NameCensus.

UK surname

Plank

An occupational surname referring to a carpenter or woodworker who specialized in making planks or wooden boards.

In the 1881 census there were 519 people recorded with the Plank surname, ranking it #6,572 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 681, ranked #7,872, down from #6,572 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to London parishes, Edinburgh and East and West Lavington. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include West Berkshire, Wiltshire and Isle of Anglesey.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Plank is 755 in 2002. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 31.2%.

1881 census count

519

Ranked #6,572

Modern count

681

2016, ranked #7,872

Peak year

2002

755 bearers

Map years

9

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Plank had 519 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #6,572 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 681 in 2016, ranked #7,872.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 623 in 1911.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Rural Amenity.

Plank surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Plank surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Plank 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 352 #6,705
1861 historical 300 #8,432
1881 historical 519 #6,572
1891 historical 525 #7,135
1901 historical 597 #7,100
1911 historical 623 #6,640
1997 modern 725 #7,045
1998 modern 747 #7,124
1999 modern 748 #7,161
2000 modern 753 #7,078
2001 modern 739 #7,063
2002 modern 755 #7,076
2003 modern 706 #7,331
2004 modern 699 #7,412
2005 modern 706 #7,283
2006 modern 682 #7,525
2007 modern 672 #7,680
2008 modern 671 #7,721
2009 modern 695 #7,682
2010 modern 690 #7,864
2011 modern 691 #7,762
2012 modern 678 #7,806
2013 modern 696 #7,755
2014 modern 692 #7,850
2015 modern 695 #7,756
2016 modern 681 #7,872

Geography

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Where Planks are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around London parishes, Edinburgh, East and West Lavington and Urchfont. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to West Berkshire, Wiltshire and Isle of Anglesey. 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 Edinburgh Edinburgh
4 East and West Lavington Wiltshire
5 Urchfont Wiltshire

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 West Berkshire 011 West Berkshire
2 Wiltshire 038 Wiltshire
3 Wiltshire 029 Wiltshire
4 Wiltshire 019 Wiltshire
5 Isle of Anglesey 009 Isle of Anglesey

Forenames

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First names often paired with Plank

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

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Plank

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

Older Residents in Owner-Occupied Suburbs

Group

London Fringe

Within London, Plank is most associated with areas classed as London Fringe, part of Older Residents in Owner-Occupied Suburbs. 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

Predominantly located in neighbourhoods on the outskirts of Greater London, residents of these neighbourhoods typically have their highest qualifications below degree (Level 4) level, with those still in work engaged in skilled trades and occupations in distribution, hotels and restaurants. There is low ethnic diversity in these neighbourhoods and high levels of Christian religious affiliation. Detached or terraced houses predominate, often with spare rooms.

Wider London pattern

The age distribution of these neighbourhoods is skewed towards the middle-aged and old, although few residents live alone or in communal establishments and numbers of dependent children are around average. Owner occupation is the norm, as is residence in detached or semi-detached houses. Residential densities are low and many households have spare rooms. Most residents were born in the UK and, aside from some identifying as members of Chinese or Indian ethnicities, identify as White. Mixed ethnicity households are rare. Incidence of married couples is higher than average and few individuals have never been married. A large proportion of individuals still in employment work in administrative and secretarial occupations, or in the construction industry. Few residents are students, and many households own more than one car.

Healthy neighbourhoods

Access to healthy assets and hazards

Plank 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

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

Meaning and origin of Plank

The surname Plank originated in Germany and dates back to the Middle Ages. It is derived from the German word 'planke', meaning a wooden plank or board. The name likely referred to someone who worked with wood or lived near a wooden structure or bridge.

Plank is an occupational surname, indicating the trade or profession of an ancestor. In medieval times, occupational surnames were commonly adopted to distinguish people in the same village or town. The surname Plank likely identified an individual as a carpenter, joiner, or someone involved in the construction or maintenance of wooden structures.

The earliest recorded instances of the surname Plank can be traced back to the 13th and 14th centuries in various regions of Germany, including Bavaria, Saxony, and the Rhineland. Some of the earliest documented examples include Henricus Planke in Cologne in 1292 and Hermannus Planke in Mainz in 1311.

During the late Middle Ages and Renaissance period, the surname Plank appeared in various records and manuscripts across Germany. For instance, Johannes Plank was mentioned in a document from Nuremberg in 1487, while a certain Hans Plank was recorded in a manuscript from Augsburg in 1524.

Several notable individuals throughout history have borne the surname Plank. One example is Robert Plank (1516-1576), a German jurist and legal scholar from Nuremberg, who was influential in the development of German civil law. Another is Johann Plank (1537-1590), a German theologian and reformer from Augsburg.

In the 17th century, Georg Plank (1625-1697) was a German architect and engineer who designed several notable buildings in Würzburg and other cities. Later, in the 19th century, Johann Plank (1819-1900) was a German physicist and professor at the University of Munich, known for his contributions to the field of thermodynamics.

Another notable individual was Max Plank (1858-1947), a German theoretical physicist who originated quantum theory and received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1918. Although the spelling of his surname differed slightly, it likely derived from the same occupational root.

Overall, the surname Plank has a rich history spanning several centuries and is deeply rooted in Germanic culture and language. Its occupational origins reflect the importance of woodworking and construction in medieval times, and the name has been carried by numerous individuals of note throughout the years.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

1881 census detail

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Plank families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Plank 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. Wiltshire leads with 204 Planks recorded in 1881 and an index of 45.30x.

