NameCensus.

UK surname

Robins

Derived from the given name Robert, meaning "bright fame," or referring to someone who lived near a robins' nest.

In the 1881 census there were 6,309 people recorded with the Robins surname, ranking it #680 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 6,726, ranked #1,003, down from #680 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to Bristol City: St Mary Redcliff, London parishes and St Pancras. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Forest of Dean, South Somerset and Cornwall.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Robins is 7,537 in 1911. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 6.6%.

1881 census count

6,309

Ranked #680

Modern count

6,726

2016, ranked #1,003

Peak year

1911

7,537 bearers

Map years

9

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Robins had 6,309 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #680 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 6,726 in 2016, ranked #1,003.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 7,537 in 1911.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Rural Amenity.

Robins surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Robins surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Robins 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 4,921 #563
1861 historical 4,822 #585
1881 historical 6,309 #680
1891 historical 6,639 #690
1901 historical 7,354 #735
1911 historical 7,537 #689
1997 modern 6,784 #956
1998 modern 7,098 #954
1999 modern 7,166 #951
2000 modern 7,014 #967
2001 modern 6,884 #966
2002 modern 7,014 #965
2003 modern 6,778 #975
2004 modern 6,826 #969
2005 modern 6,707 #977
2006 modern 6,623 #991
2007 modern 6,629 #1,000
2008 modern 6,652 #1,000
2009 modern 6,810 #1,000
2010 modern 6,953 #998
2011 modern 6,839 #1,000
2012 modern 6,717 #996
2013 modern 6,809 #1,004
2014 modern 6,861 #999
2015 modern 6,759 #1,003
2016 modern 6,726 #1,003

Geography

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Where Robins' are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around Bristol City: St Mary Redcliff, London parishes, St Pancras and Lambeth. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Forest of Dean, South Somerset, Cornwall and Bedford. 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 Bristol City: St Mary Redcliff Gloucestershire
2 London parishes London 1
3 London parishes London 3
4 St Pancras London (North Districts)
5 Lambeth London (South Districts)

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Forest of Dean 009 Forest of Dean
2 South Somerset 021 South Somerset
3 Cornwall 039 Cornwall
4 Cornwall 047 Cornwall
5 Bedford 004 Bedford

Forenames

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First names often paired with Robins

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

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Robins

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

Older Residents in Owner-Occupied Suburbs

Group

London Fringe

Within London, Robins is most associated with areas classed as London Fringe, part of Older Residents in Owner-Occupied Suburbs. 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

Predominantly located in neighbourhoods on the outskirts of Greater London, residents of these neighbourhoods typically have their highest qualifications below degree (Level 4) level, with those still in work engaged in skilled trades and occupations in distribution, hotels and restaurants. There is low ethnic diversity in these neighbourhoods and high levels of Christian religious affiliation. Detached or terraced houses predominate, often with spare rooms.

Wider London pattern

The age distribution of these neighbourhoods is skewed towards the middle-aged and old, although few residents live alone or in communal establishments and numbers of dependent children are around average. Owner occupation is the norm, as is residence in detached or semi-detached houses. Residential densities are low and many households have spare rooms. Most residents were born in the UK and, aside from some identifying as members of Chinese or Indian ethnicities, identify as White. Mixed ethnicity households are rare. Incidence of married couples is higher than average and few individuals have never been married. A large proportion of individuals still in employment work in administrative and secretarial occupations, or in the construction industry. Few residents are students, and many households own more than one car.

Healthy neighbourhoods

Access to healthy assets and hazards

Robins is most concentrated in decile 4 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.

4
Lower access Higher access

Neighbourhood deprivation

Index of Multiple Deprivation

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

Meaning and origin of Robins

The surname ROBINS originated in England and was initially a patronymic name derived from the personal name Robert, which is an ancient Germanic name composed of the elements "hrod" meaning "fame" and "berht" meaning "bright." The Normans introduced this name to England after the Norman Conquest of 1066.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the ROBINS surname can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as "Robertus" and "Robins." This suggests that the surname was already in use by the late 11th century.

