NameCensus.

UK surname

Nevins

Derived from the Irish surname "Ó Cnáimhín," meaning "descendant of Cnáimhín," a nickname meaning "little bone."

In the 1881 census there were 196 people recorded with the Nevins surname, ranking it #13,006 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 458, ranked #10,679, up from #13,006 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to Newcastle St Andrew, Ford and Gateshead. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Cotswold, Gateshead and Manchester.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Nevins is 477 in 2010. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 133.7%.

1881 census count

196

Ranked #13,006

Modern count

458

2016, ranked #10,679

Peak year

2010

477 bearers

Map years

8

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Nevins had 196 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #13,006 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 458 in 2016, ranked #10,679.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 246 in 1901.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Established but Challenged.

Nevins surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Nevins surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Nevins 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 137 #13,812
1861 historical 98 #21,388
1881 historical 196 #13,006
1891 historical 217 #14,062
1901 historical 246 #13,269
1911 historical 198 #15,058
1997 modern 370 #11,666
1998 modern 391 #11,539
1999 modern 395 #11,555
2000 modern 402 #11,357
2001 modern 408 #11,056
2002 modern 434 #10,751
2003 modern 422 #10,825
2004 modern 434 #10,619
2005 modern 435 #10,480
2006 modern 441 #10,411
2007 modern 458 #10,190
2008 modern 463 #10,204
2009 modern 472 #10,286
2010 modern 477 #10,410
2011 modern 477 #10,319
2012 modern 453 #10,598
2013 modern 459 #10,682
2014 modern 466 #10,608
2015 modern 465 #10,572
2016 modern 458 #10,679

Geography

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Where Nevins' are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around Newcastle St Andrew, Ford, Gateshead, Newcastle St John and Liverpool. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Cotswold, Gateshead, Manchester, Sunderland and Warrington. 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 Newcastle St Andrew Northumberland
2 Ford Northumberland
3 Gateshead Durham
4 Newcastle St John Northumberland
5 Liverpool Lancashire

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Cotswold 005 Cotswold
2 Gateshead 012 Gateshead
3 Manchester 028 Manchester
4 Sunderland 009 Sunderland
5 Warrington 008 Warrington

Forenames

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First names often paired with Nevins

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

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Nevins

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

Semi- and Un-Skilled Workforce

Group

Established but Challenged

Nationally, the Nevins surname is most associated with neighbourhoods classed as Established but Challenged, within Semi- and Un-Skilled Workforce. This does not mean every Nevins household fits that profile, but it gives a useful signal about where the modern surname distribution is strongest.

Read profile summary

Group profile

Many households in these neighbourhoods comprise separated or divorced single parents with dependent children. Residents are typically born in the UK, and these neighbourhoods have relatively few members of ethnic minorities. The prevalence of children, their parents and those at or above normal retirement age, suggests neighbourhood structures may be long-established. Levels of unpaid care are high, and long-term disability is more common than in the Supergroup as a whole. Use of the social rented sector is common, often in terraced houses. Levels of overcrowding are above the Supergroup average. Unemployment is high, while those in work are employed in elementary occupations such as caring, leisure and customer services. Many residents have low level qualifications. Neighbourhood concentrations of this Group are found in the South Wales Valleys, Belfast, Londonderry and the Central Lowlands of Scotland.

Wider pattern

Living in terraced or semi-detached houses, residents of these neighbourhoods typically lack high levels of education and work in elementary or routine service occupations. Unemployment is above average. Residents are predominantly born in the UK, and residents are also predominantly from ethnic minorities. Social (but not private sector) rented sector housing is common. This Supergroup is found throughout the UK’s conurbations and industrial regions but is also an integral part of smaller towns.

London neighbourhood type

London Output Area Classification

Supergroup

The Greater London Mix

Group

Social Rented Sector Professional Support Workers

Within London, Nevins is most associated with areas classed as Social Rented Sector Professional Support Workers, part of The Greater London Mix. 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

Mainly located in Inner London, these neighbourhoods retain a diverse employment structure, with some concentration in associated professional and technical occupations rather than skilled trades or construction. Social renting is more common and levels of homeownership are low. Many residents identify as Black. There is a lower than average rate of marriage or civil partnership, few that are very old (85 or over) and higher than average incidence of disability.

Wider London pattern

A Supergroup embodying London's diversity in many respects, apart from low numbers of residents identifying as of Bangladeshi, Indian, Pakistani or Other (non-Chinese) Asian ethnicity. There is lower than average prevalence of families with dependent children, while there are above average occurrences of never-married individuals and single-person households. The age distribution is skewed towards younger, single residents and couples without children, with many individuals identifying as of mixed or multiple ethnicity. Social rented or private rented housing is slightly more prevalent than average, and many residents live in flats. Individuals typically work in professional and associated roles in public administration, education or health rather than in elementary occupations in agriculture, energy, water, construction or manufacturing. Incidence of students is slightly below average. Individuals declaring no religion are more prevalent than average and non-use of English at home is below average.

Healthy neighbourhoods

Access to healthy assets and hazards

Nevins is most concentrated in decile 9 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.

9
Lower access Higher access

Neighbourhood deprivation

Index of Multiple Deprivation

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

Meaning and origin of Nevins

The surname Nevins originated in medieval England, deriving from an Old English word "nevene" which means nephew or grandson. This name was likely initially used as a descriptive surname to distinguish individuals by their relationship to another person.

Nevins is a variant spelling of the more common English surname Nevinson or Nevinson. The earliest recorded instance of this name appears in the Hundredorum Rolls of Yorkshire from 1273, where it is listed as Nevenson.

