NameCensus.

UK surname

Jenks

A topographic surname referring to someone who lived near a cliff, steep bank, or hill.

In the 1881 census there were 1,021 people recorded with the Jenks surname, ranking it #3,839 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 1,240, ranked #4,811, down from #3,839 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to Wolverhampton, London parishes and Shrewsbury St Alkmond, St Julian, St Mary (pt), Meole Brace. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Warrington, Shropshire and Wiltshire.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Jenks is 1,297 in 1998. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 21.4%.

1881 census count

1,021

Ranked #3,839

Modern count

1,240

2016, ranked #4,811

Peak year

1998

1,297 bearers

Map years

9

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Jenks had 1,021 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #3,839 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 1,240 in 2016, ranked #4,811.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 1,228 in 1911.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Rural Amenity.

Jenks surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Jenks surname density by area, 1881 census.

Loading map
Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

Back to top

Jenks 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 733 #3,586
1861 historical 610 #4,355
1881 historical 1,021 #3,839
1891 historical 956 #4,327
1901 historical 1,178 #4,155
1911 historical 1,228 #3,847
1997 modern 1,236 #4,595
1998 modern 1,297 #4,577
1999 modern 1,275 #4,682
2000 modern 1,297 #4,586
2001 modern 1,260 #4,617
2002 modern 1,283 #4,626
2003 modern 1,268 #4,578
2004 modern 1,266 #4,596
2005 modern 1,215 #4,714
2006 modern 1,220 #4,711
2007 modern 1,251 #4,652
2008 modern 1,250 #4,671
2009 modern 1,271 #4,711
2010 modern 1,289 #4,740
2011 modern 1,270 #4,749
2012 modern 1,221 #4,846
2013 modern 1,242 #4,845
2014 modern 1,261 #4,817
2015 modern 1,252 #4,797
2016 modern 1,240 #4,811

Geography

Back to top

Where Jenks' are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around Wolverhampton, London parishes, Shrewsbury St Alkmond, St Julian, St Mary (pt), Meole Brace, Cardiff St John and St Mary and Warrington. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Warrington, Shropshire, Wiltshire 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 Wolverhampton Staffordshire
2 London parishes London 3
3 Shrewsbury St Alkmond, St Julian, St Mary (pt), Meole Brace Shropshire
4 Cardiff St John and St Mary Glamorganshire
5 Warrington Lancashire

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Warrington 011 Warrington
2 Shropshire 005 Shropshire
3 Shropshire 024 Shropshire
4 Wiltshire 034 Wiltshire
5 Southampton 025 Southampton

Forenames

Back to top

First names often paired with Jenks

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

Modern profile

Back to top

Neighbourhood profile for Jenks

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

European Enclaves

Within London, Jenks is most associated with areas classed as European Enclaves, 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

Many residents of these accessible neighbourhoods have wide-ranging non-UK European origins. Typically residing in privately rented flats, many residents live alone and are beyond normal retirement age. There are more students than elsewhere in the Supergroup, some of which live in communal establishments. Household residents are often drawn from different ethnic groups.

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

Jenks 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

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

Meaning and origin of Jenks

The surname Jenks has its origins in the medieval English language and is derived from the personal name Jenkin, a diminutive form of the name John. The name likely emerged in the 12th or 13th century as a descriptive nickname for someone who bore a resemblance to or held the characteristics of a famous John.

The earliest recorded instances of the name are found in Yorkshire, England, where the spelling variations of Jenks, Jencks, Jinks, and Jenkes appeared in tax rolls and parish records from the late 13th century onwards. It's possible that the name is also connected to the Old English words "genge" meaning "company" or "jenc" meaning "trick or stratagem," suggesting it may have been an occupational surname for a jester or entertainer.

One of the earliest documented references to the surname is in the Subsidy Rolls of Yorkshire from 1297, which lists a Willelmus Jenks as a taxpayer. The Jenks surname is also found in the Domesday Book of 1086, with the spelling "Jenches" appearing in Norfolk, indicating the name's longevity in England.

Historically, the Jenks surname has been associated with several notable individuals, including Sir Joseph Jenks (1599-1683), a renowned ironmaster and inventor from England who introduced various improvements to the manufacturing of iron and brass. Another early bearer of the name was John Jenks (1588-1659), an English Puritan clergyman who emigrated to America and served as a pastor in Roxbury, Massachusetts.

Other notable individuals with the Jenks surname include Richard Jenks (1654-1708), an English-born American colonial settler and landowner in Rhode Island, and Benjamin Jenks (1756-1828), an American farmer and soldier who fought in the American Revolutionary War. Additionally, Francis Jenks (1590-1665) was an early English settler in Massachusetts and one of the founders of the town of Sandwich.

The Jenks name has remained prevalent in various regions of England, particularly in Yorkshire, Lancashire, and the West Midlands, as well as in parts of the United States, Canada, and other English-speaking countries. While the name has evolved in spelling and regional variations over the centuries, its origins can be traced back to the medieval English era, reflecting the linguistic and cultural heritage of the British Isles.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

1881 census detail

Back to top

Jenks families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Jenks 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. Staffordshire leads with 222 Jenks' recorded in 1881 and an index of 6.60x.

