NameCensus.

UK surname

Heriot

A surname derived from the name Héru, a diminutive of Henry.

In the 1881 census there were 233 people recorded with the Heriot surname, ranking it #11,648 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 103, ranked #30,515, down from #11,648 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to Inveresk, Tranent and Edinburgh. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Doncaster, Arun and Joppa.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Heriot is 300 in 1901. Compared with 1881, the name has fallen by 55.8%.

1881 census count

233

Ranked #11,648

Modern count

103

2016, ranked #30,515

Peak year

1901

300 bearers

Map years

8

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Heriot had 233 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #11,648 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 103 in 2016, ranked #30,515.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 300 in 1901.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Established Mature Families.

Heriot surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Heriot surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Heriot 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 170 #13,763
1881 historical 233 #11,648
1891 historical 275 #11,847
1901 historical 300 #11,647
1911 historical 95 #23,294
1997 modern 111 #25,394
1998 modern 114 #25,589
1999 modern 118 #25,227
2000 modern 119 #25,072
2001 modern 112 #25,644
2002 modern 98 #28,243
2003 modern 102 #27,383
2004 modern 102 #27,637
2005 modern 108 #26,736
2006 modern 108 #27,015
2007 modern 106 #27,722
2008 modern 108 #27,684
2009 modern 108 #28,311
2010 modern 104 #29,618
2011 modern 105 #29,287
2012 modern 102 #29,902
2013 modern 96 #31,381
2014 modern 101 #30,855
2015 modern 101 #30,816
2016 modern 103 #30,515

Geography

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Where Heriots are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around Inveresk, Tranent, Edinburgh, Dirleton and St Mary Islington. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Doncaster, Arun, Joppa, Powmill, Cleish and Scotlandwell and Shandon. 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 Inveresk Edinburgh
2 Tranent Haddington
3 Edinburgh Edinburgh
4 Dirleton Haddington
5 St Mary Islington London (North Districts)

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Doncaster 006 Doncaster
2 Arun 001 Arun
3 Joppa City of Edinburgh
4 Powmill, Cleish and Scotlandwell Perth and Kinross
5 Shandon City of Edinburgh

Forenames

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First names often paired with Heriot

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

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Heriot

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

Established Mature Families

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

Read profile summary

Group profile

Married couples predominate, many with older dependent children. Detached housing is common. Homeownership rates are the highest within this Supergroup. The presence of some students suggests that households are towards the end of a child rearing phase. Many residents have degree level qualifications, and the occupational profile is heavily skewed towards managerial and professional occupations. Residential developments commonly occur on the periphery of major urban cities or conurbations.

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

Professional Employment and Family Lifecycles

Group

Inner London Working Professionals

Within London, Heriot is most associated with areas classed as Inner London Working Professionals, 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

These primarily Inner London neighbourhoods are more densely populated than the Supergroup average. Residents have a younger over-all age profile than the Supergroup as a whole, and are less likely to be owner occupiers. Full time employment is more common than elsewhere in the Supergroup and multiple car ownership is uncommon. Chinese and non-EU-born European migrants are less in evidence than elsewhere in the Supergroup.

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

Heriot 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

Heriot 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 Heriot is most associated with a typical fixed broadband download band of Over 70 mbit/s.

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

10
Slower band Faster band

Area snapshot

Ethnic group estimate

Most common ethnic group estimate
White - British

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

Meaning and origin of Heriot

The surname Heriot is of Scottish origin, deriving from the medieval French word "hérité" meaning "inheritance" or "heritage". It first appeared in the 12th century as a nickname for someone who had inherited land or property.

The earliest known record of the name dates back to 1165, when a Robert Heryot is mentioned in the Chartulary of Kelso Abbey in Roxburghshire, Scotland. Other early spellings include Heriott, Heryot, and Heryet.

In the 13th century, the name appears in the Ragman Rolls of 1296, a collection of instruments recording the sworn allegiance of Scottish nobles and landowners to King Edward I of England. One entry lists a William Heryot from Berwickshire.

The surname is also found in the famous Domesday Book of 1086, a comprehensive survey of England and parts of Wales commissioned by William the Conqueror. A Norman knight named Heriod is recorded as holding lands in Essex.

One of the earliest prominent bearers of the name was George Heriot (1563-1624), a successful goldsmith and jeweler in Edinburgh who amassed a considerable fortune. He founded Heriot's Hospital, a charitable school for orphans that still operates today.

Another notable figure was John Heriot (c. 1760-1833), a British diplomat and writer who served as ambassador to the United States from 1824 to 1827. He published several works on his travels and experiences in America.

In the arts, George Robert Heriot (1824-1907) was a Scottish painter known for his landscapes and portraits. His works can be found in collections across the United Kingdom.

