NameCensus.

UK surname

Instone

A locational surname derived from a place name containing the Old English elements "in" and "ston" (stone).

In the 1881 census there were 374 people recorded with the Instone surname, ranking it #8,364 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 465, ranked #10,558, down from #8,364 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to Wolverhampton, Broseley and Bridgnorth St Leonard and St Mary Magdalen. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Shropshire, Cannock Chase and Sefton.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Instone is 496 in 1997. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 24.3%.

1881 census count

374

Ranked #8,364

Modern count

465

2016, ranked #10,558

Peak year

1997

496 bearers

Map years

9

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Instone had 374 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #8,364 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 465 in 2016, ranked #10,558.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 495 in 1911.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Inner Suburbs and Small Town Living.

Instone surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Instone surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Instone 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 222 #9,597
1861 historical 222 #10,993
1881 historical 374 #8,364
1891 historical 408 #8,733
1901 historical 441 #8,830
1911 historical 495 #7,877
1997 modern 496 #9,352
1998 modern 492 #9,715
1999 modern 478 #10,007
2000 modern 486 #9,837
2001 modern 477 #9,798
2002 modern 489 #9,789
2003 modern 469 #9,940
2004 modern 469 #9,983
2005 modern 449 #10,230
2006 modern 450 #10,237
2007 modern 452 #10,298
2008 modern 451 #10,394
2009 modern 467 #10,372
2010 modern 486 #10,264
2011 modern 488 #10,135
2012 modern 472 #10,295
2013 modern 480 #10,331
2014 modern 484 #10,338
2015 modern 466 #10,552
2016 modern 465 #10,558

Geography

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Where Instones are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around Wolverhampton, Broseley, Bridgnorth St Leonard and St Mary Magdalen, Madeley and Walsall. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Shropshire, Cannock Chase, Sefton, Walsall and Torfaen. 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 Wolverhampton Staffordshire
2 Broseley Shropshire
3 Bridgnorth St Leonard and St Mary Magdalen Shropshire
4 Madeley Shropshire
5 Walsall Staffordshire

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Shropshire 029 Shropshire
2 Cannock Chase 006 Cannock Chase
3 Sefton 011 Sefton
4 Walsall 017 Walsall
5 Torfaen 004 Torfaen

Forenames

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First names often paired with Instone

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

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Instone

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

Inner Suburbs and Small Town Living

Nationally, the Instone surname is most associated with neighbourhoods classed as Inner Suburbs and Small Town Living, within Suburbanites and Peri-Urbanities. This does not mean every Instone household fits that profile, but it gives a useful signal about where the modern surname distribution is strongest.

Read profile summary

Group profile

Families with resident dependent children (but not students) are common. Established family groups and White ethnicity predominate, as do individuals born in the UK. They are more likely than the Supergroup average to have been resident in their terraced, semi-detached, or detached houses for more than one year. Levels of multiple car ownership are high. Properties are owned and typically have surplus living space. Associate professionals and administrative occupations are prevalent, and parents are likely to be in middle age or approaching retirement. Educational attainment is above the Supergroup average. Scattered developments and concentrations are found in many small towns.

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, Instone 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

Instone is most concentrated in decile 3 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.

3
Lower access Higher access

Neighbourhood deprivation

Index of Multiple Deprivation

Instone 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 Instone is most associated with a typical fixed broadband download band of 50-60 mbit/s.

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

8
Slower band Faster band

Area snapshot

Ethnic group estimate

Most common ethnic group estimate
White - British

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

Meaning and origin of Instone

The surname Instone is of English origin, derived from the Old English words "innan" meaning "within" and "stan" meaning "stone." It is believed to have originated as a locational surname, referring to someone who lived near a stone or dwelling within a stone structure.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as "Innestan." This entry suggests that the name was already well-established by the time of the Norman Conquest.

During the Middle Ages, the name was primarily concentrated in the counties of Staffordshire, Derbyshire, and Cheshire. Variations in spelling, such as Inston, Innston, and Innstone, were common due to the lack of standardized spelling at the time.

