NameCensus.

UK surname

Osland

A locational surname referring to someone from either Osland, Norway or an Osland region.

In the 1881 census there were 76 people recorded with the Osland surname, ranking it #22,745 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 132, ranked #25,882, down from #22,745 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to Mynyddyslwyn, Swindon, Lyddington and St Leonard Shoreditch. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Blaenau Gwent and Wiltshire.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Osland is 158 in 1998. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 73.7%.

1881 census count

76

Ranked #22,745

Modern count

132

2016, ranked #25,882

Peak year

1998

158 bearers

Map years

4

1911 to 2016

Key insights

  • Osland had 76 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #22,745 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 132 in 2016, ranked #25,882.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 120 in 1911.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Established but Challenged.

Osland surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Osland surname density by area, 2016 modern.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Osland 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 56 #23,235
1861 historical 36 #29,463
1881 historical 76 #22,745
1891 historical 73 #27,677
1901 historical 85 #24,636
1911 historical 120 #20,447
1997 modern 147 #21,393
1998 modern 158 #20,992
1999 modern 154 #21,455
2000 modern 145 #22,259
2001 modern 141 #22,344
2002 modern 140 #22,876
2003 modern 128 #23,890
2004 modern 131 #23,756
2005 modern 131 #23,737
2006 modern 133 #23,711
2007 modern 134 #23,931
2008 modern 135 #24,123
2009 modern 139 #24,161
2010 modern 140 #24,569
2011 modern 130 #25,547
2012 modern 123 #26,561
2013 modern 126 #26,585
2014 modern 129 #26,352
2015 modern 132 #25,859
2016 modern 132 #25,882

Geography

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Where Oslands are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around Mynyddyslwyn, Swindon, Lyddington, St Leonard Shoreditch, Wilcot, North Newton and Trevethin with Pontypool. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Blaenau Gwent and Wiltshire. 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 Mynyddyslwyn Monmouthshire
2 Swindon, Lyddington Wiltshire
3 St Leonard Shoreditch London (East Districts)
4 Wilcot, North Newton Wiltshire
5 Trevethin with Pontypool Monmouthshire

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Blaenau Gwent 008 Blaenau Gwent
2 Wiltshire 024 Wiltshire
3 Wiltshire 026 Wiltshire
4 Blaenau Gwent 009 Blaenau Gwent
5 Blaenau Gwent 006 Blaenau Gwent

Forenames

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First names often paired with Osland

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

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Osland

Modern surname records can be compared with neighbourhood classifications. For Osland, 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 Osland surname is most associated with neighbourhoods classed as Established but Challenged, within Semi- and Un-Skilled Workforce. This does not mean every Osland 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

Young Families and Mainstream Employment

Group

Terraced and Semi-Detached Suburbs

Within London, Osland is most associated with areas classed as Terraced and Semi-Detached Suburbs, 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

Mainly concentrated in suburban areas, these terraced and semi-detached developments are less overcrowded than the Supergroup average, and resident households are more likely to own two or more cars. There are fewer residents aged 25-44, and a larger share of residents employed in administrative and secretarial occupations. Residents are more likely to have been born in the UK, less likely to have been born in the EU or Africa, and much less likely to self-identify as Bangladeshi.

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

Osland is most concentrated in decile 4 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.

4
Lower access Higher access

Neighbourhood deprivation

Index of Multiple Deprivation

Osland falls in decile 6 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.

6
More deprived Less deprived

Broadband speed

Fixed broadband download speed

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

Meaning and origin of Osland

The surname Osland is of Norwegian origin, and it can be traced back to the Middle Ages in the coastal regions of western Norway. The name is believed to have derived from the Old Norse words "ost" and "land," which together mean "eastern land" or "land of the east." This suggests that the earliest bearers of this surname may have come from the eastern parts of Norway.

The first recorded mention of the name Osland can be found in the Diplomatarium Norvegicum, a collection of medieval Norwegian documents dating back to the 13th century. In this collection, there is a reference to a man named Olaf Osland, who lived in the town of Bergen in the year 1275.

