NameCensus.

UK surname

Rooksby

In the 1881 census there were 111 people recorded with the Rooksby surname, ranking it #18,597 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 85, ranked #32,637, down from #18,597 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to Wellingborough, London parishes and St Werburgh. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include East Northamptonshire, Nottingham and Rutland.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Rooksby is 124 in 1901. Compared with 1881, the name has fallen by 23.4%.

1881 census count

111

Ranked #18,597

Modern count

85

2016, ranked #32,637

Peak year

1901

124 bearers

Map years

6

1881 to 2006

Key insights

  • Rooksby had 111 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #18,597 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 85 in 2016, ranked #32,637.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 124 in 1901.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Rural Amenity.

Rooksby surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Rooksby surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Rooksby 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 78 #19,840
1861 historical 47 #28,023
1881 historical 111 #18,597
1891 historical 111 #22,421
1901 historical 124 #20,163
1911 historical 124 #20,023
1997 modern 91 #28,215
1998 modern 103 #27,141
1999 modern 99 #27,906
2000 modern 98 #27,988
2001 modern 95 #28,101
2002 modern 100 #27,944
2003 modern 101 #27,561
2004 modern 105 #27,181
2005 modern 99 #28,177
2006 modern 101 #28,125
2007 modern 103 #28,187
2008 modern 104 #28,341
2009 modern 100 #29,597
2010 modern 102 #29,930
2011 modern 102 #29,759
2012 modern 93 #31,409
2013 modern 88 #32,349
2014 modern 88 #32,495
2015 modern 87 #32,514
2016 modern 85 #32,637

Geography

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Where Rooksbys are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around Wellingborough, London parishes, St Werburgh, Stamford St George, Stamford St Michael and Edgbaston. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to East Northamptonshire, Nottingham, Rutland and Chelmsford. 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 Wellingborough Northamptonshire
2 London parishes London 3
3 St Werburgh Derbyshire
4 Stamford St George, Stamford St Michael Lincolnshire
5 Edgbaston Worcestershire

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 East Northamptonshire 005 East Northamptonshire
2 Nottingham 004 Nottingham
3 Rutland 003 Rutland
4 Chelmsford 010 Chelmsford
5 East Northamptonshire 008 East Northamptonshire

Forenames

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First names often paired with Rooksby

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

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Rooksby

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

Professional Employment and Family Lifecycles

Group

Established Homeowners with Children

Within London, Rooksby is most associated with areas classed as Established Homeowners with Children, part of Professional Employment and Family Lifecycles. 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

These predominantly British-born residents are typically married/in civil partnerships and own the properties in which they are raising their children. Parents are typically over 45, and many other residents are beyond normal retirement age. Detached and semi-detached houses predominate and multiple car ownership is common.

Wider London pattern

These neighbourhoods house people of all ages, predominantly of White British or European extraction. Resident turnover is low. Religious affiliation is less common than average and tends to be Christian if expressed. Homeownership, typically of terraced houses, is common but use of the social rented sector is not. Employment is typically in professional, managerial and associate professional or technical occupations. There are few full-time students. Level 4 qualifications are common. More households lack dependent children than have them which, considered alongside low levels of crowding and over-all age structure, indicates that many households may be post child-rearing and in late middle age. Incidence of disability is low, as is residence in communal establishments.

Healthy neighbourhoods

Access to healthy assets and hazards

Rooksby 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

Rooksby 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 Rooksby is most associated with a typical fixed broadband download band of Over 70 mbit/s.

The scale below places that band in context, from slower local download bands through to faster ones.

10
Slower band Faster band

Area snapshot

Ethnic group estimate

Most common ethnic group estimate
White - British

This describes the area pattern most associated with Rooksby, not the ethnicity of every person with the surname.

1881 census detail

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Rooksby families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Rooksby 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. Northamptonshire leads with 55 Rooksbys recorded in 1881 and an index of 54.01x.

County Total Index
Northamptonshire 55 54.01x
Kent 12 3.25x
Warwickshire 9 3.30x
Lincolnshire 8 4.62x
Nottinghamshire 8 5.48x
Derbyshire 4 2.36x
Durham 3 0.93x
Lancashire 3 0.23x
Middlesex 3 0.28x
Worcestershire 2 1.41x
Yorkshire 2 0.19x
Norfolk 1 0.60x
Surrey 1 0.19x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Raunds in Northamptonshire leads with 22 Rooksbys recorded in 1881 and an index of 2115.38x.

Place Total Index
Raunds 22 2115.38x
Irthlingborough 20 2000.00x
Edgbaston 9 106.26x
Radford 8 107.96x
Tonbridge 7 52.55x
Stamford St Mary 6 1714.29x
Bromley 4 71.05x
Derby St Werburgh 4 40.86x
Higham Ferrers 3 545.45x
Newton 3 30.30x
Shoreditch London 3 6.39x
Stranton 3 27.68x
Little Harrowden 2 645.16x
Spalding 2 58.14x
Stanwick 2 833.33x
Upton On Severn 2 215.05x
Wellingborough 2 39.06x
Brightside Bierlow 1 4.75x
Broome 1 526.32x
Finedon 1 112.36x
Kidbrooke 1 476.19x
Leeds 1 1.65x
Merton 1 108.70x
Northampton St Sepulchre 1 19.31x
Peterborough 1 13.57x
Stamford Baron St Martin 1 181.82x

Top female names

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

Name Count
Sarah 8
Elizabeth 5
Mary 5
Kate 3
Edith 2
Eliza 2
Emily 2
Lucy 2
Adie 1
Alice 1
Ann 1
Anne 1
Annie 1
Bertha 1
Charlotte 1
Eleanor 1
Elisabeth 1
Elizth.J. 1
Elvira 1
Hannah 1
Harriett 1
Helena 1
Hilda 1
Ida 1
Infant 1
James 1
Jessie 1
Lillie 1
Miriam 1
Olive 1
Phoebe 1
Rebecca 1
Ruth 1
Sophy 1

Top male names

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

Name Count
John 7
Walter 6
Richard 5
William 5
George 4
Harry 3
Charles 2
Henry 2
Herbert 2
Robert 2
Samuel 2
Albert 1
Ambrose 1
Arthur 1
Curtis 1
Edward 1
Frank 1
Horace 1
Jacob 1
James 1
Owen 1
Percy 1
Ralph 1
Randle 1
Sidney 1
Thos.Geo. 1
Willie 1

FAQ

Rooksby surname: questions and answers

How common was the Rooksby surname in 1881?

In 1881, 111 people were recorded with the Rooksby surname. That placed it at #18,597 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Rooksby surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 85 in 2016. That gives Rooksby a modern rank of #32,637.

What does the Rooksby map show?

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