In the Domesday Book of 1086, a record of landowners in England commissioned by William the Conqueror, there are no direct mentions of Nevins or its variants. However, there are entries for places like Nevendon in Essex, which may have influenced the development of the surname.

One of the earliest known bearers of the name was John Nevynson, who was recorded as a resident of Yorkshire in 1379. Another early record is of William Nevynson, who was mentioned in the Register of the Freemen of York City in 1448.

Notable individuals with the surname Nevins throughout history include Henry Nevins (1562-1615), an English clergyman and author of theological works. John Nevins (1639-1706) was a Welsh-born Anglican priest who served as Bishop of Norwich.

David Nevins (1808-1865) was an American Presbyterian minister and author from Baltimore, Maryland. Alfred Nevins (1858-1933) was a British trade unionist and Labour Party politician who served as a Member of Parliament.

Allan Nevins (1890-1971) was an influential American historian and author, known for his extensive work on the American Civil War and biographies of American presidents. He received two Pulitzer Prizes for his writings.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

1881 census detail

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Nevins families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Nevins 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. Northumberland leads with 45 Nevins' recorded in 1881 and an index of 15.74x.

County Total Index
Northumberland 45 15.74x
Lancashire 41 1.80x
Durham 34 5.95x
Yorkshire 27 1.42x
Middlesex 6 0.31x
Cheshire 5 1.18x
Surrey 5 0.53x
Derbyshire 4 1.33x
Lanarkshire 4 0.64x
Warwickshire 4 0.83x
Worcestershire 4 1.59x
Gloucestershire 3 0.80x
Lincolnshire 3 0.98x
Sussex 3 0.93x
Angus 2 1.12x
Kent 2 0.31x
Cumberland 1 0.60x
Fife 1 0.88x
Glamorgan 1 0.30x
Shropshire 1 0.60x
Somerset 1 0.32x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Leeds in Yorkshire leads with 19 Nevins' recorded in 1881 and an index of 17.67x.

Place Total Index
Leeds 19 17.67x
Warrington 18 66.59x
Liverpool 11 7.94x
Cramlington 9 238.10x
Elswick 8 35.06x
Thornton 8 10000.00x
Westoe 8 24.68x
Birtley 6 257.51x
Heworth 6 53.24x
Ford 5 476.19x
North Seaton 5 416.67x
Toxteth Park 5 6.48x
Alfreton 4 43.76x
Gateshead 4 9.35x
Pendleton In Salford 4 14.72x
Aldingbourn 3 612.24x
Birmingham 3 1.86x
Cheltenham 3 10.32x
Chirton 3 46.37x
Chopwell 3 283.02x
Glasgow 3 2.72x
Great Grimsby 3 15.38x
Islington London 3 1.61x
Kimberworth 3 28.38x
Leigh 3 98.36x
Lockwood 3 43.80x
Banstead 2 78.74x
Cornhill 2 465.12x
Lambeth 2 1.19x
Lewisham 2 5.72x
Liscard 2 26.18x
Lochee 2 125.79x
Newbottle 2 64.10x
St Pancras London 2 1.29x
Stranton 2 10.39x
Tweedmouth 2 56.18x
Wolsingham 2 38.39x
Aston 1 0.75x
Bootle Cum Linacre 1 5.52x
Bridgnorth St Leonard 1 53.19x
Cambuslang 1 15.95x
Clapham 1 4.16x
Conside Knitsley 1 22.47x
Horton In Bradford 1 3.36x
Kensington London 1 0.94x
Leslie 1 34.72x
Newcastle On Tyne St 1 6.75x
Northfield 1 21.01x
Ossett Cum Gawthorpe 1 14.71x
Oystermouth 1 38.61x
Portishead 1 43.48x
Puddington 1 1000.00x
Rothbury 1 121.95x
Salford 1 1.49x
Tranmere 1 6.41x
Tynemouth 1 6.53x
Whiston 1 56.18x
Witton Cum Twambrooks 1 26.46x
Workington 1 10.56x

Top female names

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

Name Count
Elizabeth 12
Mary 8
Margaret 7
Ann 6
Jane 6
Sarah 6
Annie 4
Alice 2
Catherine 2
Eliza 2
Hannah 2
Kate 2
Lilly 2
Minnie 2
Susan 2
A.L. 1
A.W. 1
Agnes 1
Anne 1
Carolin 1
Caroline 1
Charlotte 1
Clara 1
Dinah 1
Eleanor 1
Elenour 1
Eliz. 1
Elizebth. 1
Elizh. 1
Ellenor 1
Ethel 1
Ethelreda 1
Fanny 1
G. 1
G.A. 1
Harriet 1
Helen 1
Isabell 1
Isabella 1
J.F. 1
Janet 1
Laura 1
Leona 1
Louisa 1
Lucy 1
M.A. 1
Margret 1
Maria 1
Miriam 1
Rebeca 1

Top male names

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

Name Count
John 16
William 13
Thomas 9
James 7
Charles 5
George 5
Robert 5
Joseph 4
Richard 4
Henry 3
Anthony 2
Edward 2
Michael 2
Thos. 2
Andrew 1
Daniel 1
Frederick 1
G.J. 1
Harold 1
Patrick 1
Reginald 1
Samuel 1
Victor 1
W. 1
Wm. 1

FAQ

Nevins surname: questions and answers

How common was the Nevins surname in 1881?

In 1881, 196 people were recorded with the Nevins surname. That placed it at #13,006 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Nevins surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 458 in 2016. That gives Nevins a modern rank of #10,679.

What does the Nevins surname mean?

Derived from the Irish surname "Ó Cnáimhín," meaning "descendant of Cnáimhín," a nickname meaning "little bone."

What does the Nevins map show?

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