NameCensus.

UK surname

Hornblower

A surname possibly referring to someone who played the horn or blew a horn as an occupation or duty.

In the 1881 census there were 164 people recorded with the Hornblower surname, ranking it #14,624 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 90, ranked #32,202, down from #14,624 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to Dawley, Magna, London parishes and St Anne Limehouse. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Wealden, Kensington and Chelsea and Walsall.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Hornblower is 169 in 1901. Compared with 1881, the name has fallen by 45.1%.

1881 census count

164

Ranked #14,624

Modern count

90

2016, ranked #32,202

Peak year

1901

169 bearers

Map years

7

1851 to 2006

Key insights

  • Hornblower had 164 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #14,624 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 90 in 2016, ranked #32,202.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 169 in 1901.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Small Town Suburbia.

Hornblower surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Hornblower surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Hornblower 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 109 #16,212
1861 historical 122 #18,036
1881 historical 164 #14,624
1891 historical 148 #18,506
1901 historical 169 #16,824
1911 historical 163 #16,939
1997 modern 87 #28,749
1998 modern 93 #28,563
1999 modern 94 #28,593
2000 modern 98 #27,988
2001 modern 107 #26,328
2002 modern 106 #26,985
2003 modern 105 #26,940
2004 modern 106 #27,045
2005 modern 106 #27,044
2006 modern 107 #27,179
2007 modern 106 #27,722
2008 modern 106 #28,016
2009 modern 109 #28,145
2010 modern 101 #30,078
2011 modern 100 #30,058
2012 modern 92 #31,528
2013 modern 90 #32,146
2014 modern 92 #32,132
2015 modern 91 #32,153
2016 modern 90 #32,202

Geography

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Where Hornblowers are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around Dawley, Magna, London parishes, St Anne Limehouse and All Saints Poplar. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Wealden, Kensington and Chelsea, Walsall, Central Bedfordshire and South Bucks. 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 Dawley, Magna Shropshire
2 London parishes London 1
3 London parishes London 3
4 St Anne Limehouse London (East Districts)
5 All Saints Poplar London (East Districts)

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Wealden 001 Wealden
2 Kensington and Chelsea 019 Kensington and Chelsea
3 Walsall 022 Walsall
4 Central Bedfordshire 014 Central Bedfordshire
5 South Bucks 006 South Bucks

Forenames

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First names often paired with Hornblower

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

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Hornblower

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

Central Connected Professionals and Managers

Group

Senior Professionals

Within London, Hornblower is most associated with areas classed as Senior Professionals, part of Central Connected Professionals and Managers. 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 very central neighbourhoods house residents whose ages are more skewed towards older age cohorts than elsewhere in the Supergroup. Few households have young children. Rates of illness are low. Indian ethnicity is rare compared to the Supergroup mean. Property under occupation is more common, despite the centrality of neighbourhoods, and more residents live in communal establishments than elsewhere in the Supergroup.

Wider London pattern

Adult residents of these neighbourhoods are typically aged 25 to 44, working full-time in professional, managerial or associate professional occupations. There are few families with dependent children. The predominantly Inner London neighbourhoods have an international character, including many residents born elsewhere in Europe alongside high numbers of individuals identifying as of Chinese ethnicity. Many individuals are never married, childless and/or living alone. Above average numbers of individuals, likely to be full-time students, live in communal establishments. Elsewhere, privately rented flats are the dominant housing type. Residents of these areas are well-qualified, with a significant number holding Level 4 or above qualifications. There is a correspondingly high level of individuals employed full-time in professional, managerial and associated professional or technical occupations. Employing industries are financial, real estate, professional, administration, and, to a lesser degree, transport and communications. Unemployment is uncommon.

Healthy neighbourhoods

Access to healthy assets and hazards

Hornblower is most concentrated in decile 10 for access to healthy assets and hazards. This places the surname towards the healthier 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.

10
Lower access Higher access

Neighbourhood deprivation

Index of Multiple Deprivation

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

Meaning and origin of Hornblower

The surname Hornblower originated in England during the medieval period. It is an occupational name derived from the Old English words "horn" and "blawere," meaning a person who played a horn or trumpet. The name likely referred to someone employed as a musician or town crier in the medieval era.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the Hornblower surname can be found in the Hundred Rolls of 1273, which lists a "Walter le Hornblawere" from Oxfordshire. The name also appears in the Subsidy Rolls of Yorkshire in 1301, with a "Robert le Hornblawere" listed.

The Hornblower surname is closely associated with the historic city of York in northern England. In the 14th century, the York Civic Records mention a "Johannes Hornblawer" who served as a town crier and messenger for the city. The name Hornblower continued to be prominent in York throughout the medieval and Renaissance periods.

