NameCensus.

UK surname

Marsham

In the 1881 census there were 257 people recorded with the Marsham surname, ranking it #10,861 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 324, ranked #13,966, down from #10,861 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to London parishes, Brampton and Bircham, Great. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Breckland, Kingston upon Hull and Copeland.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Marsham is 403 in 1891. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 26.1%.

1881 census count

257

Ranked #10,861

Modern count

324

2016, ranked #13,966

Peak year

1891

403 bearers

Map years

9

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Marsham had 257 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #10,861 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 324 in 2016, ranked #13,966.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 403 in 1891.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Spacious Rural Living.

Marsham surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Marsham surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Marsham 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 195 #10,620
1861 historical 343 #7,444
1881 historical 257 #10,861
1891 historical 403 #8,822
1901 historical 255 #12,965
1911 historical 361 #10,044
1997 modern 327 #12,784
1998 modern 332 #12,990
1999 modern 343 #12,800
2000 modern 321 #13,337
2001 modern 316 #13,258
2002 modern 326 #13,241
2003 modern 310 #13,522
2004 modern 290 #14,178
2005 modern 296 #13,947
2006 modern 294 #14,092
2007 modern 299 #14,077
2008 modern 293 #14,364
2009 modern 309 #14,135
2010 modern 333 #13,717
2011 modern 323 #13,868
2012 modern 319 #13,898
2013 modern 332 #13,713
2014 modern 334 #13,749
2015 modern 331 #13,739
2016 modern 324 #13,966

Geography

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Where Marshams are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around London parishes, Brampton, Bircham, Great, Elsing and St Mary Islington. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Breckland, Kingston upon Hull, Copeland and Sutherland North and West. 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 3
2 Brampton Norfolk
3 Bircham, Great Norfolk
4 Elsing Norfolk
5 St Mary Islington London (North Districts)

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Breckland 001 Breckland
2 Breckland 005 Breckland
3 Kingston upon Hull 004 Kingston upon Hull, City of
4 Copeland 007 Copeland
5 Sutherland North and West Highland

Forenames

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First names often paired with Marsham

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

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Marsham

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

Older Residents in Owner-Occupied Suburbs

Group

London Fringe

Within London, Marsham 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

Marsham is most concentrated in decile 8 for access to healthy assets and hazards. This places the surname towards the healthier 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.

8
Lower access Higher access

Neighbourhood deprivation

Index of Multiple Deprivation

Marsham falls in decile 5 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.

5
More deprived Less deprived

Broadband speed

Fixed broadband download speed

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

1881 census detail

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Marsham families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Marsham 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 114 Marshams recorded in 1881 and an index of 29.58x.

County Total Index
Norfolk 114 29.58x
Middlesex 43 1.72x
Kent 20 2.34x
Surrey 14 1.15x
Yorkshire 14 0.56x
Berkshire 10 5.31x
Northamptonshire 9 3.82x
Durham 8 1.07x
Oxfordshire 8 5.17x
Lancashire 4 0.13x
Essex 2 0.40x
Glamorgan 2 0.46x
Northumberland 2 0.54x
Wiltshire 2 0.90x
Buckinghamshire 1 0.66x
Devon 1 0.19x
Gloucestershire 1 0.20x
Hampshire 1 0.19x
Sussex 1 0.24x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Elsing in Norfolk leads with 25 Marshams recorded in 1881 and an index of 7352.94x.

