NameCensus.

UK surname

Norton

An English toponymic surname derived from a place name meaning "north settlement" or "north town."

In the 1881 census there were 9,943 people recorded with the Norton surname, ranking it #431 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 13,377, ranked #481, down from #431 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to London parishes, Leicester St Margaret and Bishop's Fee, Leicester All Saints, Blackfriars and St Mary Islington. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Forest Heath, Wakefield and Oldham.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Norton is 13,724 in 1998. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 34.5%.

1881 census count

9,943

Ranked #431

Modern count

13,377

2016, ranked #481

Peak year

1998

13,724 bearers

Map years

9

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Norton had 9,943 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #431 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 13,377 in 2016, ranked #481.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 13,047 in 1911.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Rural Amenity.

Norton surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Norton surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Norton 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 6,173 #451
1861 historical 6,478 #434
1881 historical 9,943 #431
1891 historical 10,610 #415
1901 historical 12,059 #433
1911 historical 13,047 #373
1997 modern 13,327 #456
1998 modern 13,724 #462
1999 modern 13,712 #464
2000 modern 13,460 #467
2001 modern 13,176 #467
2002 modern 13,477 #467
2003 modern 13,146 #468
2004 modern 13,123 #472
2005 modern 12,754 #481
2006 modern 12,806 #476
2007 modern 12,857 #481
2008 modern 12,920 #483
2009 modern 13,268 #479
2010 modern 13,502 #483
2011 modern 13,309 #483
2012 modern 13,287 #474
2013 modern 13,565 #475
2014 modern 13,615 #479
2015 modern 13,494 #479
2016 modern 13,377 #481

Geography

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Where Nortons are most common

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

The modern local-area list points to Forest Heath, Wakefield, Oldham, South Cambridgeshire and Vale of White Horse. 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 Leicester St Margaret and Bishop's Fee, Leicester All Saints, Blackfriars Leicestershire
4 St Mary Islington London (North Districts)
5 Sheffield Yorkshire, West Riding

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Forest Heath 001 Forest Heath
2 Wakefield 005 Wakefield
3 Oldham 026 Oldham
4 South Cambridgeshire 016 South Cambridgeshire
5 Vale of White Horse 009 Vale of White Horse

Forenames

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First names often paired with Norton

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

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Norton

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

Suburbanites and Peri-Urbanities

Group

Rural Amenity

Nationally, the Norton surname is most associated with neighbourhoods classed as Rural Amenity, within Suburbanites and Peri-Urbanities. This does not mean every Norton household fits that profile, but it gives a useful signal about where the modern surname distribution is strongest.

Read profile summary

Group profile

This Group comprises older parents or retirees, with no resident dependent children, and with the lowest residential densities in this Supergroup. Predominantly UK-born, residents typically live in detached houses, although others do live in semi-detached and terraced properties. The level of multiple car ownership is the highest in this Supergroup. Most houses are owner occupied although social renting is also present. Many concentrations occur in high amenity rural locations, such as Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

Wider pattern

Pervasive throughout the UK, members of this Supergroup typically own (or are buying) their detached, semi-detached or terraced homes. They are also typically educated to A Level/Highers or degree level and work in skilled or professional occupations. Typically born in the UK, some families have children, although the median adult age is above 45 and some property has become under-occupied after children have left home. This Supergroup is pervasive not only in suburban locations, but also in neighbourhoods at or beyond the edge of cities that adjoin rural parts of the country.

London neighbourhood type

London Output Area Classification

Supergroup

The Greater London Mix

Group

Social Rented Sector Professional Support Workers

Within London, Norton 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

Norton 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

Norton falls in decile 8 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.

8
More deprived Less deprived

Broadband speed

Fixed broadband download speed

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

Meaning and origin of Norton

The surname NORTON is of English origin, derived from the Old English words "nor" meaning north and "tun" meaning a town or settlement. It likely originated as a place name referring to a northern town or village. The name can be traced back to the 11th century and is found in the Domesday Book of 1086, which was a survey of landowners in England and Wales commissioned by William the Conqueror.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name NORTON is in the Pipe Rolls of Gloucestershire in 1176, where a Richard de Norton is mentioned. The surname also appears in various charters and land records from the 13th and 14th centuries in various counties across England, suggesting its widespread use during this time period.

