NameCensus.

UK surname

Park

A topographic surname referring to someone who lived near or worked in a park or enclosed land.

In the 1881 census there were 9,319 people recorded with the Park surname, ranking it #456 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 12,474, ranked #524, down from #456 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to Govan Combination, London parishes and Edinburgh. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Copeland, South Lakeland and Kingston upon Thames.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Park is 12,600 in 2010. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 33.9%.

1881 census count

9,319

Ranked #456

Modern count

12,474

2016, ranked #524

Peak year

2010

12,600 bearers

Map years

9

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Park had 9,319 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #456 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 12,474 in 2016, ranked #524.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 11,162 in 1901.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Established but Challenged.

Park surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Park surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Park 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 6,308 #437
1861 historical 7,350 #386
1881 historical 9,319 #456
1891 historical 10,430 #423
1901 historical 11,162 #470
1911 historical 7,674 #679
1997 modern 11,657 #523
1998 modern 12,002 #529
1999 modern 12,115 #528
2000 modern 12,020 #531
2001 modern 11,704 #533
2002 modern 11,968 #534
2003 modern 11,848 #525
2004 modern 11,945 #527
2005 modern 11,914 #519
2006 modern 11,903 #523
2007 modern 11,973 #527
2008 modern 12,085 #523
2009 modern 12,333 #527
2010 modern 12,600 #522
2011 modern 12,371 #528
2012 modern 12,169 #529
2013 modern 12,397 #532
2014 modern 12,519 #531
2015 modern 12,434 #526
2016 modern 12,474 #524

Geography

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Where Parks are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around Govan Combination, London parishes, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Preston. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Copeland, South Lakeland, Kingston upon Thames and Carlisle. 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 Govan Combination Lanark
2 London parishes London 3
3 Edinburgh Edinburgh
4 Glasgow Lanark
5 Preston Lancashire

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Copeland 008 Copeland
2 South Lakeland 007 South Lakeland
3 Kingston upon Thames 007 Kingston upon Thames
4 Carlisle 007 Carlisle
5 South Lakeland 010 South Lakeland

Forenames

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First names often paired with Park

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

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Park

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

The Greater London Mix

Group

Social Rented Sector Professional Support Workers

Within London, Park 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

Park is most concentrated in decile 1 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.

1
Lower access Higher access

Neighbourhood deprivation

Index of Multiple Deprivation

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

Meaning and origin of Park

The surname Park is of English origin and derived from the Old English "pearroc" meaning an enclosed area or park-like space, often used for hunting or keeping animals. The name first emerged in the 12th century and was initially used to identify individuals who lived near or worked on such enclosed estates or parks.

The earliest recorded instances of the surname Park can be found in the Pipe Rolls of Yorkshire from 1166, where it appears as "de Parco." This Latin form translates to "of the park," indicating an association with a specific enclosed area or park. Similarly, the Hundred Rolls of 1273 mention a John del Park in Norfolk, reinforcing the connection to an enclosed space.

In the Domesday Book of 1086, the name is not explicitly recorded, but there are references to various parks and enclosed areas, suggesting that the surname could have emerged from these locations. One such example is the mention of "Herluin's Park" in Sussex, which could have been the origin of the surname for individuals associated with that particular park.

During the medieval period, the surname Park was particularly prevalent in northern England, particularly in Yorkshire, Lancashire, and Northumberland. This reflects the historical significance of hunting parks and enclosed areas in these regions, where many noble families and landowners maintained such spaces.

Notable historical figures with the surname Park include:

1. Mungo Park (1771-1806), a Scottish explorer who undertook two expeditions to explore the course of the Niger River in West Africa. 2. Robert Park (1520-1585), a Scottish theologian and reformer who played a significant role in the Scottish Reformation. 3. William Park (1472-1539), an English scholar and clergyman who served as the Archdeacon of Stow in Lincolnshire. 4. Andrew Park (1807-1863), a Scottish-born American inventor and businessman who developed an improved method for manufacturing papermaking machinery. 5. Rosa Parks (1913-2005), an African American civil rights activist known for her pivotal role in the Montgomery bus boycott, which sparked the Civil Rights Movement in the United States.

