NameCensus.

UK surname

Roe

An English topographic surname referring to someone who lived near a row of houses or hedges.

In the 1881 census there were 5,733 people recorded with the Roe surname, ranking it #769 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 8,396, ranked #785, down from #769 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to London parishes, Lenton, Radford, Papplewick, Nuthall, Greasley, Brewhouse Yard and St Werburgh. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Wigan, South Derbyshire and Doncaster.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Roe is 8,747 in 1999. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 46.5%.

1881 census count

5,733

Ranked #769

Modern count

8,396

2016, ranked #785

Peak year

1999

8,747 bearers

Map years

7

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Roe had 5,733 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #769 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 8,396 in 2016, ranked #785.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 7,324 in 1901.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Rural Amenity.

Roe surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Roe surname density by area, 1881 census.

Loading map
Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

Back to top

Roe 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 4,056 #702
1881 historical 5,733 #769
1891 historical 107 #22,967
1901 historical 7,324 #742
1911 historical 1 #34,332
1997 modern 8,477 #745
1998 modern 8,714 #758
1999 modern 8,747 #763
2000 modern 8,692 #764
2001 modern 8,473 #764
2002 modern 8,539 #775
2003 modern 8,304 #785
2004 modern 8,229 #790
2005 modern 8,180 #778
2006 modern 8,231 #776
2007 modern 8,229 #777
2008 modern 8,252 #787
2009 modern 8,410 #790
2010 modern 8,555 #792
2011 modern 8,446 #790
2012 modern 8,384 #779
2013 modern 8,507 #782
2014 modern 8,527 #783
2015 modern 8,373 #787
2016 modern 8,396 #785

Geography

Back to top

Where Roes are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around London parishes, Lenton, Radford, Papplewick, Nuthall, Greasley, Brewhouse Yard, St Werburgh and Nottingham St Mary. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Wigan, South Derbyshire, Doncaster and County Durham. 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 Lenton, Radford, Papplewick, Nuthall, Greasley, Brewhouse Yard Nottinghamshire
3 London parishes London 3
4 St Werburgh Derbyshire
5 Nottingham St Mary Nottinghamshire

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Wigan 038 Wigan
2 South Derbyshire 009 South Derbyshire
3 Doncaster 015 Doncaster
4 Doncaster 004 Doncaster
5 County Durham 059 County Durham

Forenames

Back to top

First names often paired with Roe

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

Modern profile

Back to top

Neighbourhood profile for Roe

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

Roe 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

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

Meaning and origin of Roe

The surname Roe is derived from a Norman personal name that originated in France. It likely developed as a nickname from the Old French word "roi", meaning "king". One of the earliest known references to the surname dates back to the Domesday Book, a manuscript record of landholders in England compiled in 1086 under the order of William the Conqueror.

The name Roe is thought to have been introduced to England during the Norman Conquest in 1066. It was initially used as a personal name before gradually evolving into a hereditary surname. The earliest recorded examples of the name include Robert Roi, who was mentioned in the Pipe Rolls of Berkshire in 1166, and Ralph le Roe, documented in the Hundred Rolls of Oxfordshire in 1273.

Several notable individuals with the surname Roe have left their mark throughout history. One such figure was Nathaniel Roe (1577-1655), an English merchant and diplomat who served as an ambassador to the Ottoman Empire in the early 17th century. Another prominent bearer of the name was Sir Thomas Roe (1581-1644), an English diplomat and scholar who served as an ambassador to the Mughal Empire in India.

Other historical figures with the surname Roe include Edward Payson Roe (1838-1888), an American novelist and clergyman known for his sentimental novels, and Richard Roe (fl. 1650s), a fictional name used in English law reports to represent the defendant in legal proceedings. Additionally, George Michael Roe (1898-1980) was a Canadian politician and judge who served as the 18th Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia from 1957 to 1964.

The surname Roe has also been associated with various place names and locations throughout history. For example, the village of Roe in Lancashire, England, is believed to have derived its name from the Old English word "ra" or "roe", meaning a rough or untamed area. Similarly, the Roe Valley in Northern Ireland likely takes its name from the same Old English root.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

1881 census detail

Back to top

Roe families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Roe 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 727 Roes recorded in 1881 and an index of 1.29x.

County Total Index
Yorkshire 727 1.29x
Lancashire 551 0.82x
Derbyshire 519 5.83x
Middlesex 508 0.89x
Nottinghamshire 351 4.58x
Staffordshire 319 1.66x
Surrey 277 1.00x
Lincolnshire 240 2.64x
Warwickshire 197 1.37x
Leicestershire 190 3.01x
Hampshire 179 1.53x
Northamptonshire 141 2.63x
Suffolk 127 1.83x
Somerset 120 1.31x
Bedfordshire 118 4.00x
Norfolk 115 1.31x
Durham 108 0.64x
Kent 108 0.56x
Sussex 107 1.12x
Gloucestershire 85 0.76x
Cheshire 82 0.65x
Shropshire 81 1.65x
Glamorgan 61 0.62x
Essex 52 0.46x
Cambridgeshire 51 1.41x
Cumberland 49 1.00x
Devon 47 0.40x
Worcestershire 41 0.55x
Dorset 40 1.07x
Hertfordshire 34 0.87x
Northumberland 32 0.38x
Lanarkshire 29 0.16x
Ayrshire 23 0.54x
Berkshire 21 0.49x
Monmouthshire 15 0.36x
Fife 14 0.42x
Cornwall 12 0.19x
Renfrewshire 11 0.25x
Wiltshire 11 0.22x
Royal Navy 10 1.47x
Channel Islands 6 0.36x
Buckinghamshire 4 0.12x
Perthshire 3 0.12x
Rutland 3 0.72x
Oxfordshire 2 0.06x
Westmorland 2 0.16x
Angus 1 0.02x
Argyllshire 1 0.06x
Caernarfonshire 1 0.04x
Carmarthenshire 1 0.04x
Huntingdonshire 1 0.09x
Isle of Man 1 0.09x
Merionethshire 1 0.10x
Midlothian 1 0.01x
Pembrokeshire 1 0.06x
Stirlingshire 1 0.05x
Wigtownshire 1 0.13x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Camberwell in Surrey leads with 81 Roes recorded in 1881 and an index of 2.23x.

