NameCensus.

UK surname

Harrald

An English habitational surname derived from a place name meaning "rocky hill".

In the 1881 census there were 105 people recorded with the Harrald surname, ranking it #19,183 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 124, ranked #26,975, down from #19,183 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to St James, Toxteth Park and Marston Trussell, Thorpe Lubbenham. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Harborough, County Durham and Camden.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Harrald is 126 in 1998. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 18.1%.

1881 census count

105

Ranked #19,183

Modern count

124

2016, ranked #26,975

Peak year

1998

126 bearers

Map years

6

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Harrald had 105 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #19,183 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 124 in 2016, ranked #26,975.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 123 in 1851.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Ageing Communities.

Harrald surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Harrald surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Harrald 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 123 #14,886
1861 historical 93 #22,009
1881 historical 105 #19,183
1891 historical 84 #26,229
1901 historical 89 #24,154
1911 historical 107 #21,842
1997 modern 116 #24,688
1998 modern 126 #24,094
1999 modern 111 #26,182
2000 modern 107 #26,700
2001 modern 107 #26,328
2002 modern 108 #26,698
2003 modern 97 #28,217
2004 modern 107 #26,899
2005 modern 103 #27,531
2006 modern 112 #26,415
2007 modern 109 #27,253
2008 modern 106 #28,016
2009 modern 107 #28,483
2010 modern 112 #28,336
2011 modern 109 #28,653
2012 modern 107 #29,017
2013 modern 118 #27,686
2014 modern 123 #27,206
2015 modern 125 #26,808
2016 modern 124 #26,975

Geography

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Where Harralds are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around St James, Toxteth Park, Marston Trussell, Thorpe Lubbenham, Barrow-on-Soar (Barrow-on-Soar, Mountsorrel, Woodhouse, Woodhouse Eaves, Maplewell), Beaumanor, Roth and Hellesdon, St Mary in the Marsh, St Clement, St Martin at Oak, St Mary at Coslany, St Michael at Cos. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Harborough, County Durham and Camden. 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 St James Suffolk
2 Toxteth Park Lancashire
3 Marston Trussell, Thorpe Lubbenham Leicestershire
4 Barrow-on-Soar (Barrow-on-Soar, Mountsorrel, Woodhouse, Woodhouse Eaves, Maplewell), Beaumanor, Roth Leicestershire
5 Hellesdon, St Mary in the Marsh, St Clement, St Martin at Oak, St Mary at Coslany, St Michael at Cos Norfolk

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Harborough 008 Harborough
2 Harborough 007 Harborough
3 Harborough 009 Harborough
4 County Durham 018 County Durham
5 Camden 011 Camden

Forenames

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First names often paired with Harrald

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

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Harrald

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

Professional Employment and Family Lifecycles

Group

European Enclaves

Within London, Harrald is most associated with areas classed as European Enclaves, 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

Many residents of these accessible neighbourhoods have wide-ranging non-UK European origins. Typically residing in privately rented flats, many residents live alone and are beyond normal retirement age. There are more students than elsewhere in the Supergroup, some of which live in communal establishments. Household residents are often drawn from different ethnic groups.

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

Harrald 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

Harrald falls in decile 10 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.

10
More deprived Less deprived

Broadband speed

Fixed broadband download speed

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

Meaning and origin of Harrald

The surname "HARRALD" is of ancient English origin, deriving from the Old English words "here" meaning "army" and "weald" meaning "to rule". It was originally a compound name referring to a military commander or ruler.

One of the earliest recorded examples of the name can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as "Haruuald" in reference to a landholder in Gloucestershire. Other early spellings include "Harwald" and "Harewold".

The name was particularly prevalent in the southern counties of England during the Middle Ages. Records show instances of Harrald de Brockhampton (born c. 1230) who owned lands in Herefordshire, and William Harrald (c. 1315-1382) who served as a knight under Edward III during the Hundred Years' War.

