NameCensus.

UK surname

Orbell

In the 1881 census there were 300 people recorded with the Orbell surname, ranking it #9,724 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 425, ranked #11,300, down from #9,724 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to Clare, London parishes and Pentlow. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Leeds, St Edmundsbury and Fenland.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Orbell is 462 in 2000. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 41.7%.

1881 census count

300

Ranked #9,724

Modern count

425

2016, ranked #11,300

Peak year

2000

462 bearers

Map years

9

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Orbell had 300 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #9,724 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 425 in 2016, ranked #11,300.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 457 in 1911.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Rural Amenity.

Orbell surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Orbell surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Orbell 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 201 #10,364
1861 historical 159 #14,553
1881 historical 300 #9,724
1891 historical 367 #9,486
1901 historical 418 #9,200
1911 historical 457 #8,397
1997 modern 435 #10,351
1998 modern 447 #10,461
1999 modern 453 #10,400
2000 modern 462 #10,212
2001 modern 438 #10,462
2002 modern 445 #10,538
2003 modern 432 #10,635
2004 modern 428 #10,737
2005 modern 402 #11,137
2006 modern 400 #11,257
2007 modern 408 #11,203
2008 modern 413 #11,185
2009 modern 412 #11,461
2010 modern 425 #11,423
2011 modern 426 #11,267
2012 modern 440 #10,849
2013 modern 443 #10,968
2014 modern 432 #11,287
2015 modern 427 #11,292
2016 modern 425 #11,300

Geography

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Where Orbells are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around Clare, London parishes, Pentlow and St Matthew Bethnal Green. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Leeds, St Edmundsbury, Fenland, Cotswold and Harborough. 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 Clare Suffolk
2 London parishes London 3
3 Pentlow Suffolk
4 St Matthew Bethnal Green London (East Districts)
5 London parishes London 2

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Leeds 068 Leeds
2 St Edmundsbury 010 St Edmundsbury
3 Fenland 009 Fenland
4 Cotswold 002 Cotswold
5 Harborough 006 Harborough

Forenames

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First names often paired with Orbell

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

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Orbell

Modern surname records can be compared with neighbourhood classifications. For Orbell, 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 Orbell surname is most associated with neighbourhoods classed as Rural Amenity, within Suburbanites and Peri-Urbanities. This does not mean every Orbell 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

Older Residents in Owner-Occupied Suburbs

Group

London Fringe

Within London, Orbell is most associated with areas classed as London Fringe, part of Older Residents in Owner-Occupied Suburbs. 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

Predominantly located in neighbourhoods on the outskirts of Greater London, residents of these neighbourhoods typically have their highest qualifications below degree (Level 4) level, with those still in work engaged in skilled trades and occupations in distribution, hotels and restaurants. There is low ethnic diversity in these neighbourhoods and high levels of Christian religious affiliation. Detached or terraced houses predominate, often with spare rooms.

Wider London pattern

The age distribution of these neighbourhoods is skewed towards the middle-aged and old, although few residents live alone or in communal establishments and numbers of dependent children are around average. Owner occupation is the norm, as is residence in detached or semi-detached houses. Residential densities are low and many households have spare rooms. Most residents were born in the UK and, aside from some identifying as members of Chinese or Indian ethnicities, identify as White. Mixed ethnicity households are rare. Incidence of married couples is higher than average and few individuals have never been married. A large proportion of individuals still in employment work in administrative and secretarial occupations, or in the construction industry. Few residents are students, and many households own more than one car.

Healthy neighbourhoods

Access to healthy assets and hazards

Orbell is most concentrated in decile 5 for access to healthy assets and hazards. This places the surname near the middle of the scale.

Lower deciles point towards weaker access to healthy assets or stronger exposure to local hazards. Higher deciles point towards stronger access and fewer hazards.

5
Lower access Higher access

Neighbourhood deprivation

Index of Multiple Deprivation

Orbell falls in decile 7 for neighbourhood deprivation. This puts the surname near the middle of the scale.

Decile 1 represents the more deprived end of the scale. Decile 10 represents the less deprived end.

7
More deprived Less deprived

Broadband speed

Fixed broadband download speed

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

1881 census detail

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Orbell families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Orbell 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. Suffolk leads with 83 Orbells recorded in 1881 and an index of 23.29x.

County Total Index
Suffolk 83 23.29x
Middlesex 40 1.37x
Essex 37 6.41x
Lincolnshire 19 4.06x
Sussex 18 3.65x
Cambridgeshire 17 9.17x
Warwickshire 17 2.30x
Surrey 14 0.98x
Lancashire 13 0.37x
Yorkshire 12 0.41x
Staffordshire 8 0.81x
Northamptonshire 6 2.18x
Norfolk 5 1.11x
Kent 4 0.40x
Somerset 3 0.64x
Berkshire 1 0.46x
Derbyshire 1 0.22x
Montgomeryshire 1 1.49x
Pembrokeshire 1 1.08x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Bethnal Green London in Middlesex leads with 13 Orbells recorded in 1881 and an index of 10.23x.