In addition to these individuals, the surname Park has been associated with various place names and locations throughout history, such as Parktown in South Africa, Parkville in Australia, and numerous parks and townships bearing the name across the United Kingdom and North America.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

1881 census detail

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Park families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Park 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. Lancashire leads with 1,449 Parks recorded in 1881 and an index of 1.35x.

County Total Index
Lancashire 1,449 1.35x
Lanarkshire 1,306 4.46x
Yorkshire 708 0.79x
Aberdeenshire 649 7.74x
Cumberland 578 7.41x
Durham 528 1.96x
Ayrshire 414 6.11x
Middlesex 399 0.44x
Renfrewshire 371 5.29x
Midlothian 368 3.03x
Northumberland 321 2.38x
Westmorland 214 10.75x
Surrey 193 0.44x
Dorset 122 2.05x
Dumfriesshire 106 5.30x
Gloucestershire 97 0.55x
Dunbartonshire 85 3.49x
Roxburghshire 83 5.06x
Orkney 66 6.63x
Somerset 64 0.44x
Norfolk 61 0.44x
Sussex 61 0.40x
Angus 60 0.72x
Kent 56 0.18x
Wiltshire 54 0.67x
Essex 52 0.29x
Hampshire 48 0.26x
Banffshire 47 2.50x
Glamorgan 46 0.29x
West Lothian 46 3.37x
Argyllshire 44 1.75x
Cheshire 43 0.22x
Wigtownshire 41 3.41x
Warwickshire 37 0.16x
Devon 36 0.19x
Nottinghamshire 28 0.23x
Selkirkshire 28 3.42x
Perthshire 26 0.64x
Stirlingshire 26 0.78x
Hertfordshire 21 0.34x
Suffolk 21 0.19x
Staffordshire 20 0.07x
Buteshire 17 3.10x
Peeblesshire 16 3.76x
Shetland 16 1.73x
Ross-shire 15 0.60x
Leicestershire 14 0.14x
Lincolnshire 14 0.10x
Shropshire 14 0.18x
Merionethshire 13 0.78x
Berwickshire 11 1.00x
Kincardineshire 11 1.00x
Monmouthshire 10 0.15x
Worcestershire 10 0.08x
Derbyshire 9 0.06x
Northamptonshire 8 0.09x
Anglesey 7 0.44x
East Lothian 7 0.58x
Fife 7 0.13x
Inverness-shire 7 0.26x
Oxfordshire 7 0.13x
Bedfordshire 6 0.13x
Channel Islands 6 0.22x
Morayshire 6 0.43x
Royal Navy 5 0.46x
Buckinghamshire 4 0.07x
Caernarfonshire 4 0.11x
Cambridgeshire 4 0.07x
Berkshire 3 0.04x
Flintshire 2 0.08x
Huntingdonshire 1 0.06x
Isle of Man 1 0.06x
Kinross-shire 1 0.44x
Kirkcudbrightshire 1 0.08x
Nairnshire 1 0.36x
Sutherland 1 0.14x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Govan in Lanarkshire leads with 292 Parks recorded in 1881 and an index of 4.03x.

