NameCensus.

UK surname

Hickinbotham

An English surname derived from a place name, possibly meaning "valley of the hitch gate".

In the 1881 census there were 160 people recorded with the Hickinbotham surname, ranking it #14,860 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 277, ranked #15,619, down from #14,860 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to London parishes, St Werburgh and Nottingham St Mary. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Mansfield, Erewash and Herefordshire.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Hickinbotham is 315 in 1999. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 73.1%.

1881 census count

160

Ranked #14,860

Modern count

277

2016, ranked #15,619

Peak year

1999

315 bearers

Map years

8

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Hickinbotham had 160 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #14,860 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 277 in 2016, ranked #15,619.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 270 in 1901.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Spacious Rural Living.

Hickinbotham surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Hickinbotham surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Hickinbotham 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 139 #13,659
1861 historical 88 #22,554
1881 historical 160 #14,860
1891 historical 229 #13,539
1901 historical 270 #12,492
1911 historical 237 #13,406
1997 modern 294 #13,707
1998 modern 305 #13,753
1999 modern 315 #13,524
2000 modern 313 #13,541
2001 modern 306 #13,565
2002 modern 310 #13,697
2003 modern 292 #14,065
2004 modern 295 #14,025
2005 modern 292 #14,072
2006 modern 284 #14,396
2007 modern 290 #14,372
2008 modern 286 #14,618
2009 modern 282 #15,059
2010 modern 289 #15,127
2011 modern 298 #14,666
2012 modern 286 #15,012
2013 modern 282 #15,441
2014 modern 284 #15,455
2015 modern 281 #15,457
2016 modern 277 #15,619

Geography

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Where Hickinbothams are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around London parishes, St Werburgh, Nottingham St Mary, Donington, Castle and Leicester St Margaret and Bishop's Fee, Leicester All Saints, Blackfriars. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Mansfield, Erewash, Herefordshire, Amber Valley and Rutland. 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 London parishes London 3
2 St Werburgh Derbyshire
3 Nottingham St Mary Nottinghamshire
4 Donington, Castle Derbyshire
5 Leicester St Margaret and Bishop's Fee, Leicester All Saints, Blackfriars Leicestershire

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Mansfield 002 Mansfield
2 Erewash 005 Erewash
3 Herefordshire 013 Herefordshire, County of
4 Amber Valley 013 Amber Valley
5 Rutland 005 Rutland

Forenames

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First names often paired with Hickinbotham

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

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Hickinbotham

Modern surname records can be compared with neighbourhood classifications. For Hickinbotham, 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 Hickinbotham surname is most associated with neighbourhoods classed as Spacious Rural Living, within Retired Professionals. This does not mean every Hickinbotham 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

Professional Employment and Family Lifecycles

Group

Established Homeowners with Children

Within London, Hickinbotham is most associated with areas classed as Established Homeowners with Children, 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 predominantly British-born residents are typically married/in civil partnerships and own the properties in which they are raising their children. Parents are typically over 45, and many other residents are beyond normal retirement age. Detached and semi-detached houses predominate and multiple car ownership is common.

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

Hickinbotham 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

Hickinbotham falls in decile 7 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.

7
More deprived Less deprived

Broadband speed

Fixed broadband download speed

The modern neighbourhood pattern for Hickinbotham is most associated with a typical fixed broadband download band of 25-30 mbit/s.

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

5
Slower band Faster band

Area snapshot

Ethnic group estimate

Most common ethnic group estimate
White - British

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

Meaning and origin of Hickinbotham

The surname Hickinbotham is of English origin, derived from the Old English words "hicce" meaning a hick or yokel, and "botham" meaning a dwelling or abode. It suggests that the name originally referred to a person who lived in a humble dwelling or came from a rural area.

The name can be traced back to the 13th century in various parts of Yorkshire and Derbyshire, where it first appeared in records as "Hichinbotham" and "Hykynbotham". It is believed to have originated in one of these northern English counties, possibly near the town of Eckington in Derbyshire.

One of the earliest known references to the name is found in the Hundred Rolls of 1273, which lists a Richard Hykynbotham as a resident of Derbyshire. The Hickinbotham family is also mentioned in the Lay Subsidy Rolls of 1327, indicating their presence in the region during that time.

In the 15th century, the name appeared in various spellings such as "Hickingbotham" and "Hichinbotham" in records from Yorkshire and Derbyshire. One notable individual from this period was John Hickinbotham, born in 1432 in Doncaster, Yorkshire, who served as a bailiff for the town.

