NameCensus.

UK surname

Plumbley

In the 1881 census there were 292 people recorded with the Plumbley surname, ranking it #9,912 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 328, ranked #13,831, down from #9,912 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to Newchurch, Godshill and Dean. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include St. Helens, Rugby and West Somerset.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Plumbley is 489 in 1911. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 12.3%.

1881 census count

292

Ranked #9,912

Modern count

328

2016, ranked #13,831

Peak year

1911

489 bearers

Map years

9

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Plumbley had 292 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #9,912 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 328 in 2016, ranked #13,831.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 489 in 1911.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Small Town Suburbia.

Plumbley surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Plumbley surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Plumbley 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 188 #10,939
1861 historical 206 #11,725
1881 historical 292 #9,912
1891 historical 404 #8,802
1901 historical 473 #8,395
1911 historical 489 #7,959
1997 modern 327 #12,784
1998 modern 341 #12,761
1999 modern 336 #12,969
2000 modern 340 #12,824
2001 modern 327 #12,970
2002 modern 343 #12,803
2003 modern 329 #13,001
2004 modern 335 #12,870
2005 modern 322 #13,175
2006 modern 333 #12,941
2007 modern 321 #13,403
2008 modern 330 #13,257
2009 modern 347 #13,044
2010 modern 341 #13,477
2011 modern 337 #13,463
2012 modern 347 #13,048
2013 modern 350 #13,186
2014 modern 344 #13,426
2015 modern 335 #13,622
2016 modern 328 #13,831

Geography

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Where Plumbleys are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around Newchurch, Godshill, Dean, Prescot and Niton. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to St. Helens, Rugby, West Somerset, Wigan and Isle of Wight. 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 Newchurch Hampshire
2 Godshill Hampshire
3 Dean Lancashire
4 Prescot Lancashire
5 Niton Hampshire

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 St. Helens 019 St. Helens
2 Rugby 005 Rugby
3 West Somerset 003 West Somerset
4 Wigan 017 Wigan
5 Isle of Wight 005 Isle of Wight

Forenames

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First names often paired with Plumbley

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

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Plumbley

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

Retired Professionals

Group

Small Town Suburbia

Nationally, the Plumbley surname is most associated with neighbourhoods classed as Small Town Suburbia, within Retired Professionals. This does not mean every Plumbley 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 is predominantly comprised of married couples with no resident dependent children, living in areas characterised neither by under-occupancy nor overcrowding throughout the UK in or adjacent to small towns. White ethnic groups and affiliation with Christianity predominates. Housing tends to be predominantly semi-detached or detached and workers are employed principally in managerial and professional occupations, with semi-skilled occupations also in evidence. These areas of the Supergroup are of higher population density.

Wider pattern

Typically married but no longer with resident dependent children, these well-educated households either remain working in their managerial, professional, administrative or other skilled occupations, or are retired from them – the modal individual age is beyond normal retirement age. Underoccupied detached and semi-detached properties predominate, and unpaid care is more prevalent than reported disability. The prevalence of this Supergroup outside most urban conurbations indicates that rural lifestyles prevail, typically sustained by using two or more cars per household.

London neighbourhood type

London Output Area Classification

Supergroup

Social Rented Sector Families with Children

Group

Social Rented Sector Pockets

Within London, Plumbley is most associated with areas classed as Social Rented Sector Pockets, part of Social Rented Sector Families with Children. 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

Found in pockets across London, residents are less likely to live in private sector rentals and fewer adults are students. Fewer individuals work in transport and communications occupations relative to the Supergroup average. More individuals identify as Black and were born in Africa.

Wider London pattern

Residents of these neighbourhoods include sizable numbers identifying with ethnicities originating outside Europe, particularly in Africa or Bangladesh. The proportion of residents identifying as White, Indian or Pakistani is well below the London average. Neighbourhood age profiles are skewed towards younger adults, and above average numbers of families have children. Rates of use of English at home are below average. Marriage rates are low, and levels of separation or divorce are above average. Housing is predominantly in flats, and renting in the social rented sector the norm - few residents are owner occupiers. Housing is often overcrowded, and neighbourhoods are amongst the most densely populated in London. Disability rates are above average, although levels of unpaid care provision are about average. Employment is in caring, leisure, other service occupations, sales and customer service, or process, plant, and machine operation. Part time working and full-time student study are common. Levels of unemployment are slightly above average. Most residents have only Level 1 or 2 educational qualifications or have completed apprenticeships.

Healthy neighbourhoods

Access to healthy assets and hazards

Plumbley is most concentrated in decile 8 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.

8
Lower access Higher access

Neighbourhood deprivation

Index of Multiple Deprivation

Plumbley 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 Plumbley is most associated with a typical fixed broadband download band of 50-60 mbit/s.

The scale below places that band in context, from slower local download bands through to faster ones.

8
Slower band Faster band

Area snapshot

Ethnic group estimate

Most common ethnic group estimate
White - British

This describes the area pattern most associated with Plumbley, not the ethnicity of every person with the surname.

