NameCensus.

UK surname

Kilshaw

In the 1881 census there were 403 people recorded with the Kilshaw surname, ranking it #7,933 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 632, ranked #8,362, down from #7,933 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to Childwall (Thingwall), Huyton (Huyton with Roby), Preston and West Derby. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Wigan, St. Helens and Mid Devon.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Kilshaw is 712 in 2010. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 56.8%.

1881 census count

403

Ranked #7,933

Modern count

632

2016, ranked #8,362

Peak year

2010

712 bearers

Map years

9

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Kilshaw had 403 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #7,933 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 632 in 2016, ranked #8,362.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 606 in 1911.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Legacy Industrial and Coastal Communities.

Kilshaw surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Kilshaw surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Kilshaw 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 256 #8,629
1861 historical 291 #8,653
1881 historical 403 #7,933
1891 historical 450 #8,074
1901 historical 571 #7,341
1911 historical 606 #6,794
1997 modern 629 #7,868
1998 modern 634 #8,065
1999 modern 660 #7,857
2000 modern 668 #7,767
2001 modern 664 #7,668
2002 modern 677 #7,711
2003 modern 663 #7,718
2004 modern 675 #7,621
2005 modern 657 #7,709
2006 modern 667 #7,651
2007 modern 679 #7,623
2008 modern 679 #7,665
2009 modern 700 #7,643
2010 modern 712 #7,679
2011 modern 673 #7,937
2012 modern 642 #8,142
2013 modern 643 #8,285
2014 modern 647 #8,289
2015 modern 653 #8,165
2016 modern 632 #8,362

Geography

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Where Kilshaws are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around Childwall (Thingwall), Huyton (Huyton with Roby), Preston, West Derby, Walton-on-the-Hill and Blackburn. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Wigan, St. Helens, Mid Devon, Knowsley and Bromsgrove. 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 Childwall (Thingwall), Huyton (Huyton with Roby) Lancashire
2 Preston Lancashire
3 West Derby Lancashire
4 Walton-on-the-Hill Lancashire
5 Blackburn Lancashire

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Wigan 035 Wigan
2 St. Helens 019 St. Helens
3 Mid Devon 005 Mid Devon
4 Knowsley 007 Knowsley
5 Bromsgrove 001 Bromsgrove

Forenames

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First names often paired with Kilshaw

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

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Kilshaw

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

Legacy Industrial and Coastal Communities

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

Read profile summary

Group profile

Single-person households are common in these neighbourhoods, and these residents are typically divorced rather than never married. A high proportion of residents were born outside the UK in the EU. There are many young adults, some with young children, but relatively few residents are of normal retirement age or over. Although levels of identification with ethnic minorities are in line with the Supergroup average, individuals identifying with Mixed or Multiple ethnicities is more common than average. High long-term disability rates are observed, and unpaid care is more common than in the rest of the Group. The predominant housing types are terraced houses and flats, which are typically part of the social rented sector. This Group is commonly found in coastal areas and (present-day or former) industrial 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

The Greater London Mix

Group

Social Rented Sector Professional Support Workers

Within London, Kilshaw is most associated with areas classed as Social Rented Sector Professional Support Workers, part of The Greater London Mix. 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 located in Inner London, these neighbourhoods retain a diverse employment structure, with some concentration in associated professional and technical occupations rather than skilled trades or construction. Social renting is more common and levels of homeownership are low. Many residents identify as Black. There is a lower than average rate of marriage or civil partnership, few that are very old (85 or over) and higher than average incidence of disability.

Wider London pattern

A Supergroup embodying London's diversity in many respects, apart from low numbers of residents identifying as of Bangladeshi, Indian, Pakistani or Other (non-Chinese) Asian ethnicity. There is lower than average prevalence of families with dependent children, while there are above average occurrences of never-married individuals and single-person households. The age distribution is skewed towards younger, single residents and couples without children, with many individuals identifying as of mixed or multiple ethnicity. Social rented or private rented housing is slightly more prevalent than average, and many residents live in flats. Individuals typically work in professional and associated roles in public administration, education or health rather than in elementary occupations in agriculture, energy, water, construction or manufacturing. Incidence of students is slightly below average. Individuals declaring no religion are more prevalent than average and non-use of English at home is below average.

Healthy neighbourhoods

Access to healthy assets and hazards

Kilshaw is most concentrated in decile 1 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.

1
Lower access Higher access

Neighbourhood deprivation

Index of Multiple Deprivation

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

1881 census detail

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Kilshaw families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Kilshaw 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. Lancashire leads with 318 Kilshaws recorded in 1881 and an index of 6.90x.

