NameCensus.

UK surname

Parnell

Derived from a French place name meaning "Petronilla's estate," referring to a 7th-century saint.

In the 1881 census there were 2,890 people recorded with the Parnell surname, ranking it #1,552 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 3,954, ranked #1,709, down from #1,552 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to Paignton, London parishes and Portsmouth, Portsea. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Cornwall, Torridge and Teignbridge.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Parnell is 4,166 in 1998. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 36.8%.

1881 census count

2,890

Ranked #1,552

Modern count

3,954

2016, ranked #1,709

Peak year

1998

4,166 bearers

Map years

9

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Parnell had 2,890 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #1,552 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 3,954 in 2016, ranked #1,709.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 3,627 in 1911.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Rural Amenity.

Parnell surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Parnell surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Parnell 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 1,680 #1,713
1861 historical 1,373 #2,085
1881 historical 2,890 #1,552
1891 historical 2,725 #1,737
1901 historical 3,456 #1,610
1911 historical 3,627 #1,440
1997 modern 4,012 #1,615
1998 modern 4,166 #1,619
1999 modern 4,156 #1,638
2000 modern 4,137 #1,636
2001 modern 4,044 #1,638
2002 modern 4,132 #1,639
2003 modern 4,029 #1,638
2004 modern 4,017 #1,642
2005 modern 3,893 #1,672
2006 modern 3,892 #1,672
2007 modern 3,965 #1,661
2008 modern 4,002 #1,658
2009 modern 4,118 #1,652
2010 modern 4,154 #1,672
2011 modern 4,087 #1,672
2012 modern 3,967 #1,696
2013 modern 4,059 #1,688
2014 modern 4,045 #1,704
2015 modern 3,988 #1,708
2016 modern 3,954 #1,709

Geography

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Where Parnells are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around Paignton, London parishes, Portsmouth, Portsea and Coventry Holy Trinity (incl. Radford), Coventry St Michael, Wyken. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Cornwall, Torridge and Teignbridge. 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 Paignton Devon
2 London parishes London 1
3 London parishes London 3
4 Portsmouth, Portsea Hampshire
5 Coventry Holy Trinity (incl. Radford), Coventry St Michael, Wyken Warwickshire

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Cornwall 006 Cornwall
2 Cornwall 005 Cornwall
3 Torridge 008 Torridge
4 Cornwall 002 Cornwall
5 Teignbridge 014 Teignbridge

Forenames

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First names often paired with Parnell

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

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Parnell

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

The Greater London Mix

Group

Social Rented Sector Professional Support Workers

Within London, Parnell 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

Parnell 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

Parnell falls in decile 4 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.

4
More deprived Less deprived

Broadband speed

Fixed broadband download speed

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

Meaning and origin of Parnell

The surname Parnell has its origins in the English counties of Devon and Somerset, dating back to the 12th century. It is derived from the Old English words "pær" meaning pear tree and "nell" meaning hill or mound, indicating that the name originally referred to someone who lived near a pear tree on a hill.

One of the earliest known references to the name Parnell can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, which recorded a landowner named Ernaldus de Parnella in Somerset. This entry suggests that the name was already established in the region by the late 11th century.

In the 13th century, the name appeared in various forms such as Pernell, Parnill, and Pernill, reflecting the variations in spelling and pronunciation common during that time. The earliest recorded spelling of the name as Parnell dates back to 1273 in the Hundred Rolls of Norfolk.

Notable individuals with the surname Parnell include Thomas Parnell (1679-1718), an English poet and friend of Jonathan Swift, and Charles Stewart Parnell (1846-1891), a prominent Irish nationalist politician who campaigned for Irish Home Rule in the late 19th century.

Other historical figures with this surname include Henry Brooke Parnell (1776-1842), an Irish politician and landowner, and Charles Stewart Parnell's mother, Delia Tudor Parnell (1816-1898), who was a co-founder of the Ladies' Land League.

In the United States, one of the earliest known bearers of the Parnell surname was Thomas Parnell, who arrived in Virginia in 1635 and later settled in Maryland.

Throughout its history, the name Parnell has also been associated with various place names, such as Parnell Square in Dublin, Ireland, named after Charles Stewart Parnell, and Parnell, Missouri, a small town likely named after an early settler with the same surname.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

1881 census detail

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Parnell families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Parnell 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. Devon leads with 459 Parnells recorded in 1881 and an index of 7.81x.

County Total Index
Devon 459 7.81x
Middlesex 324 1.15x
Norfolk 251 5.78x
Lancashire 225 0.67x
Hampshire 212 3.66x
Surrey 157 1.14x
Cornwall 139 4.35x
Kent 131 1.36x
Yorkshire 128 0.46x
Warwickshire 111 1.56x
Nottinghamshire 68 1.79x
Gloucestershire 66 1.19x
Cheshire 57 0.91x
Essex 54 0.97x
Suffolk 48 1.40x
Cambridgeshire 43 2.40x
Northamptonshire 41 1.54x
Glamorgan 37 0.75x
Somerset 33 0.73x
Huntingdonshire 30 5.35x
Staffordshire 29 0.30x
Monmouthshire 27 1.32x
Leicestershire 24 0.77x
Durham 22 0.26x
Sussex 22 0.46x
Dorset 17 0.92x
Lincolnshire 15 0.33x
Carmarthenshire 14 1.18x
Hertfordshire 14 0.72x
Fife 13 0.78x
Derbyshire 11 0.25x
Midlothian 11 0.29x
Wiltshire 11 0.44x
Pembrokeshire 8 0.89x
Royal Navy 7 2.08x
Cumberland 6 0.25x
Northumberland 5 0.12x
Brecknockshire 4 0.71x
Rutland 4 1.93x
Worcestershire 4 0.11x
Buckinghamshire 3 0.18x
Angus 2 0.08x
Berkshire 2 0.09x
Channel Islands 2 0.24x
Flintshire 2 0.26x
Caernarfonshire 1 0.09x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Portsea in Hampshire leads with 128 Parnells recorded in 1881 and an index of 11.29x.