The NORTON surname is often associated with places like Norton, a village in Northamptonshire, and Norton-on-Derwent, a town in Yorkshire. Variations in spelling include Nortune, Northtun, and Northtone, reflecting the evolution of the name over time.

Notable individuals with the surname NORTON throughout history include:

1. Thomas Norton (c. 1532-1584), an English lawyer, writer, and member of Parliament during the reign of Elizabeth I. 2. John Norton (1606-1663), a Puritan minister and one of the founders of the Massachusetts Bay Colony in America. 3. Caroline Elizabeth Sarah Norton (1808-1877), an English feminist and social reformer known for her work on child custody laws. 4. Charles Eliot Norton (1827-1908), an American author, editor, and professor at Harvard University. 5. Andre Norton (1912-2005), an American writer of science fiction and fantasy novels, often considered a pioneer in the genre.

The NORTON surname has a rich history dating back to medieval England, with its origins likely rooted in place names denoting northern settlements. Over the centuries, it has been borne by individuals from various walks of life, including lawyers, ministers, writers, and academics, contributing to the cultural and intellectual fabric of societies across the English-speaking world.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

1881 census detail

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Norton families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Norton 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 1,426 Nortons recorded in 1881 and an index of 1.48x.

County Total Index
Yorkshire 1,426 1.48x
Middlesex 1,424 1.47x
Lancashire 729 0.63x
Surrey 510 1.08x
Norfolk 487 3.26x
Staffordshire 478 1.46x
Kent 469 1.42x
Lincolnshire 429 2.76x
Warwickshire 418 1.71x
Leicestershire 294 2.73x
Cheshire 251 1.17x
Devon 234 1.16x
Suffolk 231 1.95x
Somerset 211 1.35x
Derbyshire 196 1.29x
Essex 185 0.96x
Hampshire 164 0.82x
Gloucestershire 152 0.80x
Durham 149 0.52x
Northamptonshire 149 1.63x
Shropshire 121 1.44x
Nottinghamshire 104 0.79x
Sussex 99 0.60x
Worcestershire 99 0.78x
Hertfordshire 93 1.39x
Northumberland 88 0.61x
Wiltshire 74 0.86x
Cambridgeshire 73 1.19x
Lanarkshire 72 0.23x
Glamorgan 69 0.41x
Dorset 62 0.97x
Berkshire 58 0.80x
Oxfordshire 44 0.73x
Herefordshire 41 1.03x
Bedfordshire 37 0.74x
Carmarthenshire 29 0.71x
Cornwall 26 0.24x
Cumberland 20 0.24x
West Lothian 20 1.37x
Ayrshire 18 0.25x
Channel Islands 17 0.59x
Monmouthshire 14 0.20x
Buckinghamshire 13 0.22x
Montgomeryshire 13 0.58x
Renfrewshire 10 0.13x
Huntingdonshire 9 0.47x
Royal Navy 9 0.78x
Berwickshire 6 0.51x
Radnorshire 5 0.64x
Rutland 5 0.70x
Fife 4 0.07x
Brecknockshire 3 0.15x
Isle of Man 3 0.17x
Midlothian 3 0.02x
Morayshire 3 0.20x
Pembrokeshire 3 0.10x
Aberdeenshire 2 0.02x
Caernarfonshire 1 0.03x
Merionethshire 1 0.06x
Sutherland 1 0.13x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Birmingham in Warwickshire leads with 170 Nortons recorded in 1881 and an index of 2.08x.

