NameCensus.

UK surname

Mosely

Derived from a place name meaning "mouse clearing" or "mouse wood" in Old English.

In the 1881 census there were 496 people recorded with the Mosely surname, ranking it #6,816 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 141, ranked #24,753, down from #6,816 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to Biggleswade, London parishes and St Pancras. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Portsmouth, Southend-on-Sea and South Cambridgeshire.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Mosely is 496 in 1881. Compared with 1881, the name has fallen by 71.6%.

1881 census count

496

Ranked #6,816

Modern count

141

2016, ranked #24,753

Peak year

1881

496 bearers

Map years

9

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Mosely had 496 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #6,816 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 141 in 2016, ranked #24,753.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 496 in 1881.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Multicultural Inner Suburbs.

Mosely surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Mosely surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Mosely 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 479 #5,198
1861 historical 358 #7,132
1881 historical 496 #6,816
1891 historical 270 #12,027
1901 historical 317 #11,213
1911 historical 292 #11,674
1997 modern 167 #19,722
1998 modern 158 #20,992
1999 modern 152 #21,636
2000 modern 140 #22,752
2001 modern 134 #23,037
2002 modern 136 #23,296
2003 modern 122 #24,628
2004 modern 130 #23,902
2005 modern 126 #24,287
2006 modern 123 #24,873
2007 modern 133 #24,059
2008 modern 133 #24,350
2009 modern 136 #24,485
2010 modern 153 #23,175
2011 modern 146 #23,736
2012 modern 147 #23,567
2013 modern 151 #23,529
2014 modern 145 #24,395
2015 modern 145 #24,246
2016 modern 141 #24,753

Geography

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Where Moselys are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around Biggleswade, London parishes, St Pancras, St John Hackney and St Marylebone. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Portsmouth, Southend-on-Sea, South Cambridgeshire, Westminster and Hillingdon. 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 Biggleswade Bedfordshire
2 London parishes London 3
3 St Pancras London (North Districts)
4 St John Hackney London (North Districts)
5 St Marylebone London (North Districts)

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Portsmouth 026 Portsmouth
2 Southend-on-Sea 001 Southend-on-Sea
3 South Cambridgeshire 017 South Cambridgeshire
4 Westminster 013 Westminster
5 Hillingdon 029 Hillingdon

Forenames

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First names often paired with Mosely

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

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Mosely

Modern surname records can be compared with neighbourhood classifications. For Mosely, 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 Mosely surname is most associated with neighbourhoods classed as Multicultural Inner Suburbs, within Baseline UK. This does not mean every Mosely 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

Young Families and Mainstream Employment

Group

Social Rented Sector and Diverse Origins

Within London, Mosely is most associated with areas classed as Social Rented Sector and Diverse Origins, part of Young Families and Mainstream Employment. 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

Scattered across London’s Inner and Outer suburbs, residents of these neighbourhoods are typically housed in the social rented sector. Although terraced and semi-detached houses predominate, more residents live in flats than elsewhere in the Supergroup. Neighbourhoods are more ethnically diverse than the Supergroup average. Those identifying as of Bangladeshi, Pakistani and some Black ethnicities are more prevalent. Europeans born in a overseas non-EU countries make up more of the lower proportion of residents identifying as White. Few residents are very old (85+). Employment in distribution, hotels and restaurants is more common than elsewhere in the Supergroup.

Wider London pattern

Many families in these neighbourhoods have young children. Housing is principally in the social rented sector, in terraced or semi-detached units. While over-all residential densities are low, overcrowding is also prevalent locally. Residents are drawn from a range of ethnic minorities, with many identifying as Black and above average numbers born in Africa. Numbers identifying as of Chinese, Indian or White ethnicity are below average. Levels of proficiency in English are below average. Levels of separation or divorce and incidence of disability are both above average. Education is typically limited to Level 1, 2, or apprenticeship qualifications. Few residents work in professional or managerial occupations but the employment structure is otherwise diverse: it includes skilled trades, caring, leisure and other service occupations, sales and customer service occupations, construction, and work as process, plant, and machine operatives.

Healthy neighbourhoods

Access to healthy assets and hazards

Mosely is most concentrated in decile 10 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.