Place Total Index
Govan 292 4.03x
Barony 237 3.20x
Glasgow 186 3.58x
Preston 159 5.53x
Edinburgh St Cuthberts 133 2.73x
Barrow In Furness 96 6.57x
Aberdeen St Nicholas 94 5.99x
Millom 85 35.58x
Abbey 82 7.66x
Hamilton 81 9.92x
Dalton In Furness 80 19.29x
Liverpool 72 1.10x
Rutherglen 71 16.53x
West Derby 67 2.13x
Ulverston 65 20.77x
West Greenock 63 5.00x
Peterhead 58 13.08x
Aberdeen Old Machar 56 3.20x
Cambusnethan 56 8.61x
New Cumnock 56 47.66x
Elland Cum Greetland 55 13.61x
Bothwell 54 6.80x
Longbenton 51 8.94x
Muirkirk 51 32.05x
Westoe 49 3.21x
Leeds 48 0.95x
Stevenston 48 27.18x
Bury 46 3.75x
Kendal 44 12.08x
Islington London 43 0.49x
Old Monkland 43 3.70x
Tyrie 43 40.85x
Darlington 42 4.04x
Paisley High Church 42 7.52x
Dalmellington 41 20.58x
Sorn 41 30.80x
Toxteth Park 40 1.10x
Cathcart 39 10.27x
Hawick 39 10.63x
South Ronaldshay 39 37.83x
Edinburgh Canongate 38 12.31x
New Deer 38 25.03x
Newington 38 1.14x
Cambuslang 37 12.53x
Rockcliff 37 152.64x
Hackney London 35 0.69x
Longside 35 34.95x
St Fergus 35 73.76x
Stainland Cum Old 35 22.80x
Strichen 35 48.03x
Avondale 34 19.86x
Bishopwearmouth 34 1.47x
Melksham 34 24.45x
Blackwell 33 246.45x
Egremont 33 17.75x
Hedworth Monkton Jarrow 33 2.83x
Lancaster 33 5.16x
Renfrew 33 14.24x
Battersea 32 0.96x
Southcoates 31 6.22x
Rathen 30 34.14x
Salford 30 0.95x
Spitalfields London 30 4.41x
East Kilbride 29 23.13x
Elswick 29 2.70x
Ryhope 29 15.51x
Cruden 28 25.93x
Tynemouth 28 3.88x
Waverton 28 187.79x
Inveresk 27 8.22x
Oldham 27 0.78x
Wigan 27 1.80x
Arlecdon 26 12.54x
Hulme 26 1.16x
Shoreditch London 26 0.66x
Bromley London 25 1.26x
Camberwell 25 0.43x
West Ham 25 0.63x
Crook Billy Row 24 6.96x
South Leith 24 1.76x

Top female names

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

Name Count
Mary 423
Elizabeth 245
Jane 177
Sarah 152
Margaret 137
Ann 109
Annie 78
Alice 75
Ellen 73
Hannah 70
Isabella 65
Emma 54
Agnes 52
Martha 50
Eliza 45
Catherine 33
Maria 29
Emily 28
Harriet 27
Eleanor 26
Edith 24
Ada 23
Fanny 21
Anne 20
Florence 20
Charlotte 19
Frances 19
Amelia 15
Esther 15
Lucy 15
Jessie 14
Rebecca 14
Caroline 13
Rose 13
Clara 12
Dorothy 12
Kate 12
Louisa 12
Grace 11
Eliz. 10
Harriett 10
Janet 10
Margret 10
Catharine 9
Julia 9
Sophia 9
Betsy 8
Ethel 8
Ruth 8
May 7

Top male names

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

Name Count
John 386
William 360
Thomas 228
James 199
George 150
Joseph 135
Robert 112
Henry 110
Richard 70
Edward 54
Charles 46
Walter 32
Samuel 31
Frederick 29
Arthur 28
Alfred 25
Alexander 23
David 19
Albert 18
Harry 18
Matthew 17
Francis 14
Isaac 14
Christopher 13
Wm. 13
Andrew 12
Fred 12
Jonathan 12
Thos. 11
Fergus 10
Herbert 10
Peter 10
Edmund 9
Frank 9
Benjamin 8
Robt. 8
Abraham 7
Ralph 7
Tom 7
Daniel 6
Ernest 6
Jno. 6
Philip 6
Duncan 5
Edwin 5
Gilbert 5
Martin 5
Mathew 5
Leonard 4
Timothy 4

FAQ

Park surname: questions and answers

How common was the Park surname in 1881?

In 1881, 9,319 people were recorded with the Park surname. That placed it at #456 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Park surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 12,474 in 2016. That gives Park a modern rank of #524.

What does the Park surname mean?

A topographic surname referring to someone who lived near or worked in a park or enclosed land.

What does the Park map show?

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