Throughout the medieval period, the ROBINS surname was prevalent in various regions of England, including Yorkshire, Lincolnshire, and Oxfordshire. The name often appeared with different spellings, such as Robins, Robbins, and Robbyns, reflecting the variations in pronunciation and local dialects.

The ROBINS surname is also associated with several place names in England, such as Robins Wood in Gloucestershire and Robins Green in Buckinghamshire. These place names likely derived from individuals named ROBINS who resided in or owned land in those areas.

Notable individuals with the ROBINS surname throughout history include:

1. John Robins (c. 1500-1558), an English Reformist and Bishop of Rochester during the Protestant Reformation. 2. Benjamin Robins (1707-1751), an English mathematician and engineer known for his work on ballistics and gunnery. 3. Thomas Robbins (1777-1856), an American Congregational minister and author from Connecticut. 4. Anne Robbins (1921-2019), a British World War II code-breaker and mechanical engineer. 5. Paul Robins (born 1962), an English actor best known for his role in the sitcom Birds of a Feather.

The ROBINS surname has a rich history spanning several centuries and has been borne by individuals from various walks of life, including clergymen, scientists, authors, and entertainers. Its origins can be traced back to the Norman Conquest, and it has since become a well-established surname in England and other parts of the English-speaking world.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

1881 census detail

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Robins families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Robins 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. Middlesex leads with 965 Robins' recorded in 1881 and an index of 1.56x.

County Total Index
Middlesex 965 1.56x
Gloucestershire 573 4.72x
Devon 540 4.19x
Surrey 447 1.48x
Cornwall 360 5.14x
Kent 341 1.61x
Staffordshire 235 1.12x
Worcestershire 218 2.70x
Yorkshire 210 0.34x
Somerset 189 1.90x
Northamptonshire 173 2.97x
Warwickshire 159 1.02x
Monmouthshire 155 3.46x
Oxfordshire 143 3.74x
Lancashire 139 0.19x
Glamorgan 137 1.27x
Sussex 131 1.25x
Wiltshire 119 2.17x
Berkshire 112 2.41x
Hampshire 108 0.85x
Bedfordshire 95 2.96x
Dorset 89 2.19x
Essex 82 0.67x
Hertfordshire 66 1.55x
Herefordshire 59 2.32x
Norfolk 54 0.57x
Durham 46 0.25x
Cheshire 41 0.30x
Derbyshire 36 0.37x
Channel Islands 34 1.85x
Angus 30 0.52x
Leicestershire 30 0.44x
Lincolnshire 30 0.30x
Buckinghamshire 29 0.77x
Shropshire 28 0.52x
Brecknockshire 19 1.53x
Huntingdonshire 18 1.46x
Northumberland 16 0.17x
Flintshire 15 0.90x
Lanarkshire 12 0.06x
Carmarthenshire 9 0.34x
Suffolk 9 0.12x
Nottinghamshire 8 0.10x
Royal Navy 8 1.08x
Westmorland 7 0.51x
Cambridgeshire 6 0.15x
Wigtownshire 6 0.73x
Denbighshire 2 0.09x
Midlothian 2 0.02x
Montgomeryshire 2 0.14x
Cardiganshire 1 0.07x
Perthshire 1 0.04x
Renfrewshire 1 0.02x
Roxburghshire 1 0.09x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Lambeth in Surrey leads with 151 Robins' recorded in 1881 and an index of 2.80x.

