NameCensus.

UK surname

Rankin

A Scottish and Northern Irish surname derived from a diminutive of the given name Rand, meaning "shield-bearer."

In the 1881 census there were 4,489 people recorded with the Rankin surname, ranking it #998 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 6,812, ranked #988, up from #998 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to New Monkland, Lismore and Appin and Govan Combination. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Galston, Earlston and Hurlford Rural and Douglas, Coalburn and Rigside.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Rankin is 6,883 in 2010. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 51.7%.

1881 census count

4,489

Ranked #998

Modern count

6,812

2016, ranked #988

Peak year

2010

6,883 bearers

Map years

9

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Rankin had 4,489 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #998 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 6,812 in 2016, ranked #988.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 5,621 in 1901.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Established but Challenged.

Rankin surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Rankin surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Rankin 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 3,144 #922
1861 historical 3,408 #831
1881 historical 4,489 #998
1891 historical 4,739 #980
1901 historical 5,621 #989
1911 historical 1,884 #2,624
1997 modern 6,405 #1,021
1998 modern 6,614 #1,027
1999 modern 6,659 #1,031
2000 modern 6,633 #1,028
2001 modern 6,470 #1,030
2002 modern 6,668 #1,017
2003 modern 6,500 #1,020
2004 modern 6,562 #1,013
2005 modern 6,532 #1,006
2006 modern 6,521 #1,004
2007 modern 6,567 #1,006
2008 modern 6,606 #1,005
2009 modern 6,721 #1,008
2010 modern 6,883 #1,006
2011 modern 6,780 #1,006
2012 modern 6,631 #1,009
2013 modern 6,773 #1,009
2014 modern 6,840 #1,003
2015 modern 6,804 #996
2016 modern 6,812 #988

Geography

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Where Rankins are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around New Monkland, Lismore and Appin, Govan Combination, Edinburgh and Glasgow. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Galston, Earlston and Hurlford Rural, Douglas, Coalburn and Rigside, Moffat and Springburn. Treat these as concentration signals, not proof that every family line began there.

Top historical parishes

Rank Parish Area
1 New Monkland Lanark
2 Lismore and Appin Argyll
3 Govan Combination Lanark
4 Edinburgh Edinburgh
5 Glasgow Lanark

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Galston East Ayrshire
2 Earlston and Hurlford Rural East Ayrshire
3 Douglas, Coalburn and Rigside South Lanarkshire
4 Moffat Dumfries and Galloway
5 Springburn Glasgow City

Forenames

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First names often paired with Rankin

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

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Rankin

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

Semi- and Un-Skilled Workforce

Group

Established but Challenged

Nationally, the Rankin surname is most associated with neighbourhoods classed as Established but Challenged, within Semi- and Un-Skilled Workforce. This does not mean every Rankin household fits that profile, but it gives a useful signal about where the modern surname distribution is strongest.

Read profile summary

Group profile

Many households in these neighbourhoods comprise separated or divorced single parents with dependent children. Residents are typically born in the UK, and these neighbourhoods have relatively few members of ethnic minorities. The prevalence of children, their parents and those at or above normal retirement age, suggests neighbourhood structures may be long-established. Levels of unpaid care are high, and long-term disability is more common than in the Supergroup as a whole. Use of the social rented sector is common, often in terraced houses. Levels of overcrowding are above the Supergroup average. Unemployment is high, while those in work are employed in elementary occupations such as caring, leisure and customer services. Many residents have low level qualifications. Neighbourhood concentrations of this Group are found in the South Wales Valleys, Belfast, Londonderry and the Central Lowlands of Scotland.

Wider pattern

Living in terraced or semi-detached houses, residents of these neighbourhoods typically lack high levels of education and work in elementary or routine service occupations. Unemployment is above average. Residents are predominantly born in the UK, and residents are also predominantly from ethnic minorities. Social (but not private sector) rented sector housing is common. This Supergroup is found throughout the UK’s conurbations and industrial regions but is also an integral part of smaller towns.

London neighbourhood type

London Output Area Classification

Supergroup

The Greater London Mix

Group

Social Rented Sector Professional Support Workers

Within London, Rankin 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

Rankin is most concentrated in decile 1 for access to healthy assets and hazards. This places the surname towards the less healthy 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.

1
Lower access Higher access

Neighbourhood deprivation

Index of Multiple Deprivation

Rankin 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 Rankin 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 Rankin, not the ethnicity of every person with the surname.

