NameCensus.

UK surname

Hulton

A locational surname derived from a place called Hulton in Lancashire, England.

In the 1881 census there were 598 people recorded with the Hulton surname, ranking it #5,850 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 314, ranked #14,291, down from #5,850 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to Rochdale, Bury and Manchester. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Bury and Bolton.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Hulton is 821 in 1891. Compared with 1881, the name has fallen by 47.5%.

1881 census count

598

Ranked #5,850

Modern count

314

2016, ranked #14,291

Peak year

1891

821 bearers

Map years

9

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Hulton had 598 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #5,850 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 314 in 2016, ranked #14,291.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 821 in 1891.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Challenged Communities.

Hulton surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Hulton surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Hulton 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 369 #6,443
1861 historical 479 #5,449
1881 historical 598 #5,850
1891 historical 821 #4,937
1901 historical 674 #6,467
1911 historical 704 #6,060
1997 modern 336 #12,549
1998 modern 351 #12,511
1999 modern 343 #12,800
2000 modern 341 #12,801
2001 modern 325 #13,030
2002 modern 334 #13,045
2003 modern 312 #13,467
2004 modern 309 #13,618
2005 modern 302 #13,788
2006 modern 292 #14,148
2007 modern 292 #14,313
2008 modern 296 #14,275
2009 modern 316 #13,933
2010 modern 325 #13,946
2011 modern 322 #13,907
2012 modern 319 #13,898
2013 modern 319 #14,141
2014 modern 316 #14,301
2015 modern 313 #14,313
2016 modern 314 #14,291

Geography

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Where Hultons are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around Rochdale, Bury, Manchester, Middleton and Bolton-le-Moors. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Bury and Bolton. 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 Rochdale Lancashire
2 Bury Lancashire
3 Manchester Lancashire
4 Middleton Lancashire
5 Bolton-le-Moors Lancashire

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Bury 004 Bury
2 Bury 007 Bury
3 Bury 008 Bury
4 Bolton 024 Bolton
5 Bolton 033 Bolton

Forenames

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First names often paired with Hulton

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

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Hulton

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

Baseline UK

Group

Challenged Communities

Nationally, the Hulton surname is most associated with neighbourhoods classed as Challenged Communities, within Baseline UK. This does not mean every Hulton household fits that profile, but it gives a useful signal about where the modern surname distribution is strongest.

Read profile summary

Group profile

Residents of these neighbourhoods typically live in households with dependent children, and there are fewer-than-average residents of normal retirement age or over. Identification with ethnic minorities, particularly Black, or Mixed or Multiple ethnicities is common. The rate of Christian religious affiliation is low. Housing predominantly consists of semi-detached houses, along with a significant number of terraced properties and flats. Overcrowded social housing is common, and private renting occurs at average UK levels. Those in employment work mainly in caring leisure and other services; process, plant and machine operation; or elementary occupations. Unemployment is high, and few individuals have degree level qualifications. Many of these neighbourhoods occur in commuter towns or less accessible areas of larger towns and cities.

Wider pattern

This Supergroup exemplifies the broad base to the UK’s social structure, encompassing as it does the average or modal levels of many neighbourhood characteristics, including all housing tenures, a range of levels of educational attainment and religious affiliations, and a variety of pre-retirement age structures. Yet, in combination, these mixes are each distinctive of the parts of the UK. Overall, terraced houses and flats are the most prevalent, as is employment in intermediate or low-skilled occupations. However, this Supergroup is also characterised by above average levels of unemployment and lower levels of use of English as the main language. Many neighbourhoods occur in south London and the UK’s other major urban centres.

London neighbourhood type

London Output Area Classification

Supergroup

Professional Employment and Family Lifecycles

Group

Inner London Working Professionals

Within London, Hulton 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

Hulton is most concentrated in decile 5 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.

5
Lower access Higher access

Neighbourhood deprivation

Index of Multiple Deprivation

Hulton 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 Hulton is most associated with a typical fixed broadband download band of 30-40 mbit/s.

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

6
Slower band Faster band

Area snapshot

Ethnic group estimate

Most common ethnic group estimate
White - British

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

Meaning and origin of Hulton

The surname Hulton is of English origin and can be traced back to the 12th century. It is derived from the Old English words "hol" meaning a hollow or small valley, and "tun" meaning an enclosure or settlement. The name likely originated from a place name referring to a settlement in a small valley or hollow.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Hulton appears in the Pipe Rolls of Yorkshire in 1166, where a person named William de Hulton is mentioned. This suggests that the name was already established in the Yorkshire region by the late 12th century.

In the 13th century, the surname Hulton can be found in various records, such as the Hundred Rolls of 1273, where a Richard de Hulton is listed in Lancashire. This indicates that the name had spread to other parts of northern England by this time.

The Domesday Book, a comprehensive survey of England conducted in 1086, does not contain any direct references to the surname Hulton. However, it does mention several place names that could be related to the origin of the surname, such as Holtun in Shropshire and Holeton in Cheshire.

One of the earliest notable figures with the surname Hulton was Sir William Hulton (c. 1515-1591), a English landowner and Member of Parliament for Lancashire during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I.

In the 17th century, Edward Hulton (1629-1696) was a prominent English merchant and landowner who served as the High Sheriff of Lancashire in 1677.

During the 18th century, Henry Hulton (1719-1785) was a British colonial administrator who served as the Governor of East Florida from 1764 to 1776.

In the 19th century, William Adam Hulton (1800-1871) was a British industrialist and Member of Parliament for Preston from 1857 to 1868.

