NameCensus.

UK surname

Hislop

A surname derived from a place name, originating from northern England or Scotland.

In the 1881 census there were 1,864 people recorded with the Hislop surname, ranking it #2,339 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 1,714, ranked #3,641, down from #2,339 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to Melrose, Hawick and Wilton and Govan Combination. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Selkirk, Langholm and Eskdale and Purbeck.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Hislop is 1,941 in 1901. Compared with 1881, the name has fallen by 8.0%.

1881 census count

1,864

Ranked #2,339

Modern count

1,714

2016, ranked #3,641

Peak year

1901

1,941 bearers

Map years

9

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Hislop had 1,864 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #2,339 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 1,714 in 2016, ranked #3,641.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 1,941 in 1901.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Established but Challenged.

Hislop surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Hislop surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Hislop 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 1,428 #2,012
1861 historical 1,436 #1,979
1881 historical 1,864 #2,339
1891 historical 1,900 #2,421
1901 historical 1,941 #2,726
1911 historical 595 #6,883
1997 modern 1,702 #3,502
1998 modern 1,762 #3,524
1999 modern 1,758 #3,553
2000 modern 1,767 #3,524
2001 modern 1,712 #3,554
2002 modern 1,799 #3,450
2003 modern 1,744 #3,495
2004 modern 1,719 #3,542
2005 modern 1,700 #3,541
2006 modern 1,711 #3,525
2007 modern 1,724 #3,533
2008 modern 1,743 #3,530
2009 modern 1,742 #3,592
2010 modern 1,745 #3,658
2011 modern 1,727 #3,646
2012 modern 1,674 #3,697
2013 modern 1,712 #3,684
2014 modern 1,707 #3,705
2015 modern 1,710 #3,661
2016 modern 1,714 #3,641

Geography

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Where Hislops are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around Melrose, Hawick and Wilton, Govan Combination, Selkirk and Edinburgh. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Selkirk, Langholm and Eskdale, Purbeck, Lockerbie and Longside and Rattray. 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 Melrose Roxburgh
2 Hawick and Wilton Roxburgh
3 Govan Combination Lanark
4 Selkirk Selkirk
5 Edinburgh Edinburgh

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Selkirk Scottish Borders
2 Langholm and Eskdale Dumfries and Galloway
3 Purbeck 004 Purbeck
4 Lockerbie Dumfries and Galloway
5 Longside and Rattray Aberdeenshire

Forenames

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First names often paired with Hislop

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

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Hislop

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

Semi- and Un-Skilled Workforce

Group

Established but Challenged

Nationally, the Hislop surname is most associated with neighbourhoods classed as Established but Challenged, within Semi- and Un-Skilled Workforce. This does not mean every Hislop household fits that profile, but it gives a useful signal about where the modern surname distribution is strongest.

Read profile summary

Group profile

Many households in these neighbourhoods comprise separated or divorced single parents with dependent children. Residents are typically born in the UK, and these neighbourhoods have relatively few members of ethnic minorities. The prevalence of children, their parents and those at or above normal retirement age, suggests neighbourhood structures may be long-established. Levels of unpaid care are high, and long-term disability is more common than in the Supergroup as a whole. Use of the social rented sector is common, often in terraced houses. Levels of overcrowding are above the Supergroup average. Unemployment is high, while those in work are employed in elementary occupations such as caring, leisure and customer services. Many residents have low level qualifications. Neighbourhood concentrations of this Group are found in the South Wales Valleys, Belfast, Londonderry and the Central Lowlands of Scotland.

Wider pattern

Living in terraced or semi-detached houses, residents of these neighbourhoods typically lack high levels of education and work in elementary or routine service occupations. Unemployment is above average. Residents are predominantly born in the UK, and residents are also predominantly from ethnic minorities. Social (but not private sector) rented sector housing is common. This Supergroup is found throughout the UK’s conurbations and industrial regions but is also an integral part of smaller towns.

London neighbourhood type

London Output Area Classification

Supergroup

The Greater London Mix

Group

Social Rented Sector Professional Support Workers

Within London, Hislop 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

Hislop is most concentrated in decile 1 for access to healthy assets and hazards. This places the surname towards the less healthy 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.

1
Lower access Higher access

Neighbourhood deprivation

Index of Multiple Deprivation

Hislop falls in decile 5 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.