Place Total Index
Lambeth 151 2.80x
Islington London 112 1.87x
St Pancras London 98 1.97x
Lye 85 63.17x
St Austell 73 30.47x
Stoke Damerel 67 7.43x
Birmingham 66 1.27x
Aston 54 1.26x
St Marylebone London 54 1.63x
West Ham 54 2.00x
Margate St John Baptist 45 11.63x
Wolverhampton 45 2.80x
Clerkenwell London 44 3.01x
Aberystruth 42 10.65x
Camberwell 41 1.04x
Hackney London 41 1.18x
Bedminster 40 4.27x
Mile End Old Town 40 4.09x
Plymouth St Andrew 40 4.03x
Shoreditch London 38 1.42x
St George Hanover 37 4.58x
Portsea 35 1.41x
St Luke London 35 3.52x
Westbury On Severn East 35 12.75x
Bristol St Philip Jacob 34 2.97x
Chalgrave 34 183.39x
Bermondsey 33 1.79x
Bethnal Green London 33 1.23x
Bristol St George 33 5.88x
Paddington London 33 1.45x
Yeovil 33 16.30x
Bedwellty 32 4.05x
Kensington London 32 0.93x
Plymouth Charles The 32 5.64x
Deptford St Paul 31 1.90x
Chelsea London 30 1.61x
Ilfracombe 30 22.61x
Liff Benvie 29 3.33x
Malmesbury St Paul 29 61.58x
West Dean 29 14.70x
Clifton 27 4.40x
Tormoham 26 4.77x
Warbleton 26 83.57x
Holy Trinity 25 1.69x
Mevagissey 25 53.67x
Newington 25 1.09x
Northampton St Sepulchre 25 8.44x
Roath 25 5.11x
Stone 25 9.35x
Swindon 25 5.89x
Deerhurst 24 135.98x
Maidstone 24 3.81x
South Petherton 22 42.75x
West Bromwich 22 1.84x
Caldicot 21 70.73x
Chedworth 21 120.14x
Farnham 21 8.95x
Hampstead London 21 2.18x
Rotherhithe 21 2.75x
St Anne Soho London 21 5.94x
Tottenham 21 2.13x
Wollescote 21 32.24x
Bitton Oldland 20 16.11x
Cheltenham 20 2.13x
Harborne 20 2.99x
Hook Norton 20 76.42x
Otterton 20 96.48x
Southwark St George Martyr 20 1.61x
St Peter Port 20 5.89x
Bristol St James St Paul 19 4.69x
Hulme 19 1.24x
Kenwyn 19 10.37x
Little Staughton 18 181.09x
Bideford 17 12.31x
Croydon 17 1.02x
Deptford St Nicholas 17 10.14x
East West Hanney 17 93.05x
St Martin In Fields 17 4.59x
Manchester 16 0.48x
Rochester St Margaret 16 7.18x

Top female names

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

Name Count
Mary 391
Elizabeth 245
Sarah 230
Ann 119
Jane 117
Emma 108
Emily 104
Eliza 101
Ellen 94
Alice 91
Annie 82
Louisa 57
Hannah 51
Charlotte 48
Fanny 47
Caroline 44
Edith 44
Harriet 42
Florence 40
Margaret 39
Martha 38
Ada 34
Clara 32
Kate 32
Maria 29
Agnes 27
Lucy 27
Susan 27
Catherine 23
Harriett 22
Amelia 21
Amy 21
Rose 20
Frances 19
Sophia 19
Anne 18
Esther 17
Minnie 17
Lizzie 16
Matilda 16
Bessie 15
Rebecca 14
Isabella 13
Elizth. 12
Jessie 12
Ethel 11
Gertrude 11
Grace 11
Lydia 11
Lilian 10

Top male names

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

Name Count
William 414
John 318
George 266
James 167
Thomas 163
Charles 141
Henry 134
Joseph 97
Alfred 76
Samuel 74
Edward 64
Albert 61
Frederick 51
Richard 49
Walter 49
Arthur 48
Edwin 41
Ernest 39
Harry 39
Robert 34
Herbert 33
Frank 28
Wm. 25
David 17
Francis 17
Daniel 15
Fred 15
Nicholas 15
Sydney 14
Benjamin 11
Fredrick 11
Geo. 11
Chas. 10
Isaac 10
Sidney 10
Alexander 9
Fredk. 9
Jacob 9
Mark 9
Stephen 9
Thos. 9
Philip 8
Edgar 7
Jabez 7
Josiah 7
Reuben 7
Simon 7
Christopher 6
Gilbert 6
Tom 6

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 Robins households.

FAQ

Robins surname: questions and answers

How common was the Robins surname in 1881?

In 1881, 6,309 people were recorded with the Robins surname. That placed it at #680 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Robins surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 6,726 in 2016. That gives Robins a modern rank of #1,003.

What does the Robins surname mean?

Derived from the given name Robert, meaning "bright fame," or referring to someone who lived near a robins' nest.

What does the Robins map show?

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