1881 census detail

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Plumbley families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Plumbley 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. Hampshire leads with 125 Plumbleys recorded in 1881 and an index of 21.49x.

County Total Index
Hampshire 125 21.49x
Lancashire 98 2.91x
Cheshire 18 2.87x
Middlesex 18 0.63x
Kent 10 1.03x
Nottinghamshire 7 1.83x
Staffordshire 3 0.31x
Norfolk 2 0.46x
Shropshire 2 0.82x
Surrey 2 0.14x
Derbyshire 1 0.23x
Dorset 1 0.54x
Glamorgan 1 0.20x
Warwickshire 1 0.14x
Wiltshire 1 0.40x
Yorkshire 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. Whitwell in Hampshire leads with 36 Plumbleys recorded in 1881 and an index of 5217.39x.

Place Total Index
Whitwell 36 5217.39x
Ryde 23 184.00x
Niton 18 2307.69x
Kirkby 16 1176.47x
Eccleston In Prescot 13 76.88x
Carisbrooke 12 148.51x
Everton 9 8.38x
Liverpool 8 3.91x
Northwood 8 96.62x
Whitechapel London 7 25.02x
Halewood 6 333.33x
Halliwell 6 48.94x
Lee 6 42.67x
Leftwich 6 215.83x
Liscard 6 53.14x
St Pancras London 6 2.63x
Carlton 5 114.42x
Kirkdale 5 8.82x
Walton On Hill 5 27.40x
Adlington 4 476.19x
Binsted 4 180.18x
Bow London 4 11.07x
Deptford St Paul 4 5.35x
Great Bolton 4 8.97x
Shanklin 4 231.21x
West Derby 4 4.06x
Burslem 3 10.93x
Godshill 3 223.88x
Lathom 3 73.71x
Melling 3 384.62x
Newchurch 3 227.27x
Simonswood 3 666.67x
St Helens 3 70.92x
Ventnor 3 54.25x
Arreton 2 106.95x
Gimingham 2 740.74x
Lydiate 2 190.48x
Manchester 2 1.32x
Nottingham St Mary 2 2.02x
Witton Cum Twambrooks 2 35.84x
Aldershot 1 5.13x
Birmingham 1 0.42x
Brading 1 12.94x
Broughton In Salford 1 3.25x
Bury 1 2.60x
Camberwell 1 0.55x
Cardiff St Mary 1 3.67x
Ditton 1 72.46x
Elton 1 8.59x
Hackney London 1 0.63x
Holdenhurst 1 6.55x
Kinson 1 27.47x
Maghull 1 71.43x
Mitcham 1 11.44x
Normanton 1 26.67x
Ogbourne St George 1 212.77x
Pendleton In Salford 1 2.49x
Selattyn 1 90.09x
Sheffield 1 1.12x
Shrewsbury St Mary 1 10.33x
Sutton 1 8.85x
Thorley 1 555.56x
Warrington 1 2.50x
Whippingham 1 22.68x
Whiston 1 38.02x
Wootton 1 1000.00x

Top female names

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

Name Count
Mary 23
Sarah 11
Alice 8
Jane 8
Ann 5
Elizabeth 5
Ellen 5
Kate 5
Annie 4
Hannah 4
Catherine 3
Charlotte 3
Emily 3
Emma 3
Esther 3
Maria 3
Minnie 3
Amelia 2
Anne 2
Caroline 2
Eleanor 2
Eliza 2
Harriet 2
Jessie 2
Margaret 2
Martha 2
Rose 2
Amy 1
Dora 1
Dorcas 1
E. 1
Elener 1
Ethel 1
Ezita 1
Fanny 1
Florence 1
Helen 1
Isab. 1
Jemima 1
Letitia 1
Lilian 1
Lilias 1
Louisa 1
Lucy 1
Maud 1
Mildred 1
Nancy 1
Rachael 1
Rachel 1
Violet 1

Top male names

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

Name Count
William 23
George 13
John 12
Thomas 10
James 8
Frank 6
Henry 5
Joseph 5
Richard 5
Frederick 4
Harry 4
Isaac 4
Albert 3
Charles 3
Ernest 3
Robert 3
Walter 3
Edward 2
Peter 2
Armitt 1
Austen 1
Benjamin 1
Daniel 1
David 1
Elias 1
Ellis 1
Fred 1
Gerald 1
H.William 1
Herbert 1
Hy. 1
Jas. 1
Leslie 1
Mark 1
Martin 1
Maurice 1
Moses 1
Richd. 1
Samuel 1
Stephen 1
Sydney 1
Thos. 1
Willm. 1
Wm.Thomas 1

FAQ

Plumbley surname: questions and answers

How common was the Plumbley surname in 1881?

In 1881, 292 people were recorded with the Plumbley surname. That placed it at #9,912 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Plumbley surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 328 in 2016. That gives Plumbley a modern rank of #13,831.

What does the Plumbley map show?

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