NameCensus.

UK surname

Redman

An English surname referring to a person with red hair, a ruddy complexion, or who wore red clothing.

In the 1881 census there were 3,934 people recorded with the Redman surname, ranking it #1,151 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 4,859, ranked #1,395, down from #1,151 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to London parishes, Halifax and Portsmouth, Portsea. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Torfaen, Sunderland and Wyre.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Redman is 5,308 in 1911. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 23.5%.

1881 census count

3,934

Ranked #1,151

Modern count

4,859

2016, ranked #1,395

Peak year

1911

5,308 bearers

Map years

9

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Redman had 3,934 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #1,151 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 4,859 in 2016, ranked #1,395.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 5,308 in 1911.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Rural Amenity.

Redman surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Redman surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Redman 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 2,579 #1,145
1861 historical 2,691 #1,095
1881 historical 3,934 #1,151
1891 historical 4,100 #1,174
1901 historical 4,687 #1,206
1911 historical 5,308 #986
1997 modern 4,827 #1,359
1998 modern 5,043 #1,352
1999 modern 5,062 #1,357
2000 modern 5,070 #1,347
2001 modern 4,910 #1,357
2002 modern 5,030 #1,344
2003 modern 4,898 #1,349
2004 modern 4,878 #1,351
2005 modern 4,817 #1,355
2006 modern 4,814 #1,355
2007 modern 4,858 #1,359
2008 modern 4,912 #1,354
2009 modern 5,040 #1,352
2010 modern 5,137 #1,355
2011 modern 5,083 #1,347
2012 modern 4,919 #1,361
2013 modern 4,924 #1,388
2014 modern 4,953 #1,390
2015 modern 4,906 #1,387
2016 modern 4,859 #1,395

Geography

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Where Redmans are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around London parishes, Halifax, Portsmouth, Portsea and Brighton. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Torfaen, Sunderland, Wyre and Central Bedfordshire. 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 London parishes London 1
2 Halifax Yorkshire, West Riding
3 London parishes London 3
4 Portsmouth, Portsea Hampshire
5 Brighton Sussex

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Torfaen 001 Torfaen
2 Sunderland 016 Sunderland
3 Wyre 011 Wyre
4 Sunderland 027 Sunderland
5 Central Bedfordshire 011 Central Bedfordshire

Forenames

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First names often paired with Redman

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

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Redman

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

The Greater London Mix

Group

Social Rented Sector Professional Support Workers

Within London, Redman 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

Redman is most concentrated in decile 5 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.

5
Lower access Higher access

Neighbourhood deprivation

Index of Multiple Deprivation

Redman falls in decile 7 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.

7
More deprived Less deprived

Broadband speed

Fixed broadband download speed

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

Meaning and origin of Redman

The surname Redman originated in England in the late 12th century. It derives from the Old English words 'read' meaning red and 'man' referring to a person. The name likely referred to someone with reddish hair or a ruddy complexion. Some of the earliest spellings include Radmanne, Redeman, and Reodman.

One of the earliest records of the name can be found in the Pipe Rolls of Gloucestershire from 1195, which mentions a William Redman. The Hundred Rolls of 1273 also list several bearers of the name, such as Adam le Redman and Roger Redman.

In the 14th century, the Redman family held lands in Yorkshire, and a Sir Matthew Redman served as Lord Chief Justice of England from 1337 to 1348. Another notable Redman was John Redman (c.1499-1551), a English Catholic scholar and the last master of the college of clergy at Sheen.

During the Wars of the Roses, Sir Richard Redman (c.1450-1505) was a staunch supporter of the House of York and fought alongside Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth Field in 1485. He was later attainted by Henry VII for his loyalty to the Yorkist cause.

In the 16th century, William Redman (c.1516-1538) was an English sailor and one of the first Englishmen to circumnavigate the globe as part of the Magellan expedition. He served as the pilot of the Victoria, one of the few ships to return from the voyage.

The Redmans were also prominent in Ireland, where they held lands in County Wexford. Sir John Redman (c.1610-1675) was an Irish landowner and Member of Parliament who played a role in the Irish Confederate Wars during the 1640s.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

1881 census detail

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Redman families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Redman 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 815 Redmans recorded in 1881 and an index of 2.14x.

County Total Index
Yorkshire 815 2.14x
Lancashire 682 1.49x
Sussex 312 4.81x
Middlesex 302 0.79x
Kent 271 2.07x
Hampshire 238 3.02x
Surrey 207 1.10x
Bedfordshire 188 9.44x
Wiltshire 124 3.65x
Somerset 107 1.73x
Gloucestershire 77 1.02x
Durham 67 0.59x
Staffordshire 54 0.42x
Monmouthshire 47 1.69x
Lincolnshire 41 0.67x
Devon 37 0.46x
Essex 36 0.47x
Warwickshire 33 0.34x
Glamorgan 29 0.43x
Derbyshire 23 0.38x
Cumberland 21 0.63x
Huntingdonshire 19 2.49x
Berkshire 18 0.62x
Hertfordshire 18 0.68x
Cheshire 17 0.20x
Northumberland 17 0.30x
Dunbartonshire 16 1.55x
Leicestershire 16 0.38x
Dorset 12 0.48x
Lanarkshire 12 0.10x
Nottinghamshire 11 0.21x
Northamptonshire 8 0.22x
Cornwall 7 0.16x
Renfrewshire 7 0.23x
Royal Navy 6 1.31x
Aberdeenshire 5 0.14x
Carmarthenshire 5 0.31x
Westmorland 5 0.59x
Cambridgeshire 4 0.16x
Norfolk 4 0.07x
Oxfordshire 4 0.17x
Channel Islands 3 0.26x
Fife 3 0.13x
Angus 2 0.06x
Midlothian 2 0.04x
Shropshire 2 0.06x
Suffolk 2 0.04x
Buckinghamshire 1 0.04x
Denbighshire 1 0.07x
Isle of Man 1 0.14x
Pembrokeshire 1 0.08x
Selkirkshire 1 0.29x
Worcestershire 1 0.02x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Wadsworth in Yorkshire leads with 125 Redmans recorded in 1881 and an index of 201.55x.

