NameCensus.

UK surname

Jevons

A surname of uncertain origin, possibly derived from a nickname or locational name.

In the 1881 census there were 532 people recorded with the Jevons surname, ranking it #6,457 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 812, ranked #6,823, down from #6,457 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to Wolverhampton, Sedgley and Tipton otherwise Tibington. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Rotherham, Newark and Sherwood and Sandwell.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Jevons is 879 in 1998. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 52.6%.

1881 census count

532

Ranked #6,457

Modern count

812

2016, ranked #6,823

Peak year

1998

879 bearers

Map years

9

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Jevons had 532 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #6,457 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 812 in 2016, ranked #6,823.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 718 in 1911.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Challenged Communities.

Jevons surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Jevons surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Jevons 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 249 #8,816
1861 historical 224 #10,882
1881 historical 532 #6,457
1891 historical 616 #6,254
1901 historical 700 #6,290
1911 historical 718 #5,952
1997 modern 860 #6,180
1998 modern 879 #6,281
1999 modern 875 #6,342
2000 modern 863 #6,372
2001 modern 833 #6,445
2002 modern 859 #6,417
2003 modern 821 #6,510
2004 modern 823 #6,516
2005 modern 798 #6,626
2006 modern 800 #6,629
2007 modern 821 #6,552
2008 modern 819 #6,608
2009 modern 830 #6,688
2010 modern 824 #6,851
2011 modern 843 #6,657
2012 modern 799 #6,835
2013 modern 833 #6,730
2014 modern 819 #6,844
2015 modern 808 #6,870
2016 modern 812 #6,823

Geography

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Where Jevons' are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around Wolverhampton, Sedgley, Tipton otherwise Tibington, Kidderminster and Birmingham Town: Birmingham. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Rotherham, Newark and Sherwood, Sandwell and Liverpool. 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 Sedgley Staffordshire
3 Tipton otherwise Tibington Staffordshire
4 Kidderminster Worcestershire
5 Birmingham Town: Birmingham Warwickshire

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Rotherham 020 Rotherham
2 Newark and Sherwood 002 Newark and Sherwood
3 Sandwell 002 Sandwell
4 Liverpool 057 Liverpool
5 Sandwell 001 Sandwell

Forenames

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First names often paired with Jevons

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

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Jevons

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

Baseline UK

Group

Challenged Communities

Nationally, the Jevons surname is most associated with neighbourhoods classed as Challenged Communities, within Baseline UK. This does not mean every Jevons household fits that profile, but it gives a useful signal about where the modern surname distribution is strongest.

Read profile summary

Group profile

Residents of these neighbourhoods typically live in households with dependent children, and there are fewer-than-average residents of normal retirement age or over. Identification with ethnic minorities, particularly Black, or Mixed or Multiple ethnicities is common. The rate of Christian religious affiliation is low. Housing predominantly consists of semi-detached houses, along with a significant number of terraced properties and flats. Overcrowded social housing is common, and private renting occurs at average UK levels. Those in employment work mainly in caring leisure and other services; process, plant and machine operation; or elementary occupations. Unemployment is high, and few individuals have degree level qualifications. Many of these neighbourhoods occur in commuter towns or less accessible areas of larger towns and cities.

Wider pattern

This Supergroup exemplifies the broad base to the UK’s social structure, encompassing as it does the average or modal levels of many neighbourhood characteristics, including all housing tenures, a range of levels of educational attainment and religious affiliations, and a variety of pre-retirement age structures. Yet, in combination, these mixes are each distinctive of the parts of the UK. Overall, terraced houses and flats are the most prevalent, as is employment in intermediate or low-skilled occupations. However, this Supergroup is also characterised by above average levels of unemployment and lower levels of use of English as the main language. Many neighbourhoods occur in south London and the UK’s other major urban centres.

London neighbourhood type

London Output Area Classification

Supergroup

Professional Employment and Family Lifecycles

Group

Inner London Working Professionals

Within London, Jevons is most associated with areas classed as Inner London Working Professionals, 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 primarily Inner London neighbourhoods are more densely populated than the Supergroup average. Residents have a younger over-all age profile than the Supergroup as a whole, and are less likely to be owner occupiers. Full time employment is more common than elsewhere in the Supergroup and multiple car ownership is uncommon. Chinese and non-EU-born European migrants are less in evidence than elsewhere in the Supergroup.

