NameCensus.

UK surname

Pontefract

In the 1881 census there were 207 people recorded with the Pontefract surname, ranking it #12,555 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 127, ranked #26,566, down from #12,555 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to Stockport, Almondbury and Rochdale. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Plymouth, Kirklees and Wealden.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Pontefract is 275 in 1911. Compared with 1881, the name has fallen by 38.6%.

1881 census count

207

Ranked #12,555

Modern count

127

2016, ranked #26,566

Peak year

1911

275 bearers

Map years

9

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Pontefract had 207 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #12,555 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 127 in 2016, ranked #26,566.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 275 in 1911.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Established Mature Families.

Pontefract surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Pontefract surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Pontefract 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 138 #13,745
1861 historical 167 #13,956
1881 historical 207 #12,555
1891 historical 258 #12,440
1901 historical 243 #13,358
1911 historical 275 #12,123
1997 modern 132 #22,821
1998 modern 145 #22,139
1999 modern 145 #22,305
2000 modern 151 #21,684
2001 modern 149 #21,568
2002 modern 144 #22,501
2003 modern 131 #23,553
2004 modern 134 #23,425
2005 modern 131 #23,737
2006 modern 130 #24,053
2007 modern 138 #23,478
2008 modern 141 #23,383
2009 modern 150 #22,937
2010 modern 142 #24,352
2011 modern 136 #24,819
2012 modern 137 #24,731
2013 modern 141 #24,670
2014 modern 138 #25,218
2015 modern 137 #25,226
2016 modern 127 #26,566

Geography

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Where Pontefracts are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around Stockport, Almondbury, Rochdale, Huddersfield and Kirkburton. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Plymouth, Kirklees, Wealden and Monmouthshire. 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 Stockport Cheshire
2 Almondbury Yorkshire, West Riding
3 Rochdale Yorkshire, West Riding
4 Huddersfield Yorkshire, West Riding
5 Kirkburton Yorkshire, West Riding

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Plymouth 024 Plymouth
2 Kirklees 056 Kirklees
3 Plymouth 019 Plymouth
4 Wealden 009 Wealden
5 Monmouthshire 004 Monmouthshire

Forenames

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First names often paired with Pontefract

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

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Pontefract

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

Established Mature Families

Nationally, the Pontefract surname is most associated with neighbourhoods classed as Established Mature Families, within Retired Professionals. This does not mean every Pontefract household fits that profile, but it gives a useful signal about where the modern surname distribution is strongest.

Read profile summary

Group profile

Married couples predominate, many with older dependent children. Detached housing is common. Homeownership rates are the highest within this Supergroup. The presence of some students suggests that households are towards the end of a child rearing phase. Many residents have degree level qualifications, and the occupational profile is heavily skewed towards managerial and professional occupations. Residential developments commonly occur on the periphery of major urban cities or conurbations.

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

The Greater London Mix

Group

Social Rented Sector Professional Support Workers

Within London, Pontefract 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

Pontefract is most concentrated in decile 9 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.

9
Lower access Higher access

Neighbourhood deprivation

Index of Multiple Deprivation

Pontefract falls in decile 9 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.

9
More deprived Less deprived

Broadband speed

Fixed broadband download speed

The modern neighbourhood pattern for Pontefract is most associated with a typical fixed broadband download band of Over 70 mbit/s.

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

10
Slower band Faster band

Area snapshot

Ethnic group estimate

Most common ethnic group estimate
White - British

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

1881 census detail

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Pontefract families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Pontefract 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 128 Pontefracts recorded in 1881 and an index of 6.49x.

County Total Index
Yorkshire 128 6.49x
Lancashire 41 1.74x
Cheshire 18 4.10x
Middlesex 7 0.35x
Gloucestershire 5 1.28x
Nottinghamshire 5 1.86x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Thurstonland in Yorkshire leads with 29 Pontefracts recorded in 1881 and an index of 4264.71x.

Place Total Index
Thurstonland 29 4264.71x
Bramley In Bramley 12 158.94x
Hulme 11 22.32x
Leeds 10 8.98x
Chorlton On Medlock 9 23.99x
Thornhill 9 156.52x
Calverley Cum Farsley 8 142.86x
Almondbury 7 73.45x
Austonley 7 625.00x
Brinnington 7 170.73x
Islington London 7 3.63x
Stockport 7 30.97x
Honley 6 173.91x
Stretford 6 46.19x
Dewsbury 5 24.73x
Westbury On Severn 5 322.58x
Holbeck 4 30.63x
Oldham 4 5.25x
Saddleworth 4 26.30x
Salford 4 5.76x
Sheffield 4 6.37x
South Crosland 4 192.31x
Dalton In Huddersfield 3 67.87x
Dukinfield 3 14.78x
Layton With Warbreck 3 34.64x
Nottingham St Peter 3 100.33x
Yeadon 3 67.42x
York St Mary 3 36.72x
Ashton Under Lyne 2 3.88x
Huddersfield 2 6.96x
Lockwood 2 28.21x
Low Abbotside 2 2222.22x
Nottingham St Mary 2 2.88x
Armley 1 11.49x
Bradfield 1 13.16x
Heaton Norris 1 7.44x
Hepworth 1 125.00x
Middle Hulton 1 71.43x
Shepley 1 91.74x
Stayley 1 19.92x

Top female names

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

Name Count
Mary 15
Elizabeth 9
Hannah 6
Alice 5
Sarah 5
Annie 4
Martha 4
Eliza 3
Ellen 3
Jane 3
Amelia 2
Edith 2
Emily 2
Louisa 2
Miriam 2
Bethshebe 1
Charlotte 1
Clare 1
Eleanor 1
Ellsie 1
Ema 1
Emma 1
Esther 1
Fanny 1
Florence 1
Fred 1
Gertrude 1
Harriet 1
Hester 1
Kate 1
Katie 1
Laura 1
Lizzie 1
Lousia 1
Lydia 1
Margaret 1
Maria 1
Marian 1
Marth 1
Matilda 1
Nellie 1
Octavia 1
Polly 1
Priscilla 1
Rachel 1
Rose 1
Ruth 1
Selina 1
Tamar 1
Tamon 1

Top male names

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

Name Count
John 11
Joseph 8
Arthur 6
James 6
Henry 5
Alfred 4
Harry 4
Richard 4
William 4
George 3
Thomas 3
Albert 2
Ben 2
Frederick 2
Jabez 2
Joe 2
Sam 2
Samuel 2
Benjamin 1
Charles 1
Charley 1
E.D. 1
Edwin 1
Ernest 1
Fred 1
Harold 1
Hugh 1
Jeremiah 1
Jim 1
Josiah 1
Lewis 1
Louis 1
Mathew 1
Matthew 1
Parker 1
Percy 1
Rich. 1
Richd. 1
Saml.G. 1
Sidney 1
Simeon 1
Sydney 1
Wesley 1
Westby 1
Wilson 1
Wright 1
Yeadon 1

FAQ

Pontefract surname: questions and answers

How common was the Pontefract surname in 1881?

In 1881, 207 people were recorded with the Pontefract surname. That placed it at #12,555 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Pontefract surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 127 in 2016. That gives Pontefract a modern rank of #26,566.

What does the Pontefract map show?

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