NameCensus.

UK surname

Hunt

An occupational surname referring to a hunter or someone who hunts game.

In the 1881 census there were 39,740 people recorded with the Hunt surname, ranking it #77 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 50,425, ranked #97, down from #77 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to Bristol City: St Mary Redcliff, London parishes and Lambeth. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Stroud, Amber Valley and North Dorset.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Hunt is 54,220 in 1911. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 26.9%.

1881 census count

39,740

Ranked #77

Modern count

50,425

2016, ranked #97

Peak year

1911

54,220 bearers

Map years

9

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Hunt had 39,740 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #77 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 50,425 in 2016, ranked #97.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 54,220 in 1911.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Rural Amenity.

Hunt surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Hunt surname density by area, 1881 census.

Loading map
Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Hunt 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 26,200 #77
1861 historical 26,050 #76
1881 historical 39,740 #77
1891 historical 42,450 #74
1901 historical 50,037 #74
1911 historical 54,220 #64
1997 modern 51,889 #83
1998 modern 53,823 #83
1999 modern 53,970 #83
2000 modern 53,488 #84
2001 modern 52,199 #84
2002 modern 53,113 #84
2003 modern 51,894 #85
2004 modern 51,667 #86
2005 modern 50,435 #88
2006 modern 50,038 #89
2007 modern 50,130 #91
2008 modern 50,136 #92
2009 modern 51,126 #94
2010 modern 52,060 #94
2011 modern 51,382 #95
2012 modern 50,310 #96
2013 modern 51,290 #95
2014 modern 51,524 #96
2015 modern 50,804 #97
2016 modern 50,425 #97

Geography

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Where Hunts are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around Bristol City: St Mary Redcliff, London parishes, Lambeth 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 Stroud, Amber Valley, North Dorset and Southampton. 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 Bristol City: St Mary Redcliff Gloucestershire
2 London parishes London 1
3 London parishes London 3
4 Lambeth London (South Districts)
5 Leicester St Margaret and Bishop's Fee, Leicester All Saints, Blackfriars Leicestershire

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Stroud 002 Stroud
2 Amber Valley 008 Amber Valley
3 North Dorset 002 North Dorset
4 Amber Valley 004 Amber Valley
5 Southampton 004 Southampton

Forenames

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First names often paired with Hunt

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

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Hunt

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

Suburbanites and Peri-Urbanities

Group

Rural Amenity

Nationally, the Hunt surname is most associated with neighbourhoods classed as Rural Amenity, within Suburbanites and Peri-Urbanities. This does not mean every Hunt 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 comprises older parents or retirees, with no resident dependent children, and with the lowest residential densities in this Supergroup. Predominantly UK-born, residents typically live in detached houses, although others do live in semi-detached and terraced properties. The level of multiple car ownership is the highest in this Supergroup. Most houses are owner occupied although social renting is also present. Many concentrations occur in high amenity rural locations, such as Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

Wider pattern

Pervasive throughout the UK, members of this Supergroup typically own (or are buying) their detached, semi-detached or terraced homes. They are also typically educated to A Level/Highers or degree level and work in skilled or professional occupations. Typically born in the UK, some families have children, although the median adult age is above 45 and some property has become under-occupied after children have left home. This Supergroup is pervasive not only in suburban locations, but also in neighbourhoods at or beyond the edge of cities that adjoin rural parts of the country.

London neighbourhood type

London Output Area Classification

Supergroup

Older Residents in Owner-Occupied Suburbs

Group

London Fringe

Within London, Hunt is most associated with areas classed as London Fringe, part of Older Residents in Owner-Occupied Suburbs. 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

Predominantly located in neighbourhoods on the outskirts of Greater London, residents of these neighbourhoods typically have their highest qualifications below degree (Level 4) level, with those still in work engaged in skilled trades and occupations in distribution, hotels and restaurants. There is low ethnic diversity in these neighbourhoods and high levels of Christian religious affiliation. Detached or terraced houses predominate, often with spare rooms.

Wider London pattern

The age distribution of these neighbourhoods is skewed towards the middle-aged and old, although few residents live alone or in communal establishments and numbers of dependent children are around average. Owner occupation is the norm, as is residence in detached or semi-detached houses. Residential densities are low and many households have spare rooms. Most residents were born in the UK and, aside from some identifying as members of Chinese or Indian ethnicities, identify as White. Mixed ethnicity households are rare. Incidence of married couples is higher than average and few individuals have never been married. A large proportion of individuals still in employment work in administrative and secretarial occupations, or in the construction industry. Few residents are students, and many households own more than one car.

Healthy neighbourhoods

Access to healthy assets and hazards

Hunt is most concentrated in decile 7 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.

