NameCensus.

UK surname

Lade

One referring to a slope or incline over which goods or materials were loaded.

In the 1881 census there were 253 people recorded with the Lade surname, ranking it #10,980 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 184, ranked #20,731, down from #10,980 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to Frant, Tunbridge, Bidborough and Warbleton. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Tonbridge and Malling, Islington and Rother.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Lade is 294 in 1911. Compared with 1881, the name has fallen by 27.3%.

1881 census count

253

Ranked #10,980

Modern count

184

2016, ranked #20,731

Peak year

1911

294 bearers

Map years

9

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Lade had 253 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #10,980 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 184 in 2016, ranked #20,731.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 294 in 1911.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Legacy Industrial and Coastal Communities.

Lade surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Lade surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Lade 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 181 #11,256
1861 historical 190 #12,520
1881 historical 253 #10,980
1891 historical 262 #12,297
1901 historical 280 #12,193
1911 historical 294 #11,622
1997 modern 210 #17,104
1998 modern 217 #17,207
1999 modern 205 #17,960
2000 modern 202 #18,094
2001 modern 191 #18,453
2002 modern 196 #18,535
2003 modern 196 #18,358
2004 modern 195 #18,500
2005 modern 190 #18,753
2006 modern 187 #19,079
2007 modern 196 #18,737
2008 modern 199 #18,699
2009 modern 195 #19,329
2010 modern 192 #19,960
2011 modern 193 #19,729
2012 modern 192 #19,730
2013 modern 190 #20,201
2014 modern 197 #19,903
2015 modern 185 #20,641
2016 modern 184 #20,731

Geography

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Where Lades are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around Frant, Tunbridge, Bidborough, Warbleton, Hurstmonceux, Wartling and Brighton. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Tonbridge and Malling, Islington, Rother, Stroud and Tunbridge Wells. 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 Frant Sussex
2 Tunbridge, Bidborough Kent
3 Warbleton Sussex
4 Hurstmonceux, Wartling Sussex
5 Brighton Sussex

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Tonbridge and Malling 006 Tonbridge and Malling
2 Islington 004 Islington
3 Rother 006 Rother
4 Stroud 006 Stroud
5 Tunbridge Wells 001 Tunbridge Wells

Forenames

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First names often paired with Lade

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

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Lade

Modern surname records can be compared with neighbourhood classifications. For Lade, 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 Lade surname is most associated with neighbourhoods classed as Legacy Industrial and Coastal Communities, within Baseline UK. This does not mean every Lade 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

Social Rented Sector Families with Children

Group

Social Rented Sector Pockets

Within London, Lade is most associated with areas classed as Social Rented Sector Pockets, part of Social Rented Sector Families with Children. 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

Found in pockets across London, residents are less likely to live in private sector rentals and fewer adults are students. Fewer individuals work in transport and communications occupations relative to the Supergroup average. More individuals identify as Black and were born in Africa.

Wider London pattern

Residents of these neighbourhoods include sizable numbers identifying with ethnicities originating outside Europe, particularly in Africa or Bangladesh. The proportion of residents identifying as White, Indian or Pakistani is well below the London average. Neighbourhood age profiles are skewed towards younger adults, and above average numbers of families have children. Rates of use of English at home are below average. Marriage rates are low, and levels of separation or divorce are above average. Housing is predominantly in flats, and renting in the social rented sector the norm - few residents are owner occupiers. Housing is often overcrowded, and neighbourhoods are amongst the most densely populated in London. Disability rates are above average, although levels of unpaid care provision are about average. Employment is in caring, leisure, other service occupations, sales and customer service, or process, plant, and machine operation. Part time working and full-time student study are common. Levels of unemployment are slightly above average. Most residents have only Level 1 or 2 educational qualifications or have completed apprenticeships.

Healthy neighbourhoods

Access to healthy assets and hazards

Lade is most concentrated in decile 4 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.

4
Lower access Higher access

Neighbourhood deprivation

Index of Multiple Deprivation

Lade falls in decile 9 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.

9
More deprived Less deprived

Broadband speed

Fixed broadband download speed

The modern neighbourhood pattern for Lade is most associated with a typical fixed broadband download band of 25-30 mbit/s.

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

5
Slower band Faster band

Area snapshot

Ethnic group estimate

Most common ethnic group estimate
White - British

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

Meaning and origin of Lade

The surname LADE has its origins in the Low German regions of northern Germany and the Netherlands, dating back to the late medieval period. It is believed to be derived from the Old Saxon word "lada," meaning a barn, storehouse, or granary. This suggests that the name may have originally referred to someone who lived near or worked at such a structure.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name appears in the Bremisches Urkundenbuch, a collection of historical documents from the city of Bremen, Germany, where a certain Ludeko Lade is mentioned in a document dated 1291. This indicates that the name was already well-established in the region at that time.

Another early reference can be found in the records of the Dutch city of Leiden, where a man named Claes Lade is recorded as a resident in the year 1415. This spelling variation suggests that the name may have had slightly different pronunciations or spellings across different regions.

In England, the surname LADE can be traced back to the 16th century, possibly brought over by immigrants from the Low Countries. One notable early English bearer was John Lade, a merchant and landowner who lived in Norfolk in the late 1500s.

