NameCensus.

UK surname

Kightley

In the 1881 census there were 238 people recorded with the Kightley surname, ranking it #11,476 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 416, ranked #11,533, down from #11,476 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to Lenton, Radford, Papplewick, Nuthall, Greasley, Brewhouse Yard, St Pancras and Northampton St Giles, Northampton St Sepulchre, Northampton Priory. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Wellingborough, Westminster and Northampton.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Kightley is 452 in 1911. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 74.8%.

1881 census count

238

Ranked #11,476

Modern count

416

2016, ranked #11,533

Peak year

1911

452 bearers

Map years

9

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Kightley had 238 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #11,476 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 416 in 2016, ranked #11,533.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 452 in 1911.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Challenged Communities.

Kightley surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Kightley surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Kightley 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 131 #14,243
1861 historical 149 #15,373
1881 historical 238 #11,476
1891 historical 309 #10,848
1901 historical 379 #9,841
1911 historical 452 #8,476
1997 modern 413 #10,743
1998 modern 423 #10,899
1999 modern 426 #10,938
2000 modern 420 #10,998
2001 modern 404 #11,142
2002 modern 426 #10,918
2003 modern 403 #11,210
2004 modern 399 #11,297
2005 modern 397 #11,250
2006 modern 413 #10,959
2007 modern 410 #11,162
2008 modern 400 #11,468
2009 modern 392 #11,908
2010 modern 391 #12,207
2011 modern 399 #11,882
2012 modern 391 #11,923
2013 modern 412 #11,647
2014 modern 418 #11,614
2015 modern 422 #11,409
2016 modern 416 #11,533

Geography

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Where Kightleys are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around Lenton, Radford, Papplewick, Nuthall, Greasley, Brewhouse Yard, St Pancras, Northampton St Giles, Northampton St Sepulchre, Northampton Priory, Coventry Holy Trinity (incl. Radford), Coventry St Michael, Wyken and Luton. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Wellingborough, Westminster, Northampton, New Forest and South Northamptonshire. 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 Lenton, Radford, Papplewick, Nuthall, Greasley, Brewhouse Yard Nottinghamshire
2 St Pancras London (North Districts)
3 Northampton St Giles, Northampton St Sepulchre, Northampton Priory Northamptonshire
4 Coventry Holy Trinity (incl. Radford), Coventry St Michael, Wyken Warwickshire
5 Luton Bedfordshire

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Wellingborough 008 Wellingborough
2 Westminster 011 Westminster
3 Northampton 027 Northampton
4 New Forest 001 New Forest
5 South Northamptonshire 003 South Northamptonshire

Forenames

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First names often paired with Kightley

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

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Kightley

Modern surname records can be compared with neighbourhood classifications. For Kightley, 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 Kightley surname is most associated with neighbourhoods classed as Challenged Communities, within Baseline UK. This does not mean every Kightley 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

Central Connected Professionals and Managers

Group

Senior Professionals

Within London, Kightley is most associated with areas classed as Senior Professionals, part of Central Connected Professionals and Managers. 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 very central neighbourhoods house residents whose ages are more skewed towards older age cohorts than elsewhere in the Supergroup. Few households have young children. Rates of illness are low. Indian ethnicity is rare compared to the Supergroup mean. Property under occupation is more common, despite the centrality of neighbourhoods, and more residents live in communal establishments than elsewhere in the Supergroup.

Wider London pattern

Adult residents of these neighbourhoods are typically aged 25 to 44, working full-time in professional, managerial or associate professional occupations. There are few families with dependent children. The predominantly Inner London neighbourhoods have an international character, including many residents born elsewhere in Europe alongside high numbers of individuals identifying as of Chinese ethnicity. Many individuals are never married, childless and/or living alone. Above average numbers of individuals, likely to be full-time students, live in communal establishments. Elsewhere, privately rented flats are the dominant housing type. Residents of these areas are well-qualified, with a significant number holding Level 4 or above qualifications. There is a correspondingly high level of individuals employed full-time in professional, managerial and associated professional or technical occupations. Employing industries are financial, real estate, professional, administration, and, to a lesser degree, transport and communications. Unemployment is uncommon.

Healthy neighbourhoods

Access to healthy assets and hazards

Kightley is most concentrated in decile 6 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.

