NameCensus.

UK surname

Holdcroft

An occupational surname associated with someone who lived or worked near a hollow croft or small valley.

In the 1881 census there were 679 people recorded with the Holdcroft surname, ranking it #5,302 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 1,216, ranked #4,893, up from #5,302 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to Norton-in-the-Moors, Wolstanton and Leek. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Staffordshire Moorlands and Stoke-on-Trent.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Holdcroft is 1,269 in 2011. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 79.1%.

1881 census count

679

Ranked #5,302

Modern count

1,216

2016, ranked #4,893

Peak year

2011

1,269 bearers

Map years

9

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Holdcroft had 679 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #5,302 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 1,216 in 2016, ranked #4,893.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 1,036 in 1911.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Small Town Suburbia.

Holdcroft surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Holdcroft surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Holdcroft 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 294 #7,758
1861 historical 360 #7,095
1881 historical 679 #5,302
1891 historical 739 #5,385
1901 historical 894 #5,174
1911 historical 1,036 #4,432
1997 modern 625 #7,916
1998 modern 1,180 #4,948
1999 modern 1,167 #5,045
2000 modern 1,196 #4,922
2001 modern 1,178 #4,887
2002 modern 1,231 #4,793
2003 modern 1,214 #4,759
2004 modern 1,212 #4,775
2005 modern 1,174 #4,849
2006 modern 1,184 #4,829
2007 modern 1,204 #4,804
2008 modern 1,213 #4,802
2009 modern 1,241 #4,807
2010 modern 1,249 #4,875
2011 modern 1,269 #4,754
2012 modern 1,231 #4,809
2013 modern 1,243 #4,843
2014 modern 1,259 #4,823
2015 modern 1,227 #4,872
2016 modern 1,216 #4,893

Geography

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Where Holdcrofts are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around Norton-in-the-Moors, Wolstanton, Leek, Burslem and Horton. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Staffordshire Moorlands and Stoke-on-Trent. 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 Norton-in-the-Moors Staffordshire
2 Wolstanton Staffordshire
3 Leek Staffordshire
4 Burslem Staffordshire
5 Horton Staffordshire

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Staffordshire Moorlands 008 Staffordshire Moorlands
2 Stoke-on-Trent 004 Stoke-on-Trent
3 Stoke-on-Trent 008 Stoke-on-Trent
4 Stoke-on-Trent 007 Stoke-on-Trent
5 Staffordshire Moorlands 009 Staffordshire Moorlands

Forenames

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First names often paired with Holdcroft

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

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Holdcroft

Modern surname records can be compared with neighbourhood classifications. For Holdcroft, 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 Holdcroft surname is most associated with neighbourhoods classed as Small Town Suburbia, within Retired Professionals. This does not mean every Holdcroft 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

Professional Employment and Family Lifecycles

Group

Inner London Working Professionals

Within London, Holdcroft 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

Holdcroft 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

Holdcroft falls in decile 1 for neighbourhood deprivation. This puts the surname towards the more deprived end of the index.

Decile 1 represents the more deprived end of the scale. Decile 10 represents the less deprived end.

1
More deprived Less deprived

Broadband speed

Fixed broadband download speed

The modern neighbourhood pattern for Holdcroft is most associated with a typical fixed broadband download band of 60-70 mbit/s.

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

9
Slower band Faster band

Area snapshot

Ethnic group estimate

Most common ethnic group estimate
White - British

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

Meaning and origin of Holdcroft

The surname Holdcroft originated in England. It is a locational name derived from a place name, meaning "the holder's croft or small farm." The prefix "hold" comes from the Old English word "haldan," meaning "to hold or occupy," while "croft" refers to a small enclosed field or farm.

Holdcroft is primarily found in the counties of Cheshire, Staffordshire, and Shropshire, suggesting that the name arose in these areas of northwest England. Early recordings of the name include William de Holdecroft, listed in the Assize Rolls of Staffordshire in 1274, and Richard de Haldecroft, mentioned in the Subsidy Rolls of Cheshire in 1327.

The Holdcroft surname is also linked to several place names in Cheshire and Staffordshire, such as Holdcroft Hall in Nantwich, Cheshire, and Holdcroft Farm in Betley, Staffordshire. These locations likely served as the original homesteads of families bearing the Holdcroft name.

Notable individuals with the Holdcroft surname include Sir John Holdcroft (1583-1661), an English politician who served as Lord Mayor of London in 1638. Another prominent figure was Thomas Holdcroft (1768-1853), a British merchant and philanthropist who founded the Holdcroft Schools in Manchester.

