NameCensus.

UK surname

Harris

An English surname derived from the given name Harry or Henry, or from a nickname meaning "son of Harry."

In the 1881 census there were 75,913 people recorded with the Harris surname, ranking it #28 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 111,317, ranked #26, up from #28 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to Ystradyfodwg (incl. Rhigos), Bristol City: St Mary Redcliff and London parishes. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Forest of Dean, Neath Port Talbot and Swansea.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Harris is 116,518 in 1999. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 46.6%.

1881 census count

75,913

Ranked #28

Modern count

111,317

2016, ranked #26

Peak year

1999

116,518 bearers

Map years

9

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Harris had 75,913 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #28 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 111,317 in 2016, ranked #26.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 106,092 in 1911.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Rural Amenity.

Harris surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Harris surname density by area, 1881 census.

Loading map
Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Harris 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 47,056 #31
1861 historical 48,877 #32
1881 historical 75,913 #28
1891 historical 82,738 #28
1901 historical 96,801 #26
1911 historical 106,092 #24
1997 modern 111,224 #23
1998 modern 115,724 #22
1999 modern 116,518 #22
2000 modern 115,742 #23
2001 modern 112,642 #23
2002 modern 114,810 #23
2003 modern 111,958 #23
2004 modern 111,601 #23
2005 modern 109,593 #23
2006 modern 109,246 #23
2007 modern 109,781 #24
2008 modern 110,374 #24
2009 modern 113,081 #24
2010 modern 114,925 #24
2011 modern 113,341 #24
2012 modern 110,961 #25
2013 modern 113,004 #25
2014 modern 113,483 #25
2015 modern 112,073 #26
2016 modern 111,317 #26

Geography

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Where Harris' are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around Ystradyfodwg (incl. Rhigos), Bristol City: St Mary Redcliff, London parishes and Lambeth. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Forest of Dean, Neath Port Talbot, Swansea, Monmouthshire and Cardiff. 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 Ystradyfodwg (incl. Rhigos) Glamorganshire
2 Bristol City: St Mary Redcliff Gloucestershire
3 London parishes London 1
4 London parishes London 3
5 Lambeth London (South Districts)

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Forest of Dean 004 Forest of Dean
2 Neath Port Talbot 004 Neath Port Talbot
3 Swansea 026 Swansea
4 Monmouthshire 010 Monmouthshire
5 Cardiff 032 Cardiff

Forenames

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First names often paired with Harris

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

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Harris

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

Harris is most concentrated in decile 5 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.

5
Lower access Higher access

Neighbourhood deprivation

Index of Multiple Deprivation

Harris 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 Harris 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 Harris, not the ethnicity of every person with the surname.

Meaning and origin of Harris

The surname Harris is of Anglo-Saxon origin, derived from the Old English word "hærfæst" which means "gray-haired" or "venerable." This name was originally a nickname given to someone with gray hair or an elderly person. It first appeared in England around the 12th century.

The Harris surname is believed to have originated in the counties of Devon and Somerset in southwest England. Some of the earliest recorded instances of this name can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, which listed landowners and tenants in England during the reign of William the Conqueror.

In the 13th century, the Harris surname was documented in various records, including the Pipe Rolls of Gloucestershire and Somerset. During this period, the name was often spelled "Harrys" or "Harries." Over time, the spelling evolved to its modern form of "Harris."

One of the earliest known individuals with the Harris surname was William Harris, a member of the Parliament of England who represented the borough of Southwark in 1330. Another notable figure was John Harris (c. 1516-1578), an English Protestant minister and Bible translator who was involved in the Geneva Bible translation.

In the 16th century, the Harris surname was associated with several place names in England, such as Harrisfield and Harristown. These place names likely derived from the surname itself, indicating that the Harris family had established settlements or properties in those areas.

During the 17th century, the Harris surname gained prominence with individuals like Robert Harris (1578-1658), an English Puritan clergyman and one of the founders of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Another notable figure was Thomas Harris (1619-1658), an English actor and playwright who was part of the English Renaissance theatre.

In the 18th century, James Harris (1709-1780) was a renowned English philosopher, grammarian, and philologist who wrote extensively on topics such as art, music, and language. He was a member of the famous Bluestocking Circle, a group of influential intellectuals in London.