County Total Index
Staffordshire 222 6.60x
Warwickshire 120 4.77x
Shropshire 99 11.49x
Lancashire 94 0.79x
Surrey 80 1.65x
Middlesex 78 0.78x
Worcestershire 51 3.92x
Yorkshire 44 0.45x
Glamorgan 40 2.30x
Herefordshire 39 9.54x
Cheshire 36 1.64x
Kent 23 0.68x
Hampshire 16 0.78x
Gloucestershire 12 0.61x
Huntingdonshire 11 5.56x
Northamptonshire 8 0.85x
Somerset 7 0.44x
Midlothian 6 0.45x
Nottinghamshire 6 0.45x
Devon 5 0.24x
Denbighshire 4 1.06x
Lincolnshire 4 0.25x
West Lothian 3 2.00x
Berkshire 2 0.27x
Derbyshire 2 0.13x
Essex 2 0.10x
Monmouthshire 2 0.28x
Sussex 2 0.12x
Buckinghamshire 1 0.17x
Cumberland 1 0.12x
Oxfordshire 1 0.16x
Renfrewshire 1 0.13x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Birmingham in Warwickshire leads with 73 Jenks' recorded in 1881 and an index of 8.71x.

Place Total Index
Birmingham 73 8.71x
Wolverhampton 57 22.03x
Aston 38 5.49x
Warrington 30 21.39x
Shrewsbury St Mary 25 73.55x
Camberwell 22 3.45x
Lambeth 21 2.42x
Wednesfield 20 40.39x
Tonbridge 18 14.67x
Madeley 17 53.83x
Stoke Upon Trent 17 4.76x
Normanby In 16 60.58x
West Derby 14 4.05x
Bilston 13 19.93x
Cradley 12 200.67x
Paddington London 12 3.27x
York St Andrew 12 1250.00x
Islington London 11 1.14x
Wolverley 11 96.24x
Caldecot 10 7692.31x
Cardiff St Mary 10 10.46x
Claverley 10 171.82x
Kidderminster Borough 10 13.12x
Llandaff 10 17.32x
Lower Mitton 10 87.18x
Fulham London 9 6.22x
Harborne 9 8.34x
Norton In Moors 9 50.53x
St Pancras London 9 1.12x
Brading 8 29.46x
Leek Lowe 8 17.87x
Roath 8 10.15x
Sedgley 8 6.40x
Shrewsbury St Alkmond 8 167.36x
Wolstanton Chesterton 8 46.51x
Barrow In Furness 7 4.35x
Broughton In Salford 7 6.47x
Cardiff St John 7 12.35x
Clapham 7 5.62x
Dawley 7 22.34x
Ellesmere 7 47.33x
Everton 7 1.86x
High Offley 7 252.71x
Latchford 7 47.88x
Millbrook 7 13.60x
Bobbington 6 434.78x
Bromyard 6 111.32x
Chelsea London 6 2.00x
Cradley 6 50.98x
Edinburgh Old 6 74.07x
Gnosall 6 73.89x
Newbottle 6 340.91x
Northfield 6 24.29x
Tipton 6 5.82x
Wigan 6 3.63x
Ackworth 5 65.88x
Alrewas 5 153.37x
Bermondsey 5 1.68x
Bollington In 5 25.52x
Bow London 5 3.94x
Edgbaston 5 6.41x
Hammersmith London 5 2.04x
Hulme 5 2.02x
Kinver 5 51.55x
Liverpool 5 0.70x
Shoreditch London 5 1.16x
Southwark St George Martyr 5 2.49x
Walsall Foreign 5 2.88x
Wombourn Woodford 5 847.46x
Bethnal Green London 4 0.92x
Darfield 4 44.49x
Fosdyke 4 245.40x
Higher Bebington 4 28.39x
Macclesfield 4 4.09x
Mitcham 4 13.03x
Shrewsbury St Julian 4 18.77x
Walcot 4 4.68x
Wellington 4 8.26x
Yarpole 4 194.17x
Yazor 4 540.54x

Top female names

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

Name Count
Mary 69
Sarah 44
Elizabeth 36
Ann 24
Jane 23
Ellen 17
Emily 17
Emma 17
Eliza 14
Annie 13
Fanny 10
Harriet 10
Florence 9
Maria 9
Martha 9
Alice 8
Hannah 8
Ada 7
Anne 6
Clara 6
Louisa 6
Agnes 5
Edith 5
Sophia 5
Caroline 4
Julia 4
Margaret 4
Rebecca 4
Selina 4
Susan 4
Amy 3
Bertha 3
Charlotte 3
Esther 3
Flora 3
Frances 3
Helen 3
Kate 3
Lizzie 3
Lucy 3
Margret 3
Phoebe 3
Rosa 3
Ruth 3
Amelia 2
Lois 2
Mabel 2
Matilda 2
May 2
Priscilla 2

Top male names

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

Name Count
William 60
Thomas 53
John 51
George 45
Henry 24
Joseph 23
James 20
Alfred 16
Charles 14
Arthur 13
Samuel 10
Edward 9
Edwin 9
Richard 9
Harry 7
Robert 7
Frederick 6
Herbert 5
Josiah 5
Albert 4
Frank 4
Isaac 4
Thos. 4
Walter 4
Ernest 3
Francis 3
Aaron 2
Benjamine 2
David 2
Edwd. 2
Fred 2
Fredk. 2
Harold 2
Peter 2
R. 2
Robt. 2
W. 2
Wm. 2
Abram 1
Alexander 1
Archibold 1
Bernard 1
Edwd.Thos. 1
Eli 1
Emananuel 1
Emanuel 1
Ephraim 1
J.John 1
Jas. 1
Wm.Fredk. 1

FAQ

Jenks surname: questions and answers

How common was the Jenks surname in 1881?

In 1881, 1,021 people were recorded with the Jenks surname. That placed it at #3,839 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Jenks surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 1,240 in 2016. That gives Jenks a modern rank of #4,811.

What does the Jenks surname mean?

A topographic surname referring to someone who lived near a cliff, steep bank, or hill.

What does the Jenks map show?

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