NameCensus.

UK surname

Lankester

In the 1881 census there were 284 people recorded with the Lankester surname, ranking it #10,100 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 446, ranked #10,871, down from #10,100 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to Clopton, London parishes and Walsham, North. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Ipswich, South Northamptonshire and Suffolk Coastal.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Lankester is 516 in 1998. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 57.0%.

1881 census count

284

Ranked #10,100

Modern count

446

2016, ranked #10,871

Peak year

1998

516 bearers

Map years

9

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Lankester had 284 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #10,100 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 446 in 2016, ranked #10,871.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 408 in 1911.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Spacious Rural Living.

Lankester surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Lankester surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Lankester 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 202 #10,323
1861 historical 204 #11,814
1881 historical 284 #10,100
1891 historical 306 #10,945
1901 historical 351 #10,415
1911 historical 408 #9,161
1997 modern 492 #9,415
1998 modern 516 #9,368
1999 modern 512 #9,490
2000 modern 490 #9,772
2001 modern 479 #9,767
2002 modern 486 #9,833
2003 modern 459 #10,113
2004 modern 467 #10,013
2005 modern 466 #9,935
2006 modern 457 #10,127
2007 modern 455 #10,239
2008 modern 463 #10,204
2009 modern 454 #10,590
2010 modern 468 #10,550
2011 modern 457 #10,651
2012 modern 453 #10,598
2013 modern 449 #10,850
2014 modern 453 #10,830
2015 modern 452 #10,785
2016 modern 446 #10,871

Geography

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Where Lankesters are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around Clopton, London parishes, Walsham, North, St Giles Camberwell and Trimley St Martin, Trimley St Mary, Stratton Hall Farm. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Ipswich, South Northamptonshire, Suffolk Coastal, Waveney and North Norfolk. 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 Clopton Suffolk
2 London parishes London 3
3 Walsham, North Norfolk
4 St Giles Camberwell London (South Districts)
5 Trimley St Martin, Trimley St Mary, Stratton Hall Farm Suffolk

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Ipswich 004 Ipswich
2 South Northamptonshire 011 South Northamptonshire
3 Suffolk Coastal 010 Suffolk Coastal
4 Waveney 015 Waveney
5 North Norfolk 010 North Norfolk

Forenames

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First names often paired with Lankester

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

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Lankester

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

Retired Professionals

Group

Spacious Rural Living

Nationally, the Lankester surname is most associated with neighbourhoods classed as Spacious Rural Living, within Retired Professionals. This does not mean every Lankester household fits that profile, but it gives a useful signal about where the modern surname distribution is strongest.

Read profile summary

Group profile

These predominantly ageing households typically have no resident dependent children. Most are owner-occupiers and live in detached houses in low density residential developments (although renting is more common than in the rest of the Supergroup). White ethnicity predominates. Residents are typically beyond retirement age but those still in work have managerial, professional or skilled trade occupations. White ethnicity and Christian religious affiliation predominate. Neighbourhoods are located throughout rural UK.

Wider pattern

Typically married but no longer with resident dependent children, these well-educated households either remain working in their managerial, professional, administrative or other skilled occupations, or are retired from them – the modal individual age is beyond normal retirement age. Underoccupied detached and semi-detached properties predominate, and unpaid care is more prevalent than reported disability. The prevalence of this Supergroup outside most urban conurbations indicates that rural lifestyles prevail, typically sustained by using two or more cars per household.

London neighbourhood type

London Output Area Classification

Supergroup

Central Connected Professionals and Managers

Group

Senior Professionals

Within London, Lankester 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

Lankester 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

Lankester falls in decile 8 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.

8
More deprived Less deprived

Broadband speed

Fixed broadband download speed

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

1881 census detail

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Lankester families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Lankester 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. Suffolk leads with 126 Lankesters recorded in 1881 and an index of 37.34x.

County Total Index
Suffolk 126 37.34x
Surrey 36 2.67x
Middlesex 31 1.12x
Hampshire 23 4.05x
Essex 14 2.56x
Sussex 12 2.57x
Lancashire 7 0.21x
Bedfordshire 4 2.79x
Norfolk 4 0.94x
Worcestershire 4 1.11x
Devon 3 0.52x
Kent 3 0.32x
Yorkshire 3 0.11x
Dorset 2 1.10x
Gloucestershire 2 0.37x
Lincolnshire 2 0.45x
Staffordshire 2 0.21x
Warwickshire 2 0.29x
Berkshire 1 0.48x
Cambridgeshire 1 0.57x
Cheshire 1 0.16x
Somerset 1 0.22x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Clopton in Suffolk leads with 26 Lankesters recorded in 1881 and an index of 7222.22x.

