NameCensus.

UK surname

Hargraves

An English occupational surname referring to someone who lived near a grove of hares or rabbits.

In the 1881 census there were 1,041 people recorded with the Hargraves surname, ranking it #3,772 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 580, ranked #8,938, down from #3,772 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to Manchester, Donington, Castle and Liverpool. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Selby, Northumberland and Wakefield.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Hargraves is 2,384 in 1851. Compared with 1881, the name has fallen by 44.3%.

1881 census count

1,041

Ranked #3,772

Modern count

580

2016, ranked #8,938

Peak year

1851

2,384 bearers

Map years

9

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Hargraves had 1,041 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #3,772 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 580 in 2016, ranked #8,938.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 2,384 in 1851.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Established but Challenged.

Hargraves surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Hargraves surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Hargraves 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 2,384 #1,252
1861 historical 1,288 #2,211
1881 historical 1,041 #3,772
1891 historical 1,333 #3,268
1901 historical 1,022 #4,672
1911 historical 904 #4,934
1997 modern 600 #8,140
1998 modern 592 #8,470
1999 modern 608 #8,372
2000 modern 597 #8,457
2001 modern 580 #8,485
2002 modern 580 #8,639
2003 modern 559 #8,725
2004 modern 550 #8,865
2005 modern 551 #8,767
2006 modern 549 #8,824
2007 modern 555 #8,841
2008 modern 562 #8,812
2009 modern 593 #8,672
2010 modern 596 #8,831
2011 modern 593 #8,767
2012 modern 591 #8,706
2013 modern 583 #8,920
2014 modern 588 #8,936
2015 modern 582 #8,931
2016 modern 580 #8,938

Geography

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Where Hargraves' are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around Manchester, Donington, Castle, Liverpool, Preston and Blackburn. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Selby, Northumberland, Wakefield and Blackburn with Darwen. 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 Manchester Lancashire
2 Donington, Castle Derbyshire
3 Liverpool Lancashire
4 Preston Lancashire
5 Blackburn Lancashire

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Selby 009 Selby
2 Northumberland 037 Northumberland
3 Wakefield 010 Wakefield
4 Wakefield 011 Wakefield
5 Blackburn with Darwen 007 Blackburn with Darwen

Forenames

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First names often paired with Hargraves

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

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Hargraves

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

Semi- and Un-Skilled Workforce

Group

Established but Challenged

Nationally, the Hargraves surname is most associated with neighbourhoods classed as Established but Challenged, within Semi- and Un-Skilled Workforce. This does not mean every Hargraves household fits that profile, but it gives a useful signal about where the modern surname distribution is strongest.

Read profile summary

Group profile

Many households in these neighbourhoods comprise separated or divorced single parents with dependent children. Residents are typically born in the UK, and these neighbourhoods have relatively few members of ethnic minorities. The prevalence of children, their parents and those at or above normal retirement age, suggests neighbourhood structures may be long-established. Levels of unpaid care are high, and long-term disability is more common than in the Supergroup as a whole. Use of the social rented sector is common, often in terraced houses. Levels of overcrowding are above the Supergroup average. Unemployment is high, while those in work are employed in elementary occupations such as caring, leisure and customer services. Many residents have low level qualifications. Neighbourhood concentrations of this Group are found in the South Wales Valleys, Belfast, Londonderry and the Central Lowlands of Scotland.

Wider pattern

Living in terraced or semi-detached houses, residents of these neighbourhoods typically lack high levels of education and work in elementary or routine service occupations. Unemployment is above average. Residents are predominantly born in the UK, and residents are also predominantly from ethnic minorities. Social (but not private sector) rented sector housing is common. This Supergroup is found throughout the UK’s conurbations and industrial regions but is also an integral part of smaller towns.

London neighbourhood type

London Output Area Classification

Supergroup

Professional Employment and Family Lifecycles

Group

Inner London Working Professionals

Within London, Hargraves 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

Hargraves 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

Hargraves falls in decile 7 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.

