NameCensus.

UK surname

Meanwell

In the 1881 census there were 207 people recorded with the Meanwell surname, ranking it #12,555 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 259, ranked #16,393, down from #12,555 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to Lincoln St Botolph, Louth and Lincoln St Swithin. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Waverley, North East Lincolnshire and Stroud.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Meanwell is 299 in 1999. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 25.1%.

1881 census count

207

Ranked #12,555

Modern count

259

2016, ranked #16,393

Peak year

1999

299 bearers

Map years

9

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Meanwell had 207 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #12,555 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 259 in 2016, ranked #16,393.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 258 in 1911.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Rural Amenity.

Meanwell surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Meanwell surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Meanwell 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 121 #15,049
1861 historical 111 #19,429
1881 historical 207 #12,555
1891 historical 217 #14,062
1901 historical 228 #13,929
1911 historical 258 #12,614
1997 modern 288 #13,886
1998 modern 295 #14,029
1999 modern 299 #14,000
2000 modern 291 #14,200
2001 modern 286 #14,160
2002 modern 292 #14,236
2003 modern 267 #14,950
2004 modern 272 #14,843
2005 modern 268 #14,905
2006 modern 249 #15,784
2007 modern 257 #15,606
2008 modern 261 #15,597
2009 modern 256 #16,145
2010 modern 259 #16,386
2011 modern 256 #16,383
2012 modern 253 #16,377
2013 modern 261 #16,309
2014 modern 257 #16,598
2015 modern 256 #16,524
2016 modern 259 #16,393

Geography

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Where Meanwells are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around Lincoln St Botolph, Louth, Lincoln St Swithin, Hull Holy Trinity and Doncaster. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Waverley, North East Lincolnshire, Stroud, Kingston upon Hull and South Kesteven. 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 Lincoln St Botolph Lincolnshire
2 Louth Lincolnshire
3 Lincoln St Swithin Lincolnshire
4 Hull Holy Trinity Yorkshire, East Riding
5 Doncaster Yorkshire, West Riding

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Waverley 005 Waverley
2 North East Lincolnshire 020 North East Lincolnshire
3 Stroud 008 Stroud
4 Kingston upon Hull 001 Kingston upon Hull, City of
5 South Kesteven 006 South Kesteven

Forenames

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First names often paired with Meanwell

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

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Meanwell

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

Suburbanites and Peri-Urbanities

Group

Rural Amenity

Nationally, the Meanwell surname is most associated with neighbourhoods classed as Rural Amenity, within Suburbanites and Peri-Urbanities. This does not mean every Meanwell household fits that profile, but it gives a useful signal about where the modern surname distribution is strongest.

Read profile summary

Group profile

This Group comprises older parents or retirees, with no resident dependent children, and with the lowest residential densities in this Supergroup. Predominantly UK-born, residents typically live in detached houses, although others do live in semi-detached and terraced properties. The level of multiple car ownership is the highest in this Supergroup. Most houses are owner occupied although social renting is also present. Many concentrations occur in high amenity rural locations, such as Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

Wider pattern

Pervasive throughout the UK, members of this Supergroup typically own (or are buying) their detached, semi-detached or terraced homes. They are also typically educated to A Level/Highers or degree level and work in skilled or professional occupations. Typically born in the UK, some families have children, although the median adult age is above 45 and some property has become under-occupied after children have left home. This Supergroup is pervasive not only in suburban locations, but also in neighbourhoods at or beyond the edge of cities that adjoin rural parts of the country.

London neighbourhood type

London Output Area Classification

Supergroup

Professional Employment and Family Lifecycles

Group

Inner London Working Professionals

Within London, Meanwell is most associated with areas classed as Inner London Working Professionals, 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 primarily Inner London neighbourhoods are more densely populated than the Supergroup average. Residents have a younger over-all age profile than the Supergroup as a whole, and are less likely to be owner occupiers. Full time employment is more common than elsewhere in the Supergroup and multiple car ownership is uncommon. Chinese and non-EU-born European migrants are less in evidence than elsewhere in the Supergroup.

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

Meanwell 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

Meanwell falls in decile 9 for neighbourhood deprivation. This puts the surname towards the less deprived end of the index.

Decile 1 represents the more deprived end of the scale. Decile 10 represents the less deprived end.

9
More deprived Less deprived

Broadband speed

Fixed broadband download speed

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

1881 census detail

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Meanwell families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Meanwell 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. Lincolnshire leads with 142 Meanwells recorded in 1881 and an index of 44.20x.

County Total Index
Lincolnshire 142 44.20x
Yorkshire 48 2.41x
Middlesex 12 0.60x
Dorset 1 0.76x
Kent 1 0.15x
Lanarkshire 1 0.15x
Surrey 1 0.10x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Louth in Lincolnshire leads with 31 Meanwells recorded in 1881 and an index of 421.20x.

Place Total Index
Louth 31 421.20x
St Swithin Lincoln 17 336.63x
Holy Trinity 12 25.06x
Balby Cum Hexthorpe 10 420.17x
Great Grimsby 10 49.04x
West Ashby 9 3333.33x
Caistor 8 625.00x
Bracebridge 7 479.45x
Louth Park 7 7777.78x
Ravenfield 7 5833.33x
Coningsby 6 652.17x
Leeds 6 5.34x
Scawby 6 566.04x
Wheatley 6 869.57x
Woodhall 6 3157.89x
St Luke London 5 15.51x
Kirkstead 4 5000.00x
St Pancras London 4 2.47x
Tattershall Thorpe 4 1904.76x
Horncastle 3 90.36x
St Maryle Wigford 3 120.00x
Tattershall 3 909.09x
Alvingham 2 1111.11x
Goulsbey 2 1176.47x
Horton In Bradford 2 6.43x
Leake 2 136.05x
St Marylebone London 2 1.86x
Stickford 2 606.06x
West Barkwith 2 2500.00x
Belchford 1 294.12x
Bradford 1 2.07x
Doncaster 1 6.87x
Govan 1 0.62x
Hainton 1 476.19x
Keadby 1 3333.33x
Langriville 1 434.78x
Mablethorpe 1 227.27x
Manningham 1 4.08x
Mumby 1 227.27x
Potter Newton 1 28.49x
St Mary 1 75.19x
St Peters 1 31.55x
Tetford 1 243.90x
Walton On Thames 1 22.22x
Welton Le Wold 1 434.78x
Westminster St 1 13.50x
Whitchurch Canonicorum 1 136.99x

Top female names

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

Name Count
John 18
William 12
Thomas 10
George 7
Frederick 4
James 4
Walter 4
Alfred 3
Sampson 3
Charles 2
Ernest 2
Frank 2
Henry 2
Joseph 2
Tom 2
Wright 2
Algernon 1
Arthur 1
Barker 1
Benjamin 1
Claudius 1
Daniel 1
Edw. 1
Edward 1
Fred 1
Harry 1
Herbert 1
Jeffrey 1
Leonard 1
Richard 1
Samson 1
Stephen 1
Willie 1

FAQ

Meanwell surname: questions and answers

How common was the Meanwell surname in 1881?

In 1881, 207 people were recorded with the Meanwell surname. That placed it at #12,555 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Meanwell surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 259 in 2016. That gives Meanwell a modern rank of #16,393.

What does the Meanwell map show?

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