NameCensus.

UK surname

Halfyard

In the 1881 census there were 131 people recorded with the Halfyard surname, ranking it #16,824 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 115, ranked #28,348, down from #16,824 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to Bristol City: St Mary Redcliff, Topsham and Buckland, West. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Maidstone, Teignbridge and Cornwall.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Halfyard is 147 in 1891. Compared with 1881, the name has fallen by 12.2%.

1881 census count

131

Ranked #16,824

Modern count

115

2016, ranked #28,348

Peak year

1891

147 bearers

Map years

8

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Halfyard had 131 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #16,824 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 115 in 2016, ranked #28,348.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 147 in 1891.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Ageing Communities.

Halfyard surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Halfyard surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Halfyard 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 114 #15,716
1861 historical 95 #21,768
1881 historical 131 #16,824
1891 historical 147 #18,592
1901 historical 142 #18,633
1911 historical 143 #18,401
1997 modern 132 #22,821
1998 modern 137 #22,922
1999 modern 125 #24,366
2000 modern 130 #23,785
2001 modern 124 #24,114
2002 modern 129 #24,021
2003 modern 124 #24,378
2004 modern 130 #23,902
2005 modern 126 #24,287
2006 modern 121 #25,133
2007 modern 118 #25,913
2008 modern 117 #26,351
2009 modern 120 #26,496
2010 modern 129 #25,900
2011 modern 127 #25,926
2012 modern 127 #25,992
2013 modern 125 #26,695
2014 modern 118 #27,961
2015 modern 116 #28,151
2016 modern 115 #28,348

Geography

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Where Halfyards are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around Bristol City: St Mary Redcliff, Topsham, Buckland, West, Whimple and Heavitree. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Maidstone, Teignbridge, Cornwall, Neath Port Talbot and Bridgend. 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 Bristol City: St Mary Redcliff Gloucestershire
2 Topsham Devon
3 Buckland, West Somerset
4 Whimple Devon
5 Heavitree Devon

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Maidstone 018 Maidstone
2 Teignbridge 008 Teignbridge
3 Cornwall 054 Cornwall
4 Neath Port Talbot 014 Neath Port Talbot
5 Bridgend 002 Bridgend

Forenames

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First names often paired with Halfyard

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

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Halfyard

Modern surname records can be compared with neighbourhood classifications. For Halfyard, 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

Ageing Communities

Nationally, the Halfyard surname is most associated with neighbourhoods classed as Ageing Communities, within Suburbanites and Peri-Urbanities. This does not mean every Halfyard household fits that profile, but it gives a useful signal about where the modern surname distribution is strongest.

Read profile summary

Group profile

Many residents are of normal retirement age or above and live in communal establishments, and there are few dependent children. The dominant property type is a mix of retirement flats and detached houses. Those in work are likely to be employed in managerial and professional occupations, and many residents are educated to degree level. Levels of owner occupation are high, but the private rental sector is also present. Rural locations predominate.

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

Social Rented Sector and Diverse Origins

Within London, Halfyard is most associated with areas classed as Social Rented Sector and Diverse Origins, 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

Scattered across London’s Inner and Outer suburbs, residents of these neighbourhoods are typically housed in the social rented sector. Although terraced and semi-detached houses predominate, more residents live in flats than elsewhere in the Supergroup. Neighbourhoods are more ethnically diverse than the Supergroup average. Those identifying as of Bangladeshi, Pakistani and some Black ethnicities are more prevalent. Europeans born in a overseas non-EU countries make up more of the lower proportion of residents identifying as White. Few residents are very old (85+). Employment in distribution, hotels and restaurants is more common than elsewhere in the Supergroup.

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

Halfyard is most concentrated in decile 4 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.

4
Lower access Higher access

Neighbourhood deprivation

Index of Multiple Deprivation

Halfyard falls in decile 5 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.

5
More deprived Less deprived

Broadband speed

Fixed broadband download speed

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

1881 census detail

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Halfyard families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Halfyard 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. Devon leads with 42 Halfyards recorded in 1881 and an index of 15.79x.

County Total Index
Devon 42 15.79x
Somerset 23 11.18x
Middlesex 18 1.41x
Yorkshire 11 0.87x
Lancashire 8 0.53x
Gloucestershire 7 2.79x
Staffordshire 7 1.62x
Surrey 6 0.96x
Hampshire 3 1.15x
Lanarkshire 2 0.48x
Essex 1 0.40x
Kent 1 0.23x
Oxfordshire 1 1.27x
Wiltshire 1 0.88x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Exeter Heavitree in Devon leads with 15 Halfyards recorded in 1881 and an index of 757.58x.

Place Total Index
Exeter Heavitree 15 757.58x
Plymouth St Andrew 10 48.80x
West Buckland 10 2500.00x
St Botolph Aldgate London 9 342.21x
Buckland Monachorum 7 1228.07x
Clifton 7 55.25x
Stoke Upon Trent 7 15.30x
Liverpool 6 6.52x
Wellington 6 215.05x
Holy Trinity 5 16.42x
Trull 4 952.38x
Bethnal Green London 3 5.40x
Bradford 3 9.79x
Aldershot 2 22.81x
Exeter St John 2 1052.63x
Gorbals 2 81.63x
North Leigh 2 1818.18x
Shoreditch London 2 3.61x
Southwark St George Martyr 2 7.78x
Topsham 2 158.73x
Caterham 1 36.36x
Cottingham 1 36.63x
Devonport 1 32.68x
Egham 1 26.18x
Exeter St Sidwell 1 16.42x
Holywell 1 270.27x
Kelvedon Hatch 1 625.00x
Lambeth 1 0.90x
Milverton 1 131.58x
Normanton 1 26.32x
Ruishton 1 476.19x
Salisbury St Martin 1 84.75x
South Crosland 1 75.19x
Southampton St Mary 1 6.07x
Spotland 1 5.93x
St Anne Soho London 1 13.70x
St Botolph Bishopsgate 1 55.25x
St Marylebone London 1 1.47x
Streatham 1 10.55x
Swanscombe 1 51.02x
Taunton St Mary 1 26.46x
Tavistock 1 33.00x
West Derby 1 2.25x
Westminster St Margaret 1 16.23x
Whimple 1 344.83x

Top female names

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

Name Count
Mary 8
Sarah 7
Annie 4
Ellen 4
Emily 3
Emma 3
Louisa 3
Alice 2
Ann 2
Bessie 2
Catherine 2
Charlotte 2
Eliza 2
Elizabeth 2
Hannah 2
Petronella 2
Ada 1
Beatrice 1
Caroline 1
Charlott 1
Fanny 1
Florence 1
Georgina 1
Grace 1
Harriett 1
Jane 1
Jessie 1
Kate 1
Lucy 1
Margaret 1
Matilda 1
Pamela 1
Rebecca 1

Top male names

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

Name Count
Robert 12
John 8
Henry 6
William 6
Albert 5
James 3
Samuel 3
Charles 2
Frank 2
Wm. 2
Edmund 1
Fred 1
George 1
H. 1
Harry 1
Philip 1
Sydney 1
Thomas 1
Thos. 1
Walter 1
Willm. 1
Wm 1

FAQ

Halfyard surname: questions and answers

How common was the Halfyard surname in 1881?

In 1881, 131 people were recorded with the Halfyard surname. That placed it at #16,824 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Halfyard surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 115 in 2016. That gives Halfyard a modern rank of #28,348.

What does the Halfyard map show?

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