Other historical bearers of the name include William Holdcroft (1798-1873), an English clergyman and author, and John Holdcroft (1806-1876), a British architect who designed several notable buildings in Manchester and Liverpool.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the Holdcroft surname can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, where a person named Ordric de Holecroft is listed as holding lands in Warwickshire. This entry provides evidence of the name's longstanding presence in England dating back to the Norman Conquest.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

1881 census detail

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Holdcroft families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Holdcroft 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. Staffordshire leads with 528 Holdcrofts recorded in 1881 and an index of 23.58x.

County Total Index
Staffordshire 528 23.58x
Lancashire 41 0.52x
Cheshire 31 2.12x
Warwickshire 30 1.79x
Derbyshire 21 2.02x
Surrey 7 0.22x
Middlesex 6 0.09x
Yorkshire 5 0.08x
Suffolk 4 0.50x
Worcestershire 3 0.35x
Wigtownshire 2 2.27x
Durham 1 0.05x
Midlothian 1 0.11x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Norton In Moors in Staffordshire leads with 160 Holdcrofts recorded in 1881 and an index of 1350.21x.

Place Total Index
Norton In Moors 160 1350.21x
Burslem 78 121.61x
Stoke Upon Trent 65 27.38x
Leek Lowe 36 120.85x
Smallthorne 27 324.91x
Wolstanton 19 27.94x
Horton 15 547.45x
Biddulph 11 87.09x
Monks Coppenhall 10 18.10x
Swinfen Packington 10 1086.96x
Wolverhampton 10 5.81x
Birmingham 9 1.61x
Derby St Werburgh 9 15.01x
Macclesfield 9 13.83x
Sutton Coldfield 9 51.19x
Toxteth Park 9 3.38x
Trentham 9 47.27x
Warwick St Mary 9 61.98x
Barton Under Needwood 8 196.56x
Cheslyn Hay 8 195.60x
Bilston 7 16.13x
Camberwell 7 1.65x
Shenstone 7 123.02x
Shirland 7 90.09x
West Bromwich 7 5.46x
Caverswall 6 51.55x
Checkley 6 103.09x
Madeley 6 107.53x
Acton 5 12.86x
Cheadle 5 46.51x
Church Gresley 5 30.27x
Orrell 5 51.07x
Shevington 5 138.89x
Wednesbury 5 8.94x
Audley 4 18.06x
Church Lawton 4 213.90x
Essington 4 135.59x
Alsager 3 82.42x
Altofts 3 41.38x
Aston 3 0.65x
Beccles 3 23.08x
Burton Upon Trent 3 5.73x
Pilkington 3 10.03x
Tipton 3 4.38x
West Derby 3 1.30x
Barton Upon Irwell 2 3.38x
Brindle 2 73.80x
Brockton 2 392.16x
Dunham Massey 2 44.54x
Everton 2 0.80x
Lichfield St Mary 2 30.96x
Oldbury 2 4.69x
Pemberton 2 6.37x
Penninghame 2 22.27x
Sutton In Macclesfield 2 13.17x
Walsall Foreign 2 1.73x
Bedfield 1 117.65x
Birkenhead 1 0.86x
Bishopwearmouth 1 0.59x
Brightside Bierlow 1 0.78x
Cheetham 1 1.70x
Chorley 1 2.26x
Eccleston In Prescot 1 2.53x
Edinburgh St Cuthberts 1 0.28x
Hilderstone 1 111.11x
Hollinsclough 1 126.58x
Islington London 1 0.16x
Kings Norton 1 1.29x
Kirkdale 1 0.76x
Middleton In Oldham 1 4.24x
Much Woolton 1 9.36x
Parr 1 3.55x
Rolleston 1 58.14x
Wakefield 1 1.98x
Walton On Hill 1 2.35x

Top female names

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

Name Count
John 41
Thomas 33
William 27
Joseph 26
James 22
George 20
Charles 11
Samuel 11
Herbert 10
Arthur 9
Richard 8
Daniel 6
Edward 6
Henry 6
Albert 5
Josiah 5
Elijah 4
Frederick 4
Hugh 4
Peter 4
Robert 4
Walter 4
Alfred 3
Chas. 3
Geo. 3
Ralph 3
Aaron 2
Amos 2
David 2
Edwin 2
Francis 2
Fredrick 2
Harry 2
Isaac 2
Levi 2
Saml. 2
Uriah 2
Willm. 2
Aron 1
Eligah 1
Ernest 1
Fred 1
Fred. 1
Fredk. 1
Gregory 1
Jos. 1
Matthew 1
Nathan 1
Nathaniel 1
Wm. 1

FAQ

Holdcroft surname: questions and answers

How common was the Holdcroft surname in 1881?

In 1881, 679 people were recorded with the Holdcroft surname. That placed it at #5,302 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Holdcroft surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 1,216 in 2016. That gives Holdcroft a modern rank of #4,893.

What does the Holdcroft surname mean?

An occupational surname associated with someone who lived or worked near a hollow croft or small valley.

What does the Holdcroft map show?

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