County Total Index
Lancashire 318 6.90x
Cheshire 31 3.62x
Westmorland 16 18.75x
Yorkshire 7 0.18x
Hampshire 5 0.63x
Perthshire 5 2.87x
Essex 3 0.39x
Flintshire 3 2.87x
Staffordshire 3 0.23x
Hertfordshire 2 0.75x
Lincolnshire 2 0.32x
Glamorgan 1 0.15x
Kent 1 0.08x
Middlesex 1 0.03x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. West Derby in Lancashire leads with 33 Kilshaws recorded in 1881 and an index of 24.49x.

Place Total Index
West Derby 33 24.49x
Bootle Cum Linacre 26 71.08x
Blackburn 24 19.58x
Huyton With Roby 22 407.41x
Preston 17 13.79x
Windle 14 54.01x
Monks Coppenhall 13 40.20x
Pemberton 13 70.77x
Everton 12 8.17x
Hollingworth 11 311.61x
Halliwell 10 59.63x
Heversham With Milnthorpe 10 487.80x
Parr 10 60.68x
Chorley 9 34.82x
Eccleston In Prescot 9 38.91x
Cockerham 8 677.97x
Kirkdale 8 10.32x
Liverpool 8 2.86x
Castleton 7 15.21x
Widnes 7 21.07x
Garston 6 44.12x
Kirkby Lonsdale 6 259.74x
Tarbock 6 722.89x
Bury 5 9.50x
Dunblane 5 119.90x
Newton In Makerfield 5 35.44x
Portsea 5 3.21x
Accrington 4 9.55x
Burtonwood 4 236.69x
Great Sankey 4 470.59x
Lower Booths 4 48.48x
Orrell 4 69.81x
Walton On Hill 4 16.03x
Ashton In Makerfield 3 22.87x
Great Harwood 3 36.01x
Horton In Bradford 3 4.99x
Hulme 3 3.12x
Manchester 3 1.45x
Moore 3 566.04x
Rhuddlan 3 32.64x
Warrington 3 5.49x
West Ham 3 1.77x
Birkenhead 2 2.93x
Fishwick 2 70.18x
Haslingden 2 10.48x
Lancaster 2 7.30x
Oldham 2 1.35x
Somerby In Grantham 2 126.58x
Thornhill 2 17.81x
Tranmere 2 6.35x
Upper Rawcliffe With 2 243.90x
Walsall Borough 2 19.67x
Watford 2 9.64x
Barrow In Furness 1 1.60x
Bradford 1 1.07x
Canterbury St Mary 1 11.25x
Carleton 1 200.00x
Dalton In Kendal 1 625.00x
Islington London 1 0.27x
Litherland 1 10.38x
Roath 1 3.26x
Shepley 1 47.17x
Toxteth Park 1 0.64x
Twiston 1 3333.33x
Tyldesley Cum Shakerley 1 7.54x
Westleigh 1 9.56x
Whittingham 1 49.26x
Willenhall 1 4.08x
Worsley 1 3.52x

Top female names

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

Name Count
Mary 40
Sarah 18
Elizabeth 14
Margaret 14
Ellen 12
Alice 10
Jane 8
Ann 7
Martha 5
Emma 4
Harriet 4
Agnes 3
Annie 3
Isabella 3
Amy 2
Catherine 2
Elizh. 2
Elizth. 2
Fanny 2
Hannah 2
Isabel 2
Ada 1
Anne 1
Betsy 1
Cecily 1
Celina 1
Clara 1
Eleanor 1
Eliza 1
Emily 1
Esther 1
Flora 1
Florance 1
Frances 1
Gertrude 1
Grace 1
Helen 1
Jessie 1
Kate 1
Liucinda 1
Lyddia 1
Marg. 1
Minnie 1
Nancy 1
Rachael 1
Rachel 1
Rebecca 1
Selena 1
Susanniah 1

Top male names

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

Name Count
John 32
Thomas 31
William 23
James 18
Henry 10
Richard 9
Edward 7
George 7
Robert 6
Samuel 5
Thos. 5
Alfred 4
Isaac 4
Joseph 4
Harry 3
Herbert 3
Paul 3
Peter 3
Richd. 3
Adam 2
Alexander 2
Arthur 2
Francis 2
Roger 2
Wm. 2
Albert 1
Anthony 1
Clement 1
David 1
Frederick 1
Geo. 1
J.E. 1
Mark 1
Martin 1
Nehemia 1
Shenton 1
Tom 1
Willm. 1
Wm.Saml. 1

FAQ

Kilshaw surname: questions and answers

How common was the Kilshaw surname in 1881?

In 1881, 403 people were recorded with the Kilshaw surname. That placed it at #7,933 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Kilshaw surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 632 in 2016. That gives Kilshaw a modern rank of #8,362.

What does the Kilshaw map show?

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