A notable individual bearing the Hornblower surname was William Hornblower (c. 1490-1554), a merchant and alderman in the city of York during the reign of King Henry VIII. He served as the Lord Mayor of York in 1543-1544.

In the 17th century, the Hornblower family gained prominence in the maritime industry. Jonathan Hornblower (1619-1680) was a successful shipbuilder and merchant in the port town of Ipswich, Suffolk. His grandson, Jonathan Hornblower (1670-1745), continued the family's involvement in shipbuilding and became a prominent figure in the Royal Navy.

One of the most renowned individuals with the Hornblower surname was Rear Admiral Sir Horatio Hornblower (1776-1857), a fictional character created by the novelist C.S. Forester in a series of books published between 1937 and 1967. Though a fictional character, Hornblower's adventures as a British naval officer during the Napoleonic Wars have become iconic in literature and popular culture.

Other notable individuals with the Hornblower surname include William Hornblower (1765-1826), an English Unitarian minister and educator; Jonathan Hornblower (1753-1815), an English engineer and inventor known for his work on steam engines; and Josiah Hornblower (1729-1809), an American Revolutionary War patriot and Chief Justice of the New Jersey Supreme Court.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

1881 census detail

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Hornblower families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Hornblower 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. Middlesex leads with 56 Hornblowers recorded in 1881 and an index of 3.50x.

County Total Index
Middlesex 56 3.50x
Surrey 18 2.31x
Yorkshire 18 1.14x
Shropshire 13 9.41x
Warwickshire 13 3.22x
Cheshire 10 2.83x
Essex 7 2.22x
Staffordshire 7 1.30x
Worcestershire 5 2.39x
Durham 4 0.84x
Glamorgan 4 1.44x
Hampshire 2 0.61x
Somerset 2 0.78x
Buckinghamshire 1 1.03x
Cornwall 1 0.55x
Kent 1 0.18x
Lancashire 1 0.05x
Wiltshire 1 0.71x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Leeds in Yorkshire leads with 11 Hornblowers recorded in 1881 and an index of 12.29x.

Place Total Index
Leeds 11 12.29x
Limehouse London 11 62.64x
Birmingham 10 7.44x
Tranmere 10 77.04x
Lambeth 8 5.74x
St Pancras London 8 6.21x
Chiswick 7 80.09x
Headingley Cum Burley 7 68.63x
West Ham 7 10.04x
Poplar London 6 19.87x
Rushall 6 188.68x
Dawley 5 99.40x
Southwark St George Martyr 5 15.53x
Clerkenwell London 4 10.59x
Gateshead 4 11.23x
Kensington London 4 4.50x
Madeley 4 78.90x
St Andrew Holborn London 4 57.72x
Swansea St Thomas 4 142.86x
Hackney London 3 3.34x
Newington 3 5.08x
Aldershot 2 18.21x
Bromley London 2 5.68x
Edgbaston 2 15.99x
Great Witley 2 952.38x
Isleworth 2 28.13x
Redditch 2 47.17x
Stirchley 2 1428.57x
Wellington 2 25.74x
Wells St Cuthbert 2 113.64x
Whitechapel London 2 12.68x
Aston 1 0.90x
Bromsgrove 1 14.22x
Croydon 1 2.31x
Cubert 1 500.00x
Dover St Mary Virgin 1 18.94x
North Meols 1 5.38x
Shoreditch London 1 1.44x
Southwark Christchurch 1 13.33x
St Martin In Fields 1 10.44x
St Marylebone London 1 1.17x
Swindon 1 9.12x
Whittington 1 90.91x
Winslow 1 109.89x

Top female names

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

Name Count
John 9
Joseph 8
William 6
George 5
Henry 5
Edward 4
Alfred 3
Charles 3
Thomas 3
Edwin 2
Frederick 2
Geo.F. 2
Richard 2
Robert 2
Albert 1
Alexander 1
Alexr. 1
Arthur 1
Benjaman 1
Benjn. 1
Francis 1
G.R. 1
Herbert 1
Horatio 1
Horatius 1
J.J. 1
James 1
Jethro 1
Joshua 1
Josiah 1
Lewis 1
Louis 1
Thos. 1
Tom 1
Wm. 1

FAQ

Hornblower surname: questions and answers

How common was the Hornblower surname in 1881?

In 1881, 164 people were recorded with the Hornblower surname. That placed it at #14,624 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Hornblower surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 90 in 2016. That gives Hornblower a modern rank of #32,202.

What does the Hornblower surname mean?

A surname possibly referring to someone who played the horn or blew a horn as an occupation or duty.

What does the Hornblower map show?

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