NameCensus.

UK surname

Lince

A Spanish surname indicating one's origins from the town of Lince.

In the 1881 census there were 53 people recorded with the Lince surname, ranking it #26,134 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 157, ranked #23,006, up from #26,134 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to St George Tombland, St Peter Mountergate, St John Timberhill, All Saints, St Michael at Thorn, St Ju, Marske and Walthamstow, Low Leyton. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Redcar and Cleveland, Norwich and East Cambridgeshire.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Lince is 180 in 2004. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 196.2%.

1881 census count

53

Ranked #26,134

Modern count

157

2016, ranked #23,006

Peak year

2004

180 bearers

Map years

5

1891 to 2016

Key insights

  • Lince had 53 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #26,134 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 157 in 2016, ranked #23,006.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 109 in 1891.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Legacy Industrial and Coastal Communities.

Lince surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Lince surname density by area, 2016 modern.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Lince 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 17 #30,267
1861 historical 73 #24,492
1881 historical 53 #26,134
1891 historical 109 #22,701
1901 historical 96 #23,342
1911 historical 101 #22,589
1997 modern 174 #19,231
1998 modern 173 #19,821
1999 modern 173 #19,935
2000 modern 172 #19,974
2001 modern 162 #20,460
2002 modern 173 #20,043
2003 modern 168 #20,171
2004 modern 180 #19,424
2005 modern 163 #20,627
2006 modern 159 #21,148
2007 modern 156 #21,650
2008 modern 157 #21,766
2009 modern 168 #21,290
2010 modern 170 #21,560
2011 modern 163 #21,983
2012 modern 145 #23,780
2013 modern 153 #23,314
2014 modern 154 #23,439
2015 modern 155 #23,194
2016 modern 157 #23,006

Geography

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Where Linces are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around St George Tombland, St Peter Mountergate, St John Timberhill, All Saints, St Michael at Thorn, St Ju, Marske, Walthamstow, Low Leyton, Knaresborough (Bilton and Harrogate, Scriven with Tentergate, Knaresborough), Pannall and Dorchester Holy Trinity, Fordington. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Redcar and Cleveland, Norwich, East Cambridgeshire, Breckland 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 St George Tombland, St Peter Mountergate, St John Timberhill, All Saints, St Michael at Thorn, St Ju Norfolk
2 Marske Yorkshire, North Riding
3 Walthamstow, Low Leyton Essex
4 Knaresborough (Bilton and Harrogate, Scriven with Tentergate, Knaresborough), Pannall Yorkshire, West Riding
5 Dorchester Holy Trinity, Fordington Dorset

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Redcar and Cleveland 006 Redcar and Cleveland
2 Norwich 007 Norwich
3 East Cambridgeshire 009 East Cambridgeshire
4 Breckland 017 Breckland
5 North Norfolk 010 North Norfolk

Forenames

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First names often paired with Lince

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

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Lince

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

Older Residents in Owner-Occupied Suburbs

Group

London Fringe

Within London, Lince is most associated with areas classed as London Fringe, part of Older Residents in Owner-Occupied Suburbs. 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

Predominantly located in neighbourhoods on the outskirts of Greater London, residents of these neighbourhoods typically have their highest qualifications below degree (Level 4) level, with those still in work engaged in skilled trades and occupations in distribution, hotels and restaurants. There is low ethnic diversity in these neighbourhoods and high levels of Christian religious affiliation. Detached or terraced houses predominate, often with spare rooms.

Wider London pattern

The age distribution of these neighbourhoods is skewed towards the middle-aged and old, although few residents live alone or in communal establishments and numbers of dependent children are around average. Owner occupation is the norm, as is residence in detached or semi-detached houses. Residential densities are low and many households have spare rooms. Most residents were born in the UK and, aside from some identifying as members of Chinese or Indian ethnicities, identify as White. Mixed ethnicity households are rare. Incidence of married couples is higher than average and few individuals have never been married. A large proportion of individuals still in employment work in administrative and secretarial occupations, or in the construction industry. Few residents are students, and many households own more than one car.