Place Total Index
Camberwell 81 2.23x
Nottingham St Mary 75 3.78x
Birmingham 73 1.53x
Derby St Werburgh 62 12.05x
Preston 58 3.21x
Lenton 57 31.55x
Luton 51 10.00x
Islington London 50 0.91x
Madeley 50 27.74x
Heigham 49 10.43x
Sheffield 48 2.67x
St Pancras London 47 1.03x
St George Hanover 40 5.38x
Walsall Foreign 40 4.03x
Lambeth 39 0.79x
Battersea 38 1.81x
Hackney London 38 1.19x
Hulme 38 2.70x
Keighley 38 6.32x
Addingham 37 87.80x
Shoreditch London 37 1.50x
Whitby 35 18.42x
Basford 34 9.62x
Tamworth 34 33.10x
Ecclesall Bierlow 33 2.88x
Leicester St Margaret 33 2.14x
Bedminster 32 3.72x
Brightside Bierlow 32 2.89x
Aston 31 0.78x
Eaton Bray 30 100.84x
Blackburn 29 1.61x
Barnsley 28 4.81x
Litchurch 28 7.81x
Oldham 28 1.28x
Manchester 27 0.89x
Portsea 27 1.18x
Coventry St Michael 26 5.64x
Harborne 26 4.22x
Brighton 25 1.29x
Linthorpe 25 7.43x
Swansea Town 25 3.08x
Bradford 24 1.76x
Crich 24 41.27x
Toxteth Park 24 1.05x
Attercliffe Cum Darnall 23 4.38x
Liverpool 23 0.56x
Bingley 22 6.13x
Chesterfield 22 6.59x
Fernhurst 22 103.63x
Great Grimsby 22 3.81x
Westminster St John 22 3.17x
Coventry Holy Trinity 21 4.90x
Clerkenwell London 20 1.49x
Heanor 20 15.01x
Kensington London 20 0.63x
Newark Upon Trent 20 7.25x
Normanton 20 26.58x
Northampton St Sepulchre 20 7.34x
Radford 20 5.13x
Long Eaton 19 16.16x
Northampton Priory St 19 5.92x
Sculcoates 19 2.13x
Southampton St Mary 19 2.59x
West Ham 19 0.77x
Claylane 18 14.53x
Coundon Grange 18 48.45x
Huntspill 18 48.00x
Salford 18 0.91x
South Bersted 18 22.06x
West Bromwich 18 1.64x
Worksop 18 7.91x
Brampton 17 13.65x
Cockermouth 17 16.48x
Derby St Alkmund 17 6.37x
Hammersmith London 17 1.21x
Leicester St Mary 17 3.33x
March 17 14.08x
Snelston 17 273.75x
St Marylebone London 17 0.56x
Swinderby 17 172.76x

Top female names

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

Name Count
Mary 401
Sarah 233
Elizabeth 212
Ann 126
Jane 110
Annie 105
Emma 85
Eliza 82
Hannah 69
Ellen 67
Alice 63
Emily 63
Margaret 56
Martha 42
Ada 41
Catherine 41
Fanny 41
Florence 40
Edith 36
Louisa 36
Maria 36
Harriet 35
Caroline 31
Charlotte 30
Clara 26
Kate 26
Lucy 26
Frances 25
Rebecca 23
Susan 23
Agnes 22
Harriett 20
Anne 17
Isabella 17
Amelia 15
Minnie 15
Amy 14
Rose 14
Lizzie 12
Esther 11
Jessie 11
Sophia 10
Mabel 9
Susannah 9
Eleanor 8
Lilian 8
Lily 8
Rachel 8
Anna 7
Bessie 7

Top male names

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

Name Count
William 369
John 311
George 204
Thomas 193
James 125
Henry 115
Charles 102
Joseph 100
Edward 78
Robert 76
Arthur 69
Richard 69
Alfred 62
Samuel 56
Frederick 54
Albert 46
Walter 38
Harry 36
Francis 29
Herbert 29
Frank 26
Ernest 25
Edwin 22
Wm. 19
Thos. 17
Fred 13
Matthew 13
David 12
Edmund 11
Stephen 11
Chas. 10
Benjamin 9
Fredrick 9
Isaac 9
Geo. 8
Michael 8
Tom 8
Fredk. 7
Leonard 7
Peter 7
Daniel 6
Sidney 6
Silas 6
Abraham 5
Andrew 5
Frederic 5
Gilbert 5
Horace 5
Jesse 5
Percy 5

FAQ

Roe surname: questions and answers

How common was the Roe surname in 1881?

In 1881, 5,733 people were recorded with the Roe surname. That placed it at #769 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Roe surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 8,396 in 2016. That gives Roe a modern rank of #785.

What does the Roe surname mean?

An English topographic surname referring to someone who lived near a row of houses or hedges.

What does the Roe map show?

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