NameCensus.

UK surname

Pumphrey

An English occupational surname referring to someone who operated or worked at a pump or well.

In the 1881 census there were 191 people recorded with the Pumphrey surname, ranking it #13,224 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 259, ranked #16,393, down from #13,224 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to Wolverhampton, Coveney, Manea, Mepal, Downham, Witcham, Witchford, Wentworth and London parishes. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Lichfield, Sutherland South and Dalbeattie Rural.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Pumphrey is 294 in 2000. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 35.6%.

1881 census count

191

Ranked #13,224

Modern count

259

2016, ranked #16,393

Peak year

2000

294 bearers

Map years

9

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Pumphrey had 191 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #13,224 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 259 in 2016, ranked #16,393.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 238 in 1911.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Spacious Rural Living.

Pumphrey surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Pumphrey surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Pumphrey 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 147 #13,084
1861 historical 128 #17,375
1881 historical 191 #13,224
1891 historical 166 #17,077
1901 historical 230 #13,851
1911 historical 238 #13,356
1997 modern 283 #14,037
1998 modern 287 #14,289
1999 modern 290 #14,281
2000 modern 294 #14,105
2001 modern 283 #14,247
2002 modern 289 #14,341
2003 modern 284 #14,331
2004 modern 276 #14,684
2005 modern 272 #14,742
2006 modern 264 #15,170
2007 modern 263 #15,366
2008 modern 269 #15,260
2009 modern 265 #15,756
2010 modern 262 #16,252
2011 modern 261 #16,145
2012 modern 251 #16,467
2013 modern 256 #16,506
2014 modern 253 #16,774
2015 modern 251 #16,756
2016 modern 259 #16,393

Geography

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Where Pumphreys are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around Wolverhampton, Coveney, Manea, Mepal, Downham, Witcham, Witchford, Wentworth, London parishes, Brighton and Bishop Wearmouth. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Lichfield, Sutherland South, Dalbeattie Rural, Blackpool and Harrogate. 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 Wolverhampton Staffordshire
2 Coveney, Manea, Mepal, Downham, Witcham, Witchford, Wentworth Cambridgeshire
3 London parishes London 3
4 Brighton Sussex
5 Bishop Wearmouth Durham

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Lichfield 009 Lichfield
2 Sutherland South Highland
3 Dalbeattie Rural Dumfries and Galloway
4 Blackpool 018 Blackpool
5 Harrogate 015 Harrogate

Forenames

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First names often paired with Pumphrey

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

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Pumphrey

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

Spacious Rural Living

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

Read profile summary

Group profile

These predominantly ageing households typically have no resident dependent children. Most are owner-occupiers and live in detached houses in low density residential developments (although renting is more common than in the rest of the Supergroup). White ethnicity predominates. Residents are typically beyond retirement age but those still in work have managerial, professional or skilled trade occupations. White ethnicity and Christian religious affiliation predominate. Neighbourhoods are located throughout rural UK.

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

Professional Employment and Family Lifecycles

Group

Established Homeowners with Children

Within London, Pumphrey is most associated with areas classed as Established Homeowners with Children, part of Professional Employment and Family Lifecycles. 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

These predominantly British-born residents are typically married/in civil partnerships and own the properties in which they are raising their children. Parents are typically over 45, and many other residents are beyond normal retirement age. Detached and semi-detached houses predominate and multiple car ownership is common.

Wider London pattern

These neighbourhoods house people of all ages, predominantly of White British or European extraction. Resident turnover is low. Religious affiliation is less common than average and tends to be Christian if expressed. Homeownership, typically of terraced houses, is common but use of the social rented sector is not. Employment is typically in professional, managerial and associate professional or technical occupations. There are few full-time students. Level 4 qualifications are common. More households lack dependent children than have them which, considered alongside low levels of crowding and over-all age structure, indicates that many households may be post child-rearing and in late middle age. Incidence of disability is low, as is residence in communal establishments.

Healthy neighbourhoods

Access to healthy assets and hazards

Pumphrey is most concentrated in decile 6 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.

6
Lower access Higher access

Neighbourhood deprivation

Index of Multiple Deprivation

Pumphrey falls in decile 6 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.

6
More deprived Less deprived

Broadband speed

Fixed broadband download speed

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

Meaning and origin of Pumphrey

The surname Pumphrey is believed to have originated in England during the medieval period. It is thought to be derived from the Old English words "pump" and "hreaw," which translates to "pump stream" or "stream flowing from a spring." This suggests that the name may have been initially associated with those who lived near a spring or a stream.

The earliest known record of the name Pumphrey can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as "Pumfrid." This entry indicates that the name was present in England during the Norman Conquest and the subsequent compilation of the Domesday Book.

Throughout the Middle Ages, the name was primarily concentrated in the counties of Yorkshire and Lincolnshire, with various spellings such as Pumfrey, Pumfry, and Pumphrye appearing in historical documents from these regions.

One notable bearer of the name was Sir William Pumphrey, a knight who fought alongside King Edward III during the Hundred Years' War in the 14th century. Another individual of significance was John Pumphrey, a merchant and alderman in the city of York during the 16th century.

In the 17th century, the name Pumphrey was associated with the village of Pumphrey's Green in Oxfordshire, which likely derived its name from a family residing in the area. This connection to a place name further solidifies the surname's ties to geographical features.