Another notable figure with the surname Hulton was Sir Edward Hulton (1838-1904), a British newspaper proprietor and co-founder of the London Evening News in 1881.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

1881 census detail

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Hulton families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Hulton 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. Lancashire leads with 420 Hultons recorded in 1881 and an index of 6.10x.

County Total Index
Lancashire 420 6.10x
Middlesex 34 0.59x
Yorkshire 20 0.35x
Derbyshire 19 2.09x
Cheshire 12 0.94x
Gloucestershire 12 1.05x
Surrey 12 0.42x
Cumberland 10 2.00x
Oxfordshire 8 2.23x
Cambridgeshire 7 1.90x
Durham 6 0.35x
Renfrewshire 5 1.11x
Staffordshire 5 0.26x
Devon 4 0.33x
Hampshire 4 0.34x
Essex 2 0.17x
Lanarkshire 2 0.11x
Lincolnshire 2 0.22x
Aberdeenshire 1 0.19x
Angus 1 0.19x
Bedfordshire 1 0.33x
Berkshire 1 0.23x
Dorset 1 0.26x
Dumfriesshire 1 0.78x
Royal Navy 1 1.45x
Shropshire 1 0.20x
Somerset 1 0.11x
Sussex 1 0.10x
Wiltshire 1 0.19x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Little Bolton in Lancashire leads with 31 Hultons recorded in 1881 and an index of 35.01x.

Place Total Index
Little Bolton 31 35.01x
Oldham 26 11.70x
Salford 25 12.34x
Failsworth 24 152.28x
Radcliffe 21 63.25x
Tottington Lower End 20 61.11x
Elton 18 75.63x
Middleton In Oldham 16 77.48x
Ainsworth 15 561.80x
Pilkington 15 57.34x
Kensington London 14 4.34x
Bury 12 15.25x
Newton 12 22.61x
Prestwich 12 69.85x
Westhoughton 11 59.85x
Ashton Under Lyne 10 6.64x
Barrow In Furness 9 9.61x
Tonge With Haulgh 9 67.11x
Dorchester 8 398.01x
Glossop Dale 8 18.80x
Little Lever 8 90.81x
Paddington London 8 3.75x
Toxteth Park 8 3.43x
Everton 7 3.19x
Halliwell 7 27.92x
Manchester 7 2.26x
St Andrewthe Less 7 16.67x
Westbury On Trym 7 18.15x
Beard Ollerset Whitle 6 100.33x
Bedford 6 41.64x
Hatherton 6 952.38x
Scruton 6 845.07x
Southwark St Saviour 6 20.11x
Chadderton 5 14.85x
East Greenock 5 11.77x
Great Bolton 5 5.48x
Moss Side 5 13.80x
Seaton Carew 5 144.09x
St Cuthbert W O 5 20.53x
Atherton 4 15.96x
Barton Upon Irwell 4 7.71x
Broughton In Salford 4 6.35x
Clayton Le Moors 4 29.94x
Gorton 4 6.18x
Heap 4 10.95x
Kearsley 4 27.61x
Monks Coppenhall 4 8.27x
Openshaw 4 12.40x
Over Hulton 4 204.08x
Withington 4 18.03x
Aikton 3 189.87x
Blackburn 3 1.64x
Bristol St Paul In 3 9.89x
Carnforth 3 79.37x
Hanwell 3 29.15x
Ilkeston 3 11.77x
Instow 3 230.77x
Pendleton In Salford 3 3.66x
Poulton Barre 3 38.27x
Royton 3 14.24x
Widnes 3 6.04x
Barony 2 0.42x
Beeford 2 141.84x
Bradford 2 6.20x
Checkley 2 39.29x
Chorlton On Medlock 2 1.83x
Clapham 2 2.76x
Great Waltham 2 42.83x
Holy Trinity 2 1.45x
Hulme 2 1.39x
Kirk Hammerton 2 357.14x
Lambeth 2 0.40x
Layton With Warbreck 2 7.91x
Shoreditch London 2 0.79x
St Pancras London 2 0.43x
Newington 1 6.31x
North Charford 1 476.19x
St Luke London 1 1.07x
Tanshelf 1 21.79x
Wardleworth 1 2.54x

Top female names

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

Name Count
Mary 37
Alice 23
Sarah 19
Elizabeth 14
Jane 14
Ann 10
Ellen 10
Hannah 10
Eliza 9
Margaret 9
Annie 7
Emma 7
Esther 7
Catherine 6
Martha 6
Harriet 5
Agnes 4
Fanny 4
Isabella 4
Maria 4
Ada 3
Anne 3
Caroline 3
Clara 3
Emily 3
Florence 3
Beatrice 2
Betsy 2
Betty 2
Deborah 2
Edith 2
Emmalina 2
Gertrude 2
Minnie 2
Philippa 2
Rose 2
Susannah 2
Amelia 1
Amy 1
Bradar 1
Bridget 1
Edna 1
Eleanor 1
Elisebeth 1
Eliz. 1
Eliz.A. 1
Georgiana 1
Gert.Jane 1
Grace 1
Violet 1

Top male names

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

FAQ

Hulton surname: questions and answers

How common was the Hulton surname in 1881?

In 1881, 598 people were recorded with the Hulton surname. That placed it at #5,850 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Hulton surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 314 in 2016. That gives Hulton a modern rank of #14,291.

What does the Hulton surname mean?

A locational surname derived from a place called Hulton in Lancashire, England.

What does the Hulton map show?

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