NameCensus.

UK surname

Pickering

Derived from a place name meaning "settlement of Pīchere's people," from the Old English personal name Pīchere.

In the 1881 census there were 10,811 people recorded with the Pickering surname, ranking it #396 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 14,057, ranked #449, down from #396 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to London parishes, Manchester and Leicester St Margaret and Bishop's Fee, Leicester All Saints, Blackfriars. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Ryedale, East Riding of Yorkshire and Scarborough.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Pickering is 14,750 in 1911. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 30.0%.

1881 census count

10,811

Ranked #396

Modern count

14,057

2016, ranked #449

Peak year

1911

14,750 bearers

Map years

9

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Pickering had 10,811 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #396 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 14,057 in 2016, ranked #449.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 14,750 in 1911.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Rural Amenity.

Pickering surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Pickering surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Pickering 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 6,173 #451
1861 historical 6,625 #422
1881 historical 10,811 #396
1891 historical 11,915 #374
1901 historical 13,643 #383
1911 historical 14,750 #332
1997 modern 14,139 #430
1998 modern 14,592 #431
1999 modern 14,712 #430
2000 modern 14,496 #437
2001 modern 14,169 #436
2002 modern 14,376 #437
2003 modern 13,941 #440
2004 modern 13,915 #441
2005 modern 13,742 #439
2006 modern 13,723 #441
2007 modern 13,781 #441
2008 modern 13,821 #443
2009 modern 14,061 #448
2010 modern 14,226 #454
2011 modern 14,121 #449
2012 modern 13,845 #449
2013 modern 14,207 #448
2014 modern 14,222 #449
2015 modern 14,118 #450
2016 modern 14,057 #449

Geography

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Where Pickerings are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around London parishes, Manchester, Leicester St Margaret and Bishop's Fee, Leicester All Saints, Blackfriars, Sheffield and Blackburn. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Ryedale, East Riding of Yorkshire and Scarborough. 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 3
2 Manchester Lancashire
3 Leicester St Margaret and Bishop's Fee, Leicester All Saints, Blackfriars Leicestershire
4 Sheffield Yorkshire, West Riding
5 Blackburn Lancashire

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Ryedale 008 Ryedale
2 Ryedale 002 Ryedale
3 East Riding of Yorkshire 003 East Riding of Yorkshire
4 East Riding of Yorkshire 015 East Riding of Yorkshire
5 Scarborough 004 Scarborough

Forenames

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First names often paired with Pickering

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

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Pickering

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

Pickering 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

Pickering falls in decile 1 for neighbourhood deprivation. This puts the surname towards the more deprived end of the index.

Decile 1 represents the more deprived end of the scale. Decile 10 represents the less deprived end.

1
More deprived Less deprived

Broadband speed

Fixed broadband download speed

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

Meaning and origin of Pickering

The surname Pickering is of English origin and dates back to the 12th century. It is a locational name derived from the town of Pickering in North Yorkshire, England. The name is believed to come from the Old English words "pica" meaning a small hill or peak, and "ing" meaning a meadow or enclosure.

In the Domesday Book of 1086, the town of Pickering is recorded as "Pichering". This is one of the earliest documented mentions of the place name and its spelling variation. The name likely evolved from the earlier Old English form "Picering" to its current spelling over the centuries.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Pickering is in the Pipe Rolls of Yorkshire from 1166, where a Robert de Pykering is mentioned. These rolls were financial records kept by the English Exchequer during the reign of Henry II.

Pickering has also been associated with notable individuals throughout history. One of the earliest was Sir James Pickering (c. 1516-1587), an English soldier and politician who served as Lord Deputy of Ireland from 1568 to 1573.

Another prominent figure was Thomas Pickering (1621-1669), an English politician and judge who served as a member of parliament and as a justice of the Court of King's Bench during the English Civil War and the Commonwealth period.