Healthy neighbourhoods

Access to healthy assets and hazards

Lince 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

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

Meaning and origin of Lince

The surname LINCE is of Spanish origin and can be traced back to the late 15th century. It is derived from the Spanish word "lince," which means "lynx," referring to the wild cat native to the Iberian Peninsula. The name likely originated as a descriptive surname, given to someone with a physical or personality trait resembling that of a lynx, such as having sharp eyesight or being agile and stealthy.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname LINCE can be found in the Archivo General de Indias, a vast collection of documents from the Spanish colonial period in the Americas. In these archives, there are records of a certain Pedro LINCE, born in Seville in 1492, who sailed to the New World in 1518 as part of the expedition led by Juan de Grijalva.

The name LINCE also appears in the historic Catastro de Ensenada, a comprehensive census and survey conducted in Spain during the mid-18th century. Among the individuals listed is a farmer named Juan LINCE, born in 1712 in the village of Grazalema, located in the Sierra de Cádiz region of southern Spain.

A notable figure bearing the LINCE surname was Francisco LINCE y Verdugo (1617-1681), a Spanish military officer and governor of the Philippine Islands from 1678 to 1681. He was born in Écija, Andalusia, and his tenure as governor was marked by his efforts to strengthen the colonial defenses against pirate attacks and his promotion of agriculture and trade.

Another individual of historical significance was María LINCE de Mendoza (1562-1629), a Spanish noblewoman and patron of the arts. She was born in Toledo and is known for her patronage of the renowned painter El Greco, commissioning several works from him, including the famous "View of Toledo" painting.

In the realm of literature, the name LINCE is also associated with Rodrigo LINCE de Vega (1570-1638), a Spanish playwright and poet from Madrid. Although lesser known than his contemporary, Lope de Vega, Rodrigo LINCE de Vega contributed several works to the Spanish Golden Age of literature and was praised for his poetic skill.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

1881 census detail

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Lince families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Lince 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. Norfolk leads with 16 Linces recorded in 1881 and an index of 20.93x.

County Total Index
Norfolk 16 20.93x
Surrey 11 4.54x
Middlesex 9 1.81x
Essex 5 5.09x
Yorkshire 5 1.01x
Sussex 2 2.39x
Channel Islands 1 6.79x
Lancashire 1 0.17x
Northumberland 1 1.35x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Norwich St Julian in Norfolk leads with 8 Linces recorded in 1881 and an index of 2500.00x.

Place Total Index
Norwich St Julian 8 2500.00x
Lambeth 6 13.84x
Stoke Newington London 5 129.20x
Bermondsey 4 27.03x
Bethnal Green London 4 18.52x
Ingatestone 3 1875.00x
Norwich St Giles 3 1250.00x
Skelton In Guisbrough 3 225.56x
Aismunderby Cum 2 1428.57x
Norwich St Andrew 2 1538.46x
Norwich St Edmund 2 1666.67x
Brighton 1 5.91x
Chelmsford 1 59.52x
Elswick 1 16.95x
Lower Beeding 1 454.55x
Newington 1 5.44x
Springfield 1 232.56x
St Peter Port 1 36.63x
Toxteth Park 1 5.01x
Yaxham 1 1250.00x

Top female names

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

Name Count
Mary 5
Martha 3
Sarah 3
Caroline 2
Elizabeth 2
Minnie 2
Alice 1
Annie 1
Catherine 1
Eleanor 1
Eliza 1
Emma 1
Hannah 1
Harriet 1
Josiana 1
Marian 1
Rose 1

Top male names

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

Name Count
John 5
Arthur 3
Alfred 1
Benjam. 1
Benjamin 1
Jas. 1
Jas.W. 1
Joseph 1
Morffee 1
Phillip 1
Robert 1
Saml. 1
Samuel 1
Thomas 1
Victor 1
Walter 1
William 1

FAQ

Lince surname: questions and answers

How common was the Lince surname in 1881?

In 1881, 53 people were recorded with the Lince surname. That placed it at #26,134 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Lince surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 157 in 2016. That gives Lince a modern rank of #23,006.

What does the Lince surname mean?

A Spanish surname indicating one's origins from the town of Lince.

What does the Lince map show?

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