NameCensus.

UK surname

Greatwood

In the 1881 census there were 113 people recorded with the Greatwood surname, ranking it #18,412 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 149, ranked #23,844, down from #18,412 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to Castle Cary, Trowbridge and London parishes. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include East Cambridgeshire, Wiltshire and Hinckley and Bosworth.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Greatwood is 188 in 2000. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 31.9%.

1881 census count

113

Ranked #18,412

Modern count

149

2016, ranked #23,844

Peak year

2000

188 bearers

Map years

7

1881 to 2016

Key insights

  • Greatwood had 113 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #18,412 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 149 in 2016, ranked #23,844.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 183 in 1911.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Spacious Rural Living.

Greatwood surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Greatwood surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Greatwood 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 56 #23,235
1861 historical 80 #23,566
1881 historical 113 #18,412
1891 historical 144 #18,842
1901 historical 166 #17,011
1911 historical 183 #15,811
1997 modern 170 #19,505
1998 modern 183 #19,106
1999 modern 186 #19,073
2000 modern 188 #18,916
2001 modern 184 #18,907
2002 modern 179 #19,598
2003 modern 169 #20,092
2004 modern 181 #19,363
2005 modern 183 #19,194
2006 modern 175 #19,850
2007 modern 173 #20,243
2008 modern 163 #21,238
2009 modern 165 #21,552
2010 modern 167 #21,835
2011 modern 164 #21,900
2012 modern 159 #22,361
2013 modern 157 #22,904
2014 modern 150 #23,864
2015 modern 149 #23,817
2016 modern 149 #23,844

Geography

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Where Greatwoods are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around Castle Cary, Trowbridge, London parishes, Lambeth and Bedwelty. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to East Cambridgeshire, Wiltshire, Hinckley and Bosworth and Waverley. 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 Castle Cary Somerset
2 Trowbridge Wiltshire
3 London parishes London 3
4 Lambeth London (South Districts)
5 Bedwelty Monmouthshire

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 East Cambridgeshire 006 East Cambridgeshire
2 Wiltshire 037 Wiltshire
3 Wiltshire 039 Wiltshire
4 Hinckley and Bosworth 012 Hinckley and Bosworth
5 Waverley 006 Waverley

Forenames

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First names often paired with Greatwood

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

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Greatwood

Modern surname records can be compared with neighbourhood classifications. For Greatwood, 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 Greatwood surname is most associated with neighbourhoods classed as Spacious Rural Living, within Retired Professionals. This does not mean every Greatwood 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, Greatwood 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

Greatwood is most concentrated in decile 5 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.

5
Lower access Higher access

Neighbourhood deprivation

Index of Multiple Deprivation

Greatwood 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 Greatwood is most associated with a typical fixed broadband download band of 50-60 mbit/s.

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

8
Slower band Faster band

Area snapshot

Ethnic group estimate

Most common ethnic group estimate
White - British

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

1881 census detail

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Greatwood families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Greatwood 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. Somerset leads with 23 Greatwoods recorded in 1881 and an index of 12.96x.

County Total Index
Somerset 23 12.96x
Surrey 18 3.35x
Middlesex 17 1.54x
Wiltshire 15 15.39x
Devon 10 4.36x
Monmouthshire 8 10.04x
Brecknockshire 5 22.69x
Worcestershire 5 3.47x
Suffolk 4 2.98x
Hampshire 3 1.33x
Kent 1 0.27x
Lancashire 1 0.08x
Leicestershire 1 0.82x
Nottinghamshire 1 0.67x
Warwickshire 1 0.36x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Lambeth in Surrey leads with 17 Greatwoods recorded in 1881 and an index of 17.69x.

Place Total Index
Lambeth 17 17.69x
Frome 12 283.02x
Westbury 9 394.74x
Aberystruth 8 113.96x
Castle Cary 8 1038.96x
Tiverton 6 151.90x
Trowbridge 6 139.21x
Chiswick 5 83.06x
Kings Norton 5 38.73x
Llanelly 5 189.39x
Gorleston 4 117.30x
Chelsea London 3 9.03x
Shoreditch London 3 6.28x
St George Hanover Square 3 15.45x
Glastonbury 2 137.93x
Southampton St John 2 869.57x
St Marylebone London 2 3.40x
Widdecombeinthe Moor 2 645.16x
Basford 1 14.60x
Birmingham 1 1.08x
Camberwell 1 1.42x
Glen Parva 1 344.83x
Kensington London 1 1.63x
Liverpool 1 1.26x
Portsea 1 2.26x
Somerton 1 138.89x
Topsham 1 92.59x
Tormoham 1 10.30x
Woolwich 1 7.20x

Top female names

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

Name Count
Mary 8
Emma 6
Elizabeth 3
Emily 3
Alice 2
Anne 2
Eliza 2
Florence 2
Lettica 2
Maria 2
Rose 2
Ruth 2
Sarah 2
Selina 2
Ada 1
Beatrice 1
Blanche 1
Catherine 1
Charlotte 1
E. 1
Edith 1
Frances 1
Georgina 1
Laura 1
Lucy 1
Lydia 1
M. 1
Plina 1
Rachel 1

Top male names

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

Name Count
James 6
John 6
George 5
William 5
Edward 3
Henry 3
Sidney 3
Thomas 3
Charles 2
Walter 2
Albert 1
Amos 1
Arthur 1
C. 1
Chas. 1
Chorley 1
Ernest 1
Francis 1
Frank 1
Frederick 1
Fredrick 1
H.H. 1
Herbert 1
Jno. 1
Levi 1
Mark 1
R. 1
Tom 1
W. 1
Wm. 1

FAQ

Greatwood surname: questions and answers

How common was the Greatwood surname in 1881?

In 1881, 113 people were recorded with the Greatwood surname. That placed it at #18,412 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Greatwood surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 149 in 2016. That gives Greatwood a modern rank of #23,844.

What does the Greatwood map show?

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