As the name spread throughout England over the centuries, it became associated with certain place names and locations. For example, the village of Harrold in Bedfordshire may have derived its name from an early Harrald landowner or resident.

Notable bearers of the surname include Sir John Harrald (c. 1470-1554), a courtier and Lord Lieutenant of Berkshire under Henry VIII, and Thomas Harrald (1572-1645), a Puritan clergyman who emigrated to New England and became one of the founders of Weathersfield, Connecticut.

During the English Civil War, Colonel Henry Harrald (1607-1673) was a prominent Parliamentarian officer who fought for Oliver Cromwell's forces. In more recent history, the British explorer and travel writer Seton Paul Harrald (1889-1962) is remembered for his expeditions to remote regions of Asia and the Middle East.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

1881 census detail

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Harrald families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Harrald 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. Suffolk leads with 26 Harralds recorded in 1881 and an index of 21.25x.

County Total Index
Suffolk 26 21.25x
Leicestershire 23 20.65x
Surrey 13 2.66x
Middlesex 9 0.90x
Northamptonshire 8 8.47x
Morayshire 7 44.84x
Gloucestershire 5 2.54x
Lancashire 3 0.25x
Warwickshire 3 1.18x
Hampshire 2 0.97x
Norfolk 2 1.29x
Essex 1 0.50x
Nottinghamshire 1 0.74x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Bury St Edmunds St James in Suffolk leads with 10 Harralds recorded in 1881 and an index of 305.81x.

Place Total Index
Bury St Edmunds St James 10 305.81x
Mountsorrel South End 9 5625.00x
Bury St Edmunds St Mary 7 304.35x
Forres 7 426.83x
Great Bowden 7 693.07x
Pakenham 7 2121.21x
Battersea 6 16.23x
Bristol St Philip Jacob 5 26.95x
Islington London 5 5.13x
Marston Trussell 5 7142.86x
Streatham 5 67.11x
Ashton Under Lyne 3 11.52x
Bromley London 3 13.57x
Coventry St Michael 3 36.86x
Leicester St Margaret 3 11.05x
Moulton 3 566.04x
Camberwell 2 3.12x
Houghton On The Hill 2 1428.57x
Portsea 2 4.96x
Barrow Upon Soar 1 108.70x
Limehouse London 1 9.07x
Norwich St Saviour 1 185.19x
Nottingham St Mary 1 2.85x
Southwold 1 138.89x
Sprowston 1 147.06x
Thurnby 1 1250.00x
Tostock 1 833.33x
Wanstead 1 28.82x

Top female names

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

Name Count
Elizabeth 6
Eliza 4
Emma 3
Mary 3
Alice 2
Caroline 2
Louisa 2
Maud 2
Rose 2
Ann 1
Annie 1
Charlotte 1
Dashwood 1
Ellen 1
Ethel 1
Frances 1
Harriet 1
Helen 1
Helina 1
Henrietta 1
Jane 1
Kate 1
Lilian 1
Lily 1
Lucy 1
Lydia 1
Margaret 1
Marrianne 1
Rosanna 1
Sarah 1
Susannah 1
Tamar 1
Victoria 1

Top male names

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

Name Count
George 5
Henry 5
Charles 4
John 4
Joseph 4
James 2
Richard 2
Walter 2
William 2
Albert 1
Arthur 1
Brian 1
Caleb 1
Clifton 1
Elijah 1
Francis 1
Frank 1
Frederick 1
Fredk. 1
Herbert 1
Percy 1
Thomas 1
Tom 1
Willm. 1
Xenophus 1

FAQ

Harrald surname: questions and answers

How common was the Harrald surname in 1881?

In 1881, 105 people were recorded with the Harrald surname. That placed it at #19,183 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Harrald surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 124 in 2016. That gives Harrald a modern rank of #26,975.

What does the Harrald surname mean?

An English habitational surname derived from a place name meaning "rocky hill".

What does the Harrald map show?

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