NameCensus.

UK surname

Groom

An occupational surname referring to a stable worker who tends to horses or a bridegroom.

In the 1881 census there were 4,197 people recorded with the Groom surname, ranking it #1,073 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 4,726, ranked #1,440, down from #1,073 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to Wolverhampton, Wellington, Wrockwardine, Eyton-on-the-Moors, Preston-on-the-Moors and London parishes. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Shropshire, Doncaster and King's Lynn and West Norfolk.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Groom is 5,514 in 1911. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 12.6%.

1881 census count

4,197

Ranked #1,073

Modern count

4,726

2016, ranked #1,440

Peak year

1911

5,514 bearers

Map years

9

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Groom had 4,197 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #1,073 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 4,726 in 2016, ranked #1,440.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 5,514 in 1911.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Rural Amenity.

Groom surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Groom surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Groom 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 3,041 #956
1861 historical 3,287 #869
1881 historical 4,197 #1,073
1891 historical 4,578 #1,023
1901 historical 5,071 #1,109
1911 historical 5,514 #943
1997 modern 5,073 #1,289
1998 modern 5,235 #1,297
1999 modern 5,225 #1,310
2000 modern 5,139 #1,319
2001 modern 5,027 #1,316
2002 modern 5,098 #1,328
2003 modern 4,953 #1,333
2004 modern 4,923 #1,340
2005 modern 4,824 #1,352
2006 modern 4,823 #1,350
2007 modern 4,854 #1,360
2008 modern 4,845 #1,374
2009 modern 4,948 #1,375
2010 modern 4,975 #1,399
2011 modern 4,889 #1,404
2012 modern 4,765 #1,411
2013 modern 4,838 #1,414
2014 modern 4,866 #1,414
2015 modern 4,786 #1,426
2016 modern 4,726 #1,440

Geography

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Where Grooms are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around Wolverhampton, Wellington, Wrockwardine, Eyton-on-the-Moors, Preston-on-the-Moors, London parishes and Lambeth. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Shropshire, Doncaster, King's Lynn and West Norfolk, Broadland and Bolsover. 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 Wolverhampton Staffordshire
2 Wellington, Wrockwardine, Eyton-on-the-Moors, Preston-on-the-Moors Shropshire
3 London parishes London 1
4 London parishes London 3
5 Lambeth London (South Districts)

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Shropshire 001 Shropshire
2 Doncaster 005 Doncaster
3 King's Lynn and West Norfolk 002 King's Lynn and West Norfolk
4 Broadland 002 Broadland
5 Bolsover 009 Bolsover

Forenames

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First names often paired with Groom

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

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Groom

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

Older Residents in Owner-Occupied Suburbs

Group

London Fringe

Within London, Groom is most associated with areas classed as London Fringe, part of Older Residents in Owner-Occupied Suburbs. 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

Predominantly located in neighbourhoods on the outskirts of Greater London, residents of these neighbourhoods typically have their highest qualifications below degree (Level 4) level, with those still in work engaged in skilled trades and occupations in distribution, hotels and restaurants. There is low ethnic diversity in these neighbourhoods and high levels of Christian religious affiliation. Detached or terraced houses predominate, often with spare rooms.

Wider London pattern

The age distribution of these neighbourhoods is skewed towards the middle-aged and old, although few residents live alone or in communal establishments and numbers of dependent children are around average. Owner occupation is the norm, as is residence in detached or semi-detached houses. Residential densities are low and many households have spare rooms. Most residents were born in the UK and, aside from some identifying as members of Chinese or Indian ethnicities, identify as White. Mixed ethnicity households are rare. Incidence of married couples is higher than average and few individuals have never been married. A large proportion of individuals still in employment work in administrative and secretarial occupations, or in the construction industry. Few residents are students, and many households own more than one car.

Healthy neighbourhoods

Access to healthy assets and hazards

Groom 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

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

Meaning and origin of Groom

The surname GROOM originated in England during the Anglo-Saxon period, deriving from the Old English word "groma" which referred to a male servant or attendant. This occupational surname was initially given to individuals employed as grooms, responsible for tending to horses and stable duties.