Place Total Index
Portsea 128 11.29x
Paignton 66 147.62x
Stoke Damerel 55 13.37x
Lambeth 41 1.67x
Bethnal Green London 40 3.26x
Brixham 39 57.28x
Camberwell 38 2.11x
St Marylebone London 36 2.39x
Dartington 30 490.20x
Dukinfield 30 10.42x
Ashton Under Lyne 25 3.41x
Chatham 25 9.43x
Berry Pomeroy 24 246.41x
Chorlton On Medlock 24 4.51x
Monks Kirby 23 146.87x
Coventry St Michael 21 9.18x
St Pancras London 21 0.92x
Scarborough 20 7.87x
Foulden 19 426.01x
Hammersmith London 18 2.59x
Harberton 18 134.53x
Loughborough 18 12.67x
Perranzabuloe 18 65.29x
Plymouth St Andrew 18 3.98x
Poplar London 17 3.19x
St George Hanover 17 4.61x
Bow London 16 4.45x
Hampstead London 16 3.64x
Hulme 16 2.29x
Pyworthy 16 328.54x
St Thomas Apostle 16 162.44x
Totnes 16 46.55x
Wolborough 16 21.54x
Stretham 15 117.28x
Chelsea London 14 1.65x
Lammas Cum Little Hautbois 14 648.15x
Sutton In Ashfield 14 16.96x
Nottingham St Mary 13 1.32x
Swansea Town 13 3.23x
Warrington 13 3.27x
Battersea 12 1.16x
Fulham London 12 2.93x
Llanelly 12 4.48x
Manchester 12 0.80x
North Creake 12 202.70x
West Derby 12 1.22x
Wormegay 12 262.58x
Clifton 11 3.93x
Gorran 11 122.49x
Islington London 11 0.40x
Norwich St Julian 11 60.18x
Plymouth Charles The 11 4.25x
Snenton 11 7.36x
South Creake 11 111.56x
Ware 11 19.72x
Wigginton 11 136.31x
Wimbotsham 11 199.28x
Withybrook 11 385.96x
Alverstoke 10 4.77x
Brightside Bierlow 10 1.82x
Bristol St Philip Jacob 10 1.92x
Great Doddington 10 173.61x
Ince In Makerfield 10 6.42x
Kensington London 10 0.64x
Little Bolton 10 2.32x
Ryde 10 8.05x
Southampton St Mary 10 2.75x
St Woollos 10 4.39x
Stoke Climsland 10 49.00x
Tormoham 10 4.02x
Watlington 10 167.22x
Chaldon Herring 9 277.78x
East Stonehouse 9 7.77x
Foleshill 9 12.02x
Latchford 9 21.74x
Lyng 9 184.43x
Paddington London 9 0.87x
Plumstead 9 2.80x
Rugby 9 9.34x
Tremaine 9 1071.43x

Top female names

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

Name Count
Mary 203
Elizabeth 116
Sarah 99
Emma 61
Jane 57
Eliza 52
Ann 48
Ellen 46
Annie 40
Alice 38
Emily 38
Hannah 28
Louisa 22
Catherine 21
Charlotte 21
Martha 21
Florence 19
Caroline 18
Edith 18
Amelia 15
Kate 15
Harriett 14
Fanny 13
Susan 13
Frances 12
Maria 12
Rebecca 12
Ada 11
Harriet 11
Margaret 11
Clara 10
Ruth 10
Beatrice 9
Lucy 8
Matilda 8
Rosa 8
Anne 7
Julia 7
Sophia 7
Bessie 6
Betsy 6
Eleanor 6
Esther 6
Isabella 6
Lydia 6
Mabel 6
Rose 6
Anna 5
Maud 5
Selina 5

Top male names

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

Name Count
William 204
John 145
George 110
Thomas 84
James 82
Henry 62
Charles 55
Edward 41
Richard 39
Robert 35
Frederick 34
Alfred 33
Samuel 33
Joseph 32
Arthur 27
Walter 21
Harry 18
Albert 17
Herbert 13
Frank 12
Wm. 12
Ernest 11
David 9
Edwin 9
Francis 9
Daniel 8
Horace 8
Mark 8
Stephen 6
Tom 6
Thos. 5
Abraham 4
Benjamin 4
Philip 4
Christopher 3
Edwd. 3
Fred 3
Fredk. 3
Harold 3
Hugh 3
Jasper 3
Joshua 3
Josiah 3
Reuben 3
Willm. 3
Claude 2
Jabez 2
Jacob 2
Jas. 2
Lawrence 2

FAQ

Parnell surname: questions and answers

How common was the Parnell surname in 1881?

In 1881, 2,890 people were recorded with the Parnell surname. That placed it at #1,552 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Parnell surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 3,954 in 2016. That gives Parnell a modern rank of #1,709.

What does the Parnell surname mean?

Derived from a French place name meaning "Petronilla's estate," referring to a 7th-century saint.

What does the Parnell map show?

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