NameCensus.

UK surname

Ralley

In the 1881 census there were 118 people recorded with the Ralley surname, ranking it #17,935 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 202, ranked #19,475, down from #17,935 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to Eton, Dundonald and Bedworth. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Sandwell and Rother.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Ralley is 218 in 1999. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 71.2%.

1881 census count

118

Ranked #17,935

Modern count

202

2016, ranked #19,475

Peak year

1999

218 bearers

Map years

8

1861 to 2016

Key insights

  • Ralley had 118 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #17,935 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 202 in 2016, ranked #19,475.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 157 in 1861.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Challenged Communities.

Ralley surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Ralley surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Ralley 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 49 #24,448
1861 historical 157 #14,732
1881 historical 118 #17,935
1891 historical 150 #18,328
1901 historical 117 #20,830
1911 historical 126 #19,831
1997 modern 208 #17,219
1998 modern 216 #17,257
1999 modern 218 #17,258
2000 modern 200 #18,209
2001 modern 198 #18,047
2002 modern 207 #17,911
2003 modern 204 #17,909
2004 modern 199 #18,260
2005 modern 189 #18,807
2006 modern 179 #19,592
2007 modern 178 #19,887
2008 modern 178 #20,094
2009 modern 185 #20,010
2010 modern 195 #19,762
2011 modern 189 #19,997
2012 modern 181 #20,531
2013 modern 193 #19,997
2014 modern 197 #19,903
2015 modern 203 #19,381
2016 modern 202 #19,475

Geography

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Where Ralleys are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around Eton, Dundonald, Bedworth, Leicester St Margaret and Bishop's Fee, Leicester All Saints, Blackfriars and Luton. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Sandwell and Rother. 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 Eton Buckinghamshire
2 Dundonald Ayr
3 Bedworth Warwickshire
4 Leicester St Margaret and Bishop's Fee, Leicester All Saints, Blackfriars Leicestershire
5 Luton Bedfordshire

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Sandwell 010 Sandwell
2 Sandwell 039 Sandwell
3 Sandwell 017 Sandwell
4 Sandwell 015 Sandwell
5 Rother 009 Rother

Forenames

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First names often paired with Ralley

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

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Ralley

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

Baseline UK

Group

Challenged Communities

Nationally, the Ralley surname is most associated with neighbourhoods classed as Challenged Communities, within Baseline UK. This does not mean every Ralley household fits that profile, but it gives a useful signal about where the modern surname distribution is strongest.

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Group profile

Residents of these neighbourhoods typically live in households with dependent children, and there are fewer-than-average residents of normal retirement age or over. Identification with ethnic minorities, particularly Black, or Mixed or Multiple ethnicities is common. The rate of Christian religious affiliation is low. Housing predominantly consists of semi-detached houses, along with a significant number of terraced properties and flats. Overcrowded social housing is common, and private renting occurs at average UK levels. Those in employment work mainly in caring leisure and other services; process, plant and machine operation; or elementary occupations. Unemployment is high, and few individuals have degree level qualifications. Many of these neighbourhoods occur in commuter towns or less accessible areas of larger towns and cities.

Wider pattern

This Supergroup exemplifies the broad base to the UK’s social structure, encompassing as it does the average or modal levels of many neighbourhood characteristics, including all housing tenures, a range of levels of educational attainment and religious affiliations, and a variety of pre-retirement age structures. Yet, in combination, these mixes are each distinctive of the parts of the UK. Overall, terraced houses and flats are the most prevalent, as is employment in intermediate or low-skilled occupations. However, this Supergroup is also characterised by above average levels of unemployment and lower levels of use of English as the main language. Many neighbourhoods occur in south London and the UK’s other major urban centres.

London neighbourhood type

London Output Area Classification

Supergroup

Central Connected Professionals and Managers

Group

Senior Professionals

Within London, Ralley is most associated with areas classed as Senior Professionals, part of Central Connected Professionals and Managers. This gives the surname a London-specific profile rather than forcing the capital into the same pattern as the rest of the country.