10
Lower access Higher access

Neighbourhood deprivation

Index of Multiple Deprivation

Mosely 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 Mosely is most associated with a typical fixed broadband download band of 50-60 mbit/s.

The scale below places that band in context, from slower local download bands through to faster ones.

8
Slower band Faster band

Area snapshot

Ethnic group estimate

Most common ethnic group estimate
White - British

This describes the area pattern most associated with Mosely, not the ethnicity of every person with the surname.

Meaning and origin of Mosely

The surname Mosely has its origins in England, tracing back to the Middle Ages. It is derived from the Old English words "mos" and "leah," meaning "moss" and "meadow" or "clearing," respectively. This suggests that the name initially referred to someone who lived near a mossy meadow or clearing.

The earliest recorded instances of the name date back to the early 13th century, appearing in various forms such as "de Moseleye" and "atte Moselye." These variations reflect the common practice of adding locational suffixes to distinguish individuals from specific areas.

One of the earliest known references to the name can be found in the Hundred Rolls of 1273, which were administrative records documenting landowners and their holdings. The entry "John de Museleye" is listed as residing in Staffordshire.

During the 14th century, the name was also documented in the Poll Tax Returns of 1379, which recorded taxpayers across England. This record includes individuals such as "Thomas de Moseleye" and "John Moselye," both from Worcestershire.

Over the centuries, the surname has been associated with several notable figures. One of the earliest was Sir Nicholas Mosely (c. 1320-1388), a prominent landowner and member of Parliament from Staffordshire. Another was Sir Oswald Mosely (1588-1665), an English politician and lawyer who served as a member of the Long Parliament during the English Civil War.

In later years, the name gained further prominence with individuals like Sir Oswald Mosley (1896-1980), a British politician and founder of the British Union of Fascists. Another noteworthy bearer of the name was Walter Michael Mosely (1925-2010), an American writer and philosopher known for his works on Afrofuturism.

The Mosely surname has also been associated with various locations across England, such as Moseley in Staffordshire, Moseley in Worcestershire, and Moseley in the West Midlands. These place names likely contributed to the development and spread of the surname over time.

While the exact origins of the Mosely surname may be difficult to pinpoint, its history is deeply rooted in the medieval English landscape and the lives of those who once called the mossy meadows and clearings of England their home.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

1881 census detail

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Mosely families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Mosely 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. Middlesex leads with 60 Moselys recorded in 1881 and an index of 1.24x.

County Total Index
Middlesex 60 1.24x
Yorkshire 51 1.06x
Derbyshire 33 4.36x
Staffordshire 32 1.96x
Surrey 30 1.27x
Sussex 29 3.56x
Kent 27 1.64x
Lancashire 26 0.45x
Worcestershire 24 3.80x
Durham 21 1.46x
Brecknockshire 17 17.57x
Warwickshire 17 1.39x
Glamorgan 15 1.78x
Herefordshire 14 7.06x
Essex 12 1.26x
Monmouthshire 12 3.43x
Gloucestershire 11 1.16x
Nottinghamshire 11 1.69x
Bedfordshire 9 3.59x
Hampshire 9 0.91x
Hertfordshire 6 1.80x
Cambridgeshire 5 1.63x
Cheshire 4 0.37x
Lanarkshire 3 0.19x
Northumberland 3 0.42x
Cornwall 2 0.37x
Leicestershire 2 0.37x
Lincolnshire 2 0.26x
Norfolk 2 0.27x
Somerset 2 0.26x
Anglesey 1 1.17x
Buckinghamshire 1 0.34x
Midlothian 1 0.15x
Royal Navy 1 1.73x
Shropshire 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. Brecknock St John in Brecknockshire leads with 17 Moselys recorded in 1881 and an index of 208.33x.