The Harris surname continued to be prominent in various fields throughout history, with individuals like Townsend Harris (1804-1878), an American diplomat who played a crucial role in establishing diplomatic relations between the United States and Japan, and Joel Chandler Harris (1848-1908), an American writer best known for his Uncle Remus stories featuring African American folktales.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

1881 census detail

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Harris families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Harris 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. Middlesex leads with 10,003 Harris' recorded in 1881 and an index of 1.35x.

County Total Index
Middlesex 10,003 1.35x
Surrey 4,690 1.30x
Glamorgan 3,966 3.07x
Devon 3,887 2.52x
Warwickshire 3,639 1.94x
Kent 3,597 1.42x
Gloucestershire 3,428 2.35x
Staffordshire 3,202 1.28x
Lancashire 3,087 0.35x
Cornwall 2,936 3.49x
Worcestershire 2,907 3.00x
Somerset 2,106 1.76x
Yorkshire 2,064 0.28x
Monmouthshire 2,053 3.83x
Hampshire 1,994 1.31x
Oxfordshire 1,817 3.96x
Essex 1,722 1.18x
Sussex 1,268 1.01x
Leicestershire 1,194 1.45x
Northamptonshire 1,178 1.69x
Wiltshire 974 1.48x
Buckinghamshire 930 2.07x
Berkshire 927 1.66x
Shropshire 899 1.40x
Durham 818 0.37x
Dorset 809 1.66x
Herefordshire 758 2.49x
Nottinghamshire 747 0.75x
Bedfordshire 742 1.93x
Norfolk 612 0.54x
Lincolnshire 597 0.50x
Cheshire 596 0.36x
Derbyshire 528 0.45x
Carmarthenshire 508 1.62x
Hertfordshire 484 0.95x
Lanarkshire 447 0.19x
Cumberland 379 0.59x
Pembrokeshire 318 1.35x
Brecknockshire 313 2.11x
Suffolk 305 0.34x
Northumberland 271 0.25x
Angus 267 0.39x
Perthshire 231 0.69x
Cambridgeshire 225 0.48x
Midlothian 163 0.16x
Montgomeryshire 138 0.81x
Channel Islands 125 0.57x
Ayrshire 109 0.20x
Fife 105 0.24x
Flintshire 105 0.53x
Royal Navy 104 1.18x
Denbighshire 70 0.25x
Huntingdonshire 70 0.47x
Renfrewshire 65 0.11x
Radnorshire 64 1.07x
Rutland 64 1.17x
Aberdeenshire 54 0.08x
Caernarfonshire 54 0.18x
Cardiganshire 41 0.23x
Isle of Man 38 0.28x
Westmorland 37 0.23x
Kirkcudbrightshire 34 0.32x
Stirlingshire 34 0.12x
West Lothian 32 0.29x
Dumfriesshire 26 0.16x
Anglesey 21 0.16x
Kincardineshire 21 0.23x
Banffshire 17 0.11x
Argyllshire 15 0.07x
Wigtownshire 15 0.15x
Merionethshire 14 0.10x
Morayshire 11 0.10x
Roxburghshire 11 0.08x
East Lothian 6 0.06x
Kinross-shire 5 0.27x
Dunbartonshire 4 0.02x
Berwickshire 3 0.03x
Inverness-shire 3 0.01x
Peeblesshire 2 0.06x
Sutherland 2 0.04x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Birmingham in Warwickshire leads with 1,093 Harris' recorded in 1881 and an index of 1.75x.

