NameCensus.

UK surname

Isard

A locational surname derived from areas known for iron ore deposits or iron production.

In the 1881 census there were 120 people recorded with the Isard surname, ranking it #17,756 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 95, ranked #31,782, down from #17,756 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to London parishes, Beckenham and St Paul Deptford, St Nicholas Deptford. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Lincoln, East Hertfordshire and Exeter.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Isard is 191 in 1911. Compared with 1881, the name has fallen by 20.8%.

1881 census count

120

Ranked #17,756

Modern count

95

2016, ranked #31,782

Peak year

1911

191 bearers

Map years

6

1881 to 2006

Key insights

  • Isard had 120 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #17,756 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 95 in 2016, ranked #31,782.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 191 in 1911.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Rural Amenity.

Isard surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Isard surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Isard 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 76 #20,127
1861 historical 74 #24,370
1881 historical 120 #17,756
1891 historical 128 #20,393
1901 historical 149 #18,146
1911 historical 191 #15,392
1997 modern 126 #23,461
1998 modern 127 #23,940
1999 modern 133 #23,487
2000 modern 126 #24,220
2001 modern 121 #24,493
2002 modern 130 #23,903
2003 modern 128 #23,890
2004 modern 120 #25,078
2005 modern 118 #25,301
2006 modern 136 #23,378
2007 modern 138 #23,478
2008 modern 136 #24,004
2009 modern 124 #25,957
2010 modern 119 #27,250
2011 modern 115 #27,634
2012 modern 106 #29,187
2013 modern 108 #29,379
2014 modern 102 #30,714
2015 modern 105 #30,092
2016 modern 95 #31,782

Geography

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Where Isards are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around London parishes, Beckenham, St Paul Deptford, St Nicholas Deptford and St Giles Camberwell. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Lincoln, East Hertfordshire, Exeter, Hastings and West Lindsey. 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 London parishes London 1
2 London parishes London 3
3 Beckenham Kent
4 St Paul Deptford, St Nicholas Deptford London (South Districts)
5 St Giles Camberwell London (South Districts)

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Lincoln 007 Lincoln
2 East Hertfordshire 003 East Hertfordshire
3 Exeter 015 Exeter
4 Hastings 008 Hastings
5 West Lindsey 011 West Lindsey

Forenames

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First names often paired with Isard

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

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Isard

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

Young Families and Mainstream Employment

Group

Terraced and Semi-Detached Suburbs

Within London, Isard is most associated with areas classed as Terraced and Semi-Detached Suburbs, part of Young Families and Mainstream Employment. 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 concentrated in suburban areas, these terraced and semi-detached developments are less overcrowded than the Supergroup average, and resident households are more likely to own two or more cars. There are fewer residents aged 25-44, and a larger share of residents employed in administrative and secretarial occupations. Residents are more likely to have been born in the UK, less likely to have been born in the EU or Africa, and much less likely to self-identify as Bangladeshi.

Wider London pattern

Many families in these neighbourhoods have young children. Housing is principally in the social rented sector, in terraced or semi-detached units. While over-all residential densities are low, overcrowding is also prevalent locally. Residents are drawn from a range of ethnic minorities, with many identifying as Black and above average numbers born in Africa. Numbers identifying as of Chinese, Indian or White ethnicity are below average. Levels of proficiency in English are below average. Levels of separation or divorce and incidence of disability are both above average. Education is typically limited to Level 1, 2, or apprenticeship qualifications. Few residents work in professional or managerial occupations but the employment structure is otherwise diverse: it includes skilled trades, caring, leisure and other service occupations, sales and customer service occupations, construction, and work as process, plant, and machine operatives.

Healthy neighbourhoods

Access to healthy assets and hazards

Isard 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

Isard falls in decile 8 for neighbourhood deprivation. This puts the surname towards the less deprived end of the index.

Decile 1 represents the more deprived end of the scale. Decile 10 represents the less deprived end.