5
More deprived Less deprived

Broadband speed

Fixed broadband download speed

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

Meaning and origin of Hislop

The surname Hislop is of Scottish origin, derived from the Old English words "hisle" meaning cottage and "hop" meaning small valley. It is believed to have originated in the 12th century in the Scottish Borders region, where it was likely used as a descriptive name for someone who lived in a cottage in a small valley.

One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Hislop can be found in the Ragman Rolls of 1296, a record of Scottish nobles and landowners who swore fealty to Edward I of England. In this document, a man named William Hislop is listed as holding lands in Roxburghshire.

In the 16th and 17th centuries, the Hislops were a prominent family in the Scottish Borders region, particularly around the town of Jedburgh. Sir Thomas Hislop (1616-1689) was a renowned Scottish lawyer and judge who served as Lord Advocate of Scotland from 1663 to 1676.

Another notable Hislop was Sir Thomas Hislop (1764-1843), a British military officer who served in the Napoleonic Wars and later became Governor of Trinidad and Tobago. He was born in Northamptonshire, England, but his family was of Scottish descent.

In the 18th century, the name Hislop also appeared in the records of the Clan Douglas, a powerful Scottish family with lands in the Borders region. It is believed that some Hislops may have been associated with the Douglases as tenants or vassals.

Other historical figures with the surname Hislop include:

1. John Hislop (1670-1743), a Scottish minister and theologian who served as Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland in 1737. 2. Alexander Hislop (1807-1865), a Scottish minister and author best known for his book "The Two Babylons," which explored the connections between ancient pagan religions and Roman Catholicism. 3. Joseph Hislop (1826-1890), a Scottish missionary and naturalist who worked in India and made significant contributions to the study of Indian wildlife and geology. 4. Jane Hislop (1832-1915), a Scottish poet and writer who published several volumes of poetry and prose works. 5. Thomas Hislop (1888-1965), a Scottish-American artist and illustrator known for his work in pulp fiction magazines and comic books.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

1881 census detail

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Hislop families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Hislop 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. Lanarkshire leads with 430 Hislops recorded in 1881 and an index of 7.56x.

County Total Index
Lanarkshire 430 7.56x
Midlothian 290 12.32x
Roxburghshire 152 47.74x
Selkirkshire 111 69.80x
Middlesex 95 0.54x
Lancashire 69 0.33x
Peeblesshire 60 72.57x
Renfrewshire 54 3.96x
Ayrshire 53 4.03x
Northumberland 52 1.99x
Surrey 48 0.56x
Berwickshire 32 15.03x
Staffordshire 31 0.52x
Stirlingshire 31 4.78x
Fife 30 2.88x
Dunbartonshire 29 6.14x
East Lothian 28 12.03x
Dumfriesshire 26 6.70x
Durham 17 0.33x
Yorkshire 16 0.09x
Morayshire 15 5.49x
Cumberland 13 0.86x
Perthshire 12 1.52x
West Lothian 10 3.78x
Wiltshire 10 0.64x
Clackmannanshire 8 5.51x
Derbyshire 8 0.29x
Wigtownshire 8 3.43x
Buteshire 7 6.57x
Cheshire 7 0.18x
Kent 7 0.12x
Argyllshire 5 1.02x
Essex 5 0.14x
Kirkcudbrightshire 5 1.96x
Aberdeenshire 4 0.25x
Angus 4 0.25x
Glamorgan 3 0.10x
Leicestershire 3 0.15x
Monmouthshire 3 0.24x
Herefordshire 2 0.28x
Northamptonshire 2 0.12x
Gloucestershire 1 0.03x
Hampshire 1 0.03x
Orkney 1 0.52x
Somerset 1 0.04x
Sussex 1 0.03x
Westmorland 1 0.26x
Worcestershire 1 0.04x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Govan in Lanarkshire leads with 128 Hislops recorded in 1881 and an index of 9.10x.