Place Total Index
Brecknock St John 17 208.33x
Stedham 16 1777.78x
St Marylebone London 15 5.81x
Aberdare 11 19.02x
Aston 10 2.98x
Bedwellty 10 16.19x
Hackney London 10 3.69x
Nottingham St Mary 10 5.93x
Catcliffe 9 1323.53x
Ecclesall Bierlow 9 9.23x
Hulme 9 7.51x
Salford 9 5.33x
Brightside Bierlow 8 8.51x
Claylane 8 75.97x
Holbeck 8 25.19x
Paddington London 8 4.50x
St Pancras London 8 2.05x
Wolstanton 8 16.13x
Woolwich 8 13.12x
Lyonshall 7 486.11x
Stoney Middleton 7 1206.90x
Wednesbury 7 17.15x
Chelsea London 6 4.12x
Claines 6 34.60x
Clifton 6 12.51x
Croydon 6 4.58x
Halesowen 6 108.11x
Westoe 6 7.35x
Wimbledon 6 22.67x
Worcester St Clement 6 149.25x
Ashperton 5 735.29x
Brighton 5 3.04x
Broom 5 420.17x
Framwellgate 5 58.62x
Hastings St Mary In The 5 28.74x
Offchurch 5 943.40x
Unstone 5 167.79x
Walsall Foreign 5 5.93x
Wanstead 5 29.89x
Armley 4 18.91x
Bilston 4 12.64x
Camberwell 4 1.29x
Dronfield 4 41.19x
Horninglow 4 52.02x
Nether Hallam 4 6.17x
Plawsworth 4 256.41x
Reigate Foreign 4 15.67x
St Andrewthe Less 4 11.43x
Upchurch 4 215.05x
Biggleswade 3 36.59x
Colchester St James 3 77.52x
Derby St Peter 3 12.43x
Farnborough 3 28.79x
Hove 3 8.38x
Lambeth 3 0.71x
Northill 3 128.21x
Oldbury 3 9.65x
Ratcliffe London 3 11.23x
Richmond 3 9.08x
Tonbridge 3 5.04x
Bethnal Green London 2 0.95x
Blantyre 2 12.28x
Doncaster 2 5.71x
Dudley 2 2.60x
East Peckham 2 58.31x
Elstree 2 181.82x
Everton 2 1.09x
Falmouth 2 10.31x
Hornsey 2 3.27x
Liscard 2 10.40x
Margate St John Baptist 2 6.62x
Methwold 2 82.99x
Pencombe 2 465.12x
Sambourn 2 227.27x
Sandy 2 45.25x
Sheffield 2 1.31x
Tibshelf 2 53.76x
Ware 2 20.92x
Wednesfield 2 8.32x
Whittington 2 19.08x

Top female names

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

Name Count
Mary 39
Elizabeth 22
Sarah 22
Alice 9
Ann 9
Annie 8
Emma 8
Jane 8
Eliza 7
Ellen 7
Florence 6
Kate 5
Margaret 5
Martha 5
Agnes 4
Emily 4
Ada 3
Edith 3
Fanny 3
Lucy 3
Rose 3
Selina 3
Susan 3
Amelia 2
Amy 2
Anne 2
Blanche 2
Caroline 2
Elizth. 2
Frances 2
Gwen 2
Hannah 2
Harriet 2
Helen 2
Louisa 2
Louise 2
Malvina 2
Rebecca 2
Ruth 2
Alwine 1
Beatrice 1
Betsy 1
Esther 1
Ethel 1
Jeanette 1
Josephine 1
Julia 1
Juliana 1
Kesiah 1
Winnifred 1

Top male names

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

Name Count
William 36
John 27
George 18
Charles 12
Henry 11
Thomas 11
Joseph 10
Alfred 7
James 6
Robert 6
Richard 5
Samuel 5
Arthur 4
Frederick 4
Harry 4
Edward 3
Herbert 3
Walter 3
Albert 2
Frank 2
Fred. 2
Louis 2
Phineas 2
Rowland 2
Tom 2
Wm. 2
Benjamin 1
Bertram 1
Earnest 1
Enoch 1
Evan 1
F. 1
Francis 1
Fredk. 1
Fredrick 1
Henery 1
Isaac 1
Jas. 1
Jenkin 1
Joe 1
Joshua 1
Lewis 1
Licueon 1
Matthew 1
Michael 1
Oswald 1
Sackville 1
Sidney 1
Stephen 1
Steven 1

FAQ

Mosely surname: questions and answers

How common was the Mosely surname in 1881?

In 1881, 496 people were recorded with the Mosely surname. That placed it at #6,816 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Mosely surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 141 in 2016. That gives Mosely a modern rank of #24,753.

What does the Mosely surname mean?

Derived from a place name meaning "mouse clearing" or "mouse wood" in Old English.

What does the Mosely map show?

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