Place Total Index
Birmingham 1,093 1.75x
Lambeth 1,021 1.58x
Islington London 876 1.22x
Aston 874 1.70x
St Pancras London 764 1.28x
Camberwell 606 1.28x
St Marylebone London 574 1.45x
Kensington London 559 1.35x
Hackney London 544 1.31x
Merthyr Tydfil 500 4.02x
Swansea Town 480 4.53x
West Ham 462 1.43x
Mile End Old Town London 434 2.75x
Bethnal Green London 412 1.28x
Paddington London 409 1.50x
Portsea 395 1.32x
Shoreditch London 386 1.20x
Newington 376 1.37x
Rowley Regis 376 5.38x
Bedwellty 367 3.87x
Aberdare 342 3.85x
Deptford St Paul 336 1.72x
West Bromwich 334 2.33x
Brighton 333 1.32x
Bristol St Philip Jacob 326 2.38x
Battersea 310 1.13x
Hammersmith London 289 1.58x
Liverpool 281 0.53x
Bedminster 278 2.48x
Ystradyfodwg 271 2.39x
St George Hanover Square 270 2.06x
Kingswinford 253 2.78x
Southwark St George Martyr 253 1.69x
Whitechapel London 249 3.40x
Croydon 246 1.23x
Lewisham 231 1.71x
Plymouth St Andrew 229 1.92x
Chelsea London 222 0.99x
Sedgley 222 2.39x
Kings Norton 221 2.54x
Bermondsey 220 1.00x
Wolverhampton 219 1.14x
Stoke Upon Trent 209 0.79x
Cheltenham 207 1.84x
Trevethin 198 3.91x
Toxteth Park 194 0.65x
Leicester St Margaret 189 0.94x
Nottingham St Mary 187 0.72x
Everton 186 0.66x
Spitalfields London 184 3.30x
Greenwich 181 1.53x
Stoke Damerel 179 1.65x
Bromley London 177 1.08x
Manchester 177 0.45x
St Agnes 173 14.70x
Camborne 170 4.91x
Kingston On Thames 169 1.94x
Llanwonno 167 3.60x
Illogan 166 7.46x
Harborne 164 2.04x
Tottenham 161 1.36x
Clerkenwell London 158 0.90x
West Derby 157 0.61x
Leicester St Mary 156 2.35x
Dudley 155 1.32x
Barrow In Furness 154 1.29x
Clifton 150 2.04x
Hampstead London 150 1.30x
Roath 150 2.55x
Tipton 149 1.94x
Leeds 148 0.36x
Feckenham 146 13.16x
St George In East London 145 2.08x
Westbury On Severn East 145 4.40x
Walsall Foreign 142 1.10x
Woolwich 142 1.52x
Aberystruth 141 2.98x
Bristol St George 140 2.08x
Westminster St John 140 1.55x
Neath 139 5.28x

Top female names

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

Name Count
Mary 4,786
Elizabeth 3,059
Sarah 2,646
Ann 1,528
Jane 1,398
Eliza 1,306
Emma 1,243
Ellen 1,032
Emily 1,012
Annie 1,009
Alice 755
Hannah 652
Louisa 591
Margaret 583
Martha 578
Harriet 491
Charlotte 489
Maria 463
Caroline 455
Edith 443
Fanny 443
Florence 418
Catherine 411
Kate 398
Ada 383
Clara 337
Susan 329
Anne 307
Lucy 291
Harriett 244
Rose 241
Amelia 240
Agnes 231
Esther 221
Frances 221
Matilda 219
Rebecca 206
Sophia 203
Julia 175
Rachel 174
Minnie 167
Amy 158
Bessie 155
Elizth. 155
Jessie 147
Eleanor 131
Gertrude 129
Laura 127
Ethel 114
Maud 114

Top male names

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

Name Count
William 4,877
John 4,152
George 2,725
Thomas 2,525
James 2,076
Henry 1,794
Charles 1,585
Joseph 1,121
Alfred 897
Edward 786
Richard 706
Samuel 688
Frederick 687
Arthur 644
David 579
Walter 573
Robert 565
Albert 551
Frank 365
Harry 329
Edwin 299
Herbert 279
Ernest 264
Benjamin 245
Francis 237
Wm. 205
Daniel 160
Isaac 136
Stephen 129
Thos. 118
Fred 108
Geo. 100
Sidney 98
Fredk. 93
Abraham 90
Fredrick 90
Percy 83
Philip 80
Sydney 78
Edmund 77
Tom 77
Chas. 74
Lewis 74
Evan 72
Jacob 64
Mark 60
Christopher 57
Jesse 55
Josiah 51
Willm. 49

FAQ

Harris surname: questions and answers

How common was the Harris surname in 1881?

In 1881, 75,913 people were recorded with the Harris surname. That placed it at #28 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Harris surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 111,317 in 2016. That gives Harris a modern rank of #26.

What does the Harris surname mean?

An English surname derived from the given name Harry or Henry, or from a nickname meaning "son of Harry."

What does the Harris map show?

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