During the 18th century, a prominent figure bearing the name was Jonathan Pumphrey (1701-1779), a British politician and Member of Parliament for Retford in Nottinghamshire.

In the 19th century, the Pumphrey surname gained recognition with the birth of James Pumphrey (1823-1903), a renowned English architect who designed several notable buildings in London and other parts of England.

As the centuries progressed, the name Pumphrey continued to be found across various regions of England, with some families migrating to other parts of the world, carrying the surname with them.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

1881 census detail

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Pumphrey families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Pumphrey 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. Sussex leads with 51 Pumphreys recorded in 1881 and an index of 16.32x.

County Total Index
Sussex 51 16.32x
Worcestershire 19 7.85x
Durham 16 2.90x
Staffordshire 16 2.56x
Cambridgeshire 10 8.52x
Gloucestershire 10 2.75x
Hampshire 8 2.11x
Yorkshire 8 0.44x
Middlesex 7 0.38x
Herefordshire 5 6.58x
Norfolk 5 1.75x
Surrey 5 0.55x
Warwickshire 5 1.07x
Berkshire 4 2.88x
Devon 4 1.04x
Essex 4 1.09x
Northumberland 4 1.45x
Nottinghamshire 3 1.20x
Wiltshire 3 1.83x
Oxfordshire 2 1.75x
Kent 1 0.16x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Brighton in Sussex leads with 20 Pumphreys recorded in 1881 and an index of 31.73x.

Place Total Index
Brighton 20 31.73x
Bilston 13 107.26x
Bishopwearmouth 13 27.47x
Eastbourne 11 76.50x
Barcombe 9 1200.00x
Micheldever 8 1212.12x
Witchford 7 2500.00x
Bengeworth 5 602.41x
Bristol St Philip Jacob 5 14.61x
Kings Norton 5 23.04x
Abingdon St Helen 4 98.28x
Westgate 4 23.42x
Benfieldside 3 82.64x
Birmingham 3 1.93x
Bromyard 3 300.00x
Cliffe 3 283.02x
Colchester St Peter 3 205.48x
Dawlish 3 104.17x
Drayton 3 1153.85x
Handsworth 3 19.46x
Lambeth 3 1.86x
Lewes St John Southover 3 142.86x
Portslade 3 157.07x
Ratcliffe Upon Trent 3 476.19x
Winchcomb 3 166.67x
Ackworth 2 141.84x
Acton 2 18.42x
Aston 2 1.55x
Claines 2 30.12x
Filkins 2 540.54x
Fletching 2 142.86x
Fulbourn 2 178.57x
Marlborough St Peter St 2 238.10x
Osbaldwick 2 2000.00x
Shoreditch London 2 2.49x
St Giles In Fields 2 31.30x
Whistones 2 114.29x
Withington 2 400.00x
Worcester St Martin 2 61.16x
York St Giles In 2 115.61x
Barking 1 9.35x
Deptford St Paul 1 2.05x
Devizes St James 1 45.87x
Ellingham 1 454.55x
Ewell 1 52.36x
Gloucester Holy Trinity 1 322.58x
Great Malvern 1 19.80x
Kempsey 1 108.70x
Leeds 1 0.96x
Norwich St George Colegate 1 96.15x
Reigate Foreign 1 10.22x
Ribbesford 1 49.75x
St Andrew Holborn 1 15.92x
St Benedict Cambridge 1 151.52x
Tormoham 1 6.13x
Westbury On Trym 1 8.12x
York Holy Trinity 1 62.89x

Top female names

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

Name Count
Mary 12
Sarah 7
Eliza 6
Emma 5
Harriet 5
Jane 5
Annie 4
Fanny 4
Frances 3
Ada 2
Alice 2
Ann 2
Caroline 2
Edith 2
Elizabeth 2
Emily 2
Esther 2
Hannah 2
Margaret 2
Susan 2
Agnes 1
Candia 1
Christiana 1
Ellen 1
Elsie 1
Emmlin 1
Ethelryn 1
Feeby 1
Helen 1
Jemima 1
Katherine 1
Laura 1
Louisa 1
Lucy 1
Lydia 1
Margt. 1
Maria 1
Martha 1
Matilda 1
Mercy 1
Naomi 1
Priscilla 1
Rachel 1
Ruth 1
Susanna 1

Top male names

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

Name Count
William 15
Thomas 12
John 9
James 5
Charles 3
Edwin 3
Frederick 3
George 3
Henry 3
Robert 3
Samuel 3
Alfred 2
Joseph 2
Nathaniel 2
Allan 1
Arthur 1
Bernard 1
David 1
Ebenezer 1
Ernest 1
Goodly 1
Harry 1
Herbert 1
Hubert 1
Josiah 1
Julius 1
Owen 1
Richard 1
Stanley 1
Thos. 1
W.J. 1
Wilfred 1
Willam 1

FAQ

Pumphrey surname: questions and answers

How common was the Pumphrey surname in 1881?

In 1881, 191 people were recorded with the Pumphrey surname. That placed it at #13,224 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Pumphrey surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 259 in 2016. That gives Pumphrey a modern rank of #16,393.

What does the Pumphrey surname mean?

An English occupational surname referring to someone who operated or worked at a pump or well.

What does the Pumphrey map show?

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