NameCensus.

UK surname

Peerless

In the 1881 census there were 293 people recorded with the Peerless surname, ranking it #9,884 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 242, ranked #17,177, down from #9,884 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to Buxted, Tunbridge, Bidborough and London parishes. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Cornwall, Croydon and Hastings.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Peerless is 447 in 1911. Compared with 1881, the name has fallen by 17.4%.

1881 census count

293

Ranked #9,884

Modern count

242

2016, ranked #17,177

Peak year

1911

447 bearers

Map years

9

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Peerless had 293 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #9,884 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 242 in 2016, ranked #17,177.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 447 in 1911.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Rural Amenity.

Peerless surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Peerless surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Peerless 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 222 #9,597
1861 historical 173 #13,553
1881 historical 293 #9,884
1891 historical 345 #9,944
1901 historical 408 #9,358
1911 historical 447 #8,552
1997 modern 269 #14,543
1998 modern 254 #15,508
1999 modern 262 #15,308
2000 modern 271 #14,910
2001 modern 267 #14,839
2002 modern 288 #14,373
2003 modern 253 #15,493
2004 modern 260 #15,309
2005 modern 253 #15,514
2006 modern 257 #15,448
2007 modern 257 #15,606
2008 modern 256 #15,817
2009 modern 255 #16,183
2010 modern 268 #15,978
2011 modern 252 #16,543
2012 modern 235 #17,242
2013 modern 239 #17,307
2014 modern 244 #17,189
2015 modern 245 #17,040
2016 modern 242 #17,177

Geography

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Where Peerless' are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around Buxted, Tunbridge, Bidborough, London parishes, Rotherfield and St Giles Camberwell. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Cornwall, Croydon, Hastings and Wiltshire. 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 Buxted Sussex
2 Tunbridge, Bidborough Kent
3 London parishes London 3
4 Rotherfield Sussex
5 St Giles Camberwell London (South Districts)

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Cornwall 006 Cornwall
2 Croydon 028 Croydon
3 Hastings 006 Hastings
4 Wiltshire 060 Wiltshire
5 Cornwall 059 Cornwall

Forenames

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First names often paired with Peerless

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

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Peerless

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

Peerless is most concentrated in decile 10 for access to healthy assets and hazards. This places the surname towards the healthier 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.

10
Lower access Higher access

Neighbourhood deprivation

Index of Multiple Deprivation

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

1881 census detail

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Peerless families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Peerless 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. Kent leads with 110 Peerless' recorded in 1881 and an index of 11.32x.

County Total Index
Kent 110 11.32x
Sussex 106 22.07x
Surrey 43 3.10x
Middlesex 21 0.74x
Devon 5 0.84x
Northamptonshire 4 1.49x
Suffolk 2 0.58x
Essex 1 0.18x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Rotherfield in Sussex leads with 33 Peerless' recorded in 1881 and an index of 780.14x.

Place Total Index
Rotherfield 33 780.14x
Eastbourne 23 104.07x
Tonbridge 22 62.77x
Camberwell 18 9.89x
Speldhurst 17 343.43x
Brighton 13 13.42x
Greenwich 10 22.06x
Reigate Foreign 10 66.53x
Buxted 8 425.53x
Cowden 7 1111.11x
Gillingham 7 34.93x
Hadlow 7 290.46x
Hastings St Leonards 7 99.15x
Lambeth 7 2.82x
Dover St Mary Virgin 6 63.76x
Islington London 6 2.17x
Cheriton 5 126.26x
Cuckfield 5 103.09x
Hever 5 757.58x
St Marylebone London 5 3.29x
Stoke Damerel 5 12.05x
Alfriston 4 701.75x
Ashurst 4 1818.18x
Corby 4 540.54x
Lingfield 4 148.15x
Penshurst 4 245.40x
Twickenham 4 32.76x
Ashford 3 31.71x
Bromley 3 20.26x
Croydon 3 3.89x
Hastings St Clement 3 66.37x
Orpington 3 100.67x
Ipswich St Mathew 2 20.58x
Mile End Old Town 2 4.45x
St Pancras London 2 0.87x
Ticehurst 2 68.03x
Uckfield 2 95.69x
Wadhurst 2 63.49x
Glynde 1 357.14x
Gravesend 1 12.15x
Hackney London 1 0.63x
Hove 1 4.75x
Leigh 1 78.74x
Lyminge 1 120.48x
Maidstone 1 3.45x
Margate St John Baptist 1 5.62x
Mayfield 1 35.21x
Ringwould 1 120.48x
Rumbolds Wyke 1 113.64x
Southwark St George Martyr 1 1.74x
Tottenham 1 2.20x
West Ham 1 0.81x
Woolwich 1 2.79x

Top female names

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

Name Count
Mary 17
Alice 10
Sarah 7
Ann 6
Annie 6
Eliza 6
Ellen 6
Emma 6
Fanny 6
Charlotte 5
Maria 5
Elizabeth 4
Emily 4
Jane 4
Kate 4
Ada 3
Caroline 3
Esther 3
Harriett 3
Louisa 3
Anne 2
Clara 2
Edith 2
Florence 2
Frances 2
Julia 2
Susan 2
Anna 1
Betsy 1
Catherine 1
Elisabeth 1
Ethel 1
Fanney 1
Fannie 1
Flora 1
Francis 1
Gertrude 1
Hanna 1
Helena 1
Isabell 1
Jessie 1
Lilian 1
Lilly 1
Lily 1
Lissie 1
Lizzie 1
Lucy 1
Matilda 1
Maud 1
Tammer 1

Top male names

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

Name Count
William 16
James 14
George 11
Alfred 9
Henry 9
John 8
Thomas 7
Charles 6
Edward 6
Albert 4
Frederick 4
David 3
Harry 3
Joseph 3
Chas. 2
Herbert 2
Richard 2
Walter 2
A.T.J. 1
Abraham 1
Arthur 1
Daniel 1
Edgar 1
Edwin 1
Ernest 1
Gerald 1
Gidean 1
Keith 1
Louis 1
Owen 1
Percival 1
Reuben 1
Samuel 1
Stephen 1
Willm. 1
Wm. 1

FAQ

Peerless surname: questions and answers

How common was the Peerless surname in 1881?

In 1881, 293 people were recorded with the Peerless surname. That placed it at #9,884 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Peerless surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 242 in 2016. That gives Peerless a modern rank of #17,177.

What does the Peerless map show?

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