Place Total Index
Clopton 26 7222.22x
Camberwell 13 7.35x
Hampstead London 12 27.81x
Newbourn 12 9230.77x
Trimley St Martin 12 2068.97x
Lambeth 10 4.14x
Bucklesham 9 3000.00x
Easton 8 2000.00x
Ipswich St Mathew 8 84.57x
Ipswich St Clement 7 81.59x
Wandsworth 7 26.25x
Grundisburgh 6 769.23x
Manningtree 6 674.16x
North Stoneham 6 465.12x
Preston 6 73.53x
Southampton St Mary 6 16.80x
Ince In Makerfield 5 32.68x
Old Newton 5 769.23x
St Marylebone London 5 3.38x
St Pancras London 5 2.24x
Broadwater 4 37.35x
Bromeswell 4 2000.00x
Charsfield 4 975.61x
Clapham 4 11.55x
Hackney London 4 2.58x
Kings Norton 4 12.33x
West Ham 4 3.31x
Wherstead 4 1600.00x
Woodbridge 4 92.81x
Bury St Edmunds St James 3 33.30x
Hingham 3 204.08x
Leighton Buzzard 3 48.62x
Loughton 3 111.11x
Southampton St Michael 3 160.43x
Stowmarket 3 76.92x
Birmingham 2 0.86x
Bristol St Philip Jacob 2 3.91x
Ibsley 2 869.57x
Ipswich St Margaret 2 17.47x
Lee 2 14.58x
Little Glemham 2 769.23x
Littleham 2 47.39x
Melton 2 150.38x
Poole St James 2 29.28x
Reigate Foreign 2 13.68x
Southampton All Sts 2 20.53x
Swilland 2 1000.00x
West Derby 2 2.08x
Botley 1 98.04x
Brockenhurst 1 102.04x
Broomhill 1 833.33x
Burton Extra 1 18.66x
Burton Upon Trent 1 4.57x
Bury St Edmunds St Mary 1 15.80x
Chigwell 1 19.38x
East West Hanney 1 121.95x
Fulham London 1 2.49x
Hamble Le Rice 1 256.41x
Hastings St Leonards 1 14.56x
Hendon 1 10.03x
Islington London 1 0.37x
Kings Lynn St Margaret 1 7.82x
Leverton 1 178.57x
Lower Bebington 1 27.55x
Lymington 1 23.98x
Northallerton 1 28.57x
Paignton 1 22.78x
Rigsby 1 909.09x
Sculcoates 1 2.30x
St Andrew Holborn London 1 8.34x
St Andrewthe Great 1 44.05x
St Mary 1 54.64x
Sternfield 1 454.55x
Tottenham 1 2.27x
Trimley St Mary 1 250.00x
Walcot 1 4.21x
West Malling 1 46.95x
Wootton 1 80.65x

Top female names

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

Name Count
Ellen 13
Sarah 12
Mary 11
Elizabeth 8
Emma 5
Alice 4
Ann 4
Emily 4
Kate 4
Maria 4
Annie 3
Catherine 3
Edith 3
Eliza 3
Florence 3
Martha 3
Sophia 3
Anne 2
Flora 2
Gertrude 2
Hannah 2
Harriet 2
Jessie 2
Laura 2
Lilla 2
Maude 2
Minnie 2
Adeline 1
Amy 1
Betsy 1
C. 1
Charlott 1
Edward 1
Elizth 1
Emmeline 1
Esther 1
Ethel 1
Evelyn 1
Fannie 1
Helen 1
Hilda 1
Isabel 1
Jane 1
Jemima 1
Julia 1
Lilly 1
Louisa 1
Mabel 1
Mahala 1
Winifred 1

Top male names

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

Name Count
William 21
John 12
James 10
George 9
Charles 7
Robert 6
Joseph 5
Alfred 4
Arthur 4
Frederick 4
Walter 4
David 3
Edmund 2
Ernest 2
Fred 2
Harry 2
Henry 2
Richard 2
Thomas 2
Aaron 1
Augustus 1
Chas. 1
Clarence 1
Edward 1
Edwin 1
Eric 1
Eustace 1
Francis 1
Frank 1
Fredk. 1
Frek. 1
Harold 1
Hasten 1
Hy 1
Joshua 1
Manian 1
Moses 1
Owen 1
Philip 1
Phillip 1
Ralph 1
Samuel 1
Stephen 1
Wentworth 1
Wm. 1
Youseff 1

FAQ

Lankester surname: questions and answers

How common was the Lankester surname in 1881?

In 1881, 284 people were recorded with the Lankester surname. That placed it at #10,100 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Lankester surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 446 in 2016. That gives Lankester a modern rank of #10,871.

What does the Lankester map show?

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