NameCensus.

UK surname

Russon

An English surname derived from the Middle English nickname "Russe", referring to a person of Russian descent or origins.

In the 1881 census there were 416 people recorded with the Russon surname, ranking it #7,749 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 1,029, ranked #5,676, up from #7,749 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to Dudley, Middlesborough and Walsall. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include South Kesteven, Dudley and Shropshire.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Russon is 1,103 in 2011. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 147.4%.

1881 census count

416

Ranked #7,749

Modern count

1,029

2016, ranked #5,676

Peak year

2011

1,103 bearers

Map years

9

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Russon had 416 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #7,749 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 1,029 in 2016, ranked #5,676.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 737 in 1911.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Challenged Communities.

Russon surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Russon surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Russon 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 242 #9,001
1861 historical 330 #7,721
1881 historical 416 #7,749
1891 historical 562 #6,758
1901 historical 626 #6,839
1911 historical 737 #5,816
1997 modern 1,027 #5,367
1998 modern 1,035 #5,518
1999 modern 1,043 #5,521
2000 modern 1,069 #5,381
2001 modern 1,032 #5,447
2002 modern 1,038 #5,524
2003 modern 1,029 #5,474
2004 modern 1,018 #5,515
2005 modern 1,015 #5,482
2006 modern 1,052 #5,330
2007 modern 1,052 #5,383
2008 modern 1,050 #5,433
2009 modern 1,077 #5,417
2010 modern 1,098 #5,444
2011 modern 1,103 #5,359
2012 modern 1,046 #5,515
2013 modern 1,047 #5,623
2014 modern 1,046 #5,649
2015 modern 1,029 #5,676
2016 modern 1,029 #5,676

Geography

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Where Russons are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around Dudley, Middlesborough, Walsall, Worksop and Birmingham Town: Birmingham. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to South Kesteven, Dudley, Shropshire and Swale. 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 Dudley Staffordshire
2 Middlesborough Durham
3 Walsall Staffordshire
4 Worksop Nottinghamshire
5 Birmingham Town: Birmingham Warwickshire

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 South Kesteven 015 South Kesteven
2 Dudley 023 Dudley
3 Dudley 020 Dudley
4 Shropshire 035 Shropshire
5 Swale 004 Swale

Forenames

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First names often paired with Russon

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

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Russon

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

Baseline UK

Group

Challenged Communities

Nationally, the Russon surname is most associated with neighbourhoods classed as Challenged Communities, within Baseline UK. This does not mean every Russon household fits that profile, but it gives a useful signal about where the modern surname distribution is strongest.

Read profile summary

Group profile

Residents of these neighbourhoods typically live in households with dependent children, and there are fewer-than-average residents of normal retirement age or over. Identification with ethnic minorities, particularly Black, or Mixed or Multiple ethnicities is common. The rate of Christian religious affiliation is low. Housing predominantly consists of semi-detached houses, along with a significant number of terraced properties and flats. Overcrowded social housing is common, and private renting occurs at average UK levels. Those in employment work mainly in caring leisure and other services; process, plant and machine operation; or elementary occupations. Unemployment is high, and few individuals have degree level qualifications. Many of these neighbourhoods occur in commuter towns or less accessible areas of larger towns and cities.

Wider pattern

This Supergroup exemplifies the broad base to the UK’s social structure, encompassing as it does the average or modal levels of many neighbourhood characteristics, including all housing tenures, a range of levels of educational attainment and religious affiliations, and a variety of pre-retirement age structures. Yet, in combination, these mixes are each distinctive of the parts of the UK. Overall, terraced houses and flats are the most prevalent, as is employment in intermediate or low-skilled occupations. However, this Supergroup is also characterised by above average levels of unemployment and lower levels of use of English as the main language. Many neighbourhoods occur in south London and the UK’s other major urban centres.

London neighbourhood type

London Output Area Classification

Supergroup

Older Residents in Owner-Occupied Suburbs

Group

London Fringe

Within London, Russon 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

Russon is most concentrated in decile 7 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.

7
Lower access Higher access

Neighbourhood deprivation

Index of Multiple Deprivation

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

Meaning and origin of Russon

The surname Russon is of English origin, derived from the Old English words "hris" meaning bush and "dun" meaning hill, indicating that the name likely referred to someone who lived near a bushy hill. The earliest known recorded spelling of the name dates back to the 13th century, with a Robert de Risundun appearing in the Feet of Fines for Essex in 1285.

Over the centuries, the name underwent various spelling variations, such as Rissenden, Rysonden, and Rysundun, before evolving into its modern form of Russon. These variations can be found in historical records like the Hundred Rolls of 1273 and the Subsidy Rolls of Sussex from 1327.

