NameCensus.

UK surname

Hearsey

In the 1881 census there were 180 people recorded with the Hearsey surname, ranking it #13,735 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 238, ranked #17,361, down from #13,735 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to Bristol City: St Mary Redcliff, Broadwater (incl. Worthing), Nuthurst and Carlisle St Cuthbert. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Wealden, North Devon and Blaby.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Hearsey is 300 in 2002. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 32.2%.

1881 census count

180

Ranked #13,735

Modern count

238

2016, ranked #17,361

Peak year

2002

300 bearers

Map years

9

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Hearsey had 180 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #13,735 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 238 in 2016, ranked #17,361.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 294 in 1911.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Small Town Suburbia.

Hearsey surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Hearsey surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Hearsey 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 130 #14,314
1861 historical 124 #17,797
1881 historical 180 #13,735
1891 historical 218 #14,023
1901 historical 241 #13,417
1911 historical 294 #11,622
1997 modern 291 #13,792
1998 modern 298 #13,937
1999 modern 297 #14,053
2000 modern 293 #14,141
2001 modern 290 #14,033
2002 modern 300 #13,990
2003 modern 296 #13,944
2004 modern 300 #13,871
2005 modern 283 #14,343
2006 modern 278 #14,623
2007 modern 278 #14,773
2008 modern 280 #14,823
2009 modern 273 #15,436
2010 modern 266 #16,067
2011 modern 272 #15,653
2012 modern 256 #16,253
2013 modern 254 #16,603
2014 modern 246 #17,079
2015 modern 246 #16,994
2016 modern 238 #17,361

Geography

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Where Hearseys are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around Bristol City: St Mary Redcliff, Broadwater (incl. Worthing), Nuthurst, Carlisle St Cuthbert, London parishes and Hellingly. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Wealden, North Devon, Blaby and Walsall. 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 Broadwater (incl. Worthing), Nuthurst Sussex
3 Carlisle St Cuthbert Cumberland
4 London parishes London 3
5 Hellingly Sussex

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Wealden 018 Wealden
2 North Devon 002 North Devon
3 Blaby 006 Blaby
4 Walsall 009 Walsall
5 Walsall 021 Walsall

Forenames

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First names often paired with Hearsey

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

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Hearsey

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

Retired Professionals

Group

Small Town Suburbia

Nationally, the Hearsey surname is most associated with neighbourhoods classed as Small Town Suburbia, within Retired Professionals. This does not mean every Hearsey 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 is predominantly comprised of married couples with no resident dependent children, living in areas characterised neither by under-occupancy nor overcrowding throughout the UK in or adjacent to small towns. White ethnic groups and affiliation with Christianity predominates. Housing tends to be predominantly semi-detached or detached and workers are employed principally in managerial and professional occupations, with semi-skilled occupations also in evidence. These areas of the Supergroup are of higher population density.

Wider pattern

Typically married but no longer with resident dependent children, these well-educated households either remain working in their managerial, professional, administrative or other skilled occupations, or are retired from them – the modal individual age is beyond normal retirement age. Underoccupied detached and semi-detached properties predominate, and unpaid care is more prevalent than reported disability. The prevalence of this Supergroup outside most urban conurbations indicates that rural lifestyles prevail, typically sustained by using two or more cars per household.

London neighbourhood type

London Output Area Classification

Supergroup

The Greater London Mix

Group

Social Rented Sector Professional Support Workers

Within London, Hearsey 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

Hearsey is most concentrated in decile 7 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.

7
Lower access Higher access

Neighbourhood deprivation

Index of Multiple Deprivation

Hearsey falls in decile 9 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.

9
More deprived Less deprived

Broadband speed

Fixed broadband download speed

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

1881 census detail

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Hearsey families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Hearsey 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. Sussex leads with 78 Hearseys recorded in 1881 and an index of 26.35x.

County Total Index
Sussex 78 26.35x
Middlesex 36 2.05x
Hampshire 21 5.84x
Surrey 18 2.10x
Kent 9 1.50x
Gloucestershire 6 1.74x
Cumberland 5 3.31x
Devon 2 0.55x
Yorkshire 2 0.11x
Berkshire 1 0.76x
Buckinghamshire 1 0.94x
Northamptonshire 1 0.61x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Eastbourne in Sussex leads with 36 Hearseys recorded in 1881 and an index of 264.32x.

Place Total Index
Eastbourne 36 264.32x
Broadwater 17 250.37x
Hellingly 10 1010.10x
St George Hanover Square 9 29.10x
Liss 8 1095.89x
Laleham 7 2121.21x
Alverstoke 6 46.05x
Bristol Christchurch 6 1200.00x
Slaugham 5 520.83x
St Cuthbert W O 5 67.84x
Clerkenwell London 4 9.65x
Newington 4 6.17x
Petworth 4 225.99x
Shoreditch London 4 5.26x
St Pancras London 4 2.83x
Battersea 3 4.64x
Chiddingfold 3 375.00x
Greenwich 3 10.73x
Leatherhead 3 140.19x
Buriton 2 289.86x
East Meon 2 212.77x
Holy Trinity 2 4.78x
Midhurst 2 206.19x
Shadwell London 2 40.73x
Shere 2 194.17x
Thurlestone 2 909.09x
West Lavington 2 2222.22x
Woolwich 2 9.04x
Ashton In Potterspury 1 526.32x
Burnham 1 74.07x
Charlton Next Woolwich 1 16.00x
Chelsea London 1 1.89x
Cholsey 1 96.15x
Dartford 1 16.31x
Fulham London 1 3.93x
Godalming 1 18.55x
Guildford St Nicholas 1 66.23x
Hampstead London 1 3.66x
Harrietsham 1 243.90x
Haslemere 1 149.25x
Kensington London 1 1.02x
Keymer 1 47.85x
Mile End Old Town London 1 2.68x
Petersfield 1 101.01x
Portsea 1 1.42x
Rogate 1 169.49x
Sheet 1 256.41x
Tonbridge 1 4.63x
Westminster St Margaret 1 11.81x

Top female names

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

Top male names

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

Name Count
William 16
George 13
John 10
Charles 9
Henry 6
James 6
Samuel 4
Edward 3
Harry 3
Thomas 3
Alfred 2
Daniel 2
Frederick 2
Jesse 2
A.C.G. 1
Albert 1
Anthony 1
Arthur 1
Edm. 1
Edmund 1
Edwin 1
Frank 1
Fredrick 1
Harold 1
Herbert 1
Hugh 1
J.A. 1
Levi 1
Richard 1

FAQ

Hearsey surname: questions and answers

How common was the Hearsey surname in 1881?

In 1881, 180 people were recorded with the Hearsey surname. That placed it at #13,735 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Hearsey surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 238 in 2016. That gives Hearsey a modern rank of #17,361.

What does the Hearsey map show?

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