Meaning and origin of Rankin

The surname Rankin originates from Scotland and is believed to have derived from the Gaelic word "rangan" or "raineach", meaning fern or bracken. It is likely that the name was initially given as a nickname to someone who lived near an area abundant with ferns or bracken.

The earliest recorded instances of the name can be traced back to the 12th century. In the Ragman Rolls of 1296, which contains the names of Scottish landowners and nobles who swore allegiance to King Edward I of England, several variations of the name, such as Rankin, Rankyn, and Ranken, are mentioned.

The name Rankin is also found in historical records from the 14th century, including the Exchequer Rolls of Scotland from 1364, where a Thomas Rankyn is mentioned. This suggests that the name was well-established in Scotland by this time.

One of the earliest known individuals with the surname Rankin was Robert Rankin, who lived in the 15th century and was a prominent landowner in Ayrshire, Scotland. Another notable figure was William Rankin (c. 1510-1590), a Scottish clergyman and reformer who played a significant role in the Scottish Reformation.

In the 16th century, the Rankin family had established themselves in various parts of Scotland, including Renfrewshire, Lanarkshire, and Ayrshire. The name was also associated with the parish of Rankinston, which is now part of the town of Ayr.

Other notable individuals with the surname Rankin include:

1. Thomas Rankin (1738-1810), an English Methodist minister and abolitionist who campaigned against slavery. 2. Jeannette Rankin (1880-1973), an American politician and suffragist who was the first woman elected to the U.S. Congress. 3. Arthur Rankin Jr. (1924-2014), an American producer and director best known for creating the stop-motion animated television specials "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" and "Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town". 4. Ian Rankin (born 1960), a Scottish crime writer best known for his Inspector Rebus novels. 5. Dexter Rankin (born 1974), a British boxer and former super bantamweight world champion.

While the Rankin surname has its roots in Scotland, it has since spread to other parts of the world, particularly through Scottish immigration to North America and other regions.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

1881 census detail

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Rankin families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Rankin 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. Lanarkshire leads with 1,528 Rankins recorded in 1881 and an index of 10.89x.

County Total Index
Lanarkshire 1,528 10.89x
Lancashire 416 0.81x
Renfrewshire 215 6.39x
Ayrshire 200 6.16x
Argyllshire 189 15.64x
Middlesex 173 0.40x
Northumberland 171 2.65x
Midlothian 148 2.55x
Essex 127 1.48x
Stirlingshire 123 7.68x
Wigtownshire 100 17.35x
Durham 84 0.65x
Aberdeenshire 72 1.79x
Dunbartonshire 69 5.92x
Yorkshire 65 0.15x
Kent 61 0.41x
Selkirkshire 56 14.26x
Perthshire 45 2.31x
Surrey 44 0.21x
Angus 40 0.99x
Kincardineshire 39 7.38x
Buteshire 33 12.55x
Berwickshire 27 5.14x
Cheshire 27 0.28x
Gloucestershire 27 0.32x
East Lothian 25 4.35x
Hampshire 24 0.27x
Cumberland 20 0.54x
Clackmannanshire 19 5.30x
Fife 16 0.62x
Ross-shire 16 1.34x
Warwickshire 16 0.15x
West Lothian 16 2.45x
Inverness-shire 15 1.16x
Dumfriesshire 14 1.46x
Glamorgan 14 0.19x
Morayshire 14 2.08x
Banffshire 13 1.44x
Sussex 13 0.18x
Worcestershire 13 0.23x
Berkshire 10 0.31x
Suffolk 10 0.19x
Caithness 9 1.51x
Roxburghshire 9 1.14x
Devon 8 0.09x
Staffordshire 8 0.05x
Bedfordshire 7 0.31x
Cambridgeshire 7 0.25x
Leicestershire 6 0.12x
Nottinghamshire 6 0.10x
Peeblesshire 5 2.45x
Royal Navy 5 0.97x
Buckinghamshire 4 0.15x
Kinross-shire 4 3.65x
Shetland 4 0.90x
Sutherland 4 1.20x
Cardiganshire 2 0.19x
Lincolnshire 2 0.03x
Oxfordshire 2 0.07x
Wiltshire 2 0.05x
Brecknockshire 1 0.12x
Cornwall 1 0.02x
Flintshire 1 0.09x
Hertfordshire 1 0.03x
Monmouthshire 1 0.03x
Nairnshire 1 0.75x
Shropshire 1 0.03x
Somerset 1 0.01x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Barony in Lanarkshire leads with 387 Rankins recorded in 1881 and an index of 10.89x.