One of the earliest documented individuals with the Osland surname was Halvard Osland, a Norwegian farmer and landowner who lived in the 15th century. He was mentioned in several records related to land disputes and transactions in the region of Hordaland, which is located in western Norway.

In the 16th century, the name Osland appeared in the census records of the Danish-Norwegian kingdom, indicating that the name had spread to other parts of the Scandinavian region. One notable figure from this period was Bjørn Osland, a merchant and ship owner from the town of Stavanger, who was born in 1542 and died in 1612.

During the 17th century, several members of the Osland family emigrated from Norway to other parts of Europe and the Americas. One such individual was Hans Osland, who was born in 1622 in Bergen and later settled in the Dutch colony of New Netherland (present-day New York) in the 1650s.

Another notable figure with the Osland surname was Ingrid Osland, a Norwegian author and playwright who lived from 1767 to 1837. She was known for her contributions to the development of Norwegian literature and her works that portrayed the lives of ordinary people in rural Norway.

Throughout the centuries, the Osland name has been associated with various occupations and professions, including farmers, merchants, sailors, and writers. While the name originated in Norway, it has since spread to other parts of the world due to migration and settlement patterns.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

1881 census detail

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Osland families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Osland 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. Wiltshire leads with 26 Oslands recorded in 1881 and an index of 39.66x.

County Total Index
Wiltshire 26 39.66x
Monmouthshire 18 33.59x
Middlesex 9 1.21x
Staffordshire 7 2.80x
Carmarthenshire 3 9.60x
Cornwall 3 3.58x
Surrey 3 0.83x
Yorkshire 3 0.41x
Durham 1 0.45x
Hampshire 1 0.66x
Lancashire 1 0.11x
Northamptonshire 1 1.43x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Swindon in Wiltshire leads with 13 Oslands recorded in 1881 and an index of 255.91x.

Place Total Index
Swindon 13 255.91x
Manningford Bohun 11 18333.33x
Llanover 8 437.16x
Sedgley 7 75.35x
Trevethin 7 138.34x
Hammersmith London 4 21.91x
Cranleigh 3 566.04x
Llanelly 3 42.61x
Phillack 3 277.78x
Hornsey 2 21.34x
Llanwenarth Ultra 2 512.82x
Marske In Guisbrough 2 153.85x
Shoreditch London 2 6.22x
Aberystruth 1 21.19x
Bradford 1 5.62x
Fareham 1 54.64x
Fugglestone St Peter 1 384.62x
Salisbury St Thomas 1 192.31x
Stoke Newington London 1 17.33x
Stranton 1 13.48x
Toxteth Park 1 3.36x
Weedon Beck 1 200.00x

Top female names

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

Name Count
Mary 5
Elizabeth 4
Sarah 4
Alice 2
Amelia 2
Emma 2
Jane 2
Ann 1
Beatrice 1
E. 1
Eliza 1
Harriot 1
Isabella 1
Kate 1
Kerin 1
M.A. 1
Marcella 1
Margret 1
Maria 1
Martha 1
Nellie 1
Rebecca 1
Rosa 1
Susan 1

Top male names

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

Name Count
John 6
William 6
George 5
Christian 2
Edward 2
Ernest 2
Joseph 2
Benjamin 1
Emma 1
Francis 1
Frederick 1
Fredk. 1
Gastive 1
Henry 1
M.Joseph 1
Philip 1
Richard 1
Robert 1
Samm. 1
Thomas 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 Osland households.

FAQ

Osland surname: questions and answers

How common was the Osland surname in 1881?

In 1881, 76 people were recorded with the Osland surname. That placed it at #22,745 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Osland surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 132 in 2016. That gives Osland a modern rank of #25,882.

What does the Osland surname mean?

A locational surname referring to someone from either Osland, Norway or an Osland region.

What does the Osland map show?

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