NameCensus.

UK surname

Loose

An English toponymic surname derived from a place name meaning "pig sty" in Old English.

In the 1881 census there were 300 people recorded with the Loose surname, ranking it #9,724 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 346, ranked #13,291, down from #9,724 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to London parishes, Gunthorpe and Holkham. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include King's Lynn and West Norfolk, Wrexham and Manchester.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Loose is 352 in 1901. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 15.3%.

1881 census count

300

Ranked #9,724

Modern count

346

2016, ranked #13,291

Peak year

1901

352 bearers

Map years

9

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Loose had 300 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #9,724 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 346 in 2016, ranked #13,291.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 352 in 1901.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Spacious Rural Living.

Loose surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Loose surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Loose 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 210 #10,030
1861 historical 227 #10,749
1881 historical 300 #9,724
1891 historical 342 #10,023
1901 historical 352 #10,394
1911 historical 347 #10,318
1997 modern 327 #12,784
1998 modern 334 #12,940
1999 modern 336 #12,969
2000 modern 332 #13,023
2001 modern 335 #12,759
2002 modern 339 #12,911
2003 modern 337 #12,759
2004 modern 318 #13,374
2005 modern 322 #13,175
2006 modern 332 #12,970
2007 modern 322 #13,382
2008 modern 319 #13,581
2009 modern 334 #13,409
2010 modern 340 #13,498
2011 modern 322 #13,907
2012 modern 334 #13,443
2013 modern 335 #13,604
2014 modern 333 #13,770
2015 modern 333 #13,676
2016 modern 346 #13,291

Geography

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Where Looses are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around London parishes, Gunthorpe, Holkham and Wisbech St Peter. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to King's Lynn and West Norfolk, Wrexham, Manchester and New Forest. 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 London parishes London 1
2 Gunthorpe Norfolk
3 London parishes London 3
4 Holkham Norfolk
5 Wisbech St Peter Cambridgeshire

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 King's Lynn and West Norfolk 002 King's Lynn and West Norfolk
2 Wrexham 010 Wrexham
3 Manchester 050 Manchester
4 Wrexham 012 Wrexham
5 New Forest 010 New Forest

Forenames

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First names often paired with Loose

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

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Loose

Modern surname records can be compared with neighbourhood classifications. For Loose, 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 Loose surname is most associated with neighbourhoods classed as Spacious Rural Living, within Retired Professionals. This does not mean every Loose 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

Professional Employment and Family Lifecycles

Group

Established Homeowners with Children

Within London, Loose is most associated with areas classed as Established Homeowners with Children, 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

These predominantly British-born residents are typically married/in civil partnerships and own the properties in which they are raising their children. Parents are typically over 45, and many other residents are beyond normal retirement age. Detached and semi-detached houses predominate and multiple car ownership is common.

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

Loose is most concentrated in decile 7 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.

7
Lower access Higher access

Neighbourhood deprivation

Index of Multiple Deprivation

Loose falls in decile 4 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.

4
More deprived Less deprived

Broadband speed

Fixed broadband download speed

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

Meaning and origin of Loose

The surname Loose is of English origin, derived from the Old English word "los," meaning a meadow or pasture land. It is believed to have first emerged as a surname in the 13th century, referring to individuals who lived near or owned such meadowlands.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Pipe Rolls of Oxfordshire from 1279, which mentions a William Lose. The name also appears in the Subsidy Rolls of Sussex from 1327, where it is spelled as "Lose."

In the 14th century, the name began to evolve into its modern spelling of "Loose." This variation can be found in the Patent Rolls of 1368, which refers to a John Loose from Essex.

During the medieval period, the name Loose was particularly prevalent in the counties of Sussex, Kent, and Essex, where many families with this surname were recorded in various tax and court records.

One notable bearer of the name was William Loose (c. 1505-1552), an English clergyman who served as the Archdeacon of Middlesex and was involved in the English Reformation under King Henry VIII.

Another historical figure with the surname Loose was Thomas Loose (1635-1718), an English Quaker minister and writer who travelled extensively throughout England and the American colonies, spreading the Quaker faith.

In the 17th century, the Loose surname also found its way to the Netherlands, where it is recorded as "Loos" or "Loosen." One prominent Dutch bearer of this name was Pieter Loos (1691-1733), a renowned landscape painter during the Dutch Golden Age.

Back in England, John Loose (1708-1787) was a notable surveyor and cartographer who produced several important maps of London and its surrounding areas.

Another significant figure with the Loose surname was Sir Robert Loose (1822-1899), a British civil engineer and railway pioneer who played a crucial role in the construction of several major railway lines in India and Sri Lanka during the 19th century.

While the name Loose has its roots in England, it has since spread to various parts of the world, including North America, Australia, and New Zealand, carried by migrants and descendants of English families bearing this surname.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

1881 census detail

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Loose families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Loose 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 96 Looses recorded in 1881 and an index of 21.41x.