7
More deprived Less deprived

Broadband speed

Fixed broadband download speed

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

Meaning and origin of Hargraves

The surname Hargraves originated in England and dates back to the 12th century. It is a locational surname derived from the Old English words "hara" meaning hare and "grav" meaning grove, referring to a small wooded area inhabited by hares. The name likely originated from a place called Hargraves or Hargrave.

One of the earliest known records of the name Hargraves appears in the Pipe Rolls of Yorkshire in 1166, where it is spelled as "de Haragrave." The Pipe Rolls were a series of administrative records maintained by the English Exchequer in the 12th and 13th centuries.

In the 13th century, the name Hargraves was also recorded in the Hundred Rolls of Buckinghamshire, where it was spelled "Hargrave." The Hundred Rolls were a series of administrative records compiled in 1274-1275 during the reign of King Edward I.

The Domesday Book, a comprehensive record of landholdings in England compiled in 1086 under the orders of William the Conqueror, does not mention the name Hargraves or any of its variations. This suggests that the name likely emerged after the Norman Conquest of England in 1066.

One of the earliest notable individuals with the surname Hargraves was Sir John Hargraves, a member of the English gentry who lived in the late 14th century. He was a landowner in the county of Lancashire.

Another prominent figure was Richard Hargraves, a 16th-century English merchant and member of the Worshipful Company of Clothworkers in London. He lived from approximately 1520 to 1588.

In the 17th century, Thomas Hargraves (1610-1673) was a renowned English mathematician and astronomer. He made significant contributions to the development of mathematical instruments and wrote several influential works on mathematics and astronomy.

During the 18th century, James Hargraves (1720-1778) was an English inventor and weaver who played a crucial role in the Industrial Revolution. He is credited with inventing the spinning jenny, a multi-spindle spinning frame that revolutionized the textile industry.

In the 19th century, Edward Hargraves (1816-1891) was an Australian explorer and goldminer. He is credited with being one of the first to discover significant gold deposits in New South Wales, Australia, which sparked the Australian gold rushes of the 1850s.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

1881 census detail

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Hargraves families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Hargraves 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. Lancashire leads with 320 Hargraves' recorded in 1881 and an index of 2.64x.

County Total Index
Lancashire 320 2.64x
Yorkshire 308 3.04x
Lincolnshire 74 4.53x
Leicestershire 53 4.68x
Middlesex 35 0.34x
Cheshire 27 1.20x
Cumberland 23 2.62x
Staffordshire 23 0.67x
Sussex 22 1.28x
Warwickshire 21 0.82x
Hampshire 20 0.96x
Surrey 15 0.30x
Durham 14 0.46x
Essex 10 0.50x
Kent 9 0.26x
Herefordshire 8 1.91x
Nottinghamshire 8 0.58x
Worcestershire 8 0.60x
Gloucestershire 7 0.35x
Northamptonshire 6 0.62x
Derbyshire 5 0.31x
Isle of Man 5 2.64x
Northumberland 5 0.33x
Somerset 5 0.30x
Devon 3 0.14x
Suffolk 3 0.24x
Denbighshire 2 0.52x
Huntingdonshire 2 0.99x
Norfolk 2 0.13x
Cambridgeshire 1 0.15x
Midlothian 1 0.07x
Oxfordshire 1 0.16x
Shropshire 1 0.11x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Wath On Dearne in Yorkshire leads with 22 Hargraves' recorded in 1881 and an index of 108.96x.

