NameCensus.

UK surname

Grimsdale

In the 1881 census there were 217 people recorded with the Grimsdale surname, ranking it #12,188 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 137, ranked #25,254, down from #12,188 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to St Leonard Shoreditch, London parishes and Ealing, Chiswick. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Dacorum, Aylesbury Vale and Vale of White Horse.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Grimsdale is 297 in 1911. Compared with 1881, the name has fallen by 36.9%.

1881 census count

217

Ranked #12,188

Modern count

137

2016, ranked #25,254

Peak year

1911

297 bearers

Map years

8

1861 to 2016

Key insights

  • Grimsdale had 217 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #12,188 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 137 in 2016, ranked #25,254.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 297 in 1911.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Rural Amenity.

Grimsdale surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Grimsdale surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Grimsdale 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 91 #18,187
1861 historical 117 #18,635
1881 historical 217 #12,188
1891 historical 193 #15,335
1901 historical 277 #12,281
1911 historical 297 #11,524
1997 modern 183 #18,642
1998 modern 182 #19,162
1999 modern 181 #19,380
2000 modern 176 #19,698
2001 modern 169 #19,912
2002 modern 166 #20,532
2003 modern 162 #20,624
2004 modern 160 #20,926
2005 modern 153 #21,490
2006 modern 152 #21,721
2007 modern 154 #21,804
2008 modern 150 #22,429
2009 modern 158 #22,168
2010 modern 148 #23,697
2011 modern 144 #23,962
2012 modern 139 #24,485
2013 modern 143 #24,434
2014 modern 141 #24,855
2015 modern 137 #25,226
2016 modern 137 #25,254

Geography

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Where Grimsdales are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around St Leonard Shoreditch, London parishes, Ealing, Chiswick, Bray, Maidenhead, Cookham and St Luke. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Dacorum, Aylesbury Vale, Vale of White Horse and Chirnside and Area. 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 St Leonard Shoreditch London (East Districts)
2 London parishes London 3
3 Ealing, Chiswick Middlesex (Exclusive Of London Districts)
4 Bray, Maidenhead, Cookham Berkshire
5 St Luke London (Central Districts)

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Dacorum 006 Dacorum
2 Aylesbury Vale 024 Aylesbury Vale
3 Dacorum 018 Dacorum
4 Vale of White Horse 006 Vale of White Horse
5 Chirnside and Area Scottish Borders

Forenames

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First names often paired with Grimsdale

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

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Grimsdale

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

Young Families and Mainstream Employment

Group

Terraced and Semi-Detached Suburbs

Within London, Grimsdale is most associated with areas classed as Terraced and Semi-Detached Suburbs, part of Young Families and Mainstream Employment. 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 concentrated in suburban areas, these terraced and semi-detached developments are less overcrowded than the Supergroup average, and resident households are more likely to own two or more cars. There are fewer residents aged 25-44, and a larger share of residents employed in administrative and secretarial occupations. Residents are more likely to have been born in the UK, less likely to have been born in the EU or Africa, and much less likely to self-identify as Bangladeshi.

Wider London pattern

Many families in these neighbourhoods have young children. Housing is principally in the social rented sector, in terraced or semi-detached units. While over-all residential densities are low, overcrowding is also prevalent locally. Residents are drawn from a range of ethnic minorities, with many identifying as Black and above average numbers born in Africa. Numbers identifying as of Chinese, Indian or White ethnicity are below average. Levels of proficiency in English are below average. Levels of separation or divorce and incidence of disability are both above average. Education is typically limited to Level 1, 2, or apprenticeship qualifications. Few residents work in professional or managerial occupations but the employment structure is otherwise diverse: it includes skilled trades, caring, leisure and other service occupations, sales and customer service occupations, construction, and work as process, plant, and machine operatives.

Healthy neighbourhoods

Access to healthy assets and hazards

Grimsdale 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

Grimsdale falls in decile 10 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.

10
More deprived Less deprived

Broadband speed

Fixed broadband download speed

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

1881 census detail

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Grimsdale families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Grimsdale 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. Middlesex leads with 81 Grimsdales recorded in 1881 and an index of 3.83x.

County Total Index
Middlesex 81 3.83x
Buckinghamshire 62 48.45x
Surrey 20 1.94x
Oxfordshire 9 6.89x
Staffordshire 8 1.12x
Berkshire 7 4.41x
Gloucestershire 7 1.69x
Kent 7 0.97x
Hertfordshire 4 2.74x
Lancashire 4 0.16x
Hampshire 3 0.69x
Cambridgeshire 2 1.49x
Lincolnshire 2 0.59x
Somerset 1 0.29x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Monks Risborough in Buckinghamshire leads with 14 Grimsdales recorded in 1881 and an index of 2295.08x.

Place Total Index
Monks Risborough 14 2295.08x
Putney 10 103.63x
Clerkenwell London 9 18.01x
Hillingdon 9 133.33x
Stokenchurch 9 769.23x
Wendover 9 652.17x
Burton Upon Trent 8 47.88x
Chiswick 8 69.14x
Wycombe 8 83.86x
Aylesbury 7 123.46x
Bristol Temple 7 256.41x
Gillingham 7 47.01x
Islington London 7 3.41x
Kensington London 7 5.95x
Norwood 7 144.63x
Camberwell 6 4.44x
Chelsea London 5 7.84x
Paddington London 5 6.43x
Upton Cum Chalvey 5 98.04x
Willesden 5 25.06x
Liverpool 4 2.62x
Shoreditch London 4 4.36x
Westminster St John 4 15.52x
Clapham 3 11.34x
Clewer 3 46.08x
Drayton 3 666.67x
Hackney London 3 2.53x
Hughenden 3 229.01x
Aston Clinton 2 185.19x
Chalfont St Peter 2 190.48x
Eling 2 45.56x
Great Missenden 2 126.58x
Harpenden 2 90.09x
Lewknor Up Hill 2 1428.57x
Quainton 2 317.46x
Stamford St Michael 2 208.33x
Uxbridge 2 82.64x
Ashtead 1 149.25x
Beaconsfield 1 84.03x
Bedminster 1 3.12x
Denham 1 109.89x
Edlesborough 1 85.47x
Eton 1 34.48x
Fulham London 1 3.26x
Halton 1 714.29x
Harrow 1 30.96x
Mile End Old Town London 1 2.22x
Old Windsor 1 54.35x
Pampisford 1 400.00x
Saunderton 1 322.58x
St Albans 1 33.44x
St George Hanover Square 1 2.68x
St Martin In Fields 1 7.89x
St Michael Cambridge 1 256.41x
St Pancras London 1 0.59x
St Thomas Winchester 1 32.68x
Watford 1 8.84x

Top female names

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

Top male names

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

Name Count
William 17
John 12
Thomas 11
George 9
Henry 9
James 9
Arthur 4
Harry 4
Albert 3
Alfred 3
Charles 3
David 2
Ernest 2
Frederick 2
Joseph 2
Thos. 2
(Mr) 1
...ard 1
Abel 1
Abraham 1
Alfey 1
Anna 1
Chas. 1
Daniel 1
Earnest 1
Edward 1
Edwin 1
Frank 1
Fred 1
Harold 1
Jesse 1
Lord 1
Owen 1
Ralf 1
Rowland 1
Wilfred 1
Wm. 1

FAQ

Grimsdale surname: questions and answers

How common was the Grimsdale surname in 1881?

In 1881, 217 people were recorded with the Grimsdale surname. That placed it at #12,188 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Grimsdale surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 137 in 2016. That gives Grimsdale a modern rank of #25,254.

What does the Grimsdale map show?

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