NameCensus.

UK surname

Heapy

In the 1881 census there were 220 people recorded with the Heapy surname, ranking it #12,087 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 282, ranked #15,406, down from #12,087 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to Prestbury, Stockport and Alstonfield. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Cheshire East and Thurrock.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Heapy is 303 in 2010. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 28.2%.

1881 census count

220

Ranked #12,087

Modern count

282

2016, ranked #15,406

Peak year

2010

303 bearers

Map years

9

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Heapy had 220 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #12,087 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 282 in 2016, ranked #15,406.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 302 in 1911.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Challenged Communities.

Heapy surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Heapy surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Heapy 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 147 #13,084
1861 historical 118 #18,512
1881 historical 220 #12,087
1891 historical 244 #12,983
1901 historical 260 #12,817
1911 historical 302 #11,394
1997 modern 284 #14,006
1998 modern 278 #14,620
1999 modern 286 #14,412
2000 modern 286 #14,385
2001 modern 282 #14,294
2002 modern 295 #14,146
2003 modern 293 #14,037
2004 modern 285 #14,344
2005 modern 283 #14,343
2006 modern 276 #14,700
2007 modern 276 #14,855
2008 modern 271 #15,182
2009 modern 285 #14,944
2010 modern 303 #14,626
2011 modern 292 #14,863
2012 modern 281 #15,198
2013 modern 283 #15,401
2014 modern 291 #15,168
2015 modern 289 #15,153
2016 modern 282 #15,406

Geography

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Where Heapys are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around Prestbury, Stockport, Alstonfield, Bury and Manchester. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Cheshire East and Thurrock. 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 Prestbury Cheshire
2 Stockport Cheshire
3 Alstonfield Staffordshire
4 Bury Lancashire
5 Manchester Lancashire

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Cheshire East 016 Cheshire East
2 Thurrock 018 Thurrock
3 Cheshire East 018 Cheshire East
4 Thurrock 009 Thurrock
5 Cheshire East 019 Cheshire East

Forenames

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First names often paired with Heapy

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

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Heapy

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

Baseline UK

Group

Challenged Communities

Nationally, the Heapy surname is most associated with neighbourhoods classed as Challenged Communities, within Baseline UK. This does not mean every Heapy household fits that profile, but it gives a useful signal about where the modern surname distribution is strongest.

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Group profile

Residents of these neighbourhoods typically live in households with dependent children, and there are fewer-than-average residents of normal retirement age or over. Identification with ethnic minorities, particularly Black, or Mixed or Multiple ethnicities is common. The rate of Christian religious affiliation is low. Housing predominantly consists of semi-detached houses, along with a significant number of terraced properties and flats. Overcrowded social housing is common, and private renting occurs at average UK levels. Those in employment work mainly in caring leisure and other services; process, plant and machine operation; or elementary occupations. Unemployment is high, and few individuals have degree level qualifications. Many of these neighbourhoods occur in commuter towns or less accessible areas of larger towns and cities.

Wider pattern

This Supergroup exemplifies the broad base to the UK’s social structure, encompassing as it does the average or modal levels of many neighbourhood characteristics, including all housing tenures, a range of levels of educational attainment and religious affiliations, and a variety of pre-retirement age structures. Yet, in combination, these mixes are each distinctive of the parts of the UK. Overall, terraced houses and flats are the most prevalent, as is employment in intermediate or low-skilled occupations. However, this Supergroup is also characterised by above average levels of unemployment and lower levels of use of English as the main language. Many neighbourhoods occur in south London and the UK’s other major urban centres.

London neighbourhood type

London Output Area Classification

Supergroup

Social Rented Sector Families with Children

Group

Social Rented Sector Pockets

Within London, Heapy is most associated with areas classed as Social Rented Sector Pockets, part of Social Rented Sector Families with Children. 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

Found in pockets across London, residents are less likely to live in private sector rentals and fewer adults are students. Fewer individuals work in transport and communications occupations relative to the Supergroup average. More individuals identify as Black and were born in Africa.

Wider London pattern

Residents of these neighbourhoods include sizable numbers identifying with ethnicities originating outside Europe, particularly in Africa or Bangladesh. The proportion of residents identifying as White, Indian or Pakistani is well below the London average. Neighbourhood age profiles are skewed towards younger adults, and above average numbers of families have children. Rates of use of English at home are below average. Marriage rates are low, and levels of separation or divorce are above average. Housing is predominantly in flats, and renting in the social rented sector the norm - few residents are owner occupiers. Housing is often overcrowded, and neighbourhoods are amongst the most densely populated in London. Disability rates are above average, although levels of unpaid care provision are about average. Employment is in caring, leisure, other service occupations, sales and customer service, or process, plant, and machine operation. Part time working and full-time student study are common. Levels of unemployment are slightly above average. Most residents have only Level 1 or 2 educational qualifications or have completed apprenticeships.