GROOM is believed to have first appeared in historical records during the 11th century, notably in the Domesday Book of 1086, which documented landholdings and populations in England after the Norman Conquest. One of the earliest recorded bearers of the name was Willelmus le Grom, listed in the Pipe Rolls of Lincolnshire in 1195.

Throughout the Middle Ages, variations of the surname emerged, such as Grome, Grom, and Groome, reflecting regional dialects and spelling conventions of the time. The name was particularly prevalent in counties like Lincolnshire, Yorkshire, and Nottinghamshire, where many families bore the GROOM surname.

Notable individuals bearing the GROOM surname include John Groom (1586-1670), an English Puritan clergyman and member of the Westminster Assembly, and Samuel Groom (1638-1683), an English merchant and politician who served as Sheriff of London in 1677. Another prominent figure was Francis Groom (1677-1736), an English churchman who became the Bishop of Cloyne in Ireland.

During the 17th and 18th centuries, the GROOM surname was also found in various locations across England, such as the villages of Groom's Hill in Kent and Groom's Farm in Somerset, indicating the presence of families with this occupational name in those areas.

One of the earliest instances of the surname in America can be traced back to John Groom, who arrived in Virginia in 1635, and his descendants later settled in other parts of the colonies. Another notable bearer was William Groom (1789-1858), an English-born American politician who served as the 14th Governor of Connecticut from 1843 to 1844.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

1881 census detail

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Groom families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Groom 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 785 Grooms recorded in 1881 and an index of 1.92x.

County Total Index
Middlesex 785 1.92x
Norfolk 446 7.08x
Northamptonshire 336 8.73x
Shropshire 277 7.83x
Surrey 276 1.38x
Staffordshire 262 1.90x
Hertfordshire 247 8.75x
Suffolk 196 3.93x
Bedfordshire 147 6.93x
Yorkshire 141 0.35x
Lancashire 137 0.28x
Kent 119 0.85x
Essex 101 1.25x
Cheshire 95 1.05x
Warwickshire 83 0.80x
Buckinghamshire 74 2.99x
Lincolnshire 62 0.95x
Durham 43 0.35x
Cambridgeshire 41 1.58x
Hampshire 40 0.48x
Sussex 37 0.54x
Derbyshire 30 0.47x
Nottinghamshire 27 0.49x
Worcestershire 26 0.49x
Huntingdonshire 24 2.95x
Northumberland 21 0.34x
Gloucestershire 19 0.24x
Glamorgan 14 0.20x
Berkshire 11 0.36x
Midlothian 10 0.18x
Devon 9 0.11x
Flintshire 9 0.82x
Leicestershire 9 0.20x
Carmarthenshire 8 0.46x
Denbighshire 8 0.52x
Dorset 4 0.15x
Oxfordshire 4 0.16x
Herefordshire 3 0.18x
Brecknockshire 2 0.24x
East Lothian 2 0.37x
Lanarkshire 2 0.02x
Royal Navy 2 0.41x
Somerset 2 0.03x
Angus 1 0.03x
Channel Islands 1 0.08x
Cornwall 1 0.02x
Montgomeryshire 1 0.11x
Wigtownshire 1 0.18x
Wiltshire 1 0.03x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Islington London in Middlesex leads with 110 Grooms recorded in 1881 and an index of 2.77x.

