NameCensus.

UK surname

Motion

In the 1881 census there were 191 people recorded with the Motion surname, ranking it #13,224 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 308, ranked #14,479, down from #13,224 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to Leuchars, West Kilbride and Edinburgh. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Niddrie, Craigmillar and Chiltern.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Motion is 332 in 1999. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 61.3%.

1881 census count

191

Ranked #13,224

Modern count

308

2016, ranked #14,479

Peak year

1999

332 bearers

Map years

8

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Motion had 191 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #13,224 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 308 in 2016, ranked #14,479.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 242 in 1901.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Legacy and Demographically Mixed Communities.

Motion surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Motion surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Motion 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 146 #13,157
1861 historical 154 #14,963
1881 historical 191 #13,224
1891 historical 222 #13,854
1901 historical 242 #13,392
1911 historical 38 #29,147
1997 modern 307 #13,328
1998 modern 319 #13,330
1999 modern 332 #13,075
2000 modern 326 #13,188
2001 modern 314 #13,318
2002 modern 309 #13,733
2003 modern 302 #13,752
2004 modern 284 #14,377
2005 modern 297 #13,916
2006 modern 302 #13,863
2007 modern 308 #13,791
2008 modern 299 #14,177
2009 modern 295 #14,594
2010 modern 316 #14,198
2011 modern 292 #14,863
2012 modern 293 #14,742
2013 modern 298 #14,815
2014 modern 309 #14,533
2015 modern 304 #14,617
2016 modern 308 #14,479

Geography

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Where Motions are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around Leuchars, West Kilbride, Edinburgh, Dundee, Liff, Benvie and Invergowry and Kilrenny. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Niddrie, Craigmillar, Chiltern, Hilltown and Gracemount, Southhouse and Burdiehouse. 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 Leuchars Fife
2 West Kilbride Ayr
3 Edinburgh Edinburgh
4 Dundee, Liff, Benvie and Invergowry Forfar
5 Kilrenny Fife

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Niddrie City of Edinburgh
2 Craigmillar City of Edinburgh
3 Chiltern 001 Chiltern
4 Hilltown Dundee City
5 Gracemount, Southhouse and Burdiehouse City of Edinburgh

Forenames

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First names often paired with Motion

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

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Motion

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

Legacy Communities

Group

Legacy and Demographically Mixed Communities

Nationally, the Motion surname is most associated with neighbourhoods classed as Legacy and Demographically Mixed Communities, within Legacy Communities. This does not mean every Motion household fits that profile, but it gives a useful signal about where the modern surname distribution is strongest.

Read profile summary

Group profile

Households in these areas often include divorced or separated parents and commonly include children and young adults. The age structure is heavily skewed towards the most advanced age groups. Individuals identifying as members of ethnic minorities are not present in large numbers. Flats predominate, with some terraced, semi-detached, and detached units. Multiple car ownership is low, and housing is predominantly in the private and social rented sectors. Employment is less skewed towards traditional routine industrial occupations. Levels of educational attainment are generally low. The Group occurs principally in the Central Lowlands of Scotland and other Scottish towns.

Wider pattern

These neighbourhoods characteristically comprise pockets of flats that are scattered across the UK, particularly in towns that retain or have legacies of heavy industry or are in more remote seaside locations. Employed residents of these neighbourhoods work mainly in low-skilled occupations. Residents typically have limited educational qualifications. Unemployment is above average. Some residents live in overcrowded housing within the social rented sector and experience long-term disability. All adult age groups are represented, although there is an overall age bias towards elderly people in general and the very old in particular. Individuals identifying as belonging to ethnic minorities or Mixed or Multiple ethnic groups are uncommon.

London neighbourhood type

London Output Area Classification

Supergroup

Professional Employment and Family Lifecycles

Group

Inner London Working Professionals

Within London, Motion 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

Motion is most concentrated in decile 2 for access to healthy assets and hazards. This places the surname towards the less healthy 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.

2
Lower access Higher access

Neighbourhood deprivation

Index of Multiple Deprivation

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

1881 census detail

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Motion families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Motion 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. Fife leads with 82 Motions recorded in 1881 and an index of 76.35x.

County Total Index
Fife 82 76.35x
Angus 32 19.04x
Ayrshire 18 13.26x
Stirlingshire 13 19.43x
Middlesex 12 0.66x
Lanarkshire 7 1.19x
Aberdeenshire 4 2.38x
Perthshire 4 4.91x
Lancashire 3 0.14x
East Lothian 2 8.32x
Kent 2 0.32x
Sussex 2 0.65x
Glamorgan 1 0.32x
Hampshire 1 0.27x
Surrey 1 0.11x
West Lothian 1 3.66x
Yorkshire 1 0.06x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. West Kilbride in Ayrshire leads with 16 Motions recorded in 1881 and an index of 1240.31x.

Place Total Index
West Kilbride 16 1240.31x
Leuchars 12 882.35x
Kippen 11 1222.22x
Auchterderran 9 333.33x
Dundee 9 14.34x
Kilrenny 9 452.26x
Hackney London 8 7.87x
Kirkcaldy 8 150.09x
Montrose 8 78.51x
Arbirlot 7 1372.55x
Barry 7 346.53x
Crail 7 636.36x
St Andrews 7 143.15x
Carnbee 6 909.09x
Barony 5 3.37x
Dunbog 5 3571.43x
Aberdeen St Nicholas 4 12.72x
Dysart 4 55.33x
Kinnoull 4 186.92x
Largo 4 287.77x
Kilconquhar 3 234.38x
St George In East 3 24.31x
Anstruther Easter 2 256.41x
Broadwater 2 28.49x
Everton 2 2.92x
Pittenweem 2 151.52x
Stevenston 2 56.50x
Stirling 2 23.70x
Abbotshall 1 24.94x
Boness 1 26.53x
Burntisland 1 33.33x
Chilham 1 113.64x
Croydon 1 2.04x
Dairsie 1 227.27x
Doncaster 1 7.62x
Govan 1 0.69x
Haddington 1 28.17x
Hamilton 1 6.11x
Kennoway 1 102.04x
Liff Benvie 1 3.92x
Michaelstone Super Avon 1 29.24x
Newchurch 1 5.68x
Plumstead 1 4.85x
Portsea 1 1.37x
Prestonkirk 1 83.33x
St George Bloomsbury 1 9.61x

Top female names

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

Name Count
James 3
Andrew 1
Francis 1
Sydney 1
Thomas 1
Wm. 1

Top occupations

Occupational titles are kept as recorded and later transcribed, so related jobs, spelling variants and mistakes stay separate. Scholar was the census term for a child in education. That means the other rows often tell you more about adult work in Motion households.

FAQ

Motion surname: questions and answers

How common was the Motion surname in 1881?

In 1881, 191 people were recorded with the Motion surname. That placed it at #13,224 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Motion surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 308 in 2016. That gives Motion a modern rank of #14,479.

What does the Motion map show?

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