County Total Index
Norfolk 96 21.41x
Middlesex 33 1.13x
Lancashire 27 0.78x
Cambridgeshire 19 10.28x
Cheshire 17 2.64x
Warwickshire 17 2.31x
Suffolk 13 3.66x
Surrey 13 0.91x
Staffordshire 12 1.22x
Gloucestershire 11 1.92x
Derbyshire 10 2.19x
Midlothian 6 1.54x
Durham 5 0.58x
Bedfordshire 4 2.65x
Kent 4 0.40x
Lanarkshire 4 0.42x
Yorkshire 3 0.10x
Hampshire 2 0.33x
Devon 1 0.16x
Somerset 1 0.21x
Westmorland 1 1.56x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Brancaster in Norfolk leads with 20 Looses recorded in 1881 and an index of 2597.40x.

Place Total Index
Brancaster 20 2597.40x
Wells Next Sea 20 766.28x
Gunthorpe 13 5909.09x
Wisbech St Peter 11 118.79x
Leckhampton 10 284.09x
Aston 9 4.44x
Briningham 8 3076.92x
Chesterton 8 140.35x
Ipswich St Mary Stoke 8 242.42x
Birkenhead 7 13.64x
Birmingham 7 2.86x
Handsworth 7 28.84x
Heaton Norris 7 35.53x
Norwich St Saviour 7 445.86x
Paddington London 7 6.53x
Westminster St James 7 23.35x
Buxton 6 155.44x
Lytham 6 113.64x
Macclesfield 6 20.96x
Bow London 5 13.47x
Gateshead 5 7.70x
Lowestoft 5 29.80x
Widnes 5 20.03x
Wolverhampton 5 6.61x
Edinburgh St Cuthberts 4 2.54x
Govan 4 1.71x
Luton 4 15.30x
North Creake 4 655.74x
Sedgeford 4 526.32x
St George Hanover Square 4 7.78x
Stockport 4 12.07x
Burstow 3 247.93x
Cockerham 3 340.91x
Deptford St Paul 3 3.91x
Emneth 3 300.00x
Fakenham 3 135.75x
Sharrington 3 1363.64x
Wandsworth 3 10.68x
Westminster St Margaret 3 21.32x
Winmarleigh 3 789.47x
Battersea 2 1.86x
Bethnal Green London 2 1.58x
Bromley London 2 3.12x
Derby St Werburgh 2 7.58x
Heacham 2 200.00x
Kensington London 2 1.23x
Manchester 2 1.29x
Norwich St George Tombland 2 253.16x
Portsea 2 1.71x
Skelton In Guisbrough 2 25.58x
South Leith 2 4.55x
Sutton 2 19.46x
Alfreton 1 7.21x
Brassington 1 144.93x
Camberwell 1 0.54x
Cheltenham 1 2.27x
Fulham London 1 2.36x
Gately 1 666.67x
Heigham 1 4.15x
Heversham With Milnthorpe 1 64.94x
Holkham 1 185.19x
Holy Trinity 1 1.44x
Kings Lynn St Margaret 1 7.43x
Lewisham 1 1.88x
Lower Upper Holker 1 212.77x
Norwich St Paul 1 37.31x
Offwell 1 303.03x
Putney 1 7.52x
Richmond 1 5.02x
Saxlingham 1 714.29x
Thetford St Peter 1 84.75x
Warwick St Mary 1 15.65x
Weston Super Mare 1 8.43x

Top female names

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

Name Count
Mary 19
Sarah 19
Eliza 7
Elizabeth 7
Jane 7
Emma 6
Ellen 5
Emily 5
Ann 4
Florence 4
Hannah 4
Susan 4
Alice 3
Harriett 3
Margaret 3
Deborah 2
Fanny 2
Frances 2
Kate 2
Mabel 2
Selina 2
Annie 1
Caroline 1
Christiana 1
Crisanna 1
Dinah 1
Eda 1
Edith 1
Eileen 1
Emmeline 1
Esther 1
Harriet 1
Jemima 1
Julisha 1
Laura 1
Leah 1
Ledonna 1
Lucy 1
Lydia 1
Mahela 1
Matilda 1
Melvina 1
Minnie 1
Namoi 1
Nathalie 1
Phoeby 1
Polly 1
Rebecca 1
Rose 1
Susannah 1

Top male names

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

Name Count
William 20
John 11
Robert 10
Charles 8
George 8
Henry 8
Francis 7
James 7
Thomas 7
Edward 6
Frederick 6
Alfred 3
Andrew 3
Arthur 2
Edwin 2
Joseph 2
Leonard 2
Richard 2
Walter 2
Albert 1
Andreas 1
Edmund 1
Frank 1
Geo. 1
Harold 1
Horace 1
Hugo 1
Isiac 1
Jos.W. 1
Leon 1
Louisa 1
Matthew 1
Mich 1
Oliver 1
Percy 1
Reginald 1
Robt. 1
Sconey 1
Tatsy 1
Tom 1

FAQ

Loose surname: questions and answers

How common was the Loose surname in 1881?

In 1881, 300 people were recorded with the Loose surname. That placed it at #9,724 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Loose surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 346 in 2016. That gives Loose a modern rank of #13,291.

What does the Loose surname mean?

An English toponymic surname derived from a place name meaning "pig sty" in Old English.

What does the Loose map show?

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