NameCensus.

UK surname

Overbury

In the 1881 census there were 170 people recorded with the Overbury surname, ranking it #14,265 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 193, ranked #20,039, down from #14,265 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to Bristol City: St Mary Redcliff, Kings Norton and St Philip and Jacob. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Merthyr Tydfil, Cheltenham and Southwark.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Overbury is 236 in 1911. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 13.5%.

1881 census count

170

Ranked #14,265

Modern count

193

2016, ranked #20,039

Peak year

1911

236 bearers

Map years

9

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Overbury had 170 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #14,265 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 193 in 2016, ranked #20,039.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 236 in 1911.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Inner Suburbs and Small Town Living.

Overbury surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Overbury surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Overbury 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 142 #13,428
1861 historical 135 #16,651
1881 historical 170 #14,265
1891 historical 198 #15,033
1901 historical 217 #14,381
1911 historical 236 #13,452
1997 modern 188 #18,324
1998 modern 192 #18,561
1999 modern 200 #18,237
2000 modern 190 #18,806
2001 modern 187 #18,708
2002 modern 183 #19,354
2003 modern 184 #19,075
2004 modern 187 #18,993
2005 modern 183 #19,194
2006 modern 180 #19,526
2007 modern 181 #19,680
2008 modern 180 #19,946
2009 modern 189 #19,727
2010 modern 204 #19,200
2011 modern 196 #19,538
2012 modern 194 #19,606
2013 modern 197 #19,725
2014 modern 199 #19,775
2015 modern 192 #20,138
2016 modern 193 #20,039

Geography

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Where Overburys are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around Bristol City: St Mary Redcliff, Kings Norton, St Philip and Jacob, Wellesbourne and Cheltenham. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Merthyr Tydfil, Cheltenham, Southwark, Cannock Chase and Suffolk Coastal. 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 Bristol City: St Mary Redcliff Gloucestershire
2 Kings Norton Worcestershire
3 St Philip and Jacob Gloucestershire
4 Wellesbourne Warwickshire
5 Cheltenham Gloucestershire

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Merthyr Tydfil 002 Merthyr Tydfil
2 Cheltenham 008 Cheltenham
3 Southwark 031 Southwark
4 Cannock Chase 001 Cannock Chase
5 Suffolk Coastal 011 Suffolk Coastal

Forenames

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First names often paired with Overbury

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

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Overbury

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

Inner Suburbs and Small Town Living

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

Read profile summary

Group profile

Families with resident dependent children (but not students) are common. Established family groups and White ethnicity predominate, as do individuals born in the UK. They are more likely than the Supergroup average to have been resident in their terraced, semi-detached, or detached houses for more than one year. Levels of multiple car ownership are high. Properties are owned and typically have surplus living space. Associate professionals and administrative occupations are prevalent, and parents are likely to be in middle age or approaching retirement. Educational attainment is above the Supergroup average. Scattered developments and concentrations are found in many small towns.

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

Professional Employment and Family Lifecycles

Group

Established Homeowners with Children

Within London, Overbury is most associated with areas classed as Established Homeowners with Children, 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 predominantly British-born residents are typically married/in civil partnerships and own the properties in which they are raising their children. Parents are typically over 45, and many other residents are beyond normal retirement age. Detached and semi-detached houses predominate and multiple car ownership is common.

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

Overbury 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

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

1881 census detail

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Overbury families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Overbury 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. Gloucestershire leads with 48 Overburys recorded in 1881 and an index of 14.59x.

County Total Index
Gloucestershire 48 14.59x
Warwickshire 36 8.51x
Worcestershire 23 10.50x
Middlesex 12 0.72x
Lincolnshire 10 3.73x
Kent 7 1.22x
Surrey 7 0.86x
Norfolk 5 1.94x
Cheshire 4 1.08x
Nottinghamshire 3 1.33x
Staffordshire 3 0.53x
Wiltshire 3 2.02x
Yorkshire 3 0.18x
Essex 2 0.60x
Lancashire 2 0.10x
Cambridgeshire 1 0.94x
Channel Islands 1 2.01x
Glamorgan 1 0.34x
Sussex 1 0.35x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Bristol St Philip Jacob in Gloucestershire leads with 14 Overburys recorded in 1881 and an index of 45.19x.