Notable historical figures with the surname Instone include:

1. Robert Instone (c. 1530 - 1610), an English landowner and member of the gentry from Staffordshire. 2. William Instone (1655 - 1718), a prominent merchant and alderman in the city of Bristol. 3. Elizabeth Instone (1710 - 1782), a noted philanthropist and benefactor of several churches in Derbyshire. 4. John Instone (1789 - 1869), a British naval officer who served during the Napoleonic Wars. 5. Henry Instone (1835 - 1904), a renowned architect responsible for several notable buildings in London, including the Royal Albert Hall.

The name Instone has also been associated with various place names throughout England, such as Instone, a hamlet in Staffordshire, and Instone Farm, a historical estate in Derbyshire. These place names further reinforce the locational origins of the surname.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

1881 census detail

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Instone families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Instone 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. Shropshire leads with 106 Instones recorded in 1881 and an index of 33.72x.

County Total Index
Shropshire 106 33.72x
Staffordshire 90 7.33x
Worcestershire 41 8.63x
Warwickshire 32 3.49x
Hampshire 21 2.82x
Yorkshire 18 0.50x
Middlesex 15 0.41x
Surrey 14 0.79x
Lancashire 12 0.28x
Durham 9 0.83x
Buckinghamshire 4 1.82x
Kent 4 0.32x
Montgomeryshire 2 2.40x
Berkshire 1 0.37x
Dorset 1 0.42x
Gloucestershire 1 0.14x
Leicestershire 1 0.25x
Wiltshire 1 0.31x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Wolverhampton in Staffordshire leads with 44 Instones recorded in 1881 and an index of 46.59x.

Place Total Index
Wolverhampton 44 46.59x
Madeley 32 277.54x
Northfield 26 288.57x
Aston 24 9.50x
Broseley 18 322.00x
Much Wenlock 16 551.72x
Bridgnorth St Leonard 14 393.26x
Walsall Foreign 13 20.49x
Kensington London 12 5.93x
Tipton 11 29.25x
Normanton 10 92.34x
Aldershot 9 36.03x
Stockton On Tees 9 17.25x
Cove 8 816.33x
Bilston 5 21.01x
West Bromwich 5 7.11x
Ashton Under Lyne 4 4.24x
Birmingham 4 1.31x
Bridgnorth St Mary 4 130.29x
Bromsgrove 4 25.02x
Havercroft Cum Cold 4 645.16x
Newington 4 2.98x
Stoke Prior 4 136.52x
Stourbridge 4 32.71x
Sutton Maddock 4 816.33x
Wolverton 4 87.91x
Ash Normandy 3 124.48x
Bolas Magna 3 789.47x
Castleford 3 22.85x
Cound 3 508.47x
Harborne 3 7.62x
Lambeth 3 0.95x
Litherland 3 33.22x
Millbrook 3 15.97x
Stoke Upon Trent 3 2.30x
Stottesdon 3 209.79x
Acton 2 9.38x
Barrow In Furness 2 3.41x
Coulsdon 2 62.11x
Edgbaston 2 7.03x
Exhall 2 143.88x
Llanerfyl 2 204.08x
Manchester 2 1.03x
Shrewsbury St Julian 2 25.71x
Stanton Long 2 606.06x
Whittington 2 79.68x
Allington In Devizes 1 588.24x
Astley Abbotts 1 128.21x
Benthall 1 178.57x
Binfield 1 47.62x
Boldre 1 37.45x
Camberwell 1 0.43x
Castle Church 1 13.55x
Condover 1 45.25x
Dartford 1 7.88x
Deptford St Paul 1 1.04x
Dudley 1 1.73x
Erith 1 8.18x
Evershot 1 161.29x
Farnham 1 7.25x
Handsworth 1 3.30x
Headingley Cum Burley 1 4.31x
Islington London 1 0.28x
Kidderminster Borough 1 3.60x
Leicester St Margaret 1 1.02x
North Meols 1 2.37x
Sedgley 1 2.19x
Sheriff Hales 1 79.37x
Shrewsbury St Mary 1 8.06x
Tewkesbury 1 15.70x
Upton Warren 1 243.90x
Wrotham 1 24.33x
Yoxall 1 61.73x

FAQ

Instone surname: questions and answers

How common was the Instone surname in 1881?

In 1881, 374 people were recorded with the Instone surname. That placed it at #8,364 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Instone surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 465 in 2016. That gives Instone a modern rank of #10,558.

What does the Instone surname mean?

A locational surname derived from a place name containing the Old English elements "in" and "ston" (stone).

What does the Instone map show?

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