Place Total Index
Birmingham 170 2.08x
Islington London 135 1.43x
St Pancras London 126 1.61x
Hackney London 116 2.13x
Leicester St Margaret 114 4.34x
Lambeth 102 1.20x
Leeds 100 1.84x
Aston 95 1.41x
Liverpool 86 1.23x
Bethnal Green London 84 1.99x
Dukinfield 84 8.48x
Sheffield 84 2.74x
Shoreditch London 78 1.85x
St Marylebone London 73 1.41x
Portsea 72 1.85x
Camberwell 70 1.13x
Great Yarmouth 68 5.50x
Brightside Bierlow 63 3.34x
Kensington London 58 1.07x
West Ham 57 1.35x
Ecclesall Bierlow 55 2.81x
Newington 55 1.53x
Holy Trinity 54 2.33x
Chelsea London 53 1.81x
Ashton Under Lyne 52 2.06x
Manchester 52 1.00x
Mile End Old Town 49 3.20x
Poplar London 49 2.67x
Great Grimsby 48 4.87x
Burton Upon Trent 47 6.13x
St Luke London 47 3.02x
West Bromwich 47 2.50x
Boston 45 9.55x
Batley 42 4.59x
Sculcoates 42 2.75x
Tottenham 42 2.71x
East Dereham 41 21.73x
Wolverhampton 41 1.63x
Nether Hallam 40 3.07x
Toxteth Park 40 1.02x
Wednesbury 40 4.88x
Eccleshill 39 16.65x
Harborne 39 3.71x
St George Hanover 38 3.00x
St Swithin Lincoln 38 15.56x
Clerkenwell London 37 1.61x
Deptford St Paul 37 1.45x
Hartington Upper 37 51.00x
Walsall Foreign 36 2.13x
Everton 35 0.95x
Nottingham St Mary 35 1.03x
Barnsley 32 3.22x
Bermondsey 32 1.11x
Oldham 32 0.86x
Battersea 31 0.87x
Bow London 31 2.51x
Brandon 31 38.62x
Bromley London 31 1.45x
Croydon 31 1.18x
Ipswich St Clement 31 10.31x
Lympston 31 85.85x
Stanford In Vale 31 107.04x
Stoney Stanton 31 93.80x
Topsham 31 32.48x
Paddington London 30 0.84x
Denby 29 55.83x
Halifax 29 2.05x
Heigham 29 3.62x
Tonbridge 29 2.43x
Byker 28 3.92x
Hulme 28 1.16x
Kippax 28 33.07x
West Derby 28 0.83x
Stockport 27 2.45x
Bedminster 26 1.77x
Beckenham 25 5.77x
Darlaston 25 5.52x
East Peckham 25 36.32x
Pudsey 25 4.86x
Wallsend 25 5.45x

Top female names

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

Name Count
Mary 638
Sarah 358
Elizabeth 355
Ann 199
Eliza 174
Jane 159
Emma 157
Ellen 149
Alice 146
Annie 141
Hannah 119
Emily 107
Martha 91
Harriet 78
Florence 76
Kate 68
Louisa 68
Margaret 65
Edith 63
Ada 61
Maria 61
Caroline 60
Charlotte 59
Fanny 56
Clara 51
Catherine 46
Susan 46
Lucy 41
Harriett 40
Rose 40
Agnes 35
Frances 34
Amelia 29
Anne 28
Lydia 26
Matilda 25
Amy 23
Rebecca 23
Gertrude 22
Julia 22
Esther 21
Laura 21
Sophia 21
Anna 20
Ethel 19
Grace 18
Isabella 18
Jessie 18
Minnie 18
Rosa 18

Top male names

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

Name Count
William 596
John 561
George 311
Thomas 298
James 289
Henry 205
Charles 198
Joseph 183
Robert 126
Edward 123
Alfred 119
Arthur 98
Frederick 88
Richard 74
Walter 66
Harry 61
Samuel 61
Albert 60
Frank 45
Francis 39
Edwin 36
Benjamin 35
Herbert 35
Ernest 33
Wm. 33
David 32
Stephen 28
Isaac 27
Daniel 26
Michael 26
Thos. 22
Patrick 19
Fred 18
Tom 18
Peter 17
Edgar 14
Leonard 14
Geo. 13
Abraham 11
Fredrick 11
Matthew 11
Andrew 9
Chas. 9
Edmund 9
Fredk. 9
Ralph 9
Jno. 8
Percy 8
Sidney 8
Elijah 7

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 Norton households.

FAQ

Norton surname: questions and answers

How common was the Norton surname in 1881?

In 1881, 9,943 people were recorded with the Norton surname. That placed it at #431 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Norton surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 13,377 in 2016. That gives Norton a modern rank of #481.

What does the Norton surname mean?

An English toponymic surname derived from a place name meaning "north settlement" or "north town."

What does the Norton map show?

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