8
More deprived Less deprived

Broadband speed

Fixed broadband download speed

The modern neighbourhood pattern for Isard is most associated with a typical fixed broadband download band of 60-70 mbit/s.

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

9
Slower band Faster band

Area snapshot

Ethnic group estimate

Most common ethnic group estimate
White - British

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

Meaning and origin of Isard

The surname Isard is believed to have originated in England during the late medieval period. It is thought to be a variant of the name Izard, which derived from the Old French word "izard" meaning a type of mountain goat found in the Pyrenees mountains.

Some historians suggest the name may have first arrived in England with Norman settlers following the conquest in 1066. However, the earliest recorded examples of the Isard spelling date back to the 13th century in Yorkshire and Lincolnshire records.

One of the earliest known bearers of the name was John Isard, a merchant and landowner who lived in Westmorland, England in the late 1200s. Variations of his name appear in tax rolls and land deeds from that era spelled as Ysard, Isarde, and Issard.

By the 1400s, the Isard name had spread across northern England with pockets of families found in places like Cumbria, Lancashire, and Yorkshire. One notable bearer was William Isard of Bolton who served as a sheriff in 1492.

As the centuries passed, some Isard families relocated to other areas. Robert Isard was born in Kendal in 1603 but later moved to London where he worked as a merchant and died in 1679. Around 1700, Thomas Isard emigrated from Cumberland to the American colonies and settled in Virginia.

Other historically significant people with the Isard surname include the artist Walter Isard (1759-1835) who was a member of the Royal Academy, and Chester Isard (1798-1867), a British naval officer who served in the Napoleonic Wars and rose to the rank of Admiral.

Throughout its long history, the Isard name has maintained connections to its believed geographic origins in the rugged upland areas of northern England and the ancestral French meaning related to the nimble mountain goat.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

1881 census detail

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Isard families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Isard 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. Kent leads with 50 Isards recorded in 1881 and an index of 12.52x.

County Total Index
Kent 50 12.52x
Sussex 32 16.22x
Middlesex 15 1.28x
Surrey 9 1.58x
Essex 8 3.46x
Bedfordshire 2 3.30x
Cambridgeshire 2 2.70x
Hertfordshire 1 1.24x
West Lothian 1 5.68x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Bromley in Kent leads with 16 Isards recorded in 1881 and an index of 262.73x.

Place Total Index
Bromley 16 262.73x
Sevenoaks 15 462.96x
Newick 10 2325.58x
Havering 8 4444.44x
Deptford St Nicholas 7 220.82x
Etchingham 7 1944.44x
Buxted 5 649.35x
Islington London 5 4.41x
Eastbourne 4 44.05x
Kensington London 3 4.61x
Keston 3 1000.00x
Brighton 2 5.02x
Camberwell 2 2.68x
Croydon 2 6.32x
Dover St James 2 114.29x
Fletching 2 227.27x
Luton 2 19.07x
Paddington London 2 4.65x
Reigate Foreign 2 32.41x
St Marythe Less 2 444.44x
Strood 2 87.72x
Cheshunt 1 35.46x
East Grinstead 1 35.84x
Goudhurst 1 90.09x
Hampton London 1 52.08x
Hove 1 11.55x
Maidstone 1 8.41x
Newington 1 2.31x
Norwood 1 37.31x
Reigate Borough 1 75.76x
Speldhurst 1 49.26x
St George Hanover Square 1 4.85x
St Gilesin Fields London 1 101.01x
St Pancras London 1 1.06x
Streatham 1 11.52x
Tonbridge 1 6.94x
West Wickham 1 256.41x
Whitburn 1 39.22x

FAQ

Isard surname: questions and answers

How common was the Isard surname in 1881?

In 1881, 120 people were recorded with the Isard surname. That placed it at #17,756 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Isard surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 95 in 2016. That gives Isard a modern rank of #31,782.

What does the Isard surname mean?

A locational surname derived from areas known for iron ore deposits or iron production.

What does the Isard map show?

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