NameCensus.

UK surname

Parish

An English occupational surname referring to a person who lived near or worked in a church parish.

In the 1881 census there were 4,621 people recorded with the Parish surname, ranking it #967 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 4,155, ranked #1,634, down from #967 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to London parishes, Lambeth and St Mary Islington. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Mid Devon, East Cambridgeshire and Fenland.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Parish is 5,180 in 1911. Compared with 1881, the name has fallen by 10.1%.

1881 census count

4,621

Ranked #967

Modern count

4,155

2016, ranked #1,634

Peak year

1911

5,180 bearers

Map years

9

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Parish had 4,621 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #967 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 4,155 in 2016, ranked #1,634.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 5,180 in 1911.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Rural Amenity.

Parish surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Parish surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Parish 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 3,170 #913
1861 historical 3,245 #888
1881 historical 4,621 #967
1891 historical 4,780 #974
1901 historical 5,053 #1,113
1911 historical 5,180 #1,010
1997 modern 4,333 #1,508
1998 modern 4,497 #1,504
1999 modern 4,526 #1,510
2000 modern 4,499 #1,509
2001 modern 4,408 #1,508
2002 modern 4,468 #1,513
2003 modern 4,323 #1,527
2004 modern 4,308 #1,536
2005 modern 4,158 #1,567
2006 modern 4,174 #1,568
2007 modern 4,218 #1,562
2008 modern 4,296 #1,543
2009 modern 4,360 #1,563
2010 modern 4,391 #1,585
2011 modern 4,308 #1,592
2012 modern 4,212 #1,594
2013 modern 4,303 #1,595
2014 modern 4,292 #1,608
2015 modern 4,220 #1,616
2016 modern 4,155 #1,634

Geography

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Where Parishs are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around London parishes, Lambeth, St Mary Islington and Halesowen (all except Hunnington, Romsley; partly in Halesowen, Worcestershire). These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Mid Devon, East Cambridgeshire, Fenland and Torridge. 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 Lambeth London (South Districts)
4 St Mary Islington London (North Districts)
5 Halesowen (all except Hunnington, Romsley; partly in Halesowen, Worcestershire) Staffordshire

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Mid Devon 009 Mid Devon
2 East Cambridgeshire 005 East Cambridgeshire
3 Mid Devon 006 Mid Devon
4 Fenland 011 Fenland
5 Torridge 006 Torridge

Forenames

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First names often paired with Parish

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

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Parish

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

Young Families and Mainstream Employment

Group

Terraced and Semi-Detached Suburbs

Within London, Parish 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

Parish is most concentrated in decile 7 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.

7
Lower access Higher access

Neighbourhood deprivation

Index of Multiple Deprivation

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

Meaning and origin of Parish

The surname Parish is of English origin, derived from the Old French word 'paroche' or 'paroisse', meaning a parish or an ecclesiastical district. The name first emerged during the 12th century, and was initially used to refer to someone who lived near or worked in a parish church or churchyard.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the Parish surname can be found in the Pipe Rolls of Yorkshire from 1194, which mention a William de Paroch. The surname also appears in various other medieval records, such as the Rotuli Hundredorum of 1275, which lists a John atte Parisshe from Cambridgeshire.

The Parish surname was particularly prevalent in the counties of Lancashire, Cheshire, and Yorkshire, where many early bearers of the name were landowners or tenants of ecclesiastical properties. The name may also have derived from specific place names, such as Parish Ridge in Derbyshire or Parish Cray in Kent.

Notable historical figures with the surname Parish include John Parish (1579-1647), an English clergyman and author who served as the rector of Wigan. Another prominent bearer of the name was Sir Woodbine Parish (1796-1882), a British diplomat and traveler who served as a consul in Buenos Aires and wrote several books about his experiences in South America.

The Parish surname can also be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, which records landowners and tenants in England at the time of the Norman Conquest. One such entry mentions a Radulfus de Parrochia, or Ralph of the Parish, who held lands in Oxfordshire.

Other notable individuals with the Parish surname include Roger Parish (c. 1505-1585), an English Catholic martyr who was executed during the reign of Elizabeth I, and David Parish (1778-1847), an American politician and jurist who served as the 12th Governor of New Hampshire.

Overall, the Parish surname has a long and rich history, with roots dating back to medieval England and a strong association with the Church and ecclesiastical properties. While originally derived from the Old French word for 'parish', the name has since spread across the English-speaking world and continues to be a prominent surname today.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

1881 census detail

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Parish families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Parish 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. Middlesex leads with 627 Parishs recorded in 1881 and an index of 1.39x.

County Total Index
Middlesex 627 1.39x
Essex 495 5.56x
Yorkshire 395 0.88x
Surrey 306 1.39x
Lincolnshire 285 3.96x
Devon 263 2.80x
Cambridgeshire 249 8.72x
Kent 192 1.25x
Staffordshire 173 1.14x
Warwickshire 166 1.46x
Suffolk 162 2.95x
Northamptonshire 154 3.63x
Oxfordshire 124 4.46x
Worcestershire 123 2.09x
Somerset 110 1.52x
Lancashire 103 0.19x
Norfolk 99 1.43x
Hertfordshire 78 2.51x
Durham 58 0.43x
Glamorgan 47 0.60x
Hampshire 47 0.51x
Sussex 35 0.46x
Cornwall 32 0.63x
Derbyshire 30 0.43x
Leicestershire 23 0.46x
Bedfordshire 22 0.94x
Huntingdonshire 22 2.46x
Denbighshire 20 1.17x
Shropshire 20 0.51x
Buckinghamshire 18 0.66x
Cheshire 18 0.18x
Nottinghamshire 18 0.30x
Gloucestershire 17 0.19x
Monmouthshire 15 0.46x
Northumberland 12 0.18x
Cumberland 11 0.28x
Berkshire 10 0.30x
Wiltshire 10 0.25x
Pembrokeshire 8 0.56x
Flintshire 6 0.50x
Lanarkshire 6 0.04x
Royal Navy 2 0.37x
Angus 1 0.02x
Channel Islands 1 0.07x
Dorset 1 0.03x
Merionethshire 1 0.12x
Montgomeryshire 1 0.10x
Perthshire 1 0.05x
Radnorshire 1 0.28x
Ross-shire 1 0.08x
Rutland 1 0.30x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Islington London in Middlesex leads with 80 Parishs recorded in 1881 and an index of 1.83x.

