NameCensus.

UK surname

Rodwell

A locational surname derived from a place name meaning "reed valley" in Old English.

In the 1881 census there were 1,615 people recorded with the Rodwell surname, ranking it #2,642 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 1,933, ranked #3,307, down from #2,642 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to London parishes, Missenden, Great and Tring. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Suffolk Coastal, East Hampshire and King's Lynn and West Norfolk.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Rodwell is 2,201 in 1911. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 19.7%.

1881 census count

1,615

Ranked #2,642

Modern count

1,933

2016, ranked #3,307

Peak year

1911

2,201 bearers

Map years

9

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Rodwell had 1,615 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #2,642 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 1,933 in 2016, ranked #3,307.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 2,201 in 1911.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Rural Amenity.

Rodwell surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Rodwell surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Rodwell 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 1,112 #2,532
1861 historical 1,084 #2,591
1881 historical 1,615 #2,642
1891 historical 1,753 #2,604
1901 historical 2,042 #2,623
1911 historical 2,201 #2,289
1997 modern 2,010 #3,040
1998 modern 2,042 #3,103
1999 modern 2,073 #3,096
2000 modern 2,060 #3,097
2001 modern 1,990 #3,123
2002 modern 1,990 #3,185
2003 modern 1,968 #3,157
2004 modern 1,984 #3,139
2005 modern 1,922 #3,190
2006 modern 1,902 #3,231
2007 modern 1,924 #3,220
2008 modern 1,929 #3,231
2009 modern 1,938 #3,297
2010 modern 1,954 #3,335
2011 modern 1,931 #3,336
2012 modern 1,926 #3,288
2013 modern 1,968 #3,291
2014 modern 1,967 #3,307
2015 modern 1,936 #3,319
2016 modern 1,933 #3,307

Geography

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Where Rodwells are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around London parishes, Missenden, Great, Tring and St Margaret. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Suffolk Coastal, East Hampshire, King's Lynn and West Norfolk and Mid Suffolk. 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 Missenden, Great Buckinghamshire
4 Tring Hertfordshire
5 St Margaret Leicestershire

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Suffolk Coastal 002 Suffolk Coastal
2 East Hampshire 007 East Hampshire
3 King's Lynn and West Norfolk 015 King's Lynn and West Norfolk
4 Mid Suffolk 001 Mid Suffolk
5 King's Lynn and West Norfolk 007 King's Lynn and West Norfolk

Forenames

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First names often paired with Rodwell

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

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Rodwell

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

Rodwell 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

Rodwell falls in decile 5 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.

5
More deprived Less deprived

Broadband speed

Fixed broadband download speed

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

Meaning and origin of Rodwell

The surname Rodwell originated in England, with records dating back to the 12th century. It is derived from the Old English words "rod," meaning a clearing or rode, and "well," referring to a spring or stream. The name likely arose as a locational surname, indicating someone who lived near a well or stream in a cleared area of woodland.

Some of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Pipe Rolls of Gloucestershire from 1195, where it appears as "Rodewelle." The Hundred Rolls of Oxfordshire from 1279 also mention a John de Rodewell.

The surname Rodwell is closely associated with places like Rodwell in Gloucestershire and Rodwell in Wiltshire. These place names share the same etymology as the surname, originating from the Old English words that describe their locations.

In the famous Domesday Book, compiled in 1086 by order of King William the Conqueror, there is a record of a place called "Radewelle" in Somerset, which may have been an early spelling variant of the name Rodwell.

Notable historical figures with the surname Rodwell include Thomas Rodwell, a 16th-century English scholar and translator of the Bible into Latin, born around 1550. John Rodwell, an English scholar and Orientalist who published the first English translation of the Qur'an directly from Arabic in 1861, lived from 1808 to 1900.

George Herbert Rodwell, a British civil engineer and railway pioneer, was born in 1800 and played a significant role in the construction of railways in India during the 19th century. Charles Rodwell, an English cricketer who played for Hampshire County Cricket Club in the late 19th century, was born in 1853 and passed away in 1937.

Another notable figure was Sir George Rodwell Jones, a British diplomat and colonial administrator who served as Governor of the Leeward Islands from 1904 to 1912. He was born in 1859 and died in 1935.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

1881 census detail

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Rodwell families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Rodwell 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 287 Rodwells recorded in 1881 and an index of 1.84x.

County Total Index
Yorkshire 287 1.84x
Middlesex 232 1.47x
Suffolk 225 11.71x
Leicestershire 149 8.52x
Norfolk 113 4.66x
Buckinghamshire 102 10.70x
Surrey 98 1.28x
Hertfordshire 80 7.36x
Essex 62 1.99x
Kent 56 1.04x
Hampshire 53 1.64x
Lincolnshire 24 0.95x
Northamptonshire 20 1.35x
Durham 16 0.34x
Staffordshire 14 0.26x
Sussex 14 0.53x
Berkshire 13 1.10x
Bedfordshire 11 1.35x
Lancashire 7 0.04x
Oxfordshire 7 0.72x
Monmouthshire 5 0.44x
Nottinghamshire 5 0.24x
Pembrokeshire 4 0.80x
Wiltshire 4 0.29x
Cambridgeshire 3 0.30x
Denbighshire 2 0.34x
Derbyshire 2 0.08x
Lanarkshire 2 0.04x
Somerset 2 0.08x
Cornwall 1 0.06x
Devon 1 0.03x
Huntingdonshire 1 0.32x
Warwickshire 1 0.03x
Worcestershire 1 0.05x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Tring in Hertfordshire leads with 38 Rodwells recorded in 1881 and an index of 130.90x.