7
Lower access Higher access

Neighbourhood deprivation

Index of Multiple Deprivation

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

Meaning and origin of Hunt

The surname Hunt is of Anglo-Saxon origin, derived from the Old English "hunta" meaning a huntsman or hunter. It is believed to have originated in the 8th or 9th century as an occupational surname given to those who worked as hunters or gamekeepers.

The Hunt surname is first recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086, which was a survey of landowners in England commissioned by William the Conqueror. Early variations of the spelling included Hunte, Hunta, and Huntere. The name was most prevalent in the counties of Gloucestershire, Worcestershire, and Warwickshire, suggesting that it may have originated in the West Midlands region of England.

One of the earliest recorded bearers of the name was Richard le Hunt, who is mentioned in the Assize Rolls of Gloucestershire in 1221. Another early example is Walter le Hunte, who is recorded in the Pipe Rolls of Staffordshire in 1230.

The Hunt surname is also associated with various place names in England, such as Hunton in Kent, Huntingdon in Cambridgeshire, and Huntington in Herefordshire. These place names may have influenced the spelling and pronunciation of the surname in different regions.

Notable individuals with the surname Hunt throughout history include:

1. William Holman Hunt (1827-1910), an English painter and one of the founders of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. 2. Henry Hunt (1773-1835), an English radical orator and pioneer of working-class radicalism. 3. John Hunt (c. 1550-1615), an English merchant and one of the founders of the East India Company. 4. Leigh Hunt (1784-1859), an English essayist, poet, and critic, and a central figure in the Romantic movement. 5. James Henry Leigh Hunt (1784-1859), an English critic, essayist, poet, and writer, best known for his work "The Autobiography of Leigh Hunt."

The Hunt surname has a rich history spanning several centuries, originating as an occupational name for hunters and gamekeepers in medieval England. Its widespread distribution across various counties and association with place names reflects the mobility and diverse origins of its bearers over time.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

1881 census detail

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Hunt families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Hunt 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 5,518 Hunts recorded in 1881 and an index of 1.42x.

County Total Index
Middlesex 5,518 1.42x
Lancashire 3,777 0.82x
Surrey 2,677 1.42x
Yorkshire 1,984 0.52x
Warwickshire 1,967 2.01x
Hampshire 1,563 1.97x
Kent 1,536 1.16x
Gloucestershire 1,503 1.98x
Somerset 1,422 2.28x
Derbyshire 1,256 2.07x
Wiltshire 1,156 3.37x
Worcestershire 1,117 2.20x
Staffordshire 1,085 0.83x
Leicestershire 1,002 2.33x
Suffolk 985 2.08x
Nottinghamshire 922 1.76x
Norfolk 907 1.52x
Devon 816 1.01x
Berkshire 793 2.72x
Dorset 765 3.00x
Cheshire 743 0.87x
Lincolnshire 709 1.14x
Essex 707 0.92x
Sussex 660 1.01x
Oxfordshire 622 2.60x
Hertfordshire 429 1.60x
Cambridgeshire 373 1.52x
Glamorgan 341 0.50x
Durham 309 0.27x
Buckinghamshire 279 1.19x
Northamptonshire 276 0.76x
Monmouthshire 192 0.68x
Lanarkshire 160 0.13x
Bedfordshire 139 0.69x
Shropshire 119 0.36x
Cornwall 117 0.27x
Northumberland 114 0.20x
Herefordshire 107 0.67x
Huntingdonshire 83 1.08x
Flintshire 52 0.50x
Channel Islands 51 0.44x
Royal Navy 49 1.06x
Angus 44 0.12x
Brecknockshire 27 0.35x
Midlothian 27 0.05x
Perthshire 27 0.16x
Carmarthenshire 24 0.15x
Cumberland 24 0.07x
Denbighshire 23 0.16x
Fife 23 0.10x
Ayrshire 18 0.06x
Rutland 18 0.63x
Isle of Man 14 0.19x
Dunbartonshire 13 0.12x
Pembrokeshire 13 0.11x
Stirlingshire 13 0.09x
Montgomeryshire 12 0.14x
Roxburghshire 12 0.17x
Renfrewshire 9 0.03x
Cardiganshire 8 0.08x
Inverness-shire 6 0.05x
Merionethshire 6 0.08x
Aberdeenshire 5 0.01x
Caernarfonshire 4 0.03x
Dumfriesshire 3 0.04x
Kirkcudbrightshire 3 0.05x
Radnorshire 3 0.10x
Westmorland 3 0.04x
Orkney 2 0.05x
Selkirkshire 2 0.06x
Argyllshire 1 0.01x
Berwickshire 1 0.02x
Clackmannanshire 1 0.03x
East Lothian 1 0.02x
Kincardineshire 1 0.02x
Peeblesshire 1 0.05x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Aston in Warwickshire leads with 595 Hunts recorded in 1881 and an index of 2.21x.

