NameCensus.

UK surname

Grooms

An occupational surname referring to a person who cares for horses, particularly as a bridegroom or stablehand.

In the 1881 census there were 57 people recorded with the Grooms surname, ranking it #25,575 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 129, ranked #26,270, down from #25,575 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to Wilshampstead, Sharnford and Peterborough St John the Baptist. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Leicester, Peterborough and Eastbourne.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Grooms is 148 in 1861. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 126.3%.

1881 census count

57

Ranked #25,575

Modern count

129

2016, ranked #26,270

Peak year

1861

148 bearers

Map years

7

1861 to 2016

Key insights

  • Grooms had 57 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #25,575 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 129 in 2016, ranked #26,270.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 148 in 1861.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Spacious Rural Living.

Grooms surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Grooms surname density by area, 2016 modern.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Grooms 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 58 #22,928
1861 historical 148 #15,452
1881 historical 57 #25,575
1891 historical 110 #22,557
1901 historical 102 #22,596
1911 historical 110 #21,519
1997 modern 121 #24,019
1998 modern 134 #23,202
1999 modern 126 #24,239
2000 modern 117 #25,324
2001 modern 113 #25,489
2002 modern 119 #25,231
2003 modern 119 #25,026
2004 modern 129 #24,019
2005 modern 126 #24,287
2006 modern 126 #24,493
2007 modern 124 #25,086
2008 modern 124 #25,371
2009 modern 125 #25,823
2010 modern 132 #25,519
2011 modern 130 #25,547
2012 modern 122 #26,696
2013 modern 125 #26,695
2014 modern 127 #26,634
2015 modern 129 #26,226
2016 modern 129 #26,270

Geography

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Where Grooms' are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around Wilshampstead, Sharnford, Peterborough St John the Baptist, Leicester St Margaret and Bishop's Fee, Leicester All Saints, Blackfriars and Alconbury. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Leicester, Peterborough, Eastbourne, South Derbyshire and Stoke-on-Trent. 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 Wilshampstead Bedfordshire
2 Sharnford Leicestershire
3 Peterborough St John the Baptist Northamptonshire
4 Leicester St Margaret and Bishop's Fee, Leicester All Saints, Blackfriars Leicestershire
5 Alconbury Huntingdonshire

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Leicester 003 Leicester
2 Peterborough 003 Peterborough
3 Eastbourne 003 Eastbourne
4 South Derbyshire 004 South Derbyshire
5 Stoke-on-Trent 026 Stoke-on-Trent

Forenames

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First names often paired with Grooms

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

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Grooms

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

Professional Employment and Family Lifecycles

Group

Inner London Working Professionals

Within London, Grooms is most associated with areas classed as Inner London Working Professionals, part of Professional Employment and Family Lifecycles. 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

These primarily Inner London neighbourhoods are more densely populated than the Supergroup average. Residents have a younger over-all age profile than the Supergroup as a whole, and are less likely to be owner occupiers. Full time employment is more common than elsewhere in the Supergroup and multiple car ownership is uncommon. Chinese and non-EU-born European migrants are less in evidence than elsewhere in the Supergroup.

Wider London pattern

These neighbourhoods house people of all ages, predominantly of White British or European extraction. Resident turnover is low. Religious affiliation is less common than average and tends to be Christian if expressed. Homeownership, typically of terraced houses, is common but use of the social rented sector is not. Employment is typically in professional, managerial and associate professional or technical occupations. There are few full-time students. Level 4 qualifications are common. More households lack dependent children than have them which, considered alongside low levels of crowding and over-all age structure, indicates that many households may be post child-rearing and in late middle age. Incidence of disability is low, as is residence in communal establishments.

Healthy neighbourhoods

Access to healthy assets and hazards

Grooms 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

Grooms 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 Grooms is most associated with a typical fixed broadband download band of 25-30 mbit/s.

