NameCensus.

UK surname

Hensby

In the 1881 census there were 256 people recorded with the Hensby surname, ranking it #10,885 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 566, ranked #9,075, up from #10,885 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to Mildenhall, London parishes and Castle Acre. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Wakefield, Fenland and King's Lynn and West Norfolk.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Hensby is 594 in 2002. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 121.1%.

1881 census count

256

Ranked #10,885

Modern count

566

2016, ranked #9,075

Peak year

2002

594 bearers

Map years

9

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Hensby had 256 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #10,885 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 566 in 2016, ranked #9,075.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 413 in 1901.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Spacious Rural Living.

Hensby surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Hensby surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Hensby 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 185 #12,799
1881 historical 256 #10,885
1891 historical 325 #10,426
1901 historical 413 #9,266
1911 historical 397 #9,336
1997 modern 549 #8,668
1998 modern 569 #8,694
1999 modern 559 #8,872
2000 modern 592 #8,497
2001 modern 581 #8,469
2002 modern 594 #8,519
2003 modern 579 #8,530
2004 modern 575 #8,584
2005 modern 559 #8,693
2006 modern 571 #8,598
2007 modern 566 #8,713
2008 modern 552 #8,940
2009 modern 567 #8,959
2010 modern 575 #9,052
2011 modern 562 #9,111
2012 modern 557 #9,082
2013 modern 558 #9,223
2014 modern 566 #9,174
2015 modern 556 #9,221
2016 modern 566 #9,075

Geography

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Where Hensbys are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around Mildenhall, London parishes, Castle Acre, Lakenheath and Bradford. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Wakefield, Fenland, King's Lynn and West Norfolk, Forest Heath and Rotherham. 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 Mildenhall Suffolk
2 London parishes London 3
3 Castle Acre Norfolk
4 Lakenheath Suffolk
5 Bradford Yorkshire, West Riding

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Wakefield 035 Wakefield
2 Fenland 002 Fenland
3 King's Lynn and West Norfolk 016 King's Lynn and West Norfolk
4 Forest Heath 002 Forest Heath
5 Rotherham 009 Rotherham

Forenames

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First names often paired with Hensby

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

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Hensby

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

Spacious Rural Living

Nationally, the Hensby surname is most associated with neighbourhoods classed as Spacious Rural Living, within Retired Professionals. This does not mean every Hensby household fits that profile, but it gives a useful signal about where the modern surname distribution is strongest.

Read profile summary

Group profile

These predominantly ageing households typically have no resident dependent children. Most are owner-occupiers and live in detached houses in low density residential developments (although renting is more common than in the rest of the Supergroup). White ethnicity predominates. Residents are typically beyond retirement age but those still in work have managerial, professional or skilled trade occupations. White ethnicity and Christian religious affiliation predominate. Neighbourhoods are located throughout rural UK.

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

Young Families and Mainstream Employment

Group

Terraced and Semi-Detached Suburbs

Within London, Hensby is most associated with areas classed as Terraced and Semi-Detached Suburbs, part of Young Families and Mainstream Employment. 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 concentrated in suburban areas, these terraced and semi-detached developments are less overcrowded than the Supergroup average, and resident households are more likely to own two or more cars. There are fewer residents aged 25-44, and a larger share of residents employed in administrative and secretarial occupations. Residents are more likely to have been born in the UK, less likely to have been born in the EU or Africa, and much less likely to self-identify as Bangladeshi.

Wider London pattern

Many families in these neighbourhoods have young children. Housing is principally in the social rented sector, in terraced or semi-detached units. While over-all residential densities are low, overcrowding is also prevalent locally. Residents are drawn from a range of ethnic minorities, with many identifying as Black and above average numbers born in Africa. Numbers identifying as of Chinese, Indian or White ethnicity are below average. Levels of proficiency in English are below average. Levels of separation or divorce and incidence of disability are both above average. Education is typically limited to Level 1, 2, or apprenticeship qualifications. Few residents work in professional or managerial occupations but the employment structure is otherwise diverse: it includes skilled trades, caring, leisure and other service occupations, sales and customer service occupations, construction, and work as process, plant, and machine operatives.

Healthy neighbourhoods

Access to healthy assets and hazards

Hensby 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

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

1881 census detail

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Hensby families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Hensby 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. Norfolk leads with 77 Hensbys recorded in 1881 and an index of 20.05x.