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Group profile

These very central neighbourhoods house residents whose ages are more skewed towards older age cohorts than elsewhere in the Supergroup. Few households have young children. Rates of illness are low. Indian ethnicity is rare compared to the Supergroup mean. Property under occupation is more common, despite the centrality of neighbourhoods, and more residents live in communal establishments than elsewhere in the Supergroup.

Wider London pattern

Adult residents of these neighbourhoods are typically aged 25 to 44, working full-time in professional, managerial or associate professional occupations. There are few families with dependent children. The predominantly Inner London neighbourhoods have an international character, including many residents born elsewhere in Europe alongside high numbers of individuals identifying as of Chinese ethnicity. Many individuals are never married, childless and/or living alone. Above average numbers of individuals, likely to be full-time students, live in communal establishments. Elsewhere, privately rented flats are the dominant housing type. Residents of these areas are well-qualified, with a significant number holding Level 4 or above qualifications. There is a correspondingly high level of individuals employed full-time in professional, managerial and associated professional or technical occupations. Employing industries are financial, real estate, professional, administration, and, to a lesser degree, transport and communications. Unemployment is uncommon.

Healthy neighbourhoods

Access to healthy assets and hazards

Ralley 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

Ralley falls in decile 2 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.

2
More deprived Less deprived

Broadband speed

Fixed broadband download speed

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

1881 census detail

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Ralley families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Ralley 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. Staffordshire leads with 24 Ralleys recorded in 1881 and an index of 6.18x.

County Total Index
Staffordshire 24 6.18x
Warwickshire 18 6.20x
Leicestershire 13 10.19x
Buckinghamshire 11 15.81x
Northamptonshire 11 10.16x
Fife 10 14.68x
Ayrshire 7 8.13x
Bedfordshire 7 11.75x
Lancashire 7 0.51x
Yorkshire 5 0.44x
Middlesex 2 0.17x
Berkshire 1 1.16x
Renfrewshire 1 1.12x
Surrey 1 0.18x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. West Bromwich in Staffordshire leads with 24 Ralleys recorded in 1881 and an index of 107.91x.

Place Total Index
West Bromwich 24 107.91x
Bedworth 16 754.72x
Leicester St Margaret 13 41.77x
Eton 11 696.20x
Abbotshall 10 392.16x
Luton 7 67.83x
Northampton Priory St 7 107.69x
Aspull 6 186.92x
Dundonald 6 188.68x
Gomersal 4 75.19x
Northampton All Sts 4 108.99x
Adel Cum Eccup 1 212.77x
Aston 1 1.25x
Blackburn 1 2.75x
Cathcart 1 20.70x
Dreghorn 1 64.10x
Kensington London 1 1.56x
Lambeth 1 1.00x
New Windsor 1 34.48x
St George Hanover 1 6.66x
Warwick St Mary 1 39.68x

Top female names

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

Name Count
Elizabeth 8
Sarah 6
Mary 4
Ada 3
Alice 3
Annie 3
Eliza 3
Ann 2
Anne 2
Caroline 2
Isabella 2
Kate 2
Rebecca 2
Charlotte 1
Clara 1
Ellen 1
Esther 1
Florence 1
Jane 1
Janey 1
Lousia 1
Maria 1
Maryann 1
Matilda 1
Rose 1
Selena 1
Selina 1

Top male names

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

Name Count
Thomas 10
William 6
George 5
John 5
Robert 4
Francis 2
Richard 2
Simeon 2
Abraham 1
Abram 1
Absolom 1
Augustus 1
Charles 1
Edward 1
Emanuel 1
Frank 1

Top occupations

Occupational titles are kept as recorded and later transcribed, so related jobs, spelling variants and mistakes stay separate. Scholar was the census term for a child in education. That means the other rows often tell you more about adult work in Ralley households.

FAQ

Ralley surname: questions and answers

How common was the Ralley surname in 1881?

In 1881, 118 people were recorded with the Ralley surname. That placed it at #17,935 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Ralley surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 202 in 2016. That gives Ralley a modern rank of #19,475.

What does the Ralley map show?

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