NameCensus.

UK surname

Merrall

In the 1881 census there were 222 people recorded with the Merrall surname, ranking it #12,022 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 175, ranked #21,383, down from #12,022 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to London parishes, Bingley and St Marylebone. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Burnley, Leicester and Blaby.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Merrall is 294 in 1911. Compared with 1881, the name has fallen by 21.2%.

1881 census count

222

Ranked #12,022

Modern count

175

2016, ranked #21,383

Peak year

1911

294 bearers

Map years

9

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Merrall had 222 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #12,022 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 175 in 2016, ranked #21,383.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 294 in 1911.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Suburban Professionals.

Merrall surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Merrall surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Merrall 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 127 #14,547
1861 historical 188 #12,628
1881 historical 222 #12,022
1891 historical 252 #12,685
1901 historical 265 #12,652
1911 historical 294 #11,622
1997 modern 216 #16,802
1998 modern 215 #17,306
1999 modern 226 #16,884
2000 modern 215 #17,388
2001 modern 201 #17,885
2002 modern 201 #18,236
2003 modern 192 #18,568
2004 modern 192 #18,678
2005 modern 187 #18,924
2006 modern 182 #19,402
2007 modern 173 #20,243
2008 modern 175 #20,311
2009 modern 178 #20,486
2010 modern 179 #20,886
2011 modern 174 #21,096
2012 modern 176 #20,915
2013 modern 180 #20,954
2014 modern 178 #21,259
2015 modern 176 #21,291
2016 modern 175 #21,383

Geography

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Where Merralls are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around London parishes, Bingley, St Marylebone and Leicester St Margaret and Bishop's Fee, Leicester All Saints, Blackfriars. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Burnley, Leicester, Blaby, Wychavon and Wyre 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 London parishes London 3
3 Bingley Yorkshire, West Riding
4 St Marylebone London (North Districts)
5 Leicester St Margaret and Bishop's Fee, Leicester All Saints, Blackfriars Leicestershire

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Burnley 010 Burnley
2 Leicester 020 Leicester
3 Blaby 007 Blaby
4 Wychavon 013 Wychavon
5 Wyre Forest 014 Wyre Forest

Forenames

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First names often paired with Merrall

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

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Merrall

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

Ethnically Diverse Suburban Professionals

Group

Suburban Professionals

Nationally, the Merrall surname is most associated with neighbourhoods classed as Suburban Professionals, within Ethnically Diverse Suburban Professionals. This does not mean every Merrall household fits that profile, but it gives a useful signal about where the modern surname distribution is strongest.

Read profile summary

Group profile

Employment in this Group is typically in managerial and professional occupations, and education to degree level is common. Residents are typically of working age, many of whom identify with an Indian ethnicity. Households are unlikely to be of Mixed or Multiple ethnicities, and English is not the main language used in some households. This Group is found on the outskirts of most conurbations as well as in the suburbs of some free-standing towns.

Wider pattern

Those working within the managerial, professional and administrative occupations typically reflect a wide range of ethnic groups, and reside in detached or semi-detached housing. Their residential locations at the edges of cities and conurbations and car-based lifestyles are more characteristic of Supergroup membership than birthplace or participation in child-rearing. Houses are typically owner-occupied and marriage rates are lower than the national average. This Supergroup is found throughout suburban UK.

London neighbourhood type

London Output Area Classification

Supergroup

Older Residents in Owner-Occupied Suburbs

Group

Professional Periphery

Within London, Merrall is most associated with areas classed as Professional Periphery, 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

These neighbourhoods predominantly house residents aged 45+, with many aged 85+. Most employed residents work in senior roles, and relatively few work in unskilled jobs. Terraced housing is comparatively rare, but communal living is more common. More residents identify as of Indian ethnicity and more affiliate with non-Christian religions. Disability levels are below the Supergroup average.

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

Merrall 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

Merrall falls in decile 7 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.

7
More deprived Less deprived

Broadband speed

Fixed broadband download speed

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

1881 census detail

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Merrall families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Merrall 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. Yorkshire leads with 75 Merralls recorded in 1881 and an index of 3.46x.