County Total Index
Norfolk 77 20.05x
Suffolk 56 18.41x
Middlesex 21 0.84x
Surrey 20 1.64x
Yorkshire 18 0.73x
Kent 15 1.76x
Essex 12 2.43x
Cambridgeshire 11 6.95x
Lincolnshire 10 2.50x
Hertfordshire 6 3.49x
Lancashire 4 0.14x
Shropshire 4 1.85x
Huntingdonshire 2 4.03x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Mildenhall in Suffolk leads with 16 Hensbys recorded in 1881 and an index of 495.36x.

Place Total Index
Mildenhall 16 495.36x
Castle Acre 14 1228.07x
Lakenheath 12 745.34x
Exning 11 714.29x
Springfield 11 509.26x
Thetford St Mary 11 1047.62x
Flitcham Cum Appleton 9 2250.00x
Hornsey 9 28.50x
Littleport 9 298.01x
Bermondsey 7 9.42x
Garthorpe 7 1458.33x
Thetford St Cuthbert 7 503.60x
Aldwark 6 3157.89x
Great Hadham 6 540.54x
Heacham 6 705.88x
Hilgay 6 416.67x
Kensington London 6 4.32x
Lambeth 6 2.76x
Deptford St Paul 5 7.61x
Hunstanton 5 384.62x
Maidstone 5 19.70x
Pakenham 5 609.76x
Stow Bardolph 5 438.60x
West Stow 5 3125.00x
Bainton 4 1176.47x
Rotherhithe 4 12.97x
Rougham 4 1212.12x
Shipley 4 31.15x
St Martin 4 165.98x
Blackburn 3 3.81x
Deptford St Nicholas 3 44.38x
Horncastle 3 72.82x
Shipdham 3 230.77x
West Dereham 3 625.00x
Battersea 2 2.18x
Cavenham 2 1250.00x
Ely Holy Trinity St Mary 2 28.99x
Greenwich 2 5.03x
Hepworth 2 444.44x
Islington London 2 0.83x
Sotherton 2 1333.33x
St Neots 2 74.07x
Stoke Newington London 2 10.28x
Bradford 1 1.67x
Bury St Edmunds St James 1 12.32x
Feltwell 1 135.14x
Haldenby 1 1250.00x
Kings Lynn St Margaret 1 8.67x
Leyton 1 11.78x
Mile End Old Town London 1 1.88x
New Village 1 135.14x
Newington 1 1.08x
Northwold 1 97.09x
Rawcliffe In Goole 1 70.92x
St Marylebone London 1 0.75x
Wavertree 1 10.55x
Welney 1 113.64x

Top female names

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

Name Count
Mary 18
Eliza 10
Elizabeth 10
Sarah 9
Emma 5
Jane 5
Ann 4
Harriet 4
Maria 4
Martha 4
Rebecca 4
Rosa 4
Annie 3
Emily 3
Ada 2
Alice 2
Anne 2
Edith 2
Ellen 2
Florence 2
Louisa 2
Susan 2
Bertha 1
Betsy 1
Caroline 1
Catherine 1
Ceceline 1
Charlotte 1
Elizth. 1
Ellin 1
Fanny 1
Flora 1
Flory 1
Hannah 1
Kate 1
Keziah 1
Laura 1
Lilian 1
Lilians 1
Lily 1
Lucy 1
Marc 1
Margret 1
Maud 1
Polly 1
Rachel 1
Winnie 1

Top male names

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

Name Count
William 15
John 11
George 10
Henry 10
James 10
Frederick 6
Thomas 6
Walter 6
Robert 5
Arthur 4
Charles 4
Edward 4
Samuel 4
Alfred 3
Elijah 3
Frank 3
David 2
Denis 2
Herbert 2
Marshall 2
Albert 1
Alonzo 1
Chasley 1
Christmas. 1
Emanuel 1
Francis 1
Fred 1
Fredrick 1
Harry 1
Jacob 1
Jas. 1
John. 1
Maer 1
Stephen 1
Willoughby 1
Wm. 1

FAQ

Hensby surname: questions and answers

How common was the Hensby surname in 1881?

In 1881, 256 people were recorded with the Hensby surname. That placed it at #10,885 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Hensby surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 566 in 2016. That gives Hensby a modern rank of #9,075.

What does the Hensby map show?

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