County Total Index
Wiltshire 204 45.30x
Middlesex 78 1.53x
Surrey 48 1.93x
Hampshire 28 2.68x
Somerset 24 2.93x
Midlothian 21 3.08x
Lancashire 18 0.30x
Nottinghamshire 16 2.33x
Oxfordshire 11 3.50x
Sussex 11 1.28x
Kent 8 0.46x
Orkney 8 14.28x
Dorset 6 1.80x
Cumberland 5 1.14x
Gloucestershire 5 0.50x
Yorkshire 5 0.10x
Buckinghamshire 4 1.30x
Essex 4 0.40x
Berkshire 3 0.78x
Glamorgan 3 0.34x
Channel Islands 2 1.33x
Durham 2 0.13x
Staffordshire 2 0.12x
Cheshire 1 0.09x
Cornwall 1 0.17x
Derbyshire 1 0.13x
Devon 1 0.09x
Monmouthshire 1 0.27x
Warwickshire 1 0.08x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. West Lavington in Wiltshire leads with 27 Planks recorded in 1881 and an index of 1250.00x.

Place Total Index
West Lavington 27 1250.00x
Figheldean 24 2962.96x
St Pancras London 16 3.90x
Hackney London 15 5.25x
West Overton 12 1025.64x
Devizes St Mary 10 219.78x
Market Lavington 10 409.84x
Croydon 9 6.54x
Duddingston 9 65.74x
Great Cheverell 9 1285.71x
Batheaston 8 284.70x
Etchilhampton 8 2758.62x
Little Cheverell 8 2051.28x
North Newnton 8 1230.77x
Shoreditch London 8 3.62x
Urchfont 8 434.78x
Aldbourn 7 267.18x
Camberwell 7 2.15x
Chalgrove 7 777.78x
Chelsea London 7 4.56x
Knights Enham 7 2500.00x
Lasswade 7 44.87x
Nether Wallop 7 507.25x
St Marylebone London 7 2.57x
Steeple Langford 7 769.23x
Westminster St John 7 11.29x
Barton 6 1250.00x
Devizes St James 6 100.33x
Everton 6 3.12x
Hucknall Torkard 6 34.48x
Kingston On Thames 6 10.07x
Lambeth 6 1.35x
Pewsey 6 181.27x
Seend 6 674.16x
Shepton Mallet 6 65.22x
Hesket In Forest 5 146.20x
Kirkwall St Ola 5 59.59x
Rollestone 5 8333.33x
Salisbury St Martin 5 106.61x
Ardwick 4 7.34x
Guildford Holy Trinity 4 84.57x
Hindon 4 412.37x
Kensington London 4 1.41x
Lenton 4 24.74x
Newington 4 2.13x
Oxford St Peter In East 4 330.58x
Warton With Lindeth 4 158.10x
Amesbury 3 152.28x
Bedminster 3 3.90x
Bermondsey 3 1.98x
Brighton 3 1.73x
Chard 3 30.21x
Dorchester St Peter 3 123.97x
East Ham 3 16.09x
Effingham 3 294.12x
Hammersmith London 3 2.39x
Hastings St Mary In The 3 16.38x
Hollington 3 98.04x
Littleworth 3 309.28x
Marden 3 833.33x
Melcombe Regis 3 21.66x
Rushall 3 882.35x
South Mimms 3 42.98x
Southampton St Mary 3 4.57x
Walcot 3 6.87x
Westminster St 3 15.98x
Westray Papa Westray 3 67.57x
Wilcott 3 306.12x
Wilsford 3 468.75x
Wold Newton 3 545.45x
Bromham 2 98.52x
Charlton 2 17.33x
Ealing 2 4.39x
Patney 2 800.00x
Penarth 2 23.09x
Salisbury St Edmund 2 27.66x
Southampton All Sts 2 11.17x
St Helier 2 4.07x
Wolverhampton 2 1.51x
Wolverton 2 31.40x

Top female names

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

Name Count
Mary 32
Sarah 21
Elizabeth 17
Ann 9
Emma 9
Emily 8
Fanny 8
Alice 7
Ellen 7
Jane 7
Edith 6
Eliza 6
Harriet 5
Martha 5
Agnes 4
Florence 4
Hannah 4
Sophia 4
Amy 3
Catherine 3
Kate 3
Rose 3
Annie 2
Caroline 2
Clara 2
Frances 2
Harriett 2
Henrietta 2
Julia 2
Louisa 2
Selina 2
Susannah 2
Anne 1
Arabela 1
Bessy 1
Blanche 1
Eleanor 1
Elisa 1
Elizth. 1
Emilie 1
Ethel 1
Eva 1
Infant 1
Isabella 1
Jesse 1
Jessie 1
Keziah 1
Laura 1
Lavinia 1
Sylvia 1

Top male names

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

Name Count
William 34
George 31
John 20
Charles 16
James 15
Henry 14
Edward 12
Alfred 10
Frederick 8
Joseph 7
Walter 6
Albert 5
Robert 5
Thomas 5
Harry 4
Arthur 3
Frank 3
Herbert 3
Sidney 3
Edmund 2
Ernest 2
Fred 2
Fredrick 2
Giles 2
Jacob 2
Samuel 2
W.C. 2
Aurther 1
Cecil 1
Christopher 1
David 1
Eli 1
Elijah 1
Ezia 1
Fred. 1
Geo. 1
Gilbert 1
Herrmann 1
Isaac 1
J.G. 1
Jas. 1
Jesse 1
Jos. 1
Norton 1
Rebecca 1
Reg. 1
Richard 1
T.M. 1
Tom 1
Winifred 1

FAQ

Plank surname: questions and answers

How common was the Plank surname in 1881?

In 1881, 519 people were recorded with the Plank surname. That placed it at #6,572 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Plank surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 681 in 2016. That gives Plank a modern rank of #7,872.

What does the Plank surname mean?

An occupational surname referring to a carpenter or woodworker who specialized in making planks or wooden boards.

What does the Plank map show?

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