NameCensus.

UK surname

Insall

An English surname derived from the Middle English "insal", meaning a house or dwelling.

In the 1881 census there were 122 people recorded with the Insall surname, ranking it #17,602 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 178, ranked #21,160, down from #17,602 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to Bristol City: St Mary Redcliff, St James and St Paul and Tewkesbury. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Cherwell, Worcester and Rugby.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Insall is 214 in 1911. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 45.9%.

1881 census count

122

Ranked #17,602

Modern count

178

2016, ranked #21,160

Peak year

1911

214 bearers

Map years

9

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Insall had 122 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #17,602 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 178 in 2016, ranked #21,160.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 214 in 1911.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Rural Amenity.

Insall surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Insall surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Insall 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 100 #17,164
1861 historical 100 #21,103
1881 historical 122 #17,602
1891 historical 191 #15,437
1901 historical 179 #16,227
1911 historical 214 #14,333
1997 modern 193 #18,035
1998 modern 201 #18,047
1999 modern 205 #17,960
2000 modern 205 #17,940
2001 modern 197 #18,108
2002 modern 198 #18,410
2003 modern 191 #18,628
2004 modern 199 #18,260
2005 modern 188 #18,866
2006 modern 186 #19,140
2007 modern 188 #19,204
2008 modern 184 #19,666
2009 modern 185 #20,010
2010 modern 186 #20,379
2011 modern 183 #20,425
2012 modern 180 #20,606
2013 modern 184 #20,643
2014 modern 183 #20,880
2015 modern 178 #21,149
2016 modern 178 #21,160

Geography

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Where Insalls are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around Bristol City: St Mary Redcliff, St James and St Paul, Tewkesbury, Scarborough and London parishes. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Cherwell, Worcester, Rugby, Wychavon and Shropshire. 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 St James and St Paul Gloucestershire
3 Tewkesbury Gloucestershire
4 Scarborough Yorkshire, North Riding
5 London parishes London 2

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Cherwell 007 Cherwell
2 Worcester 010 Worcester
3 Rugby 012 Rugby
4 Wychavon 006 Wychavon
5 Shropshire 025 Shropshire

Forenames

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First names often paired with Insall

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

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Insall

Modern surname records can be compared with neighbourhood classifications. For Insall, 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 Insall surname is most associated with neighbourhoods classed as Rural Amenity, within Suburbanites and Peri-Urbanities. This does not mean every Insall 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

Professional Employment and Family Lifecycles

Group

Established Homeowners with Children

Within London, Insall is most associated with areas classed as Established Homeowners with Children, 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 predominantly British-born residents are typically married/in civil partnerships and own the properties in which they are raising their children. Parents are typically over 45, and many other residents are beyond normal retirement age. Detached and semi-detached houses predominate and multiple car ownership is common.

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

Insall is most concentrated in decile 4 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.

4
Lower access Higher access

Neighbourhood deprivation

Index of Multiple Deprivation

Insall falls in decile 5 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.

5
More deprived Less deprived

Broadband speed

Fixed broadband download speed

The modern neighbourhood pattern for Insall 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 Insall, not the ethnicity of every person with the surname.

Meaning and origin of Insall

The surname INSALL originated in England during the late medieval period. It is believed to have derived from the Old English words "inne" meaning "inside" and "sael" meaning "hall" or "dwelling". The name likely referred to someone who lived within a large manor house or estate.

Records show the earliest known instances of the INSALL name appeared in various medieval rolls and registers from the counties of Lancashire and Yorkshire in northern England. Similar spellings like Insayle, Insale, and Insall were common during this era.

One of the first documented occurrences of the name was Robert de Insall, who was listed in the Court Rolls of the Manor of Wakefield in Yorkshire in 1317. Another early record was that of John Insall, mentioned in the Wills and Inventories of the Archdeaconry of Richmond in 1532.

During the 16th and 17th centuries, the INSALL family seemed to have been concentrated primarily in the parish of Poulton-le-Fylde near the town of Blackpool in Lancashire. The nearby village of Insall is likely named after this surname's bearers who once resided there.

Notable individuals with the INSALL surname include Thomas Insall (1675-1741), an English clergyman who served as the Rector of Hambleden in Buckinghamshire. John Insall (1751-1809) was a prominent merchant and landowner from Poulton-le-Fylde. His son, also named John Insall (1789-1861), continued the family business interests.

Other distinguished figures were William Insall (1804-1866), a British railway engineer who worked on several early rail projects, and Alfred Insall (1845-1917), a respected architect from Birmingham responsible for designing many public buildings across the English Midlands region.

While the origins of the INSALL name trace back to medieval times in northern England, various branches of the family later spread to other parts of Britain and abroad over the centuries.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

1881 census detail

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Insall families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Insall 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. Gloucestershire leads with 34 Insalls recorded in 1881 and an index of 14.57x.

County Total Index
Gloucestershire 34 14.57x
Oxfordshire 18 24.50x
Worcestershire 16 10.30x
Yorkshire 15 1.27x
Warwickshire 14 4.67x
Buckinghamshire 7 9.73x
Middlesex 7 0.59x
Staffordshire 5 1.24x
Durham 3 0.85x
Kent 2 0.49x
Hampshire 1 0.41x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Chipping Norton in Oxfordshire leads with 18 Insalls recorded in 1881 and an index of 1058.82x.

Place Total Index
Chipping Norton 18 1058.82x
Bristol St James St Paul 12 154.24x
Gradley 12 1600.00x
Scarborough 12 112.04x
Solihull 11 509.26x
Iver 7 752.69x
Bristol St Michael 6 300.00x
Westbury On Trym 6 75.85x
Ebrington 5 2272.73x
Kingswinford 5 34.29x
Tewkesbury 5 240.38x
Bow London 4 26.40x
South Shields 3 95.24x
Aston 2 2.42x
Bowling 2 17.12x
Kidbrooke 2 869.57x
Shoreditch London 2 3.88x
Upperswinford 2 152.67x
Leamington Priors 1 13.55x
Normanton 1 28.25x
Spetchley 1 1428.57x
St George Hanover Square 1 4.77x
St Mary Extra 1 51.02x
Tibberton 1 714.29x

FAQ

Insall surname: questions and answers

How common was the Insall surname in 1881?

In 1881, 122 people were recorded with the Insall surname. That placed it at #17,602 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Insall surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 178 in 2016. That gives Insall a modern rank of #21,160.

What does the Insall surname mean?

An English surname derived from the Middle English "insal", meaning a house or dwelling.

What does the Insall map show?

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