NameCensus.

UK surname

Liddell

A Scottish locational surname derived from a place near Jedburgh, from the Old English "hlyde" and "dale" meaning "loud valley."

In the 1881 census there were 2,750 people recorded with the Liddell surname, ranking it #1,622 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 3,329, ranked #2,042, down from #1,622 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to Lanchester (Collierley, Kyo, Billingside, Medomsley, Ebchchester, Benfieldside, Heelyfield, Conside, Govan Combination and Gateshead. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include The Glens, Waveney and Govanhill East and Aikenhead.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Liddell is 3,374 in 1999. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 21.1%.

1881 census count

2,750

Ranked #1,622

Modern count

3,329

2016, ranked #2,042

Peak year

1999

3,374 bearers

Map years

9

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Liddell had 2,750 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #1,622 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 3,329 in 2016, ranked #2,042.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 3,229 in 1901.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Established but Challenged.

Liddell surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Liddell surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Liddell 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 1,656 #1,737
1861 historical 1,683 #1,700
1881 historical 2,750 #1,622
1891 historical 2,750 #1,717
1901 historical 3,229 #1,736
1911 historical 1,760 #2,791
1997 modern 3,254 #1,976
1998 modern 3,326 #2,012
1999 modern 3,374 #2,004
2000 modern 3,350 #2,012
2001 modern 3,231 #2,040
2002 modern 3,284 #2,052
2003 modern 3,214 #2,043
2004 modern 3,195 #2,054
2005 modern 3,171 #2,045
2006 modern 3,174 #2,055
2007 modern 3,171 #2,069
2008 modern 3,243 #2,053
2009 modern 3,294 #2,066
2010 modern 3,371 #2,067
2011 modern 3,310 #2,073
2012 modern 3,247 #2,072
2013 modern 3,293 #2,080
2014 modern 3,339 #2,068
2015 modern 3,321 #2,056
2016 modern 3,329 #2,042

Geography

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Where Liddells are most common

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

The modern local-area list points to The Glens, Waveney, Govanhill East and Aikenhead, County Durham and Auchinleck. 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 Govan Combination Lanark
3 Gateshead Durham
4 London parishes London 3
5 Edinburgh Edinburgh

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 The Glens Dundee City
2 Waveney 014 Waveney
3 Govanhill East and Aikenhead Glasgow City
4 County Durham 004 County Durham
5 Auchinleck East Ayrshire

Forenames

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First names often paired with Liddell

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

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Liddell

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

Semi- and Un-Skilled Workforce

Group

Established but Challenged

Nationally, the Liddell surname is most associated with neighbourhoods classed as Established but Challenged, within Semi- and Un-Skilled Workforce. This does not mean every Liddell household fits that profile, but it gives a useful signal about where the modern surname distribution is strongest.

Read profile summary

Group profile

Many households in these neighbourhoods comprise separated or divorced single parents with dependent children. Residents are typically born in the UK, and these neighbourhoods have relatively few members of ethnic minorities. The prevalence of children, their parents and those at or above normal retirement age, suggests neighbourhood structures may be long-established. Levels of unpaid care are high, and long-term disability is more common than in the Supergroup as a whole. Use of the social rented sector is common, often in terraced houses. Levels of overcrowding are above the Supergroup average. Unemployment is high, while those in work are employed in elementary occupations such as caring, leisure and customer services. Many residents have low level qualifications. Neighbourhood concentrations of this Group are found in the South Wales Valleys, Belfast, Londonderry and the Central Lowlands of Scotland.

Wider pattern

Living in terraced or semi-detached houses, residents of these neighbourhoods typically lack high levels of education and work in elementary or routine service occupations. Unemployment is above average. Residents are predominantly born in the UK, and residents are also predominantly from ethnic minorities. Social (but not private sector) rented sector housing is common. This Supergroup is found throughout the UK’s conurbations and industrial regions but is also an integral part of smaller towns.

London neighbourhood type

London Output Area Classification

Supergroup

The Greater London Mix

Group

Social Rented Sector Professional Support Workers

Within London, Liddell 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

Liddell 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

Liddell 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 Liddell is most associated with a typical fixed broadband download band of Over 70 mbit/s.