Place Total Index
Bethnal Green London 13 10.23x
Brighton 13 13.06x
Stoke By Clare 13 2954.55x
Birmingham 12 4.88x
Risby 10 2272.73x
Clare 9 526.32x
Pentlow 9 3000.00x
Pinchbeck 8 266.67x
St Martin Lincoln 8 184.33x
Wolverhampton 8 10.53x
Cavenham 7 3684.21x
Lambeth 7 2.74x
St George In East 7 35.18x
Denston 6 2222.22x
Northampton St Sepulchre 6 42.86x
Wood Ditton 6 387.10x
Aston 5 2.46x
Bermondsey 5 5.74x
Bromley London 5 7.77x
Bury St Edmunds St James 5 52.52x
Culford 5 1666.67x
Ecclesall Bierlow 5 8.48x
March 5 80.52x
Newton 5 18.68x
Prittlewell 5 62.42x
Sudbury St Peter 5 256.41x
Catton 4 533.33x
Great Clacton 4 203.05x
Hawkedon 4 1428.57x
Hawstead 4 1176.47x
Lackford 4 2222.22x
Manchester 4 2.56x
Bulmer 3 428.57x
Castle Hedingham 3 288.46x
Charlton Horethorne 3 625.00x
Cheetham 3 11.58x
Depden 3 1304.35x
Guisbrough 3 47.32x
Hackney London 3 1.83x
Hampstead London 3 6.58x
Ipswich St Mathew 3 30.03x
Preston 3 34.80x
Sandal Magna 3 69.93x
St Pancras London 3 1.27x
Stanford Le Hope 3 361.45x
Sudbury St Gregory 3 104.90x
Broughton 2 152.67x
Bury St Edmunds St Mary 2 29.90x
Chelmsford 2 20.18x
Fulbourn 2 112.99x
Kennett 2 1176.47x
Sible Hedingham 2 103.63x
Baslow With Bubnell 1 119.05x
Beckenham 1 7.66x
Beswick 1 11.26x
Bocking 1 28.82x
Chatham 1 3.64x
Ditchling 1 74.63x
East Swallowfield 1 322.58x
Frensham 1 47.85x
Gestingthorpe 1 156.25x
Great Burstead 1 47.62x
Great Yarmouth 1 2.68x
Greenwich 1 2.15x
Halstead 1 14.84x
Hove 1 4.62x
Newmarket All Sts 1 72.99x
Paddington London 1 0.93x
Pembroke St Mary 1 8.35x
Ratcliffe London 1 6.19x
Rayleigh 1 75.19x
Richmond 1 5.01x
Rippingdale 1 181.82x
Springfield 1 39.53x
St Andrewthe Less 1 4.72x
St George Bloomsbury 1 5.96x
St Marylebone London 1 0.64x
Tadcaster West 1 43.48x
Tottenham 1 2.15x
Walmer 1 23.04x

Top female names

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

Name Count
Mary 14
Elizabeth 11
Ellen 9
Emily 8
Alice 7
Sarah 6
Ann 4
Annie 4
Edith 4
Eliza 4
Lucy 4
Anne 3
Bessie 3
Charlotte 3
Emma 3
Fanny 3
Jane 3
Martha 3
Minnie 3
Ada 2
Aolta 2
Grace 2
Harriett 2
Janet 2
Kate 2
Laura 2
Maria 2
Marianne 2
Rhoda 2
Susan 2
Susannah 2
Alethea 1
Amy 1
Bridget 1
Caroline 1
Charlote 1
E.A. 1
Elizth. 1
Fabel 1
Florence 1
Frances 1
Franciss 1
Henrietta 1
Julia 1
Kezia 1
Kizia 1
Leonora 1
Lizzie 1
Louisa 1
Mabel 1

Top male names

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

Name Count
John 16
William 15
Ambrose 9
James 9
Joseph 9
Walter 9
Charles 6
George 6
Philip 6
Thomas 5
Arthur 4
Edward 4
Frederick 3
Thos. 3
Alfred 2
Harry 2
Henry 2
Horatio 2
Robert 2
Saml. 2
Samuel 2
Willm. 2
Albert 1
Almbrose 1
Ben. 1
Benjamin 1
Chas. 1
Chas.James 1
Clifford 1
David 1
Edwin 1
Emily 1
Ernest 1
Eward 1
Frank 1
Herbert 1
Hugh 1
Jonathon 1
Laurence 1
Phillip 1
Tom 1

FAQ

Orbell surname: questions and answers

How common was the Orbell surname in 1881?

In 1881, 300 people were recorded with the Orbell surname. That placed it at #9,724 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Orbell surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 425 in 2016. That gives Orbell a modern rank of #11,300.

What does the Orbell map show?

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