire 34 0.71x
Norfolk 28 0.61x
Wiltshire 27 1.02x
Angus 26 0.94x
Dorset 25 1.27x
Glamorgan 23 0.44x
Monmouthshire 23 1.06x
Midlothian 19 0.47x
Fife 15 0.85x
Stirlingshire 11 1.00x
West Lothian 11 2.44x
Shropshire 10 0.39x
Oxfordshire 9 0.49x
Ayrshire 8 0.36x
Berkshire 8 0.36x
Cornwall 8 0.24x
Berwickshire 6 1.66x
Herefordshire 6 0.49x
Northumberland 6 0.14x
Perthshire 6 0.45x
Carmarthenshire 5 0.40x
Huntingdonshire 5 0.84x
Cumberland 4 0.16x
Royal Navy 4 1.12x
Buckinghamshire 3 0.17x
Dunbartonshire 3 0.37x
Kinross-shire 3 3.97x
Aberdeenshire 2 0.07x
Buteshire 2 1.10x
Argyllshire 1 0.12x
Clackmannanshire 1 0.41x
Flintshire 1 0.12x
Morayshire 1 0.22x
Pembrokeshire 1 0.11x
Rutland 1 0.46x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Govan in Lanarkshire leads with 70 Grangers recorded in 1881 and an index of 2.93x.

Place Total Index
Govan 70 2.93x
Codnor Loscoe 63 170.04x
Dudley 49 10.33x
Kensington London 48 2.89x
Barony 44 1.80x
St Pancras London 34 1.41x
Deptford St Paul 33 4.20x
Glasgow 32 1.86x
Leeds 31 1.85x
Islington London 30 1.04x
Nottingham St Mary 30 2.88x
Lambeth 27 1.04x
Stoke Upon Trent 26 2.43x
Aston 25 1.20x
Camberwell 25 1.31x
Clerkenwell London 24 3.40x
Selston 24 53.36x
Greasley 23 25.31x
Halesowen 23 67.15x
Brightside Bierlow 22 3.79x
Packington 22 186.44x
Leicester St Mary 21 7.85x
St Marylebone London 21 1.32x
Bedminster 20 4.43x
Middlesbrough 20 5.19x
Walsall Foreign 20 3.84x
Wednesbury 20 7.93x
Oldbury 19 9.90x
Mexborough 18 30.63x
Cottenham 17 67.59x
Litchurch 17 9.03x
Monkwearmouth Shore 17 9.80x
Yateley 17 146.68x
Stranton 16 5.35x
Tottenham 16 3.36x
Toxteth Park 16 1.33x
Ashby De La Zouch 15 19.53x
Attercliffe Cum Darnall 15 5.44x
Bethnal Green London 15 1.16x
Birmingham 15 0.60x
Brighton 15 1.48x
Croydon 15 1.86x
Glassford 15 100.74x
Haddenham 15 84.27x
Maryhill 15 7.93x
Battersea 14 1.27x
Bermondsey 14 1.57x
Fylingdales 14 94.85x
Wolverhampton 14 1.81x
Calne 13 23.90x
Codsall 13 90.66x
Edinburgh St Cuthberts 13 0.81x
Manchester 13 0.82x
Oadby 13 73.24x
St George In East London 13 4.63x
Burton Latimer 12 70.67x
Sedgley 12 3.20x
Shoreditch London 12 0.93x
Southwark St George Martyr 12 2.00x
St Luke London 12 2.50x
Abbey 11 3.11x
Bishopwearmouth 11 1.44x
Bristol St Philip Jacob 11 1.99x
Crayford 11 24.71x
Dalziel 11 10.58x
Darlaston 11 7.89x
Great Totham 11 143.60x
Hucknall Torkard 11 10.77x
Kingston On Thames 11 3.15x
Leicester Newarke 11 63.69x
Mile End Old Town London 11 1.73x
Plymouth Charles The 11 4.01x
Portsea 11 0.92x
Radford 11 5.38x
Salford 11 1.05x
St Vigeans 11 7.36x
West Bromwich 11 1.91x
Hammersmith London 10 1.36x
Hartlepool 10 7.92x
West Newchurch 10 884.96x

Top female names

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

Name Count
Mary 179
Elizabeth 110
Sarah 108
Ann 61
Jane 48
Eliza 43
Hannah 41
Emma 38
Ellen 34
Alice 33
Annie 32
Emily 25
Harriet 24
Martha 22
Fanny 18
Charlotte 16
Florence 16
Matilda 16
Caroline 15
Louisa 15
Margaret 15
Maria 15
Catherine 14
Clara 14
Susan 13
Anne 12
Lucy 12
Ada 11
Agnes 10
Frances 10
Julia 10
Edith 9
Harriett 9
Kate 9
Rebecca 9
Amy 8
Esther 8
Amelia 7
Isabella 7
Rachel 7
Selina 7
Helen 6
Jessie 6
Rose 6
Bertha 5
Grace 5
Lizzie 5
Lydia 5
Mabel 5
Minnie 5

Top male names

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

Name Count
William 154
John 143
Thomas 94
George 74
James 73
Joseph 65
Henry 58
Charles 42
Edward 41
Arthur 36
Richard 32
Alfred 29
Robert 28
Walter 24
Frederick 23
Samuel 23
Albert 20
Harry 20
Benjamin 12
David 12
Frank 11
Francis 9
Frederic 6
Jacob 6
Wm. 6
Ernest 5
Fred 5
Harold 5
Herbert 5
Isaac 5
Joshua 5
Mark 5
Thos. 5
Tom 5
Alexander 4
Daniel 4
Edgar 4
Edwin 4
Earnest 3
Fredk. 3
Louis 3
Percy 3
Robt. 3
Sidney 3
Simon 3
Stephen 3
Mathew 2
Moses 2
Oliver 2
Zachariah 2

FAQ

Granger surname: questions and answers

How common was the Granger surname in 1881?

In 1881, 3,061 people were recorded with the Granger surname. That placed it at #1,467 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Granger surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 2,725 in 2016. That gives Granger a modern rank of #2,464.

What does the Granger surname mean?

A topographic surname referring to someone who lived near or worked on a granary or grain farm.

What does the Granger map show?

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