NameCensus.

UK surname

Meigh

In the 1881 census there were 204 people recorded with the Meigh surname, ranking it #12,682 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 369, ranked #12,617, up from #12,682 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to Trentham, Burslem and Hinckley (incl. Hydes Pastures). In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Stoke-on-Trent and Barnsley.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Meigh is 396 in 2009. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 80.9%.

1881 census count

204

Ranked #12,682

Modern count

369

2016, ranked #12,617

Peak year

2009

396 bearers

Map years

9

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Meigh had 204 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #12,682 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 369 in 2016, ranked #12,617.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 383 in 1911.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Challenged Communities.

Meigh surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Meigh surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Meigh 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 168 #11,873
1861 historical 153 #15,032
1881 historical 204 #12,682
1891 historical 252 #12,685
1901 historical 343 #10,583
1911 historical 383 #9,597
1997 modern 269 #14,543
1998 modern 386 #11,668
1999 modern 385 #11,771
2000 modern 389 #11,645
2001 modern 377 #11,723
2002 modern 380 #11,887
2003 modern 380 #11,689
2004 modern 382 #11,672
2005 modern 372 #11,813
2006 modern 389 #11,476
2007 modern 388 #11,630
2008 modern 393 #11,641
2009 modern 396 #11,815
2010 modern 394 #12,131
2011 modern 386 #12,170
2012 modern 374 #12,324
2013 modern 381 #12,360
2014 modern 387 #12,299
2015 modern 386 #12,237
2016 modern 369 #12,617

Geography

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Where Meighs are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around Trentham, Burslem, Hinckley (incl. Hydes Pastures), Chilvers Coton and West Derby. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Stoke-on-Trent and Barnsley. 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 Trentham Staffordshire
2 Burslem Staffordshire
3 Hinckley (incl. Hydes Pastures) Leicestershire
4 Chilvers Coton Warwickshire
5 West Derby Lancashire

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Stoke-on-Trent 017 Stoke-on-Trent
2 Stoke-on-Trent 014 Stoke-on-Trent
3 Stoke-on-Trent 007 Stoke-on-Trent
4 Barnsley 008 Barnsley
5 Stoke-on-Trent 013 Stoke-on-Trent

Forenames

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First names often paired with Meigh

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

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Meigh

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

Challenged Communities

Nationally, the Meigh surname is most associated with neighbourhoods classed as Challenged Communities, within Baseline UK. This does not mean every Meigh household fits that profile, but it gives a useful signal about where the modern surname distribution is strongest.

Read profile summary

Group profile

Residents of these neighbourhoods typically live in households with dependent children, and there are fewer-than-average residents of normal retirement age or over. Identification with ethnic minorities, particularly Black, or Mixed or Multiple ethnicities is common. The rate of Christian religious affiliation is low. Housing predominantly consists of semi-detached houses, along with a significant number of terraced properties and flats. Overcrowded social housing is common, and private renting occurs at average UK levels. Those in employment work mainly in caring leisure and other services; process, plant and machine operation; or elementary occupations. Unemployment is high, and few individuals have degree level qualifications. Many of these neighbourhoods occur in commuter towns or less accessible areas of larger 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

Professional Employment and Family Lifecycles

Group

Inner London Working Professionals

Within London, Meigh 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

Meigh 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

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

1881 census detail

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Meigh families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Meigh 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. Staffordshire leads with 119 Meighs recorded in 1881 and an index of 17.72x.

County Total Index
Staffordshire 119 17.72x
Leicestershire 31 14.05x
Warwickshire 18 3.59x
Yorkshire 10 0.51x
Lancashire 9 0.38x
Lincolnshire 5 1.57x
Worcestershire 3 1.15x
Buckinghamshire 2 1.66x
Cheshire 2 0.46x
Kent 2 0.29x
Middlesex 2 0.10x
Lanarkshire 1 0.16x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Stoke Upon Trent in Staffordshire leads with 95 Meighs recorded in 1881 and an index of 133.39x.

Place Total Index
Stoke Upon Trent 95 133.39x
Hinckley 31 592.73x
Trentham 13 227.67x
Chilvers Coton 7 339.81x
Meriden 7 1228.07x
Bury 6 22.25x
Selby 6 145.63x
Barnetby Le Wold 5 862.07x
Burslem 5 25.99x
Caverswall 5 143.27x
Aston 3 2.17x
Danby Commondale 3 1363.64x
West Derby 3 4.34x
Worcester St Peter 3 60.98x
Linslade 2 169.49x
Over 2 44.84x
Tonbridge 2 8.17x
Adel Cum Eccup 1 123.46x
Barony 1 0.61x
Birmingham 1 0.60x
Friern Barnet 1 22.83x
Hackney London 1 0.90x
Stone 1 11.64x

Top female names

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

Name Count
Mary 12
Elizabeth 8
Sarah 7
Emma 5
Ellen 4
Hannah 4
Jane 4
Maria 4
Ann 3
Caroline 3
Eliza 3
Lucy 3
Alice 2
Anne 2
Annie 2
Elizth. 2
Emily 2
Florence 2
Martha 2
Ada 1
Amy 1
Anita 1
Bridget 1
Esther 1
Frances 1
Harriet 1
Ida 1
Jemimah 1
Lilian 1
Louisa 1
Luphorious 1
Lysetta 1
Ma. 1
Margaret 1
Minnie 1
Mira 1
Priscilla 1
Prudence 1
Roseanne 1
Saraah 1
Susan 1
Wm. 1

Top male names

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

Name Count
Thomas 12
John 11
William 9
Charles 7
Henry 7
Frederick 6
Edward 5
Walter 5
Arthur 4
George 4
James 4
Francis 3
Clement 2
Herbert 2
Joseph 2
Leonard 2
Richard 2
Alfred 1
Aurthur 1
Bernard 1
Charlie 1
David 1
Eli 1
Elisha 1
Frank 1
Hamlet 1
Jesse 1
Job 1
Josiah 1
Michael 1
Patrick 1
Reynold 1
Sampson 1
Samuel 1
Ted 1
W.M. 1

FAQ

Meigh surname: questions and answers

How common was the Meigh surname in 1881?

In 1881, 204 people were recorded with the Meigh surname. That placed it at #12,682 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Meigh surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 369 in 2016. That gives Meigh a modern rank of #12,617.

What does the Meigh map show?

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