NameCensus.

UK surname

Reeve

An occupational surname referring to a local official, similar to a sheriff or bailiff.

In the 1881 census there were 6,989 people recorded with the Reeve surname, ranking it #608 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 9,680, ranked #664, down from #608 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to London parishes, St Pancras and Lenton, Radford, Papplewick, Nuthall, Greasley, Brewhouse Yard. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include South Norfolk, North Lincolnshire and King's Lynn and West Norfolk.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Reeve is 10,401 in 1999. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 38.5%.

1881 census count

6,989

Ranked #608

Modern count

9,680

2016, ranked #664

Peak year

1999

10,401 bearers

Map years

9

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Reeve had 6,989 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #608 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 9,680 in 2016, ranked #664.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 10,310 in 1911.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Rural Amenity.

Reeve surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Reeve surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Reeve 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 4,922 #562
1861 historical 3,934 #710
1881 historical 6,989 #608
1891 historical 7,307 #612
1901 historical 8,969 #589
1911 historical 10,310 #476
1997 modern 9,963 #624
1998 modern 10,323 #624
1999 modern 10,401 #625
2000 modern 10,305 #626
2001 modern 10,078 #626
2002 modern 10,204 #635
2003 modern 9,939 #638
2004 modern 9,876 #642
2005 modern 9,600 #655
2006 modern 9,531 #659
2007 modern 9,533 #660
2008 modern 9,605 #663
2009 modern 9,759 #664
2010 modern 9,886 #667
2011 modern 9,679 #673
2012 modern 9,633 #661
2013 modern 9,824 #662
2014 modern 9,894 #662
2015 modern 9,752 #662
2016 modern 9,680 #664

Geography

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Where Reeves are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around London parishes, St Pancras, Lenton, Radford, Papplewick, Nuthall, Greasley, Brewhouse Yard and Leicester St Margaret and Bishop's Fee, Leicester All Saints, Blackfriars. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to South Norfolk, North Lincolnshire, King's Lynn and West Norfolk and Broxtowe. 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 London parishes London 3
3 St Pancras London (North Districts)
4 Lenton, Radford, Papplewick, Nuthall, Greasley, Brewhouse Yard Nottinghamshire
5 Leicester St Margaret and Bishop's Fee, Leicester All Saints, Blackfriars Leicestershire

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 South Norfolk 013 South Norfolk
2 North Lincolnshire 004 North Lincolnshire
3 King's Lynn and West Norfolk 011 King's Lynn and West Norfolk
4 King's Lynn and West Norfolk 014 King's Lynn and West Norfolk
5 Broxtowe 001 Broxtowe

Forenames

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First names often paired with Reeve

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

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Reeve

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

Terraced and Semi-Detached Suburbs

Within London, Reeve is most associated with areas classed as Terraced and Semi-Detached Suburbs, 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

Mainly concentrated in suburban areas, these terraced and semi-detached developments are less overcrowded than the Supergroup average, and resident households are more likely to own two or more cars. There are fewer residents aged 25-44, and a larger share of residents employed in administrative and secretarial occupations. Residents are more likely to have been born in the UK, less likely to have been born in the EU or Africa, and much less likely to self-identify as Bangladeshi.

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

Reeve 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

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

Meaning and origin of Reeve

The surname Reeve originated in England and dates back to the 11th century. It derives from the Old English word 'gerefa', meaning a guardian or steward. This referred to an administrative officer who supervised the lands of a manor and collected rents and taxes on behalf of the lord of the manor.

The earliest recorded reference to the surname Reeve can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, which was a comprehensive survey of landholdings in England and parts of Wales ordered by William the Conqueror. Several individuals with the name Reeve or similar spellings like Reve and Reyve appear in this historical record.

In the 12th century, the surname Reeve began to appear in various records and documents across England. One notable example is found in the Pipe Rolls of Gloucestershire from 1166, which mention a Thomas Reve. The surname was also recorded in the Curia Regis Rolls of 1207, which include the name William le Reve.