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

10
Slower band Faster band

Area snapshot

Ethnic group estimate

Most common ethnic group estimate
White - British

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

Meaning and origin of Liddell

The surname Liddell is of Anglo-Saxon origin and traces its roots back to the medieval counties of Durham and Northumberland in England. It is thought to have derived from the Old English words "hlið" meaning "hill slope" and "fell" meaning "hill," suggesting the name originally referred to someone who lived on a hillside.

One of the earliest recorded references to the surname appears in the Pipe Rolls of Northumberland in 1230, where it is listed as "Lidel." Other early spellings include "Lidell," "Liddel," and "Liddill." The surname is also mentioned in the Hundred Rolls of Northumberland in 1273, indicating its prevalence in the region during the Middle Ages.

In the Domesday Book of 1086, a record of landowners in England commissioned by William the Conqueror, several place names are listed that may have contributed to the formation of the surname. These include "Liddel" in Cumberland and "Liddesdale" in Roxburghshire, Scotland.

Notable individuals with the surname Liddell throughout history include:

1. Sir Henry Liddell (c. 1495-1567), an English nobleman and landowner who served as the Sheriff of Northumberland.

2. Henry George Liddell (1811-1898), an English academic and co-author of the renowned "Liddell and Scott Greek-English Lexicon."

3. Alice Liddell (1852-1934), the inspiration behind Lewis Carroll's fictional character Alice in the classic novel "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland."

4. Eric Liddell (1902-1945), a Scottish Olympic gold medalist and Christian missionary whose life was depicted in the film "Chariots of Fire."

5. James Liddell (1770-1846), a Scottish architect and civil engineer best known for designing the Waterloo Bridge in London.

While the name has historically been more prevalent in northern England and Scotland, individuals bearing the surname Liddell can be found around the world today, reflecting the migration patterns of the past few centuries.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

1881 census detail

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Liddell families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Liddell 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. Lanarkshire leads with 569 Liddells recorded in 1881 and an index of 6.57x.

County Total Index
Lanarkshire 569 6.57x
Durham 461 5.78x
Northumberland 278 6.97x
Stirlingshire 216 21.86x
Midlothian 156 4.35x
Middlesex 126 0.47x
Yorkshire 108 0.41x
Lancashire 104 0.33x
Renfrewshire 88 4.24x
Worcestershire 67 1.91x
Surrey 46 0.35x
Dunbartonshire 42 5.83x
Angus 35 1.41x
Ayrshire 33 1.65x
Cumberland 33 1.43x
West Lothian 29 7.19x
Hampshire 28 0.51x
Perthshire 28 2.33x
Cornwall 27 0.89x
Berwickshire 26 8.01x
Fife 26 1.64x
Clackmannanshire 24 10.84x
Kent 22 0.24x
Oxfordshire 20 1.21x
Devon 16 0.29x
Gloucestershire 11 0.21x
Roxburghshire 11 2.27x
Banffshire 10 1.80x
Glamorgan 10 0.21x
Kirkcudbrightshire 10 2.58x
Warwickshire 9 0.13x
Essex 8 0.15x
Somerset 7 0.16x
Staffordshire 7 0.08x
Orkney 6 2.04x
Sussex 6 0.13x
Buteshire 5 3.08x
East Lothian 5 1.41x
Derbyshire 4 0.10x
Berkshire 3 0.15x
Buckinghamshire 3 0.19x
Hertfordshire 3 0.16x
Inverness-shire 3 0.37x
Suffolk 3 0.09x
Dumfriesshire 2 0.34x
Nottinghamshire 2 0.06x
Royal Navy 2 0.63x
Selkirkshire 2 0.83x
Caernarfonshire 1 0.09x
Cambridgeshire 1 0.06x
Cheshire 1 0.02x
Dorset 1 0.06x
Flintshire 1 0.14x
Rutland 1 0.51x
Westmorland 1 0.17x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Barony in Lanarkshire leads with 152 Liddells recorded in 1881 and an index of 6.93x.