Place Total Index
Bristol St Philip Jacob 14 45.19x
Kings Norton 11 55.98x
Stamford St John 10 2777.78x
Salford Priors 9 1914.89x
Chatham 7 44.44x
Aston 6 5.15x
Birmingham 6 4.26x
Bristol St Paul In 6 68.42x
Lambeth 6 4.10x
Paddington London 6 9.73x
Wheatenhurst 6 2857.14x
Catton 5 1162.79x
Clifton 5 30.05x
Great Malvern 4 87.53x
Stapleton 4 64.10x
Stockport 4 20.99x
Tanworth 4 357.14x
Wellesbourne Mountford 4 1000.00x
Westbury On Trym 4 35.87x
Alcester 3 214.29x
Bristol St Augustine 3 56.50x
Northfield 3 72.12x
St George In East 3 26.29x
Wellesbourne Hastings 3 750.00x
Ardwick 2 11.14x
Bradford On Avon 2 42.11x
Falsgrave 2 81.63x
Feckenham 2 79.68x
Lichfield St Michael 2 112.36x
Nottingham St Mary 2 3.42x
West Ham 2 2.74x
Bristol St Michael 1 35.46x
Bristol St Peter 1 84.75x
Cheltenham 1 3.94x
Croydon 1 2.20x
Edgbaston 1 7.62x
Gloucester Barton St Mary 1 16.61x
Harborne 1 5.51x
Hendon 1 16.56x
Nottingham St Peter 1 39.68x
Ribbesford 1 54.95x
Rottingdean 1 103.09x
Scarborough 1 6.62x
St Helen Bishopsgate 1 588.24x
St Pancras London 1 0.74x
St Peter Port 1 10.87x
Swansea Town 1 4.18x
Upton St Leonards 1 119.05x
Westbury 1 28.90x
Wisbech St Peter 1 18.76x
Worcester St Peter 1 24.10x
Wotton St Mary 1 58.48x
Yardley 1 17.83x

Top female names

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

Name Count
Ellen 10
Mary 8
Sarah 5
Eliza 4
Elizabeth 4
Emily 4
Martha 4
Alice 3
Jane 3
Matilda 3
Ann 2
Annie 2
Edith 2
Esther 2
Fanny 2
Florence 2
Helen 2
Kate 2
Ada 1
Amelia 1
Carry 1
Charlotte 1
Clara 1
Eleanor 1
Elizebeth 1
Ethel 1
Gertrude 1
Grace 1
Harriet 1
Harriett 1
Hester 1
Jessie 1
Julia 1
Katherine 1
Kathrine 1
Lydia 1
Margaret 1
Margt. 1
Maria 1
Maude 1
Mildred 1
Millicent 1
Olive 1
Rosa 1
Ruth 1
Sophia 1
Susan 1
Winifride 1

Top male names

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

Name Count
William 8
John 6
James 5
Joseph 5
Albert 4
Ernest 4
George 4
Thomas 4
Alfred 3
Robert 3
Edward 2
Edwin 2
Frank 2
Fredk. 2
Henry 2
Philip 2
Thos.Leonard 2
Walter 2
Arthur 1
Charles 1
Frederick 1
Fredrick 1
Harry 1
Herbert 1
Josh.Ed. 1
Josiah 1
Leonard 1
Nathaniel 1
Paul 1
Richard 1
Roland 1
Samuel 1
Wm. 1
Wm.Hy. 1

FAQ

Overbury surname: questions and answers

How common was the Overbury surname in 1881?

In 1881, 170 people were recorded with the Overbury surname. That placed it at #14,265 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Overbury surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 193 in 2016. That gives Overbury a modern rank of #20,039.

What does the Overbury map show?

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