During the Middle Ages, the Reeve surname was often associated with particular places or manors. For instance, the surname Reve of Taunton referred to an individual with the title in the town of Taunton, Somerset. Similarly, the name Reve of Clarendon was used for a reeve connected to the royal manor of Clarendon in Wiltshire.

Several notable individuals throughout history have borne the surname Reeve. One of the earliest was John Reeue (c. 1200-1258), an English landowner and judge who served as a justice of the Common Pleas under King Henry III. Another prominent figure was Sir Edmund Reeve (c. 1360-1425), a Member of Parliament and landowner in Suffolk during the 15th century.

In the 16th century, Richard Reeve (c. 1510-1588) was a renowned English churchman who served as a chaplain to Queen Elizabeth I and became the Bishop of Norwich in 1585. During the same period, the poet and courtier Thomas Reeve (c. 1550-1611) was a notable figure at the court of Queen Elizabeth I.

In the 18th century, Tapping Reeve (1744-1823) was a prominent American lawyer and jurist who founded the Litchfield Law School in Connecticut, one of the first law schools in the United States. His legacy had a significant impact on legal education in the country.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

1881 census detail

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Reeve families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Reeve 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. Norfolk leads with 1,371 Reeves recorded in 1881 and an index of 13.06x.

County Total Index
Norfolk 1,371 13.06x
Middlesex 898 1.31x
Suffolk 788 9.47x
Essex 647 4.80x
Surrey 433 1.30x
Northamptonshire 290 4.51x
Kent 269 1.15x
Warwickshire 234 1.36x
Yorkshire 221 0.33x
Cambridgeshire 209 4.83x
Nottinghamshire 159 1.73x
Sussex 134 1.16x
Lancashire 129 0.16x
Leicestershire 125 1.65x
Bedfordshire 121 3.42x
Devon 106 0.75x
Durham 91 0.45x
Hertfordshire 89 1.89x
Lincolnshire 76 0.70x
Buckinghamshire 71 1.72x
Worcestershire 64 0.72x
Staffordshire 60 0.26x
Gloucestershire 57 0.43x
Hampshire 53 0.38x
Derbyshire 47 0.44x
Rutland 43 8.58x
Dorset 35 0.78x
Wiltshire 30 0.50x
Huntingdonshire 28 2.06x
Berkshire 19 0.37x
Oxfordshire 16 0.38x
Cornwall 11 0.14x
Shropshire 10 0.17x
Herefordshire 9 0.32x
Isle of Man 9 0.71x
Channel Islands 7 0.35x
Somerset 7 0.06x
Lanarkshire 6 0.03x
Northumberland 6 0.06x
Ayrshire 5 0.10x
Royal Navy 5 0.61x
Glamorgan 3 0.03x
Cheshire 2 0.01x
Cumberland 2 0.03x
Fife 2 0.05x
Brecknockshire 1 0.07x
Carmarthenshire 1 0.03x
Perthshire 1 0.03x
Renfrewshire 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. Islington London in Middlesex leads with 117 Reeves recorded in 1881 and an index of 1.77x.

