NameCensus.

UK surname

Potton

In the 1881 census there were 376 people recorded with the Potton surname, ranking it #8,326 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 509, ranked #9,860, down from #8,326 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to Paglesham (incl. Wallisea Island), Steeple Morden and Langford. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Middlesbrough, Dacorum and Forest of Dean.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Potton is 668 in 1911. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 35.4%.

1881 census count

376

Ranked #8,326

Modern count

509

2016, ranked #9,860

Peak year

1911

668 bearers

Map years

9

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Potton had 376 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #8,326 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 509 in 2016, ranked #9,860.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 668 in 1911.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Rural Amenity.

Potton surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Potton surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Potton 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 200 #10,403
1861 historical 306 #8,296
1881 historical 376 #8,326
1891 historical 436 #8,262
1901 historical 478 #8,329
1911 historical 668 #6,301
1997 modern 536 #8,837
1998 modern 543 #9,010
1999 modern 560 #8,855
2000 modern 555 #8,883
2001 modern 539 #8,936
2002 modern 549 #8,989
2003 modern 532 #9,067
2004 modern 521 #9,235
2005 modern 503 #9,405
2006 modern 492 #9,590
2007 modern 493 #9,662
2008 modern 495 #9,720
2009 modern 509 #9,712
2010 modern 503 #10,017
2011 modern 501 #9,938
2012 modern 485 #10,089
2013 modern 516 #9,783
2014 modern 521 #9,788
2015 modern 520 #9,741
2016 modern 509 #9,860

Geography

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Where Pottons are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around Paglesham (incl. Wallisea Island), Steeple Morden, Langford, Gaddesden, Great and Dunstable. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Middlesbrough, Dacorum, Forest of Dean, North Lincolnshire and Eastbourne. 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 Paglesham (incl. Wallisea Island) Essex
2 Steeple Morden Hertfordshire
3 Langford Bedfordshire
4 Gaddesden, Great Hertfordshire
5 Dunstable Bedfordshire

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Middlesbrough 010 Middlesbrough
2 Dacorum 015 Dacorum
3 Forest of Dean 009 Forest of Dean
4 North Lincolnshire 002 North Lincolnshire
5 Eastbourne 009 Eastbourne

Forenames

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First names often paired with Potton

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

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Potton

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

Social Rented Sector and Diverse Origins

Within London, Potton is most associated with areas classed as Social Rented Sector and Diverse Origins, 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

Scattered across London’s Inner and Outer suburbs, residents of these neighbourhoods are typically housed in the social rented sector. Although terraced and semi-detached houses predominate, more residents live in flats than elsewhere in the Supergroup. Neighbourhoods are more ethnically diverse than the Supergroup average. Those identifying as of Bangladeshi, Pakistani and some Black ethnicities are more prevalent. Europeans born in a overseas non-EU countries make up more of the lower proportion of residents identifying as White. Few residents are very old (85+). Employment in distribution, hotels and restaurants is more common than elsewhere in the Supergroup.

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

Potton 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

Potton falls in decile 4 for neighbourhood deprivation. This puts the surname near the middle of the scale.

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

4
More deprived Less deprived

Broadband speed

Fixed broadband download speed

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

1881 census detail

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Potton families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Potton 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. Essex leads with 92 Pottons recorded in 1881 and an index of 12.84x.

County Total Index
Essex 92 12.84x
Hertfordshire 69 27.59x
Bedfordshire 53 28.21x
Middlesex 39 1.07x
Cambridgeshire 35 15.23x
Buckinghamshire 27 12.31x
Surrey 25 1.41x
Yorkshire 11 0.31x
Kent 7 0.57x
Hampshire 3 0.40x
Lancashire 3 0.07x
Devon 2 0.26x
Nottinghamshire 2 0.41x
Berkshire 1 0.37x
Huntingdonshire 1 1.39x
Northamptonshire 1 0.29x
Worcestershire 1 0.21x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Great Gaddesden in Hertfordshire leads with 40 Pottons recorded in 1881 and an index of 3418.80x.