Place Total Index
Barony 152 6.93x
Govan 137 6.39x
Glasgow 94 6.11x
Falkirk 61 26.37x
Bromsgrove 53 45.00x
St Ninians 51 52.06x
Gateshead 49 8.21x
Edinburgh St Cuthberts 46 3.19x
Old Monkland 35 10.18x
Bishopwearmouth 29 4.24x
Monkwearmouth Shore 29 18.64x
West Greenock 29 7.78x
New Monkland 26 10.15x
Newcastle On Tyne St 26 12.58x
Tynemouth 26 12.18x
South Leith 25 6.19x
Bodmin 24 47.82x
Cambusnethan 24 12.47x
Denny 24 45.65x
Haltwhistle 24 124.03x
Newcastle On Tyne All Sts 24 10.08x
Darlington 23 7.47x
St George Hanover Square 22 4.66x
Elswick 21 6.60x
Stranton 21 7.82x
Cambuslang 20 22.89x
Elvet 20 34.75x
Witton Gilbert 19 60.38x
Alloa 18 16.77x
Plawsworth 18 208.33x
Byker 17 8.63x
Holy Trinity 16 2.51x
Kilmadock 16 57.85x
Kirkintilloch 16 16.35x
Oxford St Clement 16 38.31x
Houghton Le Spring 15 27.22x
Larbert 15 25.39x
Westgate 15 6.08x
Blantyre 14 15.52x
Kimblesworth 14 131.21x
Hamilton 13 5.38x
Hartlepool 13 11.47x
Islington London 13 0.50x
Lambeth 13 0.56x
Stella 13 190.34x
Tudhoe 13 18.64x
Beadnell 12 408.16x
Bermondsey 12 1.50x
Dalziel 12 12.87x
Galston 12 21.88x
Slamannan 12 22.17x
Whickham 12 16.36x
Auckinleck 11 17.72x
Cathcart 11 9.79x
Livingstone 11 79.88x
Nether Hallam 11 3.06x
Rutherglen 11 8.65x
Dalgety 10 82.51x
Everton 10 0.99x
Leeds 10 0.67x
Mile End Old Town London 10 1.75x
New Kilpatrick 10 14.60x
Ryton 10 35.70x
Salford 10 1.07x
Sheffield 10 1.18x
Stockton On Tees 10 2.60x
West Derby 10 1.08x
Winlaton 10 13.08x
Bradford 9 1.40x
Cardiff St Mary 9 3.50x
Crook Billy Row 9 8.82x
Drymen 9 67.92x
Dundee 9 0.97x
Ford 9 61.73x
Liberton 9 16.24x
Moss Side 9 5.38x
Orton 9 216.35x
South Shields 9 12.67x
St Cuthbert W O 9 8.00x
Whitechapel London 9 3.41x

Top female names

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

Name Count
John 110
William 87
Thomas 63
James 47
Robert 39
George 33
Joseph 26
Henry 24
Charles 20
Edward 18
Arthur 13
Frederick 13
Ralph 11
Alfred 10
Albert 8
Andrew 8
Christopher 7
Wm. 7
Harry 6
Anthony 5
Alexander 4
Ernest 4
Hugh 4
Matthew 4
Benjamin 3
Cuthbert 3
David 3
Frank 3
Geo. 3
Mark 3
Richard 3
Samuel 3
Edgar 2
Edmund 2
Edwin 2
Francis 2
Fredk. 2
Gilbert 2
Herbert 2
Lawson 2
Levi 2
Philip 2
Silas 2
Simon 2
Thos. 2
Walter 2
Archibold 1
Athol 1
Cyril 1
Wm.T. 1

FAQ

Liddell surname: questions and answers

How common was the Liddell surname in 1881?

In 1881, 2,750 people were recorded with the Liddell surname. That placed it at #1,622 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Liddell surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 3,329 in 2016. That gives Liddell a modern rank of #2,042.

What does the Liddell surname mean?

A Scottish locational surname derived from a place near Jedburgh, from the Old English "hlyde" and "dale" meaning "loud valley."

What does the Liddell map show?

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