NameCensus.

UK surname

Lichfield

A locational surname derived from the English city of Lichfield.

In the 1881 census there were 152 people recorded with the Lichfield surname, ranking it #15,372 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 135, ranked #25,505, down from #15,372 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to Duffield, London parishes and Kidderminster. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Dacorum, Kirklees and Birmingham.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Lichfield is 208 in 1901. Compared with 1881, the name has fallen by 11.2%.

1881 census count

152

Ranked #15,372

Modern count

135

2016, ranked #25,505

Peak year

1901

208 bearers

Map years

8

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Lichfield had 152 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #15,372 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 135 in 2016, ranked #25,505.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 208 in 1901.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Challenged Communities.

Lichfield surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Lichfield surname density by area, 1881 census.

Loading map
Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

Back to top

Lichfield 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 134 #14,033
1861 historical 145 #15,715
1881 historical 152 #15,372
1891 historical 197 #15,101
1901 historical 208 #14,760
1911 historical 96 #23,193
1997 modern 114 #24,967
1998 modern 122 #24,556
1999 modern 136 #23,186
2000 modern 134 #23,358
2001 modern 126 #23,883
2002 modern 123 #24,735
2003 modern 116 #25,415
2004 modern 117 #25,448
2005 modern 125 #24,398
2006 modern 133 #23,711
2007 modern 121 #25,469
2008 modern 122 #25,638
2009 modern 133 #24,817
2010 modern 142 #24,352
2011 modern 135 #24,922
2012 modern 133 #25,187
2013 modern 137 #25,149
2014 modern 136 #25,452
2015 modern 134 #25,607
2016 modern 135 #25,505

Geography

Back to top

Where Lichfields are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around Duffield, London parishes, Kidderminster and Birmingham Town: Birmingham. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Dacorum, Kirklees, Birmingham, Dudley and Ashfield. 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 Duffield Derbyshire
2 London parishes London 3
3 Kidderminster Worcestershire
4 London parishes London 2
5 Birmingham Town: Birmingham Warwickshire

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Dacorum 008 Dacorum
2 Kirklees 037 Kirklees
3 Birmingham 103 Birmingham
4 Dudley 006 Dudley
5 Ashfield 008 Ashfield

Forenames

Back to top

First names often paired with Lichfield

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

Modern profile

Back to top

Neighbourhood profile for Lichfield

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

Professional Employment and Family Lifecycles

Group

European Enclaves

Within London, Lichfield is most associated with areas classed as European Enclaves, part of Professional Employment and Family Lifecycles. 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

Many residents of these accessible neighbourhoods have wide-ranging non-UK European origins. Typically residing in privately rented flats, many residents live alone and are beyond normal retirement age. There are more students than elsewhere in the Supergroup, some of which live in communal establishments. Household residents are often drawn from different ethnic groups.

Wider London pattern

These neighbourhoods house people of all ages, predominantly of White British or European extraction. Resident turnover is low. Religious affiliation is less common than average and tends to be Christian if expressed. Homeownership, typically of terraced houses, is common but use of the social rented sector is not. Employment is typically in professional, managerial and associate professional or technical occupations. There are few full-time students. Level 4 qualifications are common. More households lack dependent children than have them which, considered alongside low levels of crowding and over-all age structure, indicates that many households may be post child-rearing and in late middle age. Incidence of disability is low, as is residence in communal establishments.

Healthy neighbourhoods

Access to healthy assets and hazards

Lichfield 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

Lichfield falls in decile 7 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.

7
More deprived Less deprived

Broadband speed

Fixed broadband download speed

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

Meaning and origin of Lichfield

The surname Lichfield has its origins in England, emerging during the medieval period. It is a locational surname, derived from the city of Lichfield in Staffordshire. The name is believed to come from the Old English words "lič" meaning a corpse or dead body, and "feld" meaning a field or open area, referring to the supposed martyrdom of over a thousand Christian missionaries in the area during the 7th century.

The earliest recorded instances of the name can be traced back to the 13th century. In the Hundred Rolls of 1273, there is a mention of a Richard de Lichfield residing in Oxfordshire. The Lichfield surname also appears in the Subsidy Rolls of Staffordshire from 1327, indicating its presence in the region from which it originated.

One of the earliest notable individuals with the surname was Sir John Lichfield, a prominent lawyer and judge during the reign of King Edward III in the 14th century. He served as Chief Justice of the King's Bench from 1349 to 1360.