6
Lower access Higher access

Neighbourhood deprivation

Index of Multiple Deprivation

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

1881 census detail

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Kightley families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Kightley 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. Northamptonshire leads with 98 Kightleys recorded in 1881 and an index of 45.45x.

County Total Index
Northamptonshire 98 45.45x
Buckinghamshire 45 32.47x
Middlesex 29 1.27x
Warwickshire 25 4.32x
Bedfordshire 9 7.58x
Durham 5 0.73x
Surrey 5 0.45x
Hampshire 4 0.85x
Somerset 4 1.08x
Lancashire 3 0.11x
Gloucestershire 2 0.44x
Yorkshire 2 0.09x
Cambridgeshire 1 0.69x
Cheshire 1 0.20x
Leicestershire 1 0.39x
Worcestershire 1 0.33x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Ravenstone in Buckinghamshire leads with 27 Kightleys recorded in 1881 and an index of 9310.34x.

Place Total Index
Ravenstone 27 9310.34x
Hackleton 23 7666.67x
Northampton Priory St 20 154.56x
Northampton St Giles 13 158.34x
St Pancras London 12 6.50x
Northampton St Sepulchre 10 91.16x
Luton 9 43.80x
Simpson 8 1379.31x
St Botolph Aldgate London 7 148.31x
Birmingham 6 3.11x
Duston 6 306.12x
Leamington Priors 6 42.16x
Northampton All Sts 6 81.97x
Piddington 6 1500.00x
Yardley Gobion 6 1304.35x
Castle Thorpe 5 1923.08x
Coventry Holy Trinity 5 28.97x
Coventry St Michael 5 26.93x
Gateshead 5 9.79x
Whiston 5 8333.33x
Aldershot 4 25.41x
Battersea 4 4.74x
Newport Pagnell 4 137.93x
Paddington London 4 4.75x
Rugby 3 38.36x
Toxteth Park 3 3.26x
Wells St Andrew 3 909.09x
Bristol St James St Paul 2 13.34x
St Marylebone London 2 1.63x
Tottenham 2 5.48x
Burland 1 192.31x
Chaddesley Corbett 1 89.29x
Chatteris 1 27.03x
Guilsborough 1 175.44x
Islington London 1 0.45x
Lathbury 1 1111.11x
Leicester Newarke 1 75.19x
Limehouse London 1 3.97x
Middlesbrough 1 3.38x
Misson 1 185.19x
Northampton St Peter 1 76.34x
Taunton St Mary 1 14.77x
Walton On Thames 1 19.49x
Wollaston 1 84.03x

Top female names

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

Name Count
Elizabeth 14
Mary 14
Ellen 6
Jane 6
Sarah 5
Ann 4
Charlotte 4
Emma 4
Ada 3
Fanny 3
Amelia 2
Annie 2
Caroline 2
Edith 2
Eliza 2
Emily 2
Florence 2
Harriet 2
Louisa 2
Maria 2
Sophia 2
Susan 2
Alice 1
Amy 1
Anna 1
Clara 1
Eleanor 1
Eliz 1
Eliz. 1
Florrie 1
Frances 1
Hannah 1
Harriett 1
Lavina 1
Leah 1
Lucy 1
Mabel 1
Marian 1
Marie 1
Minnie 1
Naoma 1
Nelly 1
Priscilla 1
Rachel 1
Roda 1
Rosa 1
Rose 1
Roseanna 1
Ruth 1
Subinah 1

Top male names

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

Name Count
John 11
William 11
George 10
Joseph 10
Thomas 7
Frederick 5
Henry 5
Arthur 4
Charles 4
Harry 4
Dan 3
Daniel 3
Frank 3
James 3
Albert 2
Benjamin 2
Francis 2
Herbert 2
Adolphus 1
Ahingae 1
Alfred 1
Alwin 1
Amos 1
Bani 1
Bennett 1
Bertie 1
Christopher 1
Clara 1
Edward 1
Edwin 1
Ernest 1
Frederic 1
Geoge 1
Gervase 1
Isaiah 1
Jesse 1
Jessie 1
Jubey 1
Martha 1
Ralph 1
Sam 1
Samuel 1
Shadrach 1
Tom 1
Walter 1
Willm. 1

FAQ

Kightley surname: questions and answers

How common was the Kightley surname in 1881?

In 1881, 238 people were recorded with the Kightley surname. That placed it at #11,476 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Kightley surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 416 in 2016. That gives Kightley a modern rank of #11,533.

What does the Kightley map show?

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