Place Total Index
Islington London 110 2.77x
Denford 95 1361.03x
Lambeth 73 2.04x
Kensington London 56 2.46x
Wellington 56 28.17x
St Pancras London 55 1.67x
Camberwell 52 1.99x
Luton 46 12.53x
Wolverhampton 46 4.33x
Mile End Old Town London 44 5.05x
Downham Market 42 97.11x
West Bromwich 42 5.31x
St George Hanover Square 37 5.13x
Chelsea London 35 2.84x
Hackney London 35 1.52x
Kettering 33 21.19x
Shoreditch London 33 1.86x
St George In East London 32 8.31x
Toxteth Park 32 1.95x
Birmingham 28 0.81x
Houghton Regis 28 82.84x
Tottenham 28 4.29x
Whitchurch 28 40.79x
Irthlingborough 27 71.52x
Croydon 25 2.26x
St Paul Walden 24 167.95x
Wheathampstead 23 70.53x
Audley 21 15.36x
Bethnal Green London 21 1.18x
Bow London 21 4.03x
Maidstone 21 5.05x
Toddington 21 69.08x
Clive 20 362.98x
Moulsoe 20 735.29x
Battersea 19 1.26x
Chiswick 19 8.49x
Holkham 19 251.66x
Lakenham 19 21.24x
Paddington London 19 1.26x
St Marylebone London 19 0.87x
Walsall Foreign 19 2.66x
Wisbech St Peter 19 14.61x
Woodford 19 88.74x
Clerkenwell London 18 1.86x
Long Buckby 18 50.55x
Watford 17 7.77x
Westminster St John 17 3.41x
Aston 16 0.56x
Doncaster 16 5.40x
Ipswich St Helen 16 27.07x
Newington 16 1.06x
Tipton 16 3.78x
Wem 16 30.41x
Chertsey 15 11.64x
Deptford St Paul 15 1.39x
Greenwich 15 2.30x
Portsea 15 0.91x
Raunds 15 38.26x
Rickmansworth 15 19.31x
Rushden 15 29.11x
Creeting All Sts 14 333.33x
Ercall Magna 14 55.29x
Heigham 14 4.14x
Hemel Hempstead 14 11.01x
Polebrook 14 221.52x
Stoke Mandeville 14 200.86x
Stow Bardolph 14 74.79x
Drayton In Hales 13 17.83x
Flamstead 13 50.00x
Fulham London 13 2.19x
Kings Lynn St Margaret 13 6.88x
Norwich St Stephen 13 22.50x
Ringstead 13 97.16x
Tatterford 13 1031.75x
Tivetshall St Margaret 13 271.40x
West Ham 13 0.73x
Hammersmith London 12 1.19x
Ipswich St Margaret 12 7.09x
Ivinghoe 12 62.05x
Stowmarket 12 20.82x

Top female names

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

Name Count
Mary 271
Elizabeth 174
Sarah 149
Emma 89
Ann 79
Eliza 75
Jane 72
Alice 71
Annie 59
Ellen 59
Emily 56
Martha 40
Hannah 38
Harriet 38
Charlotte 33
Florence 32
Edith 25
Maria 25
Margaret 24
Lucy 23
Clara 22
Fanny 21
Louisa 21
Caroline 20
Susan 20
Agnes 19
Catherine 19
Sophia 19
Anne 18
Frances 18
Esther 16
Harriett 16
Susannah 16
Anna 15
Minnie 15
Ada 13
Amelia 12
Kate 12
Matilda 12
Rebecca 12
Henrietta 11
Julia 11
Amy 10
Laura 10
Maud 10
Ethel 9
Susanna 8
Elizth. 7
Gertrude 7
Rose 7

Top male names

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

Name Count
William 271
John 209
George 176
Thomas 119
James 107
Charles 104
Henry 81
Joseph 72
Robert 64
Alfred 59
Arthur 54
Frederick 52
Samuel 45
Walter 43
Richard 37
Harry 29
Edward 28
Herbert 26
Ernest 22
David 19
Frank 19
Albert 15
Benjamin 15
Edwin 11
Thos. 10
Wm. 10
Francis 9
Fredrick 9
Percy 9
Geo. 8
Fredk. 7
Horace 7
Daniel 6
Philip 6
Stephen 6
Edmund 5
Fred 5
Jesse 5
Leonard 5
Ralph 5
Elijah 4
Jonathan 4
Josiah 4
Lot 4
Vincent 4
Chas. 3
Christmas 3
Jabez 3
Phillip 3
Robt. 3

FAQ

Groom surname: questions and answers

How common was the Groom surname in 1881?

In 1881, 4,197 people were recorded with the Groom surname. That placed it at #1,073 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Groom surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 4,726 in 2016. That gives Groom a modern rank of #1,440.

What does the Groom surname mean?

An occupational surname referring to a stable worker who tends to horses or a bridegroom.

What does the Groom map show?

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