Place Total Index
Islington London 117 1.77x
St Pancras London 100 1.82x
Heigham 89 15.79x
Lambeth 84 1.41x
Leighton Buzzard 78 51.28x
St Marylebone London 73 2.00x
Leicester St Margaret 71 3.85x
Great Yarmouth 55 6.32x
Aston 52 1.10x
West Ham 49 1.65x
Birmingham 47 0.82x
Kensington London 46 1.21x
Swanton Morley 46 285.18x
Bermondsey 44 2.16x
St George Hanover 44 4.94x
Camberwell 43 0.99x
Nottingham St Mary 42 1.76x
Ipswich St Mathew 38 16.30x
Greasley 37 17.82x
Hackney London 37 0.97x
Great Waltham 36 65.56x
Northwold 36 127.89x
High Roothing 35 334.93x
Lakenham 31 20.78x
Newington 31 1.23x
Redenhall 31 76.00x
Croydon 30 1.62x
Ipswich St Margaret 30 10.63x
Pleshey 30 424.93x
East Winch 29 307.20x
Greenwich 29 2.67x
Battersea 28 1.11x
Clerkenwell London 28 1.74x
Ipswich St Nicholas 28 61.11x
Lyng 28 237.09x
Diss 27 30.00x
Garboldisham 27 179.88x
Maidford 27 427.89x
Northampton Priory St 27 7.00x
Paddington London 27 1.08x
Thorpe Next Norwich 27 24.26x
Wymondham 27 25.15x
Chelsea London 26 1.26x
Lowestoft 26 6.62x
Godmanchester 25 48.74x
Hindley 25 7.24x
Ixworth 25 106.52x
Soham 25 26.86x
Tring 25 19.89x
Shoreditch London 24 0.81x
Bottisham 23 62.43x
Eastwood 23 27.94x
Westminster St John 23 2.77x
Winfarthing 23 162.89x
Aston Clinton 22 62.86x
Bethnal Green London 22 0.74x
Bradford 22 1.34x
Putney 22 7.07x
St Andrewthe Less 22 4.45x
Brighton 21 0.90x
Bungay St Mary 21 50.96x
Hammersmith London 21 1.25x
Saxstead 21 265.82x
Bromley London 20 1.33x
Ely Holy Trinity St Mary 20 10.60x
Mile End Old Town 20 1.86x
Poplar London 20 1.55x
Dennington 19 103.04x
Great Canfield 19 236.32x
Greens Norton 19 93.18x
Layer Breton 19 277.37x
Norton Subcourse 19 223.79x
Pulham St Mary Magdalen 19 72.11x
Starston 19 159.40x
Stoke Newington London 19 3.57x
Wing 19 254.01x
Wisbech St Peter 19 8.76x
East Harling 18 72.23x
Wendens Ambo 18 208.09x
Lea Cleverton 17 157.70x

Top female names

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

Name Count
Mary 389
Sarah 260
Elizabeth 255
Eliza 130
Emma 121
Jane 120
Alice 110
Ellen 108
Ann 107
Emily 93
Annie 88
Hannah 77
Charlotte 64
Harriet 61
Louisa 61
Maria 56
Caroline 51
Edith 51
Martha 49
Susan 47
Kate 43
Ada 42
Florence 39
Clara 38
Fanny 37
Frances 37
Anne 33
Harriett 31
Lucy 31
Anna 27
Margaret 27
Amelia 26
Rebecca 24
Agnes 23
Amy 23
Catherine 22
Rosa 21
Julia 20
Susannah 20
Gertrude 18
Matilda 18
Esther 16
Laura 16
Minnie 16
Lydia 14
Rose 13
Sophia 13
Ethel 12
Jessie 12
Lizzie 12

Top male names

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

Name Count
William 455
John 358
George 256
James 216
Thomas 168
Charles 155
Henry 148
Robert 143
Arthur 105
Edward 94
Frederick 92
Alfred 85
Walter 78
Joseph 72
Samuel 65
Albert 57
Harry 56
Ernest 50
Herbert 48
Richard 44
Benjamin 30
David 23
Frank 21
Edwin 17
Thos. 17
Francis 16
Wm. 15
Chas. 13
Fred 12
Frederic 12
Daniel 11
Geo. 11
Horace 11
Edmund 10
Fredrick 10
Isaac 10
Peter 9
Fredk. 8
Edgar 7
Elijah 7
Philip 7
Stephen 7
Alexander 6
Christopher 6
Jno. 6
Jonathan 6
Sidney 6
Willie 6
Jas. 5
Job 5

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 Reeve households.

FAQ

Reeve surname: questions and answers

How common was the Reeve surname in 1881?

In 1881, 6,989 people were recorded with the Reeve surname. That placed it at #608 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Reeve surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 9,680 in 2016. That gives Reeve a modern rank of #664.

What does the Reeve surname mean?

An occupational surname referring to a local official, similar to a sheriff or bailiff.

What does the Reeve map show?

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