Place Total Index
Elsing 25 7352.94x
Heigham 16 77.33x
Great Yarmouth 13 40.71x
Islington London 13 5.35x
Brampton 12 7500.00x
Barton Seagrave 9 4736.84x
Camberwell 7 4.37x
Great Bircham 7 1750.00x
Sonning 7 336.54x
St Marylebone London 7 5.23x
Swanton Morley 7 1186.44x
Deptford St Paul 6 9.10x
Greenwich 6 15.03x
St George Hanover 6 18.34x
Westoe 6 14.19x
Bilton Cum Harrogate 4 47.06x
Norwich St Andrew 4 606.06x
Norwich St Julian 4 246.91x
Putney 4 35.00x
Stoke Lyne 4 833.33x
York St Mary 4 38.87x
Bethnal Green London 3 2.75x
Gayton 3 461.54x
Liverpool 3 1.66x
Loose 3 238.10x
Oxford St Giles 3 40.60x
Oxnead 3 5000.00x
Skelton In Guisbrough 3 44.64x
Bermondsey 2 2.68x
Deptford St Nicholas 2 29.46x
East Dereham 2 41.07x
Folkestone 2 12.06x
Hemsby 2 357.14x
Hevingham 2 303.03x
Ludham 2 294.12x
Mile End Old Town 2 5.05x
Norwich St Giles 2 162.60x
Norwich St Paul 2 86.58x
Norwood 2 34.90x
Ratcliffe London 2 14.45x
Romford 2 25.58x
Swansea Town 2 5.59x
Wallsend 2 16.91x
Whickham 2 29.15x
Winkfield 2 64.10x
Ardwick 1 3.73x
Boxley 1 76.34x
Carisbrooke 1 14.03x
Caversfield 1 1250.00x
Chelsea London 1 1.32x
Clewer 1 12.97x
Cliffe 1 69.93x
Colton 1 454.55x
Ealing 1 4.46x
Egham 1 13.33x
Eton 1 29.07x
Gressenhall 1 140.85x
Hampstead London 1 2.56x
Keighley 1 3.78x
Kensington London 1 0.72x
Mirfield 1 7.33x
Newington 1 14.62x
Newton St Faith 1 344.83x
Norwich St Simon St Jude 1 333.33x
Paddington London 1 1.09x
Preshute 1 73.53x
Prestbury 1 81.97x
Saxlingham 1 833.33x
South Lynn 1 22.99x
Stoke Newington London 1 5.12x
Swindon 1 5.81x
Thetford St Cuthbert 1 71.94x
Topsham 1 40.65x
Tottenham 1 2.50x
Waxham 1 769.23x
Whitechapel London 1 4.05x

Top female names

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

Name Count
Mary 18
Sarah 8
Hannah 7
Jane 7
Ann 6
Elizabeth 6
Emma 6
Ellen 5
Alice 3
Caroline 3
Catherine 3
Emily 3
Frances 3
Ada 2
Annie 2
Charlotte 2
Edith 2
Harriet 2
Kate 2
Ruth 2
Bessie 1
Clara 1
Eliza 1
Ethel 1
Evelyn 1
Florence 1
Francis 1
Grace 1
Helen 1
Jessie 1
Jommina 1
Julia 1
Laura 1
Letita 1
Lottie 1
Lydia 1
Mabel 1
Marcia 1
Margaret 1
Margarite 1
Maria 1
Marian 1
Mariana 1
Marianne 1
Martha 1
Maud 1
Olive 1
Patience 1
Penelope 1
Zeila 1

Top male names

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

Name Count
William 16
John 14
Robert 12
Henry 11
Charles 8
George 7
Thomas 7
James 6
Samuel 4
Robt. 3
Benjamin 2
Edward 2
Frederick 2
Fredrick 2
Harry 2
Herbert 2
Alfred 1
Arthur 1
Athelstan 1
Benj. 1
Benjm. 1
Bloudesley 1
C. 1
Cloudesley 1
Douglas 1
Ferdinand 1
Fredk.C. 1
Geo. 1
Horace 1
Hugh 1
Jacob 1
Jno. 1
Joseph 1
Justin 1
K. 1
Reginald 1
Richard 1
Sidney 1
Stephen 1
Tom 1
W. 1
Walter 1

FAQ

Marsham surname: questions and answers

How common was the Marsham surname in 1881?

In 1881, 257 people were recorded with the Marsham surname. That placed it at #10,861 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Marsham surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 324 in 2016. That gives Marsham a modern rank of #13,966.

What does the Marsham map show?

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