As the centuries passed, the Hickinbotham family dispersed throughout England, with branches establishing themselves in different counties. One prominent figure was Sir Ambrose Hickinbotham, born in 1628 in Nottinghamshire, who was a successful merchant and served as the Lord Mayor of London in 1668.

Another notable bearer of the name was Thomas Hickinbotham, born in 1745 in Derbyshire, who was a renowned clockmaker and inventor. His work was highly regarded, and some of his clocks are still preserved in museums today.

In the 19th century, the Hickinbotham surname gained recognition with the achievements of John Thomas Hickinbotham, born in 1818 in Nottinghamshire. He was a prominent industrialist and philanthropist, contributing to the development of the lace industry in Nottingham and founding several schools and charities.

While the Hickinbotham name has its roots in northern England, its bearers have made their mark in various fields across the country and beyond, carrying forward the legacy of this historic surname.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

1881 census detail

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Hickinbotham families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Hickinbotham 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. Derbyshire leads with 47 Hickinbothams recorded in 1881 and an index of 19.12x.

County Total Index
Derbyshire 47 19.12x
Middlesex 20 1.27x
Warwickshire 17 4.29x
Leicestershire 15 8.61x
Surrey 14 1.83x
Shropshire 13 9.58x
Staffordshire 12 2.26x
Nottinghamshire 9 4.25x
Kent 6 1.12x
Yorkshire 2 0.13x
Buckinghamshire 1 1.05x
Channel Islands 1 2.15x
Essex 1 0.32x
Hertfordshire 1 0.92x
Lincolnshire 1 0.40x
Rutland 1 8.67x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Derby St Werburgh in Derbyshire leads with 16 Hickinbothams recorded in 1881 and an index of 112.68x.

Place Total Index
Derby St Werburgh 16 112.68x
Birmingham 12 9.09x
Islington London 10 6.57x
Shrewsbury Holy Cross 10 666.67x
Teddington London 9 252.81x
Ticknall 9 1800.00x
Kingston On Thames 7 38.08x
Hartington Middle 6 3333.33x
Hatherton 6 2608.70x
Milton In Gravesend 6 74.63x
Newington 6 10.34x
Sheepshed 6 251.05x
Aston 5 4.58x
Castle Donnington 5 347.22x
Cauldon 5 2777.78x
Derby St Peter 5 63.86x
Nottingham St Mary 5 9.13x
Leicester St Mary 4 28.43x
Ilkeston 3 43.54x
Nottingham St Nicholas 3 104.17x
Shrewsbury St Julian 3 89.29x
Brassington 2 540.54x
Chaddesden 2 606.06x
Chellaston 2 740.74x
Church Gresley 2 51.15x
Ecclesall Bierlow 2 6.32x
Cottesmore 1 454.55x
Horninglow 1 40.00x
Lambeth 1 0.73x
Newark Upon Trent 1 13.14x
Pinner 1 72.46x
Spalding 1 20.08x
St Peter Port 1 11.61x
Upton Cum Chalvey 1 26.46x
Walthamstow 1 8.96x
Watford 1 11.92x

Top female names

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

Name Count
Elizabeth 9
Sarah 9
Mary 6
Ann 5
Emma 5
Eliza 4
Ellen 4
Ada 3
Hannah 3
Jane 3
Alice 2
Annie 2
Fanny 2
Harriet 2
Martha 2
Matilda 2
Rose 2
Caloline 1
Caroline 1
Charlotte 1
Elizth. 1
Frances 1
Grace 1
Harriett 1
Letitia 1
Mrs 1
Rebecca 1
Rosa 1
Susannah 1

Top male names

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

Name Count
John 18
William 12
James 10
Thomas 7
Samuel 4
Frederick 3
Arthur 2
Christopher 2
Geo. 2
Joseph 2
Alfred 1
Benjamin 1
Charles 1
Edward 1
Ernest 1
Fredk. 1
Fredrick 1
George 1
Henry 1
Jas. 1
Joe 1
Laurence 1
Matthew 1
Prince 1
R.S. 1
Saml. 1
Thos. 1
Tom 1
Walter 1
Wm. 1

FAQ

Hickinbotham surname: questions and answers

How common was the Hickinbotham surname in 1881?

In 1881, 160 people were recorded with the Hickinbotham surname. That placed it at #14,860 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Hickinbotham surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 277 in 2016. That gives Hickinbotham a modern rank of #15,619.

What does the Hickinbotham surname mean?

An English surname derived from a place name, possibly meaning "valley of the hitch gate".

What does the Hickinbotham map show?

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