NameCensus.

UK surname

Guest

An English occupational surname for a guest or stranger, or someone who was temporarily staying with others.

In the 1881 census there were 6,380 people recorded with the Guest surname, ranking it #671 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 10,332, ranked #626, up from #671 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to Sedgley, Dudley and Sheffield. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Dudley, South Staffordshire and Forest of Dean.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Guest is 10,905 in 1999. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 61.9%.

1881 census count

6,380

Ranked #671

Modern count

10,332

2016, ranked #626

Peak year

1999

10,905 bearers

Map years

9

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Guest had 6,380 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #671 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 10,332 in 2016, ranked #626.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 9,335 in 1911.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Rural Amenity.

Guest surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Guest surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Guest 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 3,813 #746
1861 historical 3,779 #746
1881 historical 6,380 #671
1891 historical 6,503 #701
1901 historical 8,303 #643
1911 historical 9,335 #524
1997 modern 10,424 #594
1998 modern 10,855 #591
1999 modern 10,905 #591
2000 modern 10,806 #594
2001 modern 10,599 #592
2002 modern 10,799 #594
2003 modern 10,579 #592
2004 modern 10,547 #593
2005 modern 10,400 #597
2006 modern 10,330 #603
2007 modern 10,393 #605
2008 modern 10,386 #610
2009 modern 10,616 #614
2010 modern 10,718 #619
2011 modern 10,647 #616
2012 modern 10,463 #614
2013 modern 10,581 #616
2014 modern 10,605 #619
2015 modern 10,455 #622
2016 modern 10,332 #626

Geography

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Where Guests are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around Sedgley, Dudley, Sheffield, London parishes and Birmingham Town: Birmingham. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Dudley, South Staffordshire and Forest of Dean. 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 Sedgley Staffordshire
2 Dudley Staffordshire
3 Sheffield Yorkshire, West Riding
4 London parishes London 2
5 Birmingham Town: Birmingham Warwickshire

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Dudley 004 Dudley
2 South Staffordshire 013 South Staffordshire
3 Dudley 008 Dudley
4 Forest of Dean 010 Forest of Dean
5 Dudley 010 Dudley

Forenames

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First names often paired with Guest

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

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Guest

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

The Greater London Mix

Group

Social Rented Sector Professional Support Workers

Within London, Guest is most associated with areas classed as Social Rented Sector Professional Support Workers, part of The Greater London Mix. 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 located in Inner London, these neighbourhoods retain a diverse employment structure, with some concentration in associated professional and technical occupations rather than skilled trades or construction. Social renting is more common and levels of homeownership are low. Many residents identify as Black. There is a lower than average rate of marriage or civil partnership, few that are very old (85 or over) and higher than average incidence of disability.

Wider London pattern

A Supergroup embodying London's diversity in many respects, apart from low numbers of residents identifying as of Bangladeshi, Indian, Pakistani or Other (non-Chinese) Asian ethnicity. There is lower than average prevalence of families with dependent children, while there are above average occurrences of never-married individuals and single-person households. The age distribution is skewed towards younger, single residents and couples without children, with many individuals identifying as of mixed or multiple ethnicity. Social rented or private rented housing is slightly more prevalent than average, and many residents live in flats. Individuals typically work in professional and associated roles in public administration, education or health rather than in elementary occupations in agriculture, energy, water, construction or manufacturing. Incidence of students is slightly below average. Individuals declaring no religion are more prevalent than average and non-use of English at home is below average.

Healthy neighbourhoods

Access to healthy assets and hazards

Guest 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

Guest falls in decile 1 for neighbourhood deprivation. This puts the surname towards the more deprived end of the index.

Decile 1 represents the more deprived end of the scale. Decile 10 represents the less deprived end.

1
More deprived Less deprived

Broadband speed

Fixed broadband download speed

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

Meaning and origin of Guest

The surname GUEST is of English origin, derived from the Old English word "gæst" meaning "stranger" or "guest". It emerged as a surname in the late 12th century and was typically given to people who were travelers, foreigners, or newcomers to a particular area.