Place Total Index
Tring 38 130.90x
Great Missenden 35 297.87x
Knighton 35 354.97x
Wortham 34 661.48x
Bethnal Green London 32 4.67x
Leiston 27 204.55x
Islington London 25 1.64x
Leicester St Margaret 25 5.86x
St Helens 25 106.38x
Hebden 23 1360.95x
Kimberworth 22 25.36x
Leicester St Mary 22 15.57x
St Marylebone London 22 2.61x
West Ham 22 3.20x
Clerkenwell London 21 5.64x
Lambeth 20 1.45x
Clifton In York 18 55.06x
St Pancras London 18 1.42x
Watford 18 21.35x
Croydon 17 3.98x
Southampton St Mary 16 7.87x
St George Hanover 16 7.77x
Aylesbury 15 35.49x
Frisby On The Wreake 15 700.93x
Kensington London 15 1.71x
Mendham 15 367.65x
Shoreditch London 15 2.19x
Wakefield 14 11.67x
Norwich St Michael At 13 92.40x
West Dereham 13 427.63x
Hartlington 11 2500.00x
Ipswich St Margaret 11 16.87x
Limehouse London 11 6.35x
Wellingborough 11 14.75x
Bierton With Broughton 10 228.31x
Great Ashfield 10 465.12x
Penkridge 10 72.83x
Pudsey 10 11.97x
Ardsley 9 49.97x
Bradford Girlington 9 128.76x
Redenhall 9 95.54x
Speen 9 46.46x
Waddesdon 9 197.80x
Walsham Le Willows 9 140.41x
Blo Norton 8 610.69x
Deptford St Paul 8 1.93x
Grendon 8 273.04x
Wombwell 8 17.55x
Barnsley 7 4.34x
Bishopwearmouth 7 1.74x
Clapham 7 3.55x
Clee With Weelsby 7 12.68x
Fressingfield 7 113.09x
Hastings St Leonards 7 17.91x
Hatfield In Thorne 7 71.79x
Isleworth 7 9.98x
Orpington 7 42.48x
Rothley 7 123.02x
Southwark St George Martyr 7 2.21x
Terrington St John 7 191.78x
Tottenhill 7 353.54x
Worsbrough 7 15.28x
Aldershot 6 5.54x
Aylestone 6 43.51x
Bermondsey 6 1.28x
Buckingham 6 30.94x
Bury St Edmunds St Mary 6 16.64x
Camberwell 6 0.60x
Erith 6 11.32x
Garforth 6 50.13x
Ipswich St Mathew 6 11.14x
Laxfield 6 125.52x
Sculthorpe 6 189.27x
Shipton In Great 6 258.62x
Stockton On Tees 6 2.65x
Tannington 6 540.54x
Thornham Parva 6 821.92x
Tooting Graveney 6 28.05x
Upton Cum Chalvey 6 15.79x
Woodford St Mary 6 170.45x

Top female names

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

Name Count
Mary 100
Elizabeth 68
Sarah 51
Eliza 41
Emma 30
Jane 30
Annie 28
Alice 24
Ann 23
Ellen 22
Charlotte 16
Emily 15
Martha 14
Kate 13
Louisa 13
Lucy 12
Clara 11
Harriet 11
Hannah 10
Margaret 10
Ada 9
Edith 9
Harriett 9
Susan 9
Agnes 8
Florence 8
Laura 7
Anne 6
Caroline 6
Frances 6
Catherine 5
Lydia 5
Maud 5
Rachel 5
Rebecca 5
Rose 5
Anna 4
Elizth. 4
Fanny 4
Gertrude 4
Helen 4
Jessie 4
Julia 4
Maria 4
Priscilla 4
Rosa 4
A. 3
Amy 3
Henrietta 3
Letitia 3

Top male names

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

Name Count
William 104
George 68
John 68
Thomas 52
James 45
Robert 40
Henry 35
Charles 28
Edward 23
Joseph 22
Frederick 19
Arthur 18
Alfred 17
Harry 16
Walter 13
Richard 12
Samuel 10
David 8
Herbert 8
Albert 7
Frank 6
Edwin 5
Ernest 5
Benjamin 4
Francis 4
Stephen 4
Tom 4
Austin 3
Edgar 3
Fred 3
Thos. 3
Acton 2
Christopher 2
Ellis 2
Ezra 2
Fredk.G. 2
Fredrick 2
Geo. 2
Georg 2
Isaac 2
Jacob 2
Jonathan 2
Leonard 2
Mark 2
Matthew 2
Noah 2
Percy 2
Reginald 2
Robt. 2
Sam 2

FAQ

Rodwell surname: questions and answers

How common was the Rodwell surname in 1881?

In 1881, 1,615 people were recorded with the Rodwell surname. That placed it at #2,642 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Rodwell surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 1,933 in 2016. That gives Rodwell a modern rank of #3,307.

What does the Rodwell surname mean?

A locational surname derived from a place name meaning "reed valley" in Old English.

What does the Rodwell map show?

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