NameCensus.

UK surname

Lamb

An English occupational surname for a keeper or tender of lambs or a nickname for a meek, gentle person.

In the 1881 census there were 15,795 people recorded with the Lamb surname, ranking it #252 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 19,950, ranked #298, down from #252 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to Lanchester (Collierley, Kyo, Billingside, Medomsley, Ebchchester, Benfieldside, Heelyfield, Conside, London parishes and Gateshead. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Sunderland, County Durham and Northumberland.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Lamb is 20,329 in 2010. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 26.3%.

1881 census count

15,795

Ranked #252

Modern count

19,950

2016, ranked #298

Peak year

2010

20,329 bearers

Map years

9

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Lamb had 15,795 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #252 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 19,950 in 2016, ranked #298.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 18,888 in 1901.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Rural Amenity.

Lamb surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Lamb surname density by area, 1881 census.

Loading map
Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Lamb 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 10,356 #245
1861 historical 11,105 #222
1881 historical 15,795 #252
1891 historical 16,755 #245
1901 historical 18,888 #261
1911 historical 17,253 #273
1997 modern 19,571 #292
1998 modern 20,141 #296
1999 modern 20,285 #295
2000 modern 20,088 #296
2001 modern 19,672 #295
2002 modern 19,932 #297
2003 modern 19,557 #298
2004 modern 19,402 #298
2005 modern 19,195 #298
2006 modern 19,204 #299
2007 modern 19,177 #300
2008 modern 19,308 #301
2009 modern 19,874 #300
2010 modern 20,329 #297
2011 modern 19,995 #300
2012 modern 19,678 #299
2013 modern 20,028 #299
2014 modern 20,155 #300
2015 modern 19,935 #300
2016 modern 19,950 #298

Geography

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Where Lambs are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around Lanchester (Collierley, Kyo, Billingside, Medomsley, Ebchchester, Benfieldside, Heelyfield, Conside, London parishes, Gateshead, Edinburgh and Dundee, Liff, Benvie and Invergowry. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Sunderland, County Durham, Northumberland and South Lakeland. 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 Lanchester (Collierley, Kyo, Billingside, Medomsley, Ebchchester, Benfieldside, Heelyfield, Conside Durham
2 London parishes London 3
3 Gateshead Durham
4 Edinburgh Edinburgh
5 Dundee, Liff, Benvie and Invergowry Forfar

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Sunderland 009 Sunderland
2 County Durham 064 County Durham
3 Northumberland 016 Northumberland
4 Sunderland 010 Sunderland
5 South Lakeland 012 South Lakeland

Forenames

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First names often paired with Lamb

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

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Lamb

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

Young Families and Mainstream Employment

Group

Terraced and Semi-Detached Suburbs

Within London, Lamb is most associated with areas classed as Terraced and Semi-Detached Suburbs, part of Young Families and Mainstream Employment. 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 concentrated in suburban areas, these terraced and semi-detached developments are less overcrowded than the Supergroup average, and resident households are more likely to own two or more cars. There are fewer residents aged 25-44, and a larger share of residents employed in administrative and secretarial occupations. Residents are more likely to have been born in the UK, less likely to have been born in the EU or Africa, and much less likely to self-identify as Bangladeshi.

Wider London pattern

Many families in these neighbourhoods have young children. Housing is principally in the social rented sector, in terraced or semi-detached units. While over-all residential densities are low, overcrowding is also prevalent locally. Residents are drawn from a range of ethnic minorities, with many identifying as Black and above average numbers born in Africa. Numbers identifying as of Chinese, Indian or White ethnicity are below average. Levels of proficiency in English are below average. Levels of separation or divorce and incidence of disability are both above average. Education is typically limited to Level 1, 2, or apprenticeship qualifications. Few residents work in professional or managerial occupations but the employment structure is otherwise diverse: it includes skilled trades, caring, leisure and other service occupations, sales and customer service occupations, construction, and work as process, plant, and machine operatives.

Healthy neighbourhoods

Access to healthy assets and hazards

Lamb is most concentrated in decile 5 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.

5
Lower access Higher access

Neighbourhood deprivation

Index of Multiple Deprivation

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

Meaning and origin of Lamb

The surname Lamb has its origins in England, dating back to the medieval period. It is a name derived from the Old English word "lamb," referring to the young sheep. The surname likely originated as a descriptive nickname or occupational name for someone who worked with lambs or sheep.

In England, the name Lamb can be traced back to the 13th century. One of the earliest recorded instances is found in the Hundredorum Rolls of 1273, which lists a Walter Lamb from Oxfordshire. Another early record is from the Calendarium Genealogicum, which mentions a John Lamb in 1314.

The Lamb surname is also found in various historical documents from the 14th and 15th centuries. For instance, the Poll Tax returns of 1379 list a Thomas Lamb from Yorkshire, while the Patent Rolls of 1430 mention a William Lamb from Norfolk.