Place Total Index
Barony 387 10.89x
Govan 280 8.07x
Glasgow 241 9.67x
Old Monkland 161 28.91x
Toxteth Park 82 4.70x
Kilmarnock 79 20.44x
Liverpool 76 2.43x
Edinburgh St Cuthberts 74 3.16x
Hamilton 69 17.63x
New Monkland 66 15.91x
Kilsyth 52 50.95x
Lismore Appin 51 126.87x
Kilmallie 49 78.85x
West Derby 45 2.99x
West Greenock 44 7.29x
Bothwell 38 9.98x
Inch 38 67.63x
Cambusnethan 37 11.87x
Abbey 34 6.63x
Braintree 34 44.20x
Cambuslang 34 24.03x
Newcastle On Tyne All Sts 34 8.82x
Shettleston 33 26.26x
Rothesay 32 25.13x
East Greenock 30 9.45x
Bocking 29 56.29x
Dalziel 28 18.54x
Everton 28 1.71x
Galashiels 27 18.60x
Shoreditch London 27 1.44x
Islington London 26 0.62x
Maryhill 25 9.10x
Melrose 25 25.30x
Walton On Hill 25 8.96x
Bonhill 24 12.82x
Slamannan 24 27.38x
Largs 23 30.06x
Loudoun 21 26.89x
West Ham 21 1.11x
Bishopwearmouth 20 1.80x
Eastwood 20 9.66x
Renfrew 20 18.01x
Shotts 20 11.91x
Lesmahagow 19 12.80x
Lewisham 19 2.41x
Kilmore Kilbride 18 23.47x
Lambeth 18 0.48x
Port Glasgow 18 11.07x
Stranraer 18 34.15x
Cadder 17 16.40x
Rutherglen 17 8.26x
Aberdeen St Nicholas 16 2.13x
Blantyre 16 10.95x
Dundee 16 1.07x
Edinburgh St Stephens 16 13.98x
Kirkdale 16 1.85x
Westgate 16 4.00x
Bethnal Green London 14 0.74x
Elswick 14 2.72x
Tynemouth 14 4.05x
Dudley 13 1.89x
Elgin 13 9.91x
Glenorchy Inishail 13 93.19x
Larbert 13 13.59x
Portpatrick 13 67.32x
Ardnamurchan 12 19.58x
Hammersmith London 12 1.12x
South Leith 12 1.83x
Alloa 11 6.33x
Birkenhead 11 1.44x
Bristol St Paul In 11 4.85x
Denny 11 12.92x
Dunnottar 11 29.59x
Glassary 11 16.90x
Hedworth Monkton Jarrow 11 1.97x
Stirling 11 5.45x
Strichen 11 31.49x
Togstone 11 318.84x
Bury St Edmunds St James 10 7.08x
Irvine 10 11.08x

Top female names

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

Top male names

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

Name Count
John 91
William 85
James 74
Robert 52
George 29
Thomas 26
Charles 16
Henry 15
Joseph 15
Andrew 14
Alexander 13
David 13
Richard 13
Frederick 11
Alfred 9
Stephen 9
Arthur 7
Wm. 7
Edward 6
Herbert 6
Peter 6
Walter 6
Robt. 5
Francis 4
Hugh 4
Albert 3
Bruce 3
Daniel 3
Edmund 3
Harry 3
Philip 3
Abraham 2
Alexr. 2
Douglas 2
Felix 2
Fredk. 2
Fredrick 2
Gibson 2
Gilbert 2
Hamilton 2
Harold 2
Lionel 2
Percy 2
Ralph 2
Richd. 2
Samuel 2
Vincent 2
Willm. 2
Archibald 1
Danil 1

FAQ

Rankin surname: questions and answers

How common was the Rankin surname in 1881?

In 1881, 4,489 people were recorded with the Rankin surname. That placed it at #998 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Rankin surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 6,812 in 2016. That gives Rankin a modern rank of #988.

What does the Rankin surname mean?

A Scottish and Northern Irish surname derived from a diminutive of the given name Rand, meaning "shield-bearer."

What does the Rankin map show?

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