NameCensus.

UK surname

Rotheram

In the 1881 census there were 216 people recorded with the Rotheram surname, ranking it #12,222 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 436, ranked #11,062, up from #12,222 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to Halsall, West Derby and Liverpool. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Sefton, Bolton and Knowsley.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Rotheram is 467 in 2004. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 101.9%.

1881 census count

216

Ranked #12,222

Modern count

436

2016, ranked #11,062

Peak year

2004

467 bearers

Map years

9

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Rotheram had 216 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #12,222 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 436 in 2016, ranked #11,062.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 322 in 1911.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Small Town Suburbia.

Rotheram surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Rotheram surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Rotheram 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 224 #9,534
1861 historical 201 #11,949
1881 historical 216 #12,222
1891 historical 223 #13,800
1901 historical 227 #13,970
1911 historical 322 #10,873
1997 modern 445 #10,154
1998 modern 439 #10,602
1999 modern 444 #10,555
2000 modern 452 #10,394
2001 modern 445 #10,327
2002 modern 457 #10,314
2003 modern 464 #10,003
2004 modern 467 #10,013
2005 modern 452 #10,173
2006 modern 444 #10,347
2007 modern 439 #10,553
2008 modern 432 #10,792
2009 modern 445 #10,780
2010 modern 453 #10,858
2011 modern 437 #11,036
2012 modern 439 #10,873
2013 modern 437 #11,090
2014 modern 438 #11,149
2015 modern 437 #11,077
2016 modern 436 #11,062

Geography

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Where Rotherams are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around Halsall, West Derby, Liverpool, Ormskirk and Walton-on-the-Hill. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Sefton, Bolton, Knowsley, St. Helens and West Lancashire. 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 Halsall Lancashire
2 West Derby Lancashire
3 Liverpool Lancashire
4 Ormskirk Lancashire
5 Walton-on-the-Hill Lancashire

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Sefton 001 Sefton
2 Bolton 028 Bolton
3 Knowsley 005 Knowsley
4 St. Helens 018 St. Helens
5 West Lancashire 010 West Lancashire

Forenames

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First names often paired with Rotheram

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

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Rotheram

Modern surname records can be compared with neighbourhood classifications. For Rotheram, 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

Retired Professionals

Group

Small Town Suburbia

Nationally, the Rotheram surname is most associated with neighbourhoods classed as Small Town Suburbia, within Retired Professionals. This does not mean every Rotheram 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 is predominantly comprised of married couples with no resident dependent children, living in areas characterised neither by under-occupancy nor overcrowding throughout the UK in or adjacent to small towns. White ethnic groups and affiliation with Christianity predominates. Housing tends to be predominantly semi-detached or detached and workers are employed principally in managerial and professional occupations, with semi-skilled occupations also in evidence. These areas of the Supergroup are of higher population density.

Wider pattern

Typically married but no longer with resident dependent children, these well-educated households either remain working in their managerial, professional, administrative or other skilled occupations, or are retired from them – the modal individual age is beyond normal retirement age. Underoccupied detached and semi-detached properties predominate, and unpaid care is more prevalent than reported disability. The prevalence of this Supergroup outside most urban conurbations indicates that rural lifestyles prevail, typically sustained by using two or more cars per household.

London neighbourhood type

London Output Area Classification

Supergroup

Older Residents in Owner-Occupied Suburbs

Group

London Fringe

Within London, Rotheram 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

Rotheram is most concentrated in decile 9 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.

9
Lower access Higher access

Neighbourhood deprivation

Index of Multiple Deprivation

Rotheram falls in decile 1 for neighbourhood deprivation. This puts the surname towards the more deprived end of the index.

Decile 1 represents the more deprived end of the scale. Decile 10 represents the less deprived end.

1
More deprived Less deprived

Broadband speed

Fixed broadband download speed

The modern neighbourhood pattern for Rotheram is most associated with a typical fixed broadband download band of 60-70 mbit/s.