The name also has a connection to place names, particularly in the Netherlands. The village of Ladonk, located in the province of North Brabant, may have derived its name from the Old Dutch word "lade," meaning a path or road. This could indicate that some early bearers of the LADE surname may have lived near or been associated with such a location.

Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the LADE surname. These include:

1. Gerrit Lade (1642-1703), a Dutch Golden Age painter known for his still-life and genre paintings. 2. Johann Christian Lade (1728-1798), a German theologian and philosopher who served as a professor at the University of Helmstedt. 3. William Lade (1797-1838), an English naval officer and explorer who served in the Royal Navy and participated in several Arctic expeditions. 4. Nikolai Lade (1835-1904), a Norwegian businessman and industrialist who founded the Lade Smelting Works in Trondheim. 5. Kerstin Lade (1937-2019), a Swedish writer and journalist known for her children's books and work as a literary critic.

The surname LADE, with its roots in the Low German regions and its connections to various historical references and notable individuals, continues to be a part of the rich tapestry of surnames found across Europe and beyond.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

1881 census detail

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Lade families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Lade 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. Sussex leads with 190 Lades recorded in 1881 and an index of 45.48x.

County Total Index
Sussex 190 45.48x
Middlesex 21 0.85x
Renfrewshire 13 6.77x
Kent 10 1.18x
Surrey 9 0.75x
Clackmannanshire 4 19.55x
Hampshire 2 0.39x
Lancashire 2 0.07x
Oxfordshire 2 1.31x
Royal Navy 1 3.39x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Mayfield in Sussex leads with 50 Lades recorded in 1881 and an index of 2024.29x.

Place Total Index
Mayfield 50 2024.29x
Hailsham 30 1185.77x
Herstmonceaux 15 1190.48x
Frant 12 405.41x
Wadhurst 11 401.46x
Warbleton 10 800.00x
Falmer 8 1632.65x
Finchley 8 84.21x
Kilmalcolm 8 347.83x
Lewes St Ann 8 563.38x
Brighton 7 8.31x
Catsfield 6 1000.00x
St Pancras London 6 3.01x
Croydon 5 7.46x
Minster In Sheppey 5 35.71x
Port Glasgow 5 53.88x
Aldrington 4 3333.33x
Dollar 4 188.68x
Heathfield 4 236.69x
Wartling 4 784.31x
Eastbourne 3 15.61x
Hastings St Mary 3 28.85x
Hove 3 16.37x
Sandhurst 3 303.03x
Battle 2 70.92x
Holdenhurst 2 15.02x
Hooe 2 500.00x
Islington London 2 0.83x
Kensington London 2 1.45x
Paddington London 2 2.20x
Sutton 2 22.91x
Swalcliffe 2 377.36x
Toxteth Park 2 2.01x
Beckley 1 96.15x
Beddington 1 21.41x
Boughton Under Blean 1 70.42x
Burwash 1 51.55x
Camberwell 1 0.63x
Fairlight 1 243.90x
Hastings St Leonards 1 16.29x
Hastings St Mary In The 1 11.22x
Maidstone 1 3.97x
Mile End Old Town London 1 1.90x
Rotherfield 1 27.17x
Royal Navy 1 3.96x
Uckfield 1 54.95x
Westham 1 117.65x

Top female names

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

Name Count
Elizabeth 11
Emily 7
Mary 7
Sarah 7
Ann 6
Alice 4
Harriett 4
Caroline 3
Edith 3
Eliza 3
Esther 3
Francis 3
Jane 3
Rebecca 3
Rhoda 3
Ada 2
Catherine 2
Clara 2
Fanny 2
Martha 2
Philadelphia 2
Ruth 2
Amy 1
Angela 1
Benaba 1
Bessie 1
Dorcas 1
Ellen 1
Ellis 1
Elsie 1
Enid 1
Frances 1
Grace 1
Hannah 1
Harriet 1
Hephzibah 1
Julia 1
Kate 1
Laura 1
Laurie 1
Lily 1
Lois 1
Louisa 1
Lucy 1
Mabel 1
Maggie 1
Margaret 1
Marie 1
Maud 1
Tamar 1

Top male names

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

Name Count
Thomas 12
James 10
John 9
William 9
George 5
Henry 5
Luke 5
Herbert 4
Albert 3
Charles 3
Daniel 3
David 2
Edmund 2
Levi 2
Luther 2
Richard 2
Samuel 2
Stephen 2
Albt. 1
Alfred 1
Amos 1
Augustus 1
Bertie 1
Chs. 1
Colin 1
Donald 1
Edward 1
Ernest 1
Frank 1
Horace 1
Jabez 1
Joseph 1
Lancelott 1
Leonard 1
Lewis 1
Natham 1
Nathan 1
Patrick 1
Percy 1
Philemon 1
Rufus 1
Simon 1
Tilden 1
Tom 1
Vince 1
Zedekieh 1

FAQ

Lade surname: questions and answers

How common was the Lade surname in 1881?

In 1881, 253 people were recorded with the Lade surname. That placed it at #10,980 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Lade surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 184 in 2016. That gives Lade a modern rank of #20,731.

What does the Lade surname mean?

One referring to a slope or incline over which goods or materials were loaded.

What does the Lade map show?

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