Place Total Index
Wath On Dearne 22 108.96x
Castle Donnington 21 223.64x
Manchester 21 3.85x
Headingley Cum Burley 20 30.70x
Hulme 20 7.90x
Salford 18 5.05x
Halifax 17 11.44x
Leeds 17 2.97x
Leicester St Mary 17 18.58x
Accrington 15 13.61x
Blackrod 15 99.60x
Everton 15 3.88x
Hunslet 15 9.50x
Barton St Mary 14 170.94x
Hellifield 14 939.60x
Haslingden 13 25.91x
Stoke Upon Trent 13 3.56x
Chorlton On Medlock 12 6.23x
Barrow On Humber 11 116.03x
Habergham Eaves 11 9.93x
Skipton 11 34.54x
Barnoldswick 10 70.77x
Botley 10 265.25x
Liverpool 10 1.36x
Oldham 10 2.56x
Penrith 10 30.78x
Scarisbrick 10 71.07x
Stockport 10 8.62x
Toxteth Park 10 2.44x
Armley 9 20.16x
Easingwold 9 125.87x
Northowram 9 12.68x
Rusholme 9 27.85x
Shafton 9 596.03x
Swineshead 9 167.60x
Austwick 8 484.85x
Barrow In Furness 8 4.85x
Boston Hall Hills 8 289.86x
Brighton 8 2.30x
Grendon 8 363.64x
Newark Upon Trent 8 16.17x
Rastrick 8 28.46x
Tarrington 8 457.14x
Warrington 8 5.57x
Blackburn 7 2.17x
Hebden 7 642.20x
Pendleton In Salford 7 4.85x
Pudsey 7 12.94x
Southcoates 7 12.46x
Sowerby In Halifax 7 21.15x
St Cuthbert W O 7 16.33x
Wakefield 7 9.01x
Bristol St George 6 6.48x
Budbrooke 6 228.14x
Calverley Cum Farsley 6 20.88x
Dalton In Huddersfield 6 26.47x
Dewsbury 6 5.78x
Eastbourne 6 7.57x
Gainsborough 6 15.58x
Great Grimsby 6 5.79x
Harwich St Nicholas 6 38.54x
Hedworth Monkton Jarrow 6 4.56x
Loughborough 6 11.68x
Louth 6 16.03x
Marton 6 74.44x
Monks Coppenhall 6 7.05x
Oldbury 6 9.14x
Rickergate 6 32.24x
Wellingborough 6 12.42x
West Derby 6 1.69x
Wigan 6 3.54x
Withington 6 15.37x
East Denton 5 144.93x
Holy Trinity 5 2.05x
Leyburn 5 146.63x
Little Bolton 5 3.21x
Nantwich 5 19.08x
Onchan 5 9.15x
Walmersley Cum 5 25.83x
Weston Super Mare 5 12.05x

Top female names

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

Name Count
Mary 79
Elizabeth 49
Sarah 44
Ann 25
Jane 24
Hannah 22
Ellen 21
Martha 16
Alice 14
Annie 12
Eliza 11
Margaret 10
Edith 9
Maria 8
Ada 7
Emily 7
Frances 7
Harriet 7
Kate 7
Clara 6
Emma 6
Agnes 5
Betsy 5
Caroline 5
Fanny 5
Florence 5
Rebecca 5
Anne 4
Catherine 4
Betty 3
Charlotte 3
Esther 3
Henrietta 3
Isabella 3
Jessie 3
Margret 3
Selina 3
Amelia 2
Amy 2
Bertha 2
Grace 2
Lizzie 2
Louisa 2
Lucy 2
Margt. 2
Maude 2
Rose 2
Roseannah 2
Elizth.E. 1
Elsay 1

Top male names

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

Name Count
John 64
William 59
Thomas 57
James 46
Henry 28
George 25
Joseph 25
Richard 18
Charles 14
Robert 13
Edward 12
Samuel 10
Alfred 8
Frank 8
Arthur 7
Walter 6
Wm. 6
Fred 5
Albert 4
David 4
Edwin 4
Herbert 4
Abraham 3
Francis 3
Jonathan 3
Tom 3
Adam 2
Amos 2
E. 2
Ernest 2
Fredk. 2
Geo. 2
Isaac 2
Moses 2
Oliver 2
Percy 2
Peter 2
Robt. 2
Thos. 2
W. 2
Chas.F.E. 1
Craven 1
Frederick 1
Fredrich 1
Gilbert 1
Guy 1
Jno. 1
Jonas 1
Jos. 1
Josh. 1

FAQ

Hargraves surname: questions and answers

How common was the Hargraves surname in 1881?

In 1881, 1,041 people were recorded with the Hargraves surname. That placed it at #3,772 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Hargraves surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 580 in 2016. That gives Hargraves a modern rank of #8,938.

What does the Hargraves surname mean?

An English occupational surname referring to someone who lived near a grove of hares or rabbits.

What does the Hargraves map show?

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