Place Total Index
Islington London 80 1.83x
Lambeth 65 1.65x
West Bromwich 61 7.00x
Camberwell 60 2.08x
Birmingham 57 1.50x
Kensington London 57 2.27x
Theydon Bois 52 385.19x
West Ham 47 2.39x
Aston 41 1.31x
Hackney London 40 1.58x
St Pancras London 38 1.05x
Waltham Holy Cross 37 44.50x
Deptford St Paul 35 2.95x
Swavesey 34 185.79x
Bury St Edmunds St James 31 21.14x
Harlow 31 80.86x
Bishopwearmouth 29 2.52x
Bermondsey 28 2.09x
Harborne 28 5.74x
Paddington London 28 1.69x
Saffron Walden 28 29.79x
Tottenham 28 3.90x
Wyke In Bradford 28 35.06x
Broughton 27 133.80x
Fulham London 27 4.13x
Leeds 26 1.03x
Shoreditch London 26 1.33x
Battersea 24 1.45x
Plymouth St Andrew 24 3.32x
Rowley Regis 24 5.66x
Stretham 24 117.47x
Hasbury 23 59.76x
St Marylebone London 23 0.96x
Deddington 22 72.82x
Portsea 22 1.22x
Sandford 22 294.12x
Southwark St George Martyr 22 2.43x
Bexley 21 15.45x
Llandaff 21 8.04x
Erith 20 13.20x
Stainforth In Thorne 20 175.90x
Bromley London 19 1.92x
Crumpsall 19 15.07x
Enfield 19 6.43x
Sculcoates 19 2.68x
Sheffield 19 1.34x
Steeple Morden 19 125.00x
Whittlesey St Mary St 19 19.06x
Bethnal Green London 18 0.92x
Chirk 18 53.70x
Epping 18 49.79x
Littlebury 18 146.58x
Oldbury 18 6.22x
Preston 18 1.26x
Dover St Mary Virgin 17 11.42x
Farnley In Bramley 17 30.49x
Weedon Loys 17 244.25x
Bow 16 127.29x
Croydon 16 1.31x
North Bierley 16 6.64x
St Andrewthe Less 16 4.91x
St George Hanover 16 2.72x
Wanstead 16 10.27x
Warkworth 16 41.94x
Armley 15 7.62x
Chatteris 15 20.60x
Halstead 15 14.45x
Lewisham 15 1.83x
Oxford St Giles 15 11.30x
Westminster St John 15 2.73x
Bedwellty 14 2.43x
Brightside Bierlow 14 1.60x
Dudley 14 1.96x
Upper Gravenhurst 14 255.47x
Bedminster 13 1.91x
Hammersmith London 13 1.17x
Marston Upon Dove 13 57.32x
Poplar London 13 1.53x
Shelf 13 30.47x
Spaxton 13 92.00x

Top female names

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

Name Count
Mary 298
Elizabeth 199
Sarah 161
Emma 100
Eliza 99
Ann 83
Ellen 77
Jane 77
Emily 75
Alice 71
Annie 70
Hannah 54
Florence 43
Harriet 40
Caroline 37
Charlotte 37
Louisa 32
Martha 32
Edith 31
Maria 31
Lucy 26
Ada 24
Anne 23
Fanny 23
Kate 21
Susan 20
Agnes 18
Harriett 18
Margaret 17
Frances 16
Amelia 14
Clara 14
Rose 13
Sophia 13
Catherine 12
Lydia 11
Henrietta 10
Matilda 10
Rebecca 10
Esther 9
Jessie 9
Minnie 9
Selina 9
Susannah 9
Amy 8
Beatrice 8
Eleanor 8
Elizth. 8
Bessie 7
Ruth 7

Top male names

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

Name Count
William 320
John 257
George 171
James 149
Thomas 141
Charles 112
Henry 101
Joseph 80
Alfred 50
Samuel 48
Arthur 45
Walter 45
Frederick 43
Richard 42
Albert 38
Edward 36
Robert 36
David 29
Frank 29
Harry 28
Edwin 19
Ernest 18
Francis 15
Herbert 15
Daniel 11
Fred 10
Geo. 10
Isaac 10
Frederic 9
Stephen 9
Abraham 7
Benjamin 7
Jacob 6
Fredk. 5
Fredrick 5
Willie 5
Wm. 5
Amos 4
Anthony 4
Cornelius 4
Earnest 4
Edmund 4
Eli 4
Horace 4
Job 4
Joshua 4
Peter 4
Saml. 4
Jno. 3
Philip 3

FAQ

Parish surname: questions and answers

How common was the Parish surname in 1881?

In 1881, 4,621 people were recorded with the Parish surname. That placed it at #967 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Parish surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 4,155 in 2016. That gives Parish a modern rank of #1,634.

What does the Parish surname mean?

An English occupational surname referring to a person who lived near or worked in a church parish.

What does the Parish map show?

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