County Total Index
Yorkshire 75 3.46x
Leicestershire 38 15.69x
Kent 36 4.83x
Lancashire 26 1.00x
Surrey 14 1.32x
Staffordshire 12 1.63x
Middlesex 10 0.46x
Glamorgan 5 1.31x
Isle of Man 4 9.86x
Buckinghamshire 2 1.51x
Sussex 1 0.27x
Warwickshire 1 0.18x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Keighley in Yorkshire leads with 30 Merralls recorded in 1881 and an index of 129.98x.

Place Total Index
Keighley 30 129.98x
Leicester St Margaret 23 38.93x
Haworth 13 252.43x
Maidstone 13 58.53x
Salford 10 13.11x
Bingley 8 58.01x
Leicester St Mary 7 35.77x
Bromley London 6 12.48x
Manningham 6 22.50x
Morton In Keighley 6 352.94x
Stretford 6 42.08x
Tonbridge 6 22.31x
Walsall Foreign 6 15.75x
Warley 6 95.85x
Leicester Black Friars 5 316.46x
Middleton In Oldham 5 64.35x
Oystermouth 5 170.07x
Bearsted 4 888.89x
East Farleigh 4 320.00x
German Peel 4 170.94x
Kingsley 4 291.97x
Lambeth 4 2.10x
Newington 4 4.96x
Rotherhithe 4 14.81x
Bispham With Norbreck 3 555.56x
Leicester St Martin 3 184.05x
Ulcombe 3 612.24x
Hollingbourn 2 232.56x
Horton In Bradford 2 5.92x
Linslade 2 155.04x
Skircoat 2 23.42x
Teston 2 833.33x
Wolverhampton 2 3.53x
Birkdale 1 15.24x
Birmingham 1 0.54x
Dunkeswick 1 769.23x
Gravesend 1 15.85x
Great Little Marsden 1 8.42x
Kensington London 1 0.82x
Lewes St John Under 1 200.00x
Paddington London 1 1.24x
Putney 1 10.04x
Ramsgate 1 8.22x
Richmond 1 6.70x
Shelf 1 48.31x
St Anne Soho London 1 8.01x
Westminster St James 1 4.45x

Top female names

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

Name Count
Mary 12
Eliza 7
Sarah 7
Elizabeth 6
Ellen 6
Martha 6
Emma 5
Ada 4
Alice 4
Annie 3
Edith 3
Fanny 3
Grace 3
Jane 3
Amelia 2
Ann 2
Clara 2
Ethel 2
Louisa 2
Mabel 2
Susan 2
Susannah 2
Abigail 1
Alma 1
Anne 1
Anthemina 1
Betty 1
Catherine 1
Christiana 1
Constance 1
Elsie 1
Florence 1
Frances 1
Francess 1
Harriet 1
Helena 1
Hilda 1
Infant 1
Irene 1
Isabella 1
Jemima 1
Lizzie 1
Lois 1
Maria 1
Marion 1
Minnie 1
Nelly 1
Rosina 1
Sophia 1
Susanna 1

Top male names

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

Name Count
George 13
John 10
Thomas 8
Arthur 6
William 6
Joseph 5
Charles 4
Frank 4
Jonathan 4
Samuel 4
Edward 3
Henry 3
James 3
Michael 3
Robert 3
Alfred 2
Edwin 2
Ephraim 2
Herbert 2
Alexander 1
Augustus 1
Daniel 1
Ernest 1
Fred 1
Geo. 1
Geo.W. 1
Geof. 1
Harold 1
Harry 1
Hartley 1
Hubert 1
Hy. 1
Leonard 1
Levi 1
Percy 1
Richard 1
Robt. 1
Tom 1
Walter 1

FAQ

Merrall surname: questions and answers

How common was the Merrall surname in 1881?

In 1881, 222 people were recorded with the Merrall surname. That placed it at #12,022 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Merrall surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 175 in 2016. That gives Merrall a modern rank of #21,383.

What does the Merrall map show?

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