Place Total Index
Aston 595 2.21x
Birmingham 549 1.68x
Islington London 485 1.29x
Lambeth 470 1.39x
Kensington London 420 1.95x
St Pancras London 357 1.14x
Camberwell 354 1.43x
Hackney London 329 1.51x
Bethnal Green London 303 1.80x
St Marylebone London 292 1.41x
Portsea 291 1.87x
Battersea 269 1.88x
Shoreditch London 260 1.55x
Leicester St Margaret 239 2.28x
Newington 238 1.66x
Paddington London 194 1.36x
Manchester 192 0.93x
Chelsea London 187 1.60x
Liverpool 181 0.65x
West Ham 177 1.05x
Fulham London 172 3.06x
Bermondsey 169 1.46x
Mile End Old Town London 163 1.97x
Nottingham St Mary 161 1.19x
St George Hanover Square 157 2.30x
Bromley London 155 1.82x
Deptford St Paul 155 1.52x
Preston 145 1.18x
Brighton 141 1.07x
Bristol St Philip Jacob 139 1.94x
Widnes 137 4.13x
Hammersmith London 136 1.42x
Clerkenwell London 130 1.42x
Kings Norton 119 2.62x
Radford 119 4.48x
Wootton Bassett 118 39.54x
Bedminster 116 1.98x
Salford 116 0.86x
Poplar London 115 1.57x
Bow London 114 2.31x
Great Bolton 113 1.85x
Croydon 111 1.06x
Blackburn 108 0.88x
Rotherhithe 107 2.23x
West Bromwich 107 1.43x
North Meols 105 2.33x
West Derby 105 0.78x
Belper 104 8.83x
Hulme 103 1.07x
Lewisham 103 1.46x
Leeds 99 0.46x
Sculcoates 99 1.62x
Swindon 96 3.61x
Westminster St John 95 2.01x
Great Yarmouth 94 1.90x
Harborne 94 2.24x
Sedgley 94 1.93x
Willesden 93 2.54x
Everton 92 0.63x
Kidderminster Borough 92 3.10x
Wolverhampton 90 0.89x
Rougham 89 82.12x
Ripley 86 11.45x
St Andrewthe Less 86 3.06x
Sheffield 84 0.69x
Sherborne 84 11.20x
Barking 81 3.61x
Reading St Mary 81 3.47x
Bristol St James St Paul 80 3.15x
Easton In Gordano 80 31.82x
Cheltenham 78 1.33x
Maidstone 77 1.95x
Birkenhead 76 1.11x
Hampstead London 76 1.26x
Attercliffe Cum Darnall 73 2.04x
Bradford 73 0.78x
Burton Upon Trent 72 2.35x
Southwark St George Martyr 72 0.92x
Woolwich 72 1.47x
Tottenham 71 1.15x

Top female names

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

Name Count
Mary 2,450
Elizabeth 1,564
Sarah 1,359
Eliza 693
Ann 685
Ellen 663
Jane 659
Alice 632
Emma 631
Annie 606
Emily 534
Hannah 387
Martha 331
Harriet 322
Florence 296
Louisa 281
Maria 272
Margaret 270
Caroline 259
Charlotte 258
Edith 252
Fanny 237
Ada 209
Clara 200
Kate 190
Lucy 186
Catherine 176
Frances 164
Harriett 156
Susan 151
Agnes 146
Anne 143
Rose 139
Amelia 129
Matilda 119
Rebecca 110
Julia 106
Ethel 94
Esther 93
Sophia 93
Amy 80
Laura 77
Minnie 77
Gertrude 76
Isabella 74
Elizth. 73
Jessie 68
Eleanor 66
Susannah 66
Bessie 64

Top male names

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

Name Count
William 2,396
John 2,017
George 1,544
Thomas 1,201
James 1,138
Henry 1,012
Charles 912
Joseph 660
Alfred 511
Edward 425
Arthur 424
Frederick 416
Robert 408
Albert 340
Richard 327
Samuel 325
Walter 321
Harry 263
Herbert 207
Ernest 181
Edwin 153
Frank 151
Francis 131
David 126
Wm. 104
Benjamin 94
Stephen 79
Thos. 72
Isaac 61
Sidney 58
Tom 56
Daniel 52
Fred 48
Patrick 46
Jesse 45
Percy 44
Geo. 43
Fredrick 41
Peter 38
Chas. 36
Michael 36
Edmund 35
Fredk. 35
Abraham 33
Mark 33
Edgar 32
Martin 31
Job 28
Eli 27
Philip 27

FAQ

Hunt surname: questions and answers

How common was the Hunt surname in 1881?

In 1881, 39,740 people were recorded with the Hunt surname. That placed it at #77 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Hunt surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 50,425 in 2016. That gives Hunt a modern rank of #97.

What does the Hunt surname mean?

An occupational surname referring to a hunter or someone who hunts game.

What does the Hunt map show?

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