Place Total Index
Great Gaddesden 40 3418.80x
Steeple Morden 32 2622.95x
Paglesham 29 4531.25x
Langford 28 1818.18x
Foulness 24 2727.27x
Berkhampstead 16 284.70x
Bow Brickhill 16 2807.02x
Dunstable 14 242.63x
Southchurch 13 1969.70x
West Ham 9 5.69x
Lambeth 8 2.53x
Studham 8 776.70x
Canewdon 7 786.52x
Cheshunt 6 68.65x
Limehouse London 6 15.06x
Poplar London 6 8.76x
Southwark St John 6 54.05x
Wortley In Bramley 6 21.07x
Boreham 5 403.23x
Greenwich 5 8.66x
Islington London 5 1.42x
Ivinghoe 5 292.40x
Bermondsey 4 3.70x
Clerkenwell London 4 4.67x
St Albans St Peter 4 47.39x
St Marylebone London 4 2.06x
Luton 3 9.22x
Salford 3 2.37x
Sarratt 3 344.83x
St Pancras London 3 1.03x
Castleford 2 15.28x
Chelsea London 2 1.83x
Kirkby In Ashfield 2 38.24x
March 2 25.97x
Marsworth 2 350.88x
Paddington London 2 1.50x
Pitstone 2 338.98x
Prittlewell 2 20.14x
Ryde 2 12.52x
Sutton 2 15.64x
Westminster St 2 14.95x
Aldershot 1 4.01x
Bromley London 1 1.25x
Cheriton 1 19.80x
Croydon 1 1.02x
Doncaster 1 3.81x
Ellerton Priory 1 285.71x
Fenny Stratford 1 48.08x
Grays Thurrock 1 15.02x
Guildford Holy Trinity 1 29.67x
Hackney London 1 0.49x
Kensington London 1 0.50x
Leigh 1 17.39x
Maldon All Sts 1 70.42x
Margate St John Baptist 1 4.41x
Mile End Old Town 1 1.75x
Mortlake 1 12.69x
Paignton 1 17.39x
Plymouth Charles The 1 3.00x
Ramsey 1 17.33x
Reading St Lawrence 1 17.15x
Selby 1 13.32x
Southwark St Saviour 1 5.36x
St George Hanover 1 2.11x
Stisted 1 107.53x
Stretham 1 60.98x
Watford 1 172.41x
Woking 1 9.38x
Wolverton 1 22.03x

Top female names

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

Name Count
Mary 21
Sarah 13
Ann 11
Annie 11
Emily 10
Emma 10
Eliza 7
Elizabeth 7
Fanny 5
Jane 5
Susan 5
Alice 4
Anne 4
Catherine 3
Ellen 3
Emely 3
Florence 3
Hannah 3
Agnes 2
Bertha 2
Betsy 2
Caroline 2
Clara 2
Edith 2
Harriett 2
Kate 2
Lizzie 2
Louisa 2
Maria 2
Martha 2
Sophia 2
Amelia 1
Betsey 1
Birtha 1
Catherina 1
Elizaleth 1
Elizth. 1
Ethel 1
Frances 1
George 1
Georgina 1
Ivory 1
Julia 1
Lizze 1
Lois 1
Lucy 1
Lydia 1
Maber 1
Margaret 1
Winifred 1

Top male names

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

Name Count
William 23
James 18
George 15
John 15
Charles 13
Thomas 11
Edward 8
David 6
Walter 6
Arthur 5
Albert 4
Harry 4
Henry 4
Herbert 3
Samuel 3
Alfred 2
Benjamin 2
Chas. 2
Christopher 2
Francis 2
Frederick 2
Isaiah 2
Jesse 2
Jonathan 2
Alick 1
Andrew 1
Augustus 1
Bertie 1
Caleb 1
Cornelius 1
Edgar 1
Edwin 1
Ferderick 1
Frank 1
Fred 1
Fredk.W. 1
Fredrick 1
Joseph 1
Levi 1
Louis 1
Philip 1
Robert 1
Spencer 1
W. 1
Walt. 1

FAQ

Potton surname: questions and answers

How common was the Potton surname in 1881?

In 1881, 376 people were recorded with the Potton surname. That placed it at #8,326 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Potton surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 509 in 2016. That gives Potton a modern rank of #9,860.

What does the Potton map show?

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