The name Heriot also has ties to the British aristocracy. George Heriot (1766-1844) was a Scottish landowner and Member of Parliament for Beverley, while Fitzherbert Edward Stafford Jerningham Heriot (1870-1961) was a British Army officer and recipient of the Victoria Cross for his actions during the Second Boer War.

Finally, James Heriot (1832-1913) was a Scottish-born Australian politician who served as Premier of Victoria from 1892 to 1899, making significant contributions to the development of the state's education system and infrastructure.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

1881 census detail

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Heriot families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Heriot 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. Midlothian leads with 110 Heriots recorded in 1881 and an index of 36.76x.

County Total Index
Midlothian 110 36.76x
East Lothian 20 67.59x
Middlesex 16 0.72x
Sussex 14 3.72x
Norfolk 12 3.49x
Lanarkshire 8 1.11x
Lancashire 7 0.26x
Renfrewshire 5 2.89x
Stirlingshire 5 6.07x
Gloucestershire 4 0.91x
Peeblesshire 4 38.06x
Yorkshire 4 0.18x
Northumberland 3 0.90x
Angus 2 0.97x
Staffordshire 2 0.27x
Aberdeenshire 1 0.48x
Anglesey 1 2.53x
Berkshire 1 0.60x
Clackmannanshire 1 5.42x
Durham 1 0.15x
Essex 1 0.23x
Fife 1 0.76x
Hampshire 1 0.22x
Kent 1 0.13x
Northamptonshire 1 0.48x
Roxburghshire 1 2.47x
Surrey 1 0.09x
Worcestershire 1 0.34x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Edinburgh St Cuthberts in Midlothian leads with 37 Heriots recorded in 1881 and an index of 30.73x.

Place Total Index
Edinburgh St Cuthberts 37 30.73x
South Leith 37 109.89x
Brighton 10 13.16x
Temple 10 840.34x
Lakenham 8 163.93x
Lasswade 7 102.34x
Pencaitland 7 833.33x
New Monkland 6 28.10x
West Greenock 5 16.09x
Berwick North 4 193.24x
Bradford 4 7.47x
Clifton 4 18.06x
Great Yarmouth 4 14.06x
Inveresk 4 49.38x
Islington London 4 1.85x
Peebles 4 128.62x
Polmont 4 131.58x
St Marylebone London 4 3.35x
Toxteth Park 4 4.46x
Cockpen 3 85.71x
Haddington 3 68.65x
Newbattle 3 117.19x
Norham 3 405.41x
Salton 3 681.82x
Tranent 3 75.00x
Dalkeith 2 33.90x
Dundee 2 2.59x
Hornsey 2 7.08x
Hove 2 12.11x
Kirkdale 2 4.49x
Mile End Old Town London 2 4.21x
North Leith 2 14.44x
Southwick 2 100.50x
Yarlett 2 2222.22x
Alloa 1 11.17x
Barony 1 0.55x
Barrow In Furness 1 2.77x
Battersea 1 1.22x
Bishopwearmouth 1 1.75x
Borthwick 1 74.63x
Campsie 1 22.12x
Carnwath 1 22.37x
Clerkenwell London 1 1.90x
Cookham 1 19.12x
Currie 1 54.64x
Edinburgh Lady Yesters 1 48.31x
Edinburgh New 1 43.10x
Edinburgh St Marys 1 17.18x
Hampstead London 1 2.87x
Hanley Castle 1 57.14x
Hawick 1 11.04x
Inverurie 1 42.74x
Kensington London 1 0.81x
Lewisham 1 2.46x
Llandysilio 1 80.65x
Northampton Priory St 1 7.93x
Portsea 1 1.11x
St Andrews 1 16.61x
St Clement Danes London 1 21.65x
West Ham 1 1.03x

Top female names

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

Name Count
Mary 6
Ann 3
Caroline 2
Janet 2
Agnes 1
Annie 1
Elizabeth 1
Ellen 1
Emma 1
Florance 1
Georgiana 1
Grace 1
Helen 1
Jane 1
Johanna 1
Julia 1
Lizzie 1
Margarett 1
Miriam 1
Phoebe 1
Rachel 1
Ralouka 1
Robertree 1
Smaragda 1
Susan 1

Top male names

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

Name Count
James 7
George 4
William 4
Joseph 3
Arthur 2
David 2
John 2
Abrams 1
Alexander 1
Allan 1
Ancrum 1
Andrew 1
Benjamin 1
Edward 1
Granville 1
J. 1
Mackay 1
R. 1
Warner 1

FAQ

Heriot surname: questions and answers

How common was the Heriot surname in 1881?

In 1881, 233 people were recorded with the Heriot surname. That placed it at #11,648 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Heriot surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 103 in 2016. That gives Heriot a modern rank of #30,515.

What does the Heriot surname mean?

A surname derived from the name Héru, a diminutive of Henry.

What does the Heriot map show?

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