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

Jevons is most concentrated in decile 8 for access to healthy assets and hazards. This places the surname towards the healthier 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.

8
Lower access Higher access

Neighbourhood deprivation

Index of Multiple Deprivation

Jevons falls in decile 1 for neighbourhood deprivation. This puts the surname towards the more deprived end of the index.

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

1
More deprived Less deprived

Broadband speed

Fixed broadband download speed

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

Meaning and origin of Jevons

The surname Jevons has its origins in England, specifically linked to the Welsh-Border region, originating around the early medieval period. The name is believed to have derived from the Welsh given name Ieuan or Ifan, which is the Welsh form of John, itself stemming from the Latin Johannes. Given that the Welsh language and the English language would have been in flux during this time, Jevons is an anglicized version of these Welsh names.

Early records indicate that the name appeared in several variations including Evans, Bevan, and Ievan, reflecting the evolution of language and orthographic practices over centuries. The Domesday Book of 1086, a seminal record in English history, does not contain the name Jevons, but earlier records from the Welsh Marches show names like Ieuan ap John, illustrating a possible linguistic bridge from Welsh to the more anglicized Jevons.

The earliest recorded example of the name in a form recognizably close to Jevons appears in the 14th century with records indicating a John ap Ievan living in the Shropshire area. This area, being close to the Welsh border, would be central to the transformation of Welsh names into anglicized versions.

One prominent historical figure is William Stanley Jevons, born in 1835 and died in 1882, a noted economist and logician whose work on the theory of utility and the law of diminishing returns laid vital groundwork for economic theory. Another notable individual is Frank Byron Jevons, an English polymath born in 1858 who made significant contributions to the study of religion and classical studies.

Littleton Charles Jevons, born in 1891 and who played cricket for Hampshire, is another example of the name in historical records. He further illustrates the geographic breadth of the surname as Littleton's career brought him into various social spheres of England during the early 20th century.

Francis Arthur Jevons, born in 1919, was an influential figure in the advancement of higher education in the United Kingdom, becoming the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Newcastle upon Tyne. His contributions in the academic and educational fields underscore the prominence of the surname in intellectual circles.

Lastly, the Reverend Thomas Jevons, a cleric born in the 17th century, represents clerical records that hold numerous instances of the name throughout various parishes in England. His work and corresponding records help trace the evolution and geographic distribution of the surname over time.

Jevons, therefore, presents an intriguing example of a surname that melds Welsh and English linguistic traditions, evolving over centuries and across regions, with documentation in various forms, and making marks in numerous fields such as economics, academia, and sports.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

1881 census detail

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Jevons families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Jevons 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 268 Jevons' recorded in 1881 and an index of 15.47x.

County Total Index
Staffordshire 268 15.47x
Worcestershire 72 10.75x
Warwickshire 58 4.48x
Lancashire 49 0.80x
Cheshire 19 1.68x
Yorkshire 17 0.33x
Middlesex 16 0.31x
Derbyshire 8 1.00x
Lanarkshire 7 0.42x
Sussex 4 0.46x
Gloucestershire 3 0.30x
Lincolnshire 2 0.24x
Anglesey 1 1.10x
Monmouthshire 1 0.27x
Surrey 1 0.04x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Sedgley in Staffordshire leads with 99 Jevons' recorded in 1881 and an index of 153.89x.