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

9
Slower band Faster band

Area snapshot

Ethnic group estimate

Most common ethnic group estimate
White - British

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

1881 census detail

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Rotheram families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Rotheram 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. Lancashire leads with 158 Rotherams recorded in 1881 and an index of 6.47x.

County Total Index
Lancashire 158 6.47x
Yorkshire 16 0.78x
Staffordshire 8 1.15x
Cumberland 5 2.82x
Warwickshire 5 0.96x
Derbyshire 3 0.93x
Middlesex 3 0.15x
Nottinghamshire 3 1.08x
Lanarkshire 2 0.30x
Ayrshire 1 0.65x
Cheshire 1 0.22x
Devon 1 0.23x
Glamorgan 1 0.28x
Northumberland 1 0.33x
Royal Navy 1 4.08x
Somerset 1 0.30x
Wiltshire 1 0.55x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Eccleston In Prescot in Lancashire leads with 16 Rotherams recorded in 1881 and an index of 130.51x.

Place Total Index
Eccleston In Prescot 16 130.51x
Parr 16 183.07x
Salford 16 22.27x
Liverpool 13 8.76x
North Meols 12 50.19x
Skelmersdale 12 294.84x
Lathom 10 338.98x
Scarisbrick 9 318.02x
Downholland 8 2352.94x
West Derby 8 11.20x
Darlaston 7 72.92x
York St Mary 7 82.84x
Poulton Barre 6 215.83x
Warrington 6 20.73x
Chorlton On Medlock 5 12.89x
Hampton In Arden 5 1086.96x
Penrith 5 76.34x
Lydiate 4 526.32x
Orrell 4 131.58x
Windle 4 29.11x
Derby St Michael 3 441.18x
Holy Trinity 3 6.12x
Manchester 3 2.73x
St Marylebone London 3 2.73x
Wigan 3 8.79x
Barony 2 1.19x
Cheetham 2 10.98x
Pinxton 2 121.95x
Sheffield 2 3.08x
Brightside Bierlow 1 2.50x
Chadderton 1 8.38x
Chirton 1 14.43x
Dalry 1 13.79x
Ditcheat 1 175.44x
Ecclesall Bierlow 1 2.41x
Gate Fulford 1 21.01x
Holbeck 1 7.40x
Liscard 1 12.21x
Marlborough 1 322.58x
Nottingham St Mary 1 1.39x
Royal Navy 1 4.77x
Swansea St Thomas 1 27.78x
Walsall Foreign 1 2.79x
Woodland 1 909.09x

Top female names

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

Name Count
Mary 15
Elizabeth 12
Alice 7
Ellen 7
Ann 6
Jane 6
Sarah 4
Annie 3
Fanny 3
Margaret 3
Agnes 2
Clara 2
Eleanor 2
Elisabeth 2
Kate 2
Martha 2
Ada 1
Amelia 1
Aris 1
Cresilda 1
Elizabe 1
Elizth. 1
Emily 1
Emma 1
Esther 1
Frances 1
Georgina 1
Hannah 1
Helen 1
Julia 1
Levinia 1
Lousia 1
Lydia 1
Margt. 1
Mariame 1
Matha 1
Murrin 1
Pheobe 1
Phoebe 1
Priscilla 1
Susannah 1
Theresa 1

Top male names

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

Name Count
Thomas 18
William 16
John 15
James 11
Henry 7
Charles 5
Joseph 5
Philip 4
Walter 3
Frank 2
Harold 2
Robert 2
Aloysius 1
Augustine 1
Chorley 1
Edwd. 1
Elijah 1
Francis 1
Frederick 1
George 1
Hy. 1
Isaac 1
Jarvis 1
Richd. 1
Sam.Charles 1
Samuel 1

FAQ

Rotheram surname: questions and answers

How common was the Rotheram surname in 1881?

In 1881, 216 people were recorded with the Rotheram surname. That placed it at #12,222 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Rotheram surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 436 in 2016. That gives Rotheram a modern rank of #11,062.

What does the Rotheram map show?

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