NameCensus.

UK surname

Hyslop

A locational surname derived from a place name in Scotland.

In the 1881 census there were 1,714 people recorded with the Hyslop surname, ranking it #2,513 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 1,939, ranked #3,300, down from #2,513 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to Old Cumnock, Langholm and Morton. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Carrick South, Thornhill and Mid Nithsdale.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Hyslop is 2,218 in 1901. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 13.1%.

1881 census count

1,714

Ranked #2,513

Modern count

1,939

2016, ranked #3,300

Peak year

1901

2,218 bearers

Map years

9

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Hyslop had 1,714 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #2,513 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 1,939 in 2016, ranked #3,300.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 2,218 in 1901.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Established but Challenged.

Hyslop surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Hyslop surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Hyslop 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 1,073 #2,614
1861 historical 1,302 #2,191
1881 historical 1,714 #2,513
1891 historical 1,915 #2,405
1901 historical 2,218 #2,439
1911 historical 796 #5,492
1997 modern 1,827 #3,290
1998 modern 1,860 #3,362
1999 modern 1,851 #3,394
2000 modern 1,858 #3,365
2001 modern 1,818 #3,364
2002 modern 1,860 #3,370
2003 modern 1,845 #3,323
2004 modern 1,824 #3,356
2005 modern 1,833 #3,307
2006 modern 1,825 #3,331
2007 modern 1,843 #3,328
2008 modern 1,851 #3,347
2009 modern 1,873 #3,391
2010 modern 1,931 #3,373
2011 modern 1,890 #3,397
2012 modern 1,884 #3,351
2013 modern 1,938 #3,327
2014 modern 1,968 #3,305
2015 modern 1,960 #3,282
2016 modern 1,939 #3,300

Geography

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Where Hyslops are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around Old Cumnock, Langholm, Morton, Durisdeer and Edinburgh. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Carrick South, Thornhill, Mid Nithsdale, Newton Stewart and Lochmaben. Treat these as concentration signals, not proof that every family line began there.

Top historical parishes

Rank Parish Area
1 Old Cumnock Ayr
2 Langholm Dumfries
3 Morton Dumfries
4 Durisdeer Dumfries
5 Edinburgh Edinburgh

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Carrick South South Ayrshire
2 Thornhill Dumfries and Galloway
3 Mid Nithsdale Dumfries and Galloway
4 Newton Stewart Dumfries and Galloway
5 Lochmaben Dumfries and Galloway

Forenames

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First names often paired with Hyslop

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

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Hyslop

Modern surname records can be compared with neighbourhood classifications. For Hyslop, 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 Hyslop surname is most associated with neighbourhoods classed as Established but Challenged, within Semi- and Un-Skilled Workforce. This does not mean every Hyslop 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, Hyslop 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

Hyslop 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

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

Meaning and origin of Hyslop

The surname Hyslop is of Scottish origin, deriving from the old Gaelic words "ìosal" meaning low and "lùb" meaning bend or loop. This suggests the name was originally a topographic name, referring to someone who lived near a low-lying bend or loop in a river or stream.

The name is believed to have first arisen in the area around Roxburghshire in the Scottish Borders region, dating back to at least the 12th century. One of the earliest recorded examples is Alan de Yscelop, who witnessed a charter by Joceline, Bishop of Glasgow in 1195.

In the 13th century, the name appeared in the Ragman Rolls of 1296, a record of Scottish landowners and nobles who swore fealty to King Edward I of England. The spelling was rendered as "Hisselop" at this time.

By the 15th century, variations like "Hislop" and "Hyslop" were more common. Sir Patrick Hyslop was a Scottish knight who fought alongside William Wallace in the Wars of Scottish Independence in the late 13th/early 14th century.

Other notable figures with this surname include William Hyslop (1619-1672), a Scottish minister who was arrested for refusing to recognize the king's supremacy over the church. Sir Thomas Buchan Hepburn Hyslop (1789-1857) was a British army officer who served in the Napoleonic Wars and the Crimean War.

Robert Hyslop (1459-1536) was a Scottish theologian and canon of the Diocese of Glasgow in the early 16th century. James Hyslop (1798-1827) was a Scottish weaver and poet born in Ayrshire, known for his narrative poems depicting rural life.

Overall, the Hyslop name has a long history in Scotland dating back centuries, originating as a geographic identifier before emerging as a prominent surname across the Scottish Lowlands and Borders regions.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

1881 census detail

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Hyslop families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Hyslop 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. Dumfriesshire leads with 380 Hyslops recorded in 1881 and an index of 102.41x.

County Total Index
Dumfriesshire 380 102.41x
Ayrshire 277 22.03x
Kirkcudbrightshire 191 78.55x
Lancashire 185 0.93x
Lanarkshire 139 2.56x
Middlesex 77 0.46x
Midlothian 47 2.09x
Wigtownshire 43 19.28x
Cumberland 34 2.35x
Surrey 28 0.34x
Northumberland 19 0.76x
Shropshire 18 1.24x
Staffordshire 18 0.32x
Yorkshire 17 0.10x
Leicestershire 16 0.86x
Cheshire 15 0.40x
Durham 15 0.30x
Hampshire 15 0.44x
Renfrewshire 15 1.15x
Morayshire 13 4.98x
Perthshire 12 1.59x
Essex 11 0.33x
Stirlingshire 10 1.61x
Worcestershire 10 0.46x
Fife 9 0.91x
Northamptonshire 9 0.57x
Roxburghshire 8 2.63x
Isle of Man 7 2.24x
Kinross-shire 7 16.49x
Cornwall 6 0.32x
Kent 6 0.10x
Selkirkshire 6 3.95x
Sussex 6 0.21x
Suffolk 5 0.24x
Glamorgan 4 0.14x
Herefordshire 4 0.58x
Somerset 4 0.15x
Aberdeenshire 3 0.19x
Angus 3 0.19x
Berkshire 3 0.24x
Derbyshire 3 0.11x
Devon 3 0.09x
East Lothian 3 1.35x
Warwickshire 3 0.07x
West Lothian 3 1.19x
Argyllshire 2 0.43x
Hertfordshire 2 0.17x
Huntingdonshire 2 0.60x
Buckinghamshire 1 0.10x
Caithness 1 0.43x
Channel Islands 1 0.20x
Peeblesshire 1 1.27x
Royal Navy 1 0.50x
Westmorland 1 0.27x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Langholm in Dumfriesshire leads with 39 Hyslops recorded in 1881 and an index of 146.23x.