The name GUEST is believed to have originated in the counties of Norfolk, Suffolk, and Essex in eastern England, where many early records of the name can be found. One of the earliest recorded examples is in the Hundred Rolls of Huntingdonshire from 1273, where a Robert le Gest is mentioned.

In the 13th and 14th centuries, the name appeared in various spellings such as Gest, Ghest, Geste, and Gist, reflecting the regional variations in pronunciation and spelling at the time. The Domesday Book of 1086 does not contain any direct references to the surname GUEST, but it does include the Old English word "gæst" in some place names, such as Gestingthorpe in Essex.

Notable individuals with the surname GUEST throughout history include:

1. Edmund Guest (1518-1576), an English Protestant reformer and Bishop of Rochester from 1560 to 1576. 2. John Guest (1722-1787), an English industrialist and entrepreneur who founded the Dowlais Ironworks in Wales. 3. Lady Charlotte Guest (1812-1895), an English translator best known for her translation of the medieval Welsh folk tales known as the Mabinogion. 4. Walter John Baptist Guest (1838-1923), a British engineer and industrialist who pioneered the development of the Bessemer steel process in South Wales. 5. Edgar Albert Guest (1881-1959), an American poet and writer who was popular in the early 20th century and became known as the "People's Poet".

The surname GUEST has also been associated with several place names, such as Guest's Farm in Dorset and Guest's Park in Shropshire, reflecting the historical presence of families bearing this name in various parts of England.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

1881 census detail

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Guest families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Guest 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 1,329 Guests recorded in 1881 and an index of 2.15x.

County Total Index
Yorkshire 1,329 2.15x
Staffordshire 1,109 5.26x
Lancashire 930 1.26x
Worcestershire 646 7.93x
Middlesex 314 0.50x
Warwickshire 296 1.88x
Gloucestershire 265 2.16x
Cheshire 251 1.82x
Devon 203 1.56x
Kent 151 0.71x
Surrey 109 0.36x
Shropshire 76 1.41x
Derbyshire 71 0.73x
Nottinghamshire 71 0.84x
Sussex 70 0.67x
Hampshire 52 0.41x
Northamptonshire 52 0.89x
Cornwall 51 0.72x
Durham 45 0.24x
Flintshire 27 1.61x
Bedfordshire 25 0.77x
Essex 22 0.18x
Wiltshire 20 0.36x
Lincolnshire 18 0.18x
Lanarkshire 17 0.08x
Leicestershire 17 0.25x
Herefordshire 15 0.59x
Glamorgan 13 0.12x
Channel Islands 12 0.65x
Cumberland 12 0.22x
Oxfordshire 12 0.31x
Somerset 12 0.12x
Buckinghamshire 11 0.29x
Carmarthenshire 11 0.42x
Denbighshire 10 0.42x
Monmouthshire 10 0.22x
Anglesey 6 0.54x
Northumberland 6 0.06x
Royal Navy 6 0.81x
Rutland 6 1.31x
Dunbartonshire 4 0.24x
Suffolk 3 0.04x
Hertfordshire 2 0.05x
Isle of Man 2 0.17x
Westmorland 2 0.15x
Brecknockshire 1 0.08x
Cambridgeshire 1 0.03x
Cardiganshire 1 0.07x
Dorset 1 0.02x
Norfolk 1 0.01x
Roxburghshire 1 0.09x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Sedgley in Staffordshire leads with 260 Guests recorded in 1881 and an index of 33.23x.