In the realm of literature, Edward Pickering (1807-1878) was an English writer and poet best known for his work "The Lay of the Last Minstrel" published in 1805.

The name Pickering has also been associated with notable scientists and astronomers. One such individual was Edward Charles Pickering (1846-1919), an American astronomer and physicist who served as the director of the Harvard College Observatory from 1877 to 1919.

Another scientist with the surname was William Henry Pickering (1858-1938), an American astronomer and physicist who discovered the ninth moon of Saturn, known as Phoebe, in 1898.

Throughout its history, the surname Pickering has been found across various regions of England, particularly in Yorkshire, Lancashire, and Northumberland, where it has deep roots and connections to the local geography and place names.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

1881 census detail

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Pickering families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Pickering 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. Yorkshire leads with 2,548 Pickerings recorded in 1881 and an index of 2.44x.

County Total Index
Yorkshire 2,548 2.44x
Lancashire 1,789 1.43x
Durham 801 2.55x
Middlesex 572 0.54x
Warwickshire 563 2.12x
Staffordshire 510 1.43x
Leicestershire 463 3.96x
Cheshire 459 1.97x
Derbyshire 425 2.58x
Lincolnshire 338 2.01x
Cumberland 308 3.39x
Northumberland 269 1.72x
Surrey 247 0.48x
Shropshire 193 2.12x
Kent 156 0.43x
Nottinghamshire 150 1.06x
Bedfordshire 117 2.14x
Northamptonshire 103 1.04x
Lanarkshire 83 0.24x
Flintshire 61 2.15x
Hampshire 58 0.27x
Gloucestershire 52 0.25x
Glamorgan 49 0.27x
Buckinghamshire 48 0.75x
Worcestershire 48 0.35x
Somerset 46 0.27x
Denbighshire 33 0.83x
Devon 30 0.14x
Suffolk 27 0.21x
Essex 24 0.12x
Oxfordshire 22 0.34x
Sussex 22 0.12x
Huntingdonshire 20 0.96x
Cambridgeshire 19 0.28x
Cardiganshire 18 0.70x
Rutland 18 2.33x
Monmouthshire 16 0.21x
Westmorland 15 0.65x
Caernarfonshire 11 0.26x
Hertfordshire 10 0.14x
Wiltshire 10 0.11x
Herefordshire 9 0.21x
Berkshire 7 0.09x
Renfrewshire 7 0.09x
Norfolk 6 0.04x
Cornwall 4 0.03x
Dumfriesshire 4 0.17x
Royal Navy 4 0.32x
Aberdeenshire 2 0.02x
Brecknockshire 2 0.09x
Merionethshire 2 0.10x
Roxburghshire 2 0.10x
Angus 1 0.01x
Argyllshire 1 0.03x
Ayrshire 1 0.01x
Channel Islands 1 0.03x
Montgomeryshire 1 0.04x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Blackburn in Lancashire leads with 275 Pickerings recorded in 1881 and an index of 8.26x.