In the 15th century, William Lichfield, born around 1420, was a respected scholar and theologian who served as the Chancellor of the University of Oxford from 1472 to 1473.

During the Tudor period, Richard Lichfield, born in 1495, was a prominent English clergyman who held the position of Dean of Lichfield Cathedral from 1549 until his death in 1556.

In the 17th century, Edward Lichfield, born in 1609, was a renowned English lawyer and author who published several legal treatises, including "The Interpreter," a law dictionary that became a standard reference work.

Another notable figure was Sir Ambrose Lichfield, born in 1685, who was a successful merchant and politician. He served as a Member of Parliament for the borough of Lichfield from 1722 until his death in 1744.

The Lichfield surname has also been associated with various place names within Staffordshire, such as Lichfield Trent Valley and Lichfield City, reflecting its strong ties to the region from which it originated.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

1881 census detail

Back to top

Lichfield families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Lichfield 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. Derbyshire leads with 29 Lichfields recorded in 1881 and an index of 12.49x.

County Total Index
Derbyshire 29 12.49x
Warwickshire 25 6.69x
Middlesex 17 1.15x
Kent 11 2.17x
Worcestershire 10 5.17x
Yorkshire 10 0.68x
Northamptonshire 9 6.45x
Huntingdonshire 8 27.17x
Nottinghamshire 7 3.50x
Northumberland 4 1.81x
Surrey 4 0.55x
Berkshire 3 2.70x
Hampshire 3 0.99x
Bedfordshire 2 2.61x
Glamorgan 2 0.77x
Lancashire 2 0.11x
Devon 1 0.32x
Flintshire 1 2.51x
Hertfordshire 1 0.98x
Leicestershire 1 0.61x
Monmouthshire 1 0.93x
Sussex 1 0.40x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Aston in Warwickshire leads with 15 Lichfields recorded in 1881 and an index of 14.57x.

Place Total Index
Aston 15 14.57x
Birmingham 10 8.03x
Islington London 10 6.96x
Lee 10 136.24x
Duffield 8 437.16x
St Neots 8 500.00x
Belper 7 155.56x
Wellingborough 7 99.86x
Glossop Dale 5 46.00x
Basford 4 43.43x
Byker 4 36.70x
Kidderminster Borough 4 35.30x
Wortley In Bramley 4 34.36x
Barnsley 3 19.80x
Denby 3 422.54x
Wokingham 3 118.11x
Yardley 3 60.61x
Churchill 2 1666.67x
Claylane 2 61.92x
Penarth 2 79.37x
Rosliston 2 869.57x
Balby Cum Hexthorpe 1 57.14x
Bedford St Paul 1 18.98x
Bradley 1 714.29x
Chelsfield 1 208.33x
Christchurch 1 15.17x
Daventry 1 50.76x
Dudley 1 4.25x
Ewell 1 65.36x
Exeter St Sidwell 1 14.14x
Great Bowden 1 66.67x
Hackney London 1 1.20x
Hampstead London 1 4.33x
Hartshorn 1 113.64x
Houghton Conquest 1 312.50x
Hove 1 9.12x
Lambeth 1 0.77x
Leeds 1 1.21x
Lenton 1 21.23x
Manningham 1 5.52x
Newington 1 1.83x
Niton 1 243.90x
Nottingham St Mary 1 1.93x
Nottingham St Peter 1 44.84x
Paddington London 1 1.83x
Rhuddlan 1 28.49x
St Albans St Peter 1 28.99x
St George Hanover Square 1 3.83x
St George In East London 1 7.17x
St Martin In Fields 1 11.26x
Trevethin 1 9.88x
Upton Grey 1 476.19x
West Derby 1 1.94x
Westminster St John 1 5.54x
Weston By Welland 1 909.09x
Withington 1 17.64x
Woking 1 22.99x

Top female names

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

Top male names

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

Name Count
George 13
John 8
William 8
Thomas 5
Charles 3
Edward 3
James 3
Arthur 2
Edwin 2
Herbert 2
B.C. 1
Bani 1
David 1
Frank 1
Fred 1
Frederick 1
Geo. 1
Harry 1
Henry 1
Joseph 1
Walter 1

FAQ

Lichfield surname: questions and answers

How common was the Lichfield surname in 1881?

In 1881, 152 people were recorded with the Lichfield surname. That placed it at #15,372 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Lichfield surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 135 in 2016. That gives Lichfield a modern rank of #25,505.

What does the Lichfield surname mean?

A locational surname derived from the English city of Lichfield.

What does the Lichfield map show?

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