Place Total Index
Sedgley 260 33.23x
Dudley 242 24.42x
Birmingham 157 2.99x
Kingswinford 144 18.83x
Barnsley 115 18.03x
Aston 108 2.49x
Walsall Foreign 89 8.18x
West Bromwich 83 6.88x
Rowley Regis 78 13.29x
Tipton 78 12.09x
Worsbrough 74 40.84x
Rotherham 67 19.22x
Sheffield 66 3.35x
Kimberworth 52 15.15x
Wolverhampton 52 3.21x
Islington London 50 0.83x
Blackburn 48 2.44x
Oldbury 47 11.72x
Oldham 47 1.97x
Bromsgrove 46 16.77x
Kidderminster Borough 46 9.64x
Nottingham St Mary 46 2.11x
Leeds 42 1.20x
Northfield 42 27.16x
Tyldesley Cum Shakerley 42 19.70x
Mangotsfield 41 33.60x
Hoyland Nether 39 25.71x
Rawmarsh 39 17.85x
Barrow In Furness 37 3.67x
Harborne 37 5.48x
Manchester 37 1.11x
Wombourn 37 94.63x
Bristol St George 33 5.83x
Doncaster 32 7.08x
Nether Hallam 32 3.82x
Amblecote 31 51.62x
Brightside Bierlow 31 2.56x
Ecclesall Bierlow 31 2.46x
Hemsworth 31 87.25x
Wombwell 31 17.19x
Camberwell 30 0.75x
Lymm 30 29.96x
Attercliffe Cum Darnall 29 5.03x
Westleigh 29 17.24x
Toxteth Park 28 1.12x
Bilston 27 6.61x
Brenchley 27 35.43x
Darlaston 27 9.27x
Kensington London 27 0.78x
Preston 27 1.36x
Salford 26 1.19x
Ticehurst 26 40.38x
West Derby 26 1.20x
Ardwick 25 3.74x
Everton 25 1.06x
Wednesfield 25 8.06x
Bedford 24 15.49x
Bethnal Green London 24 0.89x
Cirencester 24 14.48x
Hasbury 24 45.03x
Liverpool 24 0.53x
Pendleton In Salford 24 2.72x
Conisbrough 23 39.64x
Dawley 23 11.72x
Lambeth 23 0.42x
Pilkington 23 8.18x
Wakefield 23 4.84x
Handsworth 22 4.24x
Kings Norton 22 3.01x
Ecclesfield 21 4.63x
Greasbrough 21 25.71x
Hackney London 21 0.60x
Derby St Werburgh 20 3.54x
Lapal 20 266.67x
Little Hulton 19 15.49x
Sevenoaks 19 11.01x
Westbury On Severn East 19 6.87x
Laughton En Le Morthen 18 126.49x
Lewisham 18 1.59x
Sharples 18 22.41x

Top female names

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

Name Count
Mary 421
Sarah 253
Elizabeth 241
Ann 137
Eliza 118
Annie 97
Ellen 94
Alice 92
Jane 91
Emma 90
Hannah 89
Emily 74
Martha 73
Maria 46
Caroline 44
Florence 43
Margaret 42
Harriet 41
Louisa 40
Clara 39
Charlotte 35
Fanny 35
Edith 33
Kate 32
Ada 26
Lucy 26
Anne 25
Catherine 24
Agnes 23
Selina 21
Amy 19
Frances 19
Elizth. 18
Rebecca 18
Esther 16
Matilda 16
Rose 16
Susannah 16
Ruth 14
Susan 14
Amelia 13
Eleanor 13
Phoebe 13
Sophia 13
Grace 12
Harriett 12
Isabella 12
Ethel 11
Julia 10
Minnie 9

Top male names

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

Name Count
William 387
John 364
Thomas 265
George 219
James 196
Joseph 170
Henry 118
Charles 95
Richard 95
Edward 80
Arthur 71
Samuel 66
Albert 52
Alfred 50
Walter 47
Robert 43
Harry 37
Frederick 35
Benjamin 31
Frank 30
David 23
Edwin 23
Herbert 23
Daniel 22
Wm. 22
Thos. 19
Fred 18
Isaac 18
Ernest 17
Francis 15
Tom 10
Fredrick 9
Job 9
Peter 9
Sidney 9
Lewis 8
Willm. 8
Geo. 7
Harold 7
Mark 7
Moses 7
Cornelius 6
Fredk. 6
Horace 6
Jabez 6
Jno. 6
Oliver 6
Septimus 6
Joe 5
Percy 5

FAQ

Guest surname: questions and answers

How common was the Guest surname in 1881?

In 1881, 6,380 people were recorded with the Guest surname. That placed it at #671 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Guest surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 10,332 in 2016. That gives Guest a modern rank of #626.

What does the Guest surname mean?

An English occupational surname for a guest or stranger, or someone who was temporarily staying with others.

What does the Guest map show?

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