The name has been associated with several notable individuals throughout history. One prominent figure was John Lamb (c. 1490-1538), a Protestant martyr who was burned at the stake for his religious beliefs during the reign of King Henry VIII.

Another significant bearer of the name was Andrew Lamb (1561-1637), a Scottish merchant and naval administrator who served as the Clerk of the King's Ships during the reign of King James VI and I.

In the 18th century, Sir James Lamb (1734-1798) was a prominent British naval officer who served in the American Revolutionary War and later became an admiral in the Royal Navy.

The name Lamb has also been associated with various place names in England, such as Lambeth in London, which is derived from the Old English "Lamb-hythe," meaning "landing place for lambs."

Other notable individuals with the surname Lamb include:

1. Charles Lamb (1775-1834), an English essayist and writer best known for his "Essays of Elia." 2. Mary Lamb (1764-1847), the sister of Charles Lamb and a writer in her own right. 3. William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne (1779-1848), a British statesman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1834 to 1841. 4. Caroline Lamb (1785-1828), a British novelist and aristocrat known for her scandalous affair with Lord Byron. 5. Hubert Lamb (1913-1997), an English climatologist and founding member of the Climatic Research Unit at the University of East Anglia.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

1881 census detail

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Lamb families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Lamb 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 2,154 Lambs recorded in 1881 and an index of 1.18x.

County Total Index
Lancashire 2,154 1.18x
Yorkshire 1,566 1.03x
Durham 1,366 2.98x
Middlesex 1,242 0.81x
Northumberland 670 2.92x
Cheshire 626 1.84x
Midlothian 510 2.47x
Surrey 500 0.67x
Angus 457 3.20x
Lanarkshire 455 0.91x
Nottinghamshire 410 1.97x
Kent 383 0.73x
Aberdeenshire 361 2.53x
Warwickshire 352 0.91x
Staffordshire 333 0.64x
Derbyshire 275 1.14x
Cumberland 267 2.01x
Lincolnshire 253 1.03x
Worcestershire 250 1.24x
Norfolk 206 0.87x
Essex 186 0.61x
Roxburghshire 150 5.37x
Hampshire 139 0.44x
Ayrshire 131 1.14x
Sussex 129 0.50x
Flintshire 124 2.99x
Perthshire 123 1.78x
Westmorland 122 3.60x
Gloucestershire 112 0.37x
Berwickshire 110 5.89x
Oxfordshire 109 1.15x
Suffolk 108 0.58x
Somerset 107 0.43x
Berkshire 96 0.83x
Shropshire 92 0.69x
Fife 86 0.94x
Leicestershire 82 0.48x
Northamptonshire 82 0.57x
Glamorgan 81 0.30x
Devon 80 0.25x
Bedfordshire 77 0.96x
Renfrewshire 73 0.61x
Pembrokeshire 58 1.18x
Stirlingshire 57 1.00x
Banffshire 56 1.75x
Dorset 55 0.54x
Cambridgeshire 39 0.40x
Wiltshire 39 0.29x
Kincardineshire 38 2.02x
West Lothian 33 1.42x
Clackmannanshire 31 2.44x
Hertfordshire 30 0.28x
Wigtownshire 30 1.47x
Cornwall 27 0.15x
Huntingdonshire 24 0.78x
Buckinghamshire 23 0.25x
Dunbartonshire 23 0.56x
Denbighshire 20 0.34x
Morayshire 20 0.84x
Selkirkshire 18 1.29x
East Lothian 15 0.73x
Herefordshire 14 0.22x
Royal Navy 13 0.71x
Buteshire 10 1.07x
Channel Islands 10 0.22x
Nairnshire 10 2.13x
Dumfriesshire 9 0.26x
Kirkcudbrightshire 8 0.36x
Ross-shire 8 0.19x
Anglesey 7 0.26x
Shetland 6 0.38x
Argyllshire 5 0.12x
Carmarthenshire 4 0.06x
Monmouthshire 4 0.04x
Orkney 3 0.18x
Radnorshire 3 0.24x
Inverness-shire 2 0.04x
Isle of Man 2 0.07x
Montgomeryshire 2 0.06x
Peeblesshire 2 0.28x
Brecknockshire 1 0.03x
Caithness 1 0.05x
Cardiganshire 1 0.03x
Rutland 1 0.09x
Sutherland 1 0.08x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Edinburgh St Cuthberts in Midlothian leads with 231 Lambs recorded in 1881 and an index of 2.78x.