Place Total Index
Langholm 39 146.23x
Old Cumnock 36 128.62x
Penpont 35 513.20x
Urr 35 110.65x
Cambusnethan 33 27.35x
Govan 33 2.46x
Colmonell 30 237.34x
Durrisdeer 30 470.96x
Canonbie 28 177.55x
Morton 28 227.27x
New Cumnock 28 128.44x
Auckinleck 27 69.37x
Girvan 27 85.55x
Ashton Under Lyne 25 5.74x
Edinburgh St Cuthberts 25 2.76x
Liverpool 24 1.98x
Barony 23 1.67x
Chorlton On Medlock 22 6.95x
Glencairn 21 210.42x
Keir 21 488.37x
Troqueer 21 65.83x
Ayr 20 33.71x
Kirkmichael 19 387.76x
Penninghame 19 83.52x
Kirkdale 17 5.07x
Kilmarnock 16 10.69x
Kirkconnell 16 272.11x
Leicester St Margaret 16 3.52x
Newcastle Under Lyme 16 15.95x
Paddington London 16 2.59x
Church Stretton 15 154.16x
Kelton 15 75.08x
Sorn 15 60.73x
Everton 14 2.20x
Forres 13 47.39x
Rerrick 13 124.64x
St Quivox 13 30.59x
Crawfordjohn 12 247.42x
Crossmichael 12 156.05x
Glasgow 12 1.24x
Kirkmabreck 12 112.89x
Middlebie 12 107.82x
Moffat 12 70.88x
Tynron 12 495.87x
Dryfesdale 11 64.33x
Straiton 11 153.85x
Bury 10 4.39x
Closeburn 10 115.61x
Dunning 10 106.16x
Sanquhar 10 76.69x
Applegarth 9 159.86x
Barrow In Furness 9 3.32x
Birkenhead 9 3.04x
Dumfries 9 24.59x
Hedworth Monkton Jarrow 9 4.16x
Kirkbean 9 192.31x
Kirkpatrick Durham 9 118.89x
Lanark 9 20.59x
Lochrutton 9 254.24x
Muirkirk 9 30.49x
New Monkland 9 5.60x
Salford 9 1.54x
South Leith 9 3.55x
Wellingborough 9 11.33x
Bethnal Green London 8 1.10x
Glasserton 8 115.61x
Hackney London 8 0.85x
Hampstead London 8 3.06x
Islington London 8 0.49x
Lochmaben 8 49.20x
Lower Booths 8 22.40x
Mauchline 8 55.36x
Parton 8 194.17x
Sutton 8 13.51x
Colvend 7 94.85x
Fossoway 7 95.89x
Holywood 7 112.90x
Little Bolton 7 2.73x
Newcastle On Tyne All Sts 7 4.69x
Newton On Ayr 7 18.59x

Top female names

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

Name Count
Mary 38
Margaret 22
Jane 17
Sarah 17
Agnes 11
Ann 11
Elizabeth 8
Annie 7
Helen 7
Janet 7
Alice 6
Ellen 6
Emma 6
Ada 4
Isabella 4
Catherine 3
Hannah 3
Jessie 3
Susannah 3
Adelaide 2
Amy 2
Constance 2
Fanny 2
Florence 2
Grace 2
Hellen 2
Infant 2
Lavinia 2
Lucy 2
Maria 2
Martha 2
Maud 2
Nellie 2
Ruth 2
Selina 2
Susan 2
Betsey 1
Betsy 1
Betty 1
Catharine 1
Edith 1
Eliz. 1
Elizth. 1
Ella 1
Emily 1
Ester 1
Isabel 1
J...a... 1
Jannet 1
Winifred 1

Top male names

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

Name Count
John 46
William 39
James 30
Robert 24
George 13
Thomas 13
Andrew 10
Charles 10
David 9
Edward 7
Walter 7
Alexander 6
Joseph 5
Samuel 5
Alfred 4
Arthur 4
Robt. 4
Adam 3
Henry 3
Richard 3
Alex 2
Hugh 2
Jas. 2
Saml. 2
Akroyd 1
Archd. 1
Archibald 1
Chas. 1
Daniel 1
Forbes 1
Frederick 1
Fredrick 1
Geo 1
Harold 1
Harry 1
Herbert 1
Jos.J. 1
Matthew 1
Maxwell 1
Nicholas 1
Oliver 1
Peter 1
Robt.M. 1
Saml 1
Simon 1
Sydney 1
Theophilus 1
Tom 1
Willm. 1
Wm. 1

FAQ

Hyslop surname: questions and answers

How common was the Hyslop surname in 1881?

In 1881, 1,714 people were recorded with the Hyslop surname. That placed it at #2,513 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Hyslop surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 1,939 in 2016. That gives Hyslop a modern rank of #3,300.

What does the Hyslop surname mean?

A locational surname derived from a place name in Scotland.

What does the Hyslop map show?

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