NameCensus.

UK surname

Messent

In the 1881 census there were 178 people recorded with the Messent surname, ranking it #13,840 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 138, ranked #25,127, down from #13,840 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to Walthamstow, Low Leyton, London parishes and Bulmer. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Breckland, Guildford and Wychavon.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Messent is 247 in 1911. Compared with 1881, the name has fallen by 22.5%.

1881 census count

178

Ranked #13,840

Modern count

138

2016, ranked #25,127

Peak year

1911

247 bearers

Map years

9

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Messent had 178 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #13,840 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 138 in 2016, ranked #25,127.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 247 in 1911.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Multicultural Inner Suburbs.

Messent surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Messent surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Messent 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 106 #16,512
1861 historical 113 #19,151
1881 historical 178 #13,840
1891 historical 184 #15,869
1901 historical 195 #15,380
1911 historical 247 #13,016
1997 modern 175 #19,161
1998 modern 189 #18,737
1999 modern 173 #19,935
2000 modern 167 #20,332
2001 modern 158 #20,788
2002 modern 168 #20,396
2003 modern 172 #19,893
2004 modern 170 #20,146
2005 modern 170 #20,066
2006 modern 163 #20,789
2007 modern 167 #20,719
2008 modern 154 #22,034
2009 modern 147 #23,248
2010 modern 147 #23,809
2011 modern 148 #23,520
2012 modern 133 #25,187
2013 modern 136 #25,252
2014 modern 137 #25,345
2015 modern 135 #25,481
2016 modern 138 #25,127

Geography

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Where Messents are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around Walthamstow, Low Leyton, London parishes, Bulmer, Lambeth and Bures, Lamarsh, Alphamstone. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Breckland, Guildford, Wychavon, South Bucks and North Warwickshire. 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 Walthamstow, Low Leyton Essex
2 London parishes London 3
3 Bulmer Suffolk
4 Lambeth London (South Districts)
5 Bures, Lamarsh, Alphamstone Suffolk

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Breckland 010 Breckland
2 Guildford 013 Guildford
3 Wychavon 016 Wychavon
4 South Bucks 001 South Bucks
5 North Warwickshire 007 North Warwickshire

Forenames

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First names often paired with Messent

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

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Messent

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

Multicultural Inner Suburbs

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

Read profile summary

Group profile

These neighbourhoods house many younger and middle-aged adults with children. All ethnic minorities, apart from those identifying as Pakistani or Bangladeshi, appear to be present in above average proportions. Affiliation to Christian religions is uncommon. Long-term disability rates are low, mirrored in limited provision of unpaid care. Privately rented terrace houses and flats are the norm. Managerial, professional and technical occupations are prevalent, and work is rarely part time. Many individuals have degree level qualifications. These areas form the inner suburbs of many of the UK’s 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, Messent 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

Messent 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

Messent falls in decile 10 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.

10
More deprived Less deprived

Broadband speed

Fixed broadband download speed

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

1881 census detail

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Messent families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Messent 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. Surrey leads with 59 Messents recorded in 1881 and an index of 6.97x.

County Total Index
Surrey 59 6.97x
Essex 45 13.13x
Middlesex 37 2.13x
Kent 13 2.19x
Norfolk 10 3.75x
Northumberland 5 1.94x
Suffolk 4 1.89x
Worcestershire 2 0.88x
Berkshire 1 0.77x
Dunbartonshire 1 2.14x
Sussex 1 0.34x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Lambeth in Surrey leads with 18 Messents recorded in 1881 and an index of 11.89x.

Place Total Index
Lambeth 18 11.89x
Newington 16 24.95x
Chelsea London 13 24.85x
Walthamstow 11 89.14x
Woolwich 11 50.25x
Camberwell 10 9.02x
Norwich St John Timberhill 9 1250.00x
Finchley 8 120.12x
Bulmer 6 1463.41x
Croydon 5 10.65x
Streatham 5 38.82x
Tynemouth 5 36.15x
Woodford 5 128.87x
Halstead 4 100.00x
Hornsey 4 18.21x
Nacton 4 1290.32x
Alphamstone 3 2000.00x
Belchamp Walter 3 810.81x
Islington London 3 1.78x
Lamarsh 3 1875.00x
Great Henny 2 1111.11x
Kings Norton 2 9.84x
Southwark Christchurch 2 24.57x
St Marylebone London 2 2.16x
Tonbridge 2 9.36x
Tottenham 2 7.23x
Walthanstow 2 350.88x
Witham 2 112.99x
Bermondsey 1 1.93x
Bocking 1 48.54x
Bonhill 1 13.35x
Bow London 1 4.52x
Braintree 1 32.47x
Foxearth 1 416.67x
Friern Barnet 1 26.18x
Godalming 1 18.76x
Hackney London 1 1.03x
Kensington London 1 1.04x
Mile End Old Town 1 3.65x
Putney 1 12.64x
Stebbing 1 151.52x
Swardeston 1 500.00x
Walberton 1 277.78x
Wargrave 1 89.29x

Top female names

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

Name Count
William 12
George 9
John 7
Charles 6
Henry 5
Alfred 4
Daniel 4
Arthur 3
Frederick 3
Fredrick 3
Philip 3
Francis 2
Joseph 2
Walter 2
Abraham 1
Albert 1
Crithworth 1
Danl. 1
Earnest 1
Edward 1
Edwin 1
Ernest 1
Frank 1
Harold 1
Harry 1
Malcolm 1
Percy 1
Reginald 1
Stanley 1
Sutton 1
Thomas 1
Willm.T. 1
Zachariah 1

FAQ

Messent surname: questions and answers

How common was the Messent surname in 1881?

In 1881, 178 people were recorded with the Messent surname. That placed it at #13,840 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Messent surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 138 in 2016. That gives Messent a modern rank of #25,127.

What does the Messent map show?

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