Place Total Index
Govan 128 9.10x
Edinburgh St Cuthberts 127 13.41x
Barony 70 4.87x
Glasgow 58 5.75x
South Leith 54 20.38x
Selkirk 45 100.45x
Innerleithen 40 182.32x
Melrose 36 89.93x
Galashiels 30 51.03x
Hawick 30 42.10x
Penicuik 28 87.50x
Wilton 28 80.14x
Old Monkland 21 9.31x
Cathcart 19 25.78x
Hackney London 19 1.93x
Biggar 16 124.51x
Cadder 16 38.10x
Islington London 16 0.94x
Jedburgh 16 51.28x
Lambeth 16 1.04x
Castleton 15 109.65x
Abbey 14 6.74x
Dalrymple 14 169.90x
Lanark 14 30.61x
Mid Calder 14 137.12x
Battersea 13 2.01x
Burntisland 13 44.69x
Cambuslang 13 22.68x
Cambusnethan 13 10.30x
Everton 13 1.96x
St Ninians 13 20.23x
St Pancras London 13 0.92x
Byker 12 9.28x
Carluke 12 23.25x
Oxnam 12 291.97x
Peebles 12 49.10x
Symington 12 431.65x
Dalziel 11 17.99x
Paisley High Church 11 10.14x
Crudwell 10 221.24x
Hamilton 10 6.31x
Roxburgh 10 163.93x
St Boswells 10 173.01x
Wolverhampton 10 2.19x
Hedworth Monkton Jarrow 9 3.97x
Kirkdale 9 2.56x
Dunbar 8 24.51x
Girvan 8 24.23x
Haddington 8 23.28x
Inveresk 8 12.55x
Kirkintilloch 8 12.47x
Leeds 8 0.81x
Melrose 8 29.06x
Morton 8 62.06x
Tweedmouth 8 24.53x
Walsall Foreign 8 2.61x
Dysart 7 9.99x
Edinburgh Canongate 7 11.68x
Falkirk 7 4.61x
Glenholm 7 496.45x
Harton 7 33.88x
Lasswade 7 13.00x
Prestonpans 7 44.84x
Rugeley 7 16.44x
Sanquhar 7 51.28x
St Andrew Holborn London 7 9.20x
Bilston 6 5.22x
Blantyre 6 10.14x
Dalserf 6 10.58x
Denby 6 71.43x
Duddingston 6 12.69x
Edinburgh High Church 6 40.60x
Edinburgh St Marys 6 13.11x
Largs 6 19.36x
Liverpool 6 0.47x
Newcastle On Tyne St 6 4.43x
Penninghame 6 25.21x
St Quivox 6 13.49x
Tillicoultry 6 18.58x
West Derby 6 0.98x

Top female names

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

Name Count
Mary 26
Jane 18
Elizabeth 14
Agnes 11
Margaret 9
Annie 8
Isabella 7
Ann 6
Ellen 6
Emily 6
Sarah 6
Alice 4
Hannah 4
Emma 3
Jessie 3
Maria 3
Sophia 3
Caroline 2
Charlotte 2
Eleanor 2
Eliza 2
Flora 2
Frances 2
Grace 2
Jemine 2
Maggie 2
Marian 2
Maud 2
Amy 1
An 1
Arabella 1
Betty 1
Blanch 1
Catherine 1
Dorothy 1
Elizth.B. 1
Fanny 1
Florence 1
Francis 1
Georgina 1
Isabel 1
Janet 1
Jessia 1
Kate 1
Laura 1
Lillian 1
Louisa 1
Lousia 1
Lucy 1
Susannah 1

Top male names

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

Name Count
William 30
John 22
George 17
Robert 12
Thomas 12
James 10
Alexander 8
Arthur 6
Henry 6
Albert 5
Charles 5
David 5
Andrew 4
Peter 4
Richard 4
Frederick 3
Joseph 3
Alfred 2
Cornelius 2
Dugald 2
Edward 2
Francis 2
Hardy 2
Harry 2
Hunter 2
Matthew 2
Walter 2
Able 1
Archibald 1
Arth.B. 1
Edmund 1
Edwin 1
Frank 1
Fredk. 1
Fredrick 1
Geoffery 1
Horace 1
Jane 1
Jno. 1
Jos. 1
Laurence 1
Moses 1
Ralph 1
Roy 1
Sidney 1
Thos. 1
Tom 1
W. 1

FAQ

Hislop surname: questions and answers

How common was the Hislop surname in 1881?

In 1881, 1,864 people were recorded with the Hislop surname. That placed it at #2,339 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Hislop surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 1,714 in 2016. That gives Hislop a modern rank of #3,641.

What does the Hislop surname mean?

A surname derived from a place name, originating from northern England or Scotland.

What does the Hislop map show?

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