Place Total Index
Blackburn 275 8.26x
Birmingham 178 2.01x
Aston 122 1.67x
Holy Trinity 108 4.30x
Bishopwearmouth 105 3.90x
Middlesbrough 84 6.18x
Salford 84 2.28x
Islington London 81 0.79x
Everton 75 1.88x
Leicester St Margaret 71 2.49x
Sculcoates 70 4.23x
Wrockwardine 70 34.96x
Liverpool 69 0.91x
Manchester 69 1.23x
St Pancras London 66 0.78x
Attercliffe Cum Darnall 63 6.47x
Brightside Bierlow 63 3.08x
Batley 59 5.94x
Oldham 59 1.46x
Over Darwen 59 5.91x
Camberwell 58 0.86x
Alston 56 33.49x
Barnsley 56 5.20x
Heaton Norris 56 7.87x
Lambeth 56 0.61x
Wolverhampton 56 2.05x
Ashton Under Lyne 54 1.98x
Stockton On Tees 54 3.57x
Stapenhill 53 21.58x
Bethnal Green London 52 1.14x
Great Driffield 51 23.79x
Scarborough 50 5.27x
Leeds 48 0.81x
Bishop Auckland 45 10.70x
Gateshead 44 1.87x
Lilleshall 44 31.61x
Hulme 43 1.65x
Preston 43 1.29x
Habergham Eaves 42 3.67x
Pickering 42 31.94x
Ashby De La Zouch 41 15.14x
Dodworth 41 37.79x
Dukinfield 40 3.72x
Ecclesall Bierlow 40 1.88x
Tudhoe 40 14.58x
Packington 39 93.66x
Elswick 38 3.04x
Hackney London 38 0.64x
Stone 38 8.35x
Coventry Holy Trinity 37 4.66x
Kensington London 36 0.61x
Bridlington 35 14.64x
Kirkby Mallory Earl 35 62.42x
Paddington London 35 0.90x
Church Gresley 34 12.95x
Bury 33 2.31x
Little Bolton 33 2.05x
Plumstead 33 2.75x
Sheffield 33 0.99x
Stoke 33 63.04x
West Derby 33 0.90x
Stoke Upon Trent 32 0.85x
Chorlton On Medlock 31 1.56x
Darlington 31 2.56x
Luton 30 3.18x
Wednesbury 30 3.37x
Darton 29 27.11x
Stanhope 29 8.96x
Stranton 29 2.75x
Walton On Hill 29 4.28x
Barony 28 0.32x
Penrith 28 8.35x
Southcoates 28 4.83x
Hunslet 27 1.66x
Leicester St Mary 27 2.86x
Newington 27 0.69x
Newington 27 9.39x
Toxteth Park 27 0.64x
St George Hanover 26 1.89x
St Swithin Lincoln 26 9.81x

Top female names

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

Name Count
Mary 826
Elizabeth 473
Sarah 396
Ann 269
Jane 264
Annie 170
Hannah 167
Alice 157
Margaret 135
Emma 131
Eliza 129
Ellen 126
Emily 96
Martha 93
Harriet 78
Ada 70
Florence 65
Maria 62
Clara 57
Edith 57
Anne 54
Charlotte 54
Lucy 53
Fanny 51
Isabella 48
Frances 45
Louisa 45
Catherine 38
Caroline 34
Elizth. 31
Agnes 30
Kate 30
Gertrude 28
Harriett 26
Rebecca 26
Rose 26
Susannah 25
Eleanor 24
Esther 24
Minnie 23
Amy 22
Ruth 22
Betsy 21
Ethel 20
Matilda 19
Amelia 18
Sophia 18
Nancy 17
Rachel 17
Lydia 16

Top male names

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

Name Count
John 733
William 667
Thomas 423
George 386
Joseph 255
James 239
Henry 182
Charles 177
Robert 165
Arthur 116
Edward 111
Samuel 110
Richard 92
Alfred 86
Frederick 70
Walter 65
Albert 57
Herbert 47
Harry 46
David 41
Wm. 41
Francis 37
Ernest 33
Frank 28
Geo. 28
Edwin 27
Thos. 27
Ralph 25
Tom 24
Fred 23
Isaac 23
Peter 22
Christopher 20
Stephen 20
Benjamin 17
Jonathan 16
Matthew 16
Willm. 15
Daniel 14
Percy 14
Fredk. 11
Fredrick 11
Leonard 9
Mark 9
Saml. 9
Enoch 8
Harold 8
Hugh 8
Michael 8
Sam 8

FAQ

Pickering surname: questions and answers

How common was the Pickering surname in 1881?

In 1881, 10,811 people were recorded with the Pickering surname. That placed it at #396 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Pickering surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 14,057 in 2016. That gives Pickering a modern rank of #449.

What does the Pickering surname mean?

Derived from a place name meaning "settlement of Pīchere's people," from the Old English personal name Pīchere.

What does the Pickering map show?

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