Place Total Index
Edinburgh St Cuthberts 231 2.78x
Dundee 184 3.45x
Bishopwearmouth 142 3.61x
Gateshead 140 4.08x
Birmingham 138 1.07x
Liverpool 128 1.15x
Manchester 126 1.53x
West Derby 118 2.21x
Barony 112 0.89x
Bethnal Green London 109 1.63x
Glasgow 107 1.21x
Islington London 100 0.67x
Leeds 99 1.15x
Nottingham St Mary 98 1.82x
Hulme 96 2.51x
Lancaster 94 8.64x
South Leith 89 3.83x
Lambeth 86 0.64x
Govan 81 0.66x
St Pancras London 77 0.62x
Camberwell 75 0.76x
Holy Trinity 75 2.04x
Aston 72 0.67x
Hackney London 72 0.83x
Preston 71 1.45x
Elswick 70 3.83x
Shoreditch London 68 1.02x
Westgate 67 4.72x
Great Yarmouth 64 3.26x
Chorlton On Medlock 63 2.17x
Liff Benvie 63 2.91x
Salford 63 1.17x
Aberdeen St Nicholas 61 2.28x
Hedworth Monkton Jarrow 61 3.07x
Kingswinford 61 3.23x
Byker 57 5.03x
Blackburn 56 1.15x
Chelsea London 55 1.18x
St Marylebone London 55 0.67x
Aberdeen Old Machar 53 1.78x
West Ham 52 0.77x
Stockton On Tees 50 2.26x
Gorton 49 2.85x
Newington 49 0.86x
Toxteth Park 49 0.79x
Thurnham 48 170.39x
Barrow In Furness 46 1.85x
Pendleton In Salford 46 2.11x
Thornley 46 27.73x
Kirkdale 45 1.46x
Oldham 45 0.76x
Westoe 45 1.73x
Brandon Byshottles 43 7.49x
Hawick 43 6.88x
Kensington London 43 0.50x
Sherborne 43 14.43x
Ashton Under Lyne 41 1.03x
Newcastle On Tyne St 40 3.37x
Sculcoates 40 1.65x
Whickham 40 9.48x
Ardwick 39 2.36x
Battersea 39 0.69x
Portsea 39 0.63x
Hetton Le Hole 38 6.54x
Mile End Old Town London 38 1.16x
Lynesack Softley 37 29.87x
Barton Upon Irwell 36 2.62x
Sedgley 36 1.86x
Everton 35 0.60x
Hawarden 35 10.76x
Paddington London 35 0.62x
Tottenham 35 1.43x
Croydon 34 0.82x
Kelso 34 12.22x
Radford 34 3.22x
Sheffield 34 0.70x
St George In East London 34 2.35x
Stoke Damerel 34 1.51x
Mold 33 8.78x
Studley 33 19.86x
Dunse 32 18.08x
Kingston On Thames 32 1.77x
West Auckland 32 19.09x
Widnes 32 2.43x
Selby 31 9.71x

Top female names

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

Name Count
Mary 972
Elizabeth 562
Sarah 410
Jane 357
Ann 280
Margaret 221
Ellen 209
Alice 182
Annie 177
Hannah 170
Emma 160
Eliza 155
Martha 118
Emily 114
Isabella 84
Harriet 78
Ada 73
Charlotte 72
Catherine 69
Florence 68
Louisa 66
Maria 59
Agnes 57
Edith 57
Anne 56
Caroline 55
Clara 54
Fanny 52
Kate 49
Lucy 45
Frances 42
Rose 35
Esther 34
Harriett 33
Elizth. 29
Eleanor 28
Rebecca 28
Amelia 27
Jessie 27
Ruth 27
Susan 25
Amy 23
Matilda 23
Julia 21
Maud 21
Sophia 21
Helen 19
Betsy 18
Minnie 18
Dorothy 17

Top male names

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

Name Count
John 819
William 794
Thomas 487
James 450
George 429
Joseph 289
Robert 244
Charles 232
Henry 213
Richard 132
Edward 131
Alfred 117
Arthur 94
Walter 81
Samuel 80
Frederick 78
Albert 72
Ernest 58
Harry 58
Francis 56
Herbert 47
Edwin 44
Frank 42
Peter 40
David 35
Benjamin 34
Wm. 33
Patrick 32
Christopher 26
Michael 24
Thos. 24
Daniel 23
Tom 23
Isaac 20
Matthew 19
Percy 19
Robt. 19
Stephen 18
Alexander 17
Fred 17
Geo. 17
Ralph 17
Edmund 14
Chas. 12
Mark 12
Fredrick 11
Abraham 10
Andrew 10
Jesse 10
Owen 9

FAQ

Lamb surname: questions and answers

How common was the Lamb surname in 1881?

In 1881, 15,795 people were recorded with the Lamb surname. That placed it at #252 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Lamb surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 19,950 in 2016. That gives Lamb a modern rank of #298.

What does the Lamb surname mean?

An English occupational surname for a keeper or tender of lambs or a nickname for a meek, gentle person.

What does the Lamb map show?

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