Place Total Index
Sedgley 99 153.89x
Tipton 44 82.97x
Kidderminster Borough 31 79.06x
Aston 29 8.14x
Birmingham 24 5.57x
Wolverhampton 23 17.27x
West Bromwich 19 19.16x
Claines 17 92.44x
Wednesbury 15 34.66x
Harborne 14 25.22x
Bilston 11 32.78x
Toxteth Park 10 4.85x
Walsall Foreign 9 10.06x
Liverpool 8 2.16x
North Meols 8 13.42x
Oxton 8 124.81x
Tranmere 8 19.22x
Whittington 8 72.01x
Willenhall 8 24.66x
Dudley 7 8.59x
Bradford 6 21.05x
Hampstead London 6 7.51x
Rowley Regis 6 12.43x
Sculcoates 6 7.44x
Thornaby 6 31.58x
Wednesfield 6 23.54x
Handsworth 5 11.71x
Brighton 4 2.29x
Garston 4 22.26x
Islington London 4 0.80x
Kings Norton 4 6.66x
Kingswinford 4 6.36x
Manchester 4 1.46x
Old Monkland 4 6.07x
Brightside Bierlow 3 3.01x
Cheltenham 3 3.86x
Govan 3 0.73x
Hammersmith London 3 2.37x
Kidderminster Foreign 3 31.68x
Stourbridge 3 17.40x
Worcester All Sts 3 77.32x
Balsall 2 99.01x
Claughton With Grange 2 38.76x
Kirkdale 2 1.95x
Market Rasen 2 43.57x
Penkridge 2 44.74x
Wombwell 2 13.50x
Acton 1 3.32x
Birkenhead 1 1.11x
Bootle Cum Linacre 1 2.07x
Broadway 1 34.72x
Chorlton On Medlock 1 1.03x
Croydon 1 0.72x
Edgbaston 1 2.49x
Holyhead 1 5.90x
Ince In Makerfield 1 3.53x
Kensington London 1 0.35x
Litherland 1 7.86x
Llanvihangel Llantarnam 1 14.14x
Moss Side 1 3.12x
Newton 1 2.13x
Rugby 1 5.71x
Smallthorne 1 15.55x
St Marylebone London 1 0.37x
Upper Penn 1 23.04x
Upperswinford 1 17.64x
Walsall Borough 1 7.44x
Wardleworth 1 2.87x
Wolverley 1 17.01x
Wootton Wawen 1 24.51x
Worcester St Peter 1 7.89x

Top female names

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

Name Count
Sarah 30
Mary 29
Ann 14
Elizabeth 14
Hannah 13
Eliza 10
Emma 9
Alice 8
Esther 8
Jane 8
Clara 6
Ellen 6
Louisa 5
Annie 4
Edith 4
Fanny 4
Florence 4
Harriet 4
Lucy 4
Anne 3
Caroline 3
Emily 3
Maria 3
Matilda 3
Phoebe 3
Aney 2
Bertha 2
Gertrude 2
Helen 2
Isabella 2
Kate 2
Margaret 2
Martha 2
Ruth 2
Susan 2
Adelaide 1
Agusta 1
Alexandra 1
Aquila 1
Elizebeth 1
Evelyn 1
Flora 1
Florie 1
Laura 1
Lavina 1
Leah 1
Lizza 1
Lizzey 1
Lousia 1
Victoria 1

Top male names

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

Name Count
William 33
John 23
Thomas 21
George 13
Henry 13
Joseph 12
Samuel 10
David 9
Alfred 7
James 7
Benjamin 6
Edward 6
Frederick 6
Abel 5
Arthur 5
Charles 4
Harry 4
Isaac 4
Walter 4
Wm. 4
Albert 3
Daniel 3
Harold 3
Abraham 2
Ambrose 2
Cornelius 2
Frank 2
Jesse 2
Joshua 2
Richard 2
Sidney 2
Thos. 2
Andrew 1
Eli 1
Elie 1
Ernest 1
Francis 1
Fred 1
Fred. 1
Fredk. 1
Fredrick 1
Isiah 1
Jabey 1
Jas. 1
Jethro 1
Job 1
Luther 1
Nathaniel 1
Noah 1
Percy 1

FAQ

Jevons surname: questions and answers

How common was the Jevons surname in 1881?

In 1881, 532 people were recorded with the Jevons surname. That placed it at #6,457 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Jevons surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 812 in 2016. That gives Jevons a modern rank of #6,823.

What does the Jevons surname mean?

A surname of uncertain origin, possibly derived from a nickname or locational name.

What does the Jevons map show?

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