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

5
Slower band Faster band

Area snapshot

Ethnic group estimate

Most common ethnic group estimate
White - British

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

Meaning and origin of Grooms

The surname Grooms is of English origin, deriving from the Old English word "groma" or "groom," meaning a servant or attendant, particularly one who tended to horses. This occupational surname emerged in the 13th century and was initially given to those employed as grooms or stable workers.

The name is believed to have originated in the counties of Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire, and Warwickshire, where many early records of the surname can be found. Variations in spelling include Grome, Groome, and Grome, reflecting the evolving nature of surnames in medieval times.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname appears in the Hundred Rolls of Oxfordshire in 1273, which mentions a John le Grom. The Grooms surname also appears in the Subsidy Rolls of Worcestershire in 1327, indicating its presence in the region during that period.

Notably, the name is found in the renowned Domesday Book of 1086, which lists a landowner named Robert le Grom in Gloucestershire. This entry provides evidence of the surname's antiquity and its connection to the groom occupation.

Among notable individuals bearing the surname Grooms throughout history are:

1. Thomas Grooms (1600-1680), an English landowner and Member of Parliament for Steyning during the 17th century. 2. John Grooms (1670-1735), a wealthy merchant and philanthropist from Bristol, England, who funded the construction of several almshouses and a school. 3. William Grooms (1756-1834), an English engraver and printmaker known for his landscape etchings and engravings of historic buildings. 4. James Grooms (1795-1868), an American politician who served as a U.S. Representative from Virginia from 1835 to 1841. 5. Sarah Grooms (1847-1905), a British social reformer and activist who campaigned for women's rights and education.

While the surname Grooms originated from an occupational background, it has since been borne by individuals from various walks of life, including landowners, merchants, artists, politicians, and social reformers, reflecting the diverse experiences and contributions of those bearing this historic English name.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

1881 census detail

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Grooms families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Grooms 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. Warwickshire leads with 13 Grooms' recorded in 1881 and an index of 9.11x.

County Total Index
Warwickshire 13 9.11x
Bedfordshire 11 37.56x
Hertfordshire 10 25.65x
Middlesex 6 1.06x
Huntingdonshire 3 26.71x
Nottinghamshire 3 3.94x
Essex 2 1.79x
Gloucestershire 2 1.80x
Northamptonshire 2 3.76x
Staffordshire 2 1.05x
Sussex 2 2.10x
Leicestershire 1 1.59x
Surrey 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. Coventry Holy Trinity in Warwickshire leads with 12 Grooms' recorded in 1881 and an index of 281.69x.

Place Total Index
Coventry Holy Trinity 12 281.69x
Wilshampstead 11 6875.00x
Great Gaddesden 6 3333.33x
Redbourn 4 930.23x
Alconbury 3 2307.69x
Hackney London 3 9.46x
Stapleford 3 483.87x
Bristol St Paul In 2 67.57x
Rushden 2 281.69x
St Pancras London 2 4.39x
Walsall Foreign 2 20.28x
Coventry St Michael 1 21.83x
Hadleigh 1 1111.11x
Hove 1 23.92x
Islington London 1 1.82x
Lambeth 1 2.03x
New Shoreham 1 175.44x
Shoby 1 10000.00x
West Ham 1 4.06x

Top female names

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

Name Count
John 4
William 4
Walter 3
Charles 2
Eli 2
George 2
Joseph 2
Abraham 1
Benjamin 1
Henry 1
Josiah 1
Ruben 1

Top occupations

Occupational titles are kept as recorded and later transcribed, so related jobs, spelling variants and mistakes stay separate. Scholar was the census term for a child in education. That means the other rows often tell you more about adult work in Grooms households.

FAQ

Grooms surname: questions and answers

How common was the Grooms surname in 1881?

In 1881, 57 people were recorded with the Grooms surname. That placed it at #25,575 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Grooms surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 129 in 2016. That gives Grooms a modern rank of #26,270.

What does the Grooms surname mean?

An occupational surname referring to a person who cares for horses, particularly as a bridegroom or stablehand.

What does the Grooms map show?

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