Place Total Index
Wadsworth 125 201.55x
Brighton 78 5.96x
Habergham Eaves 50 11.99x
Kensington London 50 2.34x
Lambeth 49 1.46x
Deal 47 42.00x
Thornton In Bradford 47 37.05x
Portsea 45 2.91x
Keighley 44 10.83x
Melksham 41 69.43x
Wedmore 40 99.30x
Wootton 39 226.88x
Haworth 38 41.96x
Halifax 36 6.44x
Bingley 34 14.01x
Manchester 34 1.66x
Newchurch 34 9.11x
Burnley 33 8.59x
West Derby 33 2.47x
Cliviger 31 120.67x
Accrington 30 7.23x
Ovenden 30 17.69x
Upper Gravenhurst 29 620.99x
Horsham 28 22.23x
Bishopwearmouth 27 2.75x
St Pancras London 27 0.87x
Stansfield 26 18.54x
Camberwell 24 0.98x
Deptford St Paul 24 2.37x
Everton 24 1.65x
Midgley 24 59.10x
Ampthill 22 74.02x
Stoke Upon Trent 22 1.60x
Birmingham 21 0.65x
Ramsgate 21 9.81x
Bridgewater 20 11.90x
Islington London 20 0.54x
Langfield 20 30.00x
Liverpool 20 0.72x
Westminster St John 20 4.27x
Wigan 20 3.14x
Bermondsey 19 1.66x
Bowling 19 5.03x
Bradford On Avon 19 17.45x
Horton In Bradford 19 3.19x
Pilling 19 88.70x
Upper Allithwaite E 19 256.76x
Alverstoke 18 6.31x
Castleton 18 3.95x
Great Little Marsden 18 8.61x
Great Waltham 18 58.21x
Ryde 18 10.63x
Southampton St Mary 18 3.63x
Abbotts Ann 17 191.44x
Bedford St Paul 17 12.45x
Saddleworth 17 5.78x
Walton On Hill 17 6.88x
Blatchinworth 16 15.40x
Bristol St Philip Jacob 16 2.25x
Chorlton On Medlock 16 2.21x
East Wittering 16 528.05x
Greenwich 16 2.61x
Heptonstall 16 29.92x
Kirkdale 16 2.08x
Aldershot 15 5.68x
Billingshurst 15 70.65x
Cranleigh 15 54.70x
Littlehampton 15 28.98x
Newhaven 15 28.48x
St Lawrence 15 16.63x
Bootle Cum Linacre 14 3.86x
Bosham 14 84.75x
Chelsea London 14 1.21x
Cowling 14 56.66x
Romsey Extra 14 29.87x
Row 14 10.47x
Shipley 14 7.08x
Arlecdon 13 14.76x
Sheet 13 152.40x
Winford 13 104.25x

Top female names

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

Name Count
Mary 269
Sarah 160
Elizabeth 141
Jane 73
Eliza 68
Ellen 65
Ann 63
Alice 59
Emily 53
Emma 53
Annie 49
Hannah 49
Margaret 44
Martha 29
Louisa 28
Charlotte 27
Caroline 26
Edith 23
Lucy 23
Florence 22
Harriet 20
Grace 19
Maria 19
Anne 18
Fanny 18
Clara 17
Agnes 16
Rose 16
Ada 15
Kate 15
Susan 14
Betty 13
Catherine 12
Eleanor 12
Lydia 10
Susannah 10
Esther 9
Minnie 9
Rebecca 9
Amelia 8
Amy 8
Harriett 8
Lizzie 8
Isabella 7
Maud 7
Nancy 7
Ruth 7
Betsy 6
Ethel 6
Sophia 6

Top male names

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

Name Count
William 242
John 223
James 149
George 130
Thomas 120
Henry 80
Charles 72
Robert 57
Alfred 55
Joseph 55
Arthur 48
Frederick 48
Richard 46
Edward 42
Albert 39
Walter 33
Samuel 29
Frank 26
Harry 26
Ernest 19
Edwin 14
Fred 14
Herbert 13
Stephen 11
David 10
Benjamin 9
Mark 8
Wm. 8
Jesse 6
Percy 6
Sidney 6
Thos. 6
Fredk. 5
Fredrick 5
Willie 5
Amos 4
Chas. 4
Francis 4
Isaac 4
Archibald 3
Enoch 3
Greenwood 3
Hubert 3
Jas. 3
Jeremiah 3
Jonathan 3
Martin 3
Michael 3
Patrick 3
Tom 3

FAQ

Redman surname: questions and answers

How common was the Redman surname in 1881?

In 1881, 3,934 people were recorded with the Redman surname. That placed it at #1,151 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Redman surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 4,859 in 2016. That gives Redman a modern rank of #1,395.

What does the Redman surname mean?

An English surname referring to a person with red hair, a ruddy complexion, or who wore red clothing.

What does the Redman map show?

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