NameCensus.

UK surname

Pearmain

In the 1881 census there were 157 people recorded with the Pearmain surname, ranking it #15,046 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 425, ranked #11,300, up from #15,046 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to London parishes, Hockwell with Wilton and Melbourn, Meldreth. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Stafford, Chelmsford and Braintree.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Pearmain is 475 in 2003. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 170.7%.

1881 census count

157

Ranked #15,046

Modern count

425

2016, ranked #11,300

Peak year

2003

475 bearers

Map years

8

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Pearmain had 157 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #15,046 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 425 in 2016, ranked #11,300.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 432 in 1911.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Challenged Communities.

Pearmain surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Pearmain surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Pearmain 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 116 #15,545
1861 historical 96 #21,648
1881 historical 157 #15,046
1891 historical 211 #14,366
1901 historical 265 #12,652
1911 historical 432 #8,779
1997 modern 433 #10,375
1998 modern 455 #10,315
1999 modern 461 #10,272
2000 modern 461 #10,231
2001 modern 455 #10,147
2002 modern 462 #10,217
2003 modern 475 #9,848
2004 modern 452 #10,270
2005 modern 428 #10,619
2006 modern 417 #10,886
2007 modern 419 #10,954
2008 modern 414 #11,160
2009 modern 434 #11,014
2010 modern 444 #11,017
2011 modern 434 #11,096
2012 modern 432 #11,015
2013 modern 427 #11,325
2014 modern 435 #11,224
2015 modern 429 #11,252
2016 modern 425 #11,300

Geography

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Where Pearmains are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around London parishes, Hockwell with Wilton, Melbourn, Meldreth and Great Dunmow, Barnston. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Stafford, Chelmsford, Braintree and Northampton. 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 Hockwell with Wilton Norfolk
4 Melbourn, Meldreth Hertfordshire
5 Great Dunmow, Barnston Essex

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Stafford 013 Stafford
2 Stafford 016 Stafford
3 Chelmsford 005 Chelmsford
4 Braintree 014 Braintree
5 Northampton 009 Northampton

Forenames

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First names often paired with Pearmain

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

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Pearmain

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

Baseline UK

Group

Challenged Communities

Nationally, the Pearmain surname is most associated with neighbourhoods classed as Challenged Communities, within Baseline UK. This does not mean every Pearmain household fits that profile, but it gives a useful signal about where the modern surname distribution is strongest.

Read profile summary

Group profile

Residents of these neighbourhoods typically live in households with dependent children, and there are fewer-than-average residents of normal retirement age or over. Identification with ethnic minorities, particularly Black, or Mixed or Multiple ethnicities is common. The rate of Christian religious affiliation is low. Housing predominantly consists of semi-detached houses, along with a significant number of terraced properties and flats. Overcrowded social housing is common, and private renting occurs at average UK levels. Those in employment work mainly in caring leisure and other services; process, plant and machine operation; or elementary occupations. Unemployment is high, and few individuals have degree level qualifications. Many of these neighbourhoods occur in commuter towns or less accessible areas of larger towns and cities.

Wider pattern

This Supergroup exemplifies the broad base to the UK’s social structure, encompassing as it does the average or modal levels of many neighbourhood characteristics, including all housing tenures, a range of levels of educational attainment and religious affiliations, and a variety of pre-retirement age structures. Yet, in combination, these mixes are each distinctive of the parts of the UK. Overall, terraced houses and flats are the most prevalent, as is employment in intermediate or low-skilled occupations. However, this Supergroup is also characterised by above average levels of unemployment and lower levels of use of English as the main language. Many neighbourhoods occur in south London and the UK’s other major urban centres.

London neighbourhood type

London Output Area Classification

Supergroup

Young Families and Mainstream Employment

Group

Terraced and Semi-Detached Suburbs

Within London, Pearmain 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

Pearmain is most concentrated in decile 5 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.

5
Lower access Higher access

Neighbourhood deprivation

Index of Multiple Deprivation

Pearmain falls in decile 10 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.

10
More deprived Less deprived

Broadband speed

Fixed broadband download speed

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

1881 census detail

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Pearmain families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Pearmain 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 52 Pearmains recorded in 1881 and an index of 3.40x.

County Total Index
Middlesex 52 3.40x
Norfolk 26 11.04x
Essex 24 7.94x
Surrey 15 2.01x
Cambridgeshire 11 11.34x
Cumberland 6 4.55x
Warwickshire 5 1.29x
Hertfordshire 4 3.79x
Buckinghamshire 3 3.24x
Derbyshire 3 1.25x
Lancashire 3 0.17x
Lincolnshire 3 1.23x
Glamorgan 1 0.38x
Sussex 1 0.39x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Great Dunmow in Essex leads with 14 Pearmains recorded in 1881 and an index of 886.08x.

Place Total Index
Great Dunmow 14 886.08x
Hockwold Cum Wilton 12 3000.00x
St George Bloomsbury 9 102.39x
Battersea 8 14.20x
Hackney London 8 9.32x
Limehouse London 8 47.59x
Bottisham 7 843.37x
Bromley London 7 20.78x
Bircham Tofts 6 8571.43x
Islington London 6 4.04x
Seaton 6 389.61x
Thornham 6 1764.71x
Aston 5 4.70x
Edmonton 5 40.52x
Hornsey 5 25.81x
Lambeth 4 3.00x
Maldon St Marys 3 416.67x
Maldon St Peter 3 194.81x
Manchester 3 3.67x
Princes Risborough 3 241.94x
St Giles In Fields 3 56.82x
Wallington 3 3000.00x
Wilne 3 545.45x
Camberwell 2 2.04x
Croydon Cum Clapton 2 800.00x
Holbeach 2 73.26x
Upminster 2 317.46x
Baldock 1 101.01x
Brighton 1 1.92x
Cardiff St Mary 1 6.81x
Chippenham 1 294.12x
Guilden Morden 1 192.31x
Kings Lynn St Margaret 1 14.14x
Kingston On Thames 1 5.58x
Latchingdon Snoreham 1 344.83x
St Luke London 1 4.07x
Sutton St Mary 1 43.10x
Walsoken 1 70.42x
West Ham 1 1.50x

Top female names

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

Name Count
Elizabeth 8
Eliza 7
Sarah 5
Florence 4
Ada 3
Alice 3
Emma 3
Harriet 3
Mary 3
Ellen 2
Emily 2
Frances 2
Hannah 2
Maria 2
Amelia 1
Angelina 1
Ann 1
Anna 1
Annie 1
Bessey 1
Betsy 1
Catherine 1
Charlotte 1
Clara 1
Ellos 1
Ettie 1
Fanny 1
Jane 1
Laura 1
Lousia 1
Maryann 1
May 1
Naomi 1
Phoebe 1
Sara 1
Susan 1

Top male names

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

Name Count
George 9
John 9
William 7
Walter 6
Arthur 5
James 5
Thomas 5
Harry 3
Henry 3
Joseph 3
Perry 3
Robert 3
Charles 2
Edmund 2
Frank 2
Herbert 2
Richard 2
Samuel 2
Abraham 1
Albert 1
Alfred 1
Benjamin 1
Donald 1
Ernest 1
F. 1
Frederic 1
Frederick 1
Fredrick 1
Jessie 1
Robt.F. 1
Willm. 1

FAQ

Pearmain surname: questions and answers

How common was the Pearmain surname in 1881?

In 1881, 157 people were recorded with the Pearmain surname. That placed it at #15,046 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Pearmain surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 425 in 2016. That gives Pearmain a modern rank of #11,300.

What does the Pearmain map show?

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