Healthy neighbourhoods

Access to healthy assets and hazards

Heapy is most concentrated in decile 10 for access to healthy assets and hazards. This places the surname towards the healthier end of the index.

Lower deciles point towards weaker access to healthy assets or stronger exposure to local hazards. Higher deciles point towards stronger access and fewer hazards.

10
Lower access Higher access

Neighbourhood deprivation

Index of Multiple Deprivation

Heapy falls in decile 4 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.

4
More deprived Less deprived

Broadband speed

Fixed broadband download speed

The modern neighbourhood pattern for Heapy is most associated with a typical fixed broadband download band of 60-70 mbit/s.

The scale below places that band in context, from slower local download bands through to faster ones.

9
Slower band Faster band

Area snapshot

Ethnic group estimate

Most common ethnic group estimate
White - British

This describes the area pattern most associated with Heapy, not the ethnicity of every person with the surname.

1881 census detail

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Heapy families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Heapy 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 84 Heapys recorded in 1881 and an index of 3.27x.

County Total Index
Lancashire 84 3.27x
Cheshire 63 13.18x
Staffordshire 32 4.38x
Middlesex 23 1.06x
Derbyshire 11 3.24x
Herefordshire 4 4.51x
Hampshire 2 0.45x
Yorkshire 2 0.09x
Shropshire 1 0.53x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Macclesfield in Cheshire leads with 32 Heapys recorded in 1881 and an index of 150.59x.

Place Total Index
Macclesfield 32 150.59x
Manchester 19 16.44x
Bury 16 54.51x
Sutton In Macclesfield 14 282.26x
Quarnford 13 4062.50x
Liverpool 12 7.69x
Little Bolton 9 27.24x
Heaton Norris 8 54.72x
Bosley 6 2000.00x
Derby St Werburgh 6 30.66x
Hackney London 6 4.94x
St Pancras London 6 3.44x
Stoke Upon Trent 6 7.74x
Tranmere 6 34.15x
Islington London 5 2.38x
Leek Lowe 5 51.44x
Mile End Old Town London 5 10.85x
Reddish 5 141.24x
Stockport 5 20.33x
Wednesfield 5 46.47x
Sharples 4 143.37x
Yarpole 4 888.89x
Ashton Under Lyne 3 5.34x
Derby St Peter 3 27.78x
Wigan 3 8.35x
Heaton 2 833.33x
Leeds 2 1.65x
Openshaw 2 16.63x
Aldershot 1 6.72x
Alverstoke 1 6.23x
Barlaston 1 163.93x
Burnage 1 158.73x
Haslingden 1 9.40x
Ireton Wood 1 1111.11x
Moss Side 1 7.40x
St Katherine Coleman 1 476.19x
Stanton Lacy 1 61.73x
Tideswell 1 68.03x

Top female names

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

Name Count
Sarah 11
Mary 9
Elizabeth 8
Eliza 6
Emily 5
Hannah 5
Alice 4
Ann 4
Ellen 4
Harriet 4
Martha 4
Clara 3
Florence 3
Lucy 3
Agnes 2
Catherine 2
Elanor 2
Eleanor 2
Emma 2
Harriett 2
Susannah 2
Ada 1
Amy 1
Anne 1
Annie 1
Bessie 1
Caroline 1
Edith 1
Jane 1
Lavinea 1
Lavinia 1
Lizzie 1
M. 1
Margaret 1
Maud 1
Mead 1
Millicent 1
Miriam 1
Selina 1
Susan 1

Top male names

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

Name Count
John 17
William 14
James 8
Thomas 8
George 7
Arthur 6
Edward 6
Samuel 6
Joseph 5
Alfred 3
Frederick 3
Herbert 3
Jesse 3
Ralph 3
Abraham 2
Edwin 2
Frank 2
Henry 2
Moses 2
Walter 2
Abel 1
Charles 1
Eliza 1
Ernest 1
Harold 1
Horace 1
Josephus 1
Louis 1
Peter 1
Richard 1
Robt.Wm. 1

FAQ

Heapy surname: questions and answers

How common was the Heapy surname in 1881?

In 1881, 220 people were recorded with the Heapy surname. That placed it at #12,087 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Heapy surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 282 in 2016. That gives Heapy a modern rank of #15,406.

What does the Heapy map show?

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