The Russon surname has ties to several place names in England, including Rushdene in Northamptonshire and Rushden in Hertfordshire. These place names likely influenced the spelling and pronunciation of the surname over time.

One notable figure in history bearing the Russon name was Sir John Russon, a 16th-century English politician and landowner from Sussex. He served as a Member of Parliament for Arundel and was knighted by Queen Elizabeth I in 1577.

Another notable Russon was William Russon, born in 1647 in Northamptonshire, who was a prominent Puritan minister and author of several religious works, including "The Doctrine of the Two Covenants" and "The Soul's Cordial in the Extremity of Sickness."

In the 18th century, Thomas Russon (1708-1782) was a well-known English architect who designed several notable buildings in London, including the Church of St. George's Bloomsbury and the Old Royal Naval College in Greenwich.

Moving into the 19th century, Elizabeth Russon (1818-1892) was a British educator and philanthropist who founded several schools for underprivileged children in Birmingham and worked tirelessly to improve educational opportunities for the poor.

Finally, in more recent history, Sir John Russon (1901-1986) was a British businessman and industrialist who played a significant role in the development of the automotive industry in the United Kingdom, serving as the chairman of the British Motor Corporation and later the British Leyland Motor Corporation.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

1881 census detail

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Russon families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Russon 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. Worcestershire leads with 99 Russons recorded in 1881 and an index of 18.68x.

County Total Index
Worcestershire 99 18.68x
Warwickshire 83 8.11x
Staffordshire 74 5.40x
Yorkshire 55 1.37x
Lincolnshire 31 4.78x
Middlesex 31 0.76x
Nottinghamshire 20 3.66x
Kent 6 0.43x
Surrey 5 0.25x
Essex 4 0.50x
Shropshire 4 1.14x
Lancashire 2 0.04x
Cheshire 1 0.11x
Northamptonshire 1 0.26x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Dudley in Worcestershire leads with 77 Russons recorded in 1881 and an index of 119.53x.

Place Total Index
Dudley 77 119.53x
Birmingham 58 17.01x
Walsall Foreign 25 35.34x
Kingswinford 18 36.20x
Aston 15 5.32x
Middlesbrough 15 28.65x
Ingham 14 1686.75x
Stamford All Sts 13 358.13x
Worksop 13 80.15x
Hunslet 11 17.54x
Edgbaston 10 31.52x
Kings Norton 10 21.04x
Handsworth 9 26.66x
Linthorpe 9 37.50x
Stoke Prior 7 214.07x
Westminster St James 7 16.78x
Cheriton 6 106.38x
Ormesby 6 55.50x
Ruswarp 6 134.23x
Shoreditch London 6 3.41x
St Pancras London 6 1.84x
Walsall Borough 6 56.44x
West Bromwich 6 7.65x
Rowley Regis 5 13.10x
Chelsea London 4 3.27x
Shifnal 4 42.02x
Southwark St George Martyr 4 4.90x
West Ham 4 2.26x
Ardsley 3 64.79x
Epperstone 3 500.00x
Islington London 3 0.76x
Bromsgrove 2 11.22x
Feckenham 2 33.00x
Glusburn 2 88.11x
Hackney London 2 0.88x
Nottingham St Mary 2 1.41x
Stamford St John 2 227.27x
Welton 2 210.53x
Westminster St 2 13.37x
Windle 2 7.38x
Wolverhampton 2 1.90x
Woodborough 2 162.60x
Brinsworth 1 53.76x
Cannock 1 4.18x
Cheadle 1 5.84x
Ecclesfield 1 3.39x
Eccleshall 1 19.27x
Kingston On Thames 1 2.11x
Kirkburton 1 21.10x
Pedmore 1 144.93x
Roade 1 100.00x
Sedgley 1 1.97x
St Luke London 1 1.54x

Top female names

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

Name Count
Mary 30
Sarah 12
Elizabeth 9
Emma 8
Alice 6
Clara 6
Ellen 6
Emily 6
Florence 6
Maria 6
Caroline 5
Harriet 5
Ann 4
Eliza 4
Hannah 4
Jane 4
Anne 3
Annie 3
Charlotte 3
Edith 3
Esther 3
Louisa 3
Martha 3
Matilda 3
Amy 2
Bertha 2
Deborah 2
Elizth. 2
Fanny 2
Frances 2
Jessie 2
Margaret 2
Maud 2
Minnie 2
Susannah 2
Allice 1
Angelina 1
Augusta 1
Beatrice 1
Daisy 1
Eleanor 1
Ester 1
Hanaah.M. 1
Harriett 1
Helen 1
Issablar 1
Johannah 1
Kate 1
Letitia 1
Winifred 1

Top male names

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

Name Count
William 25
Joseph 22
John 21
Thomas 13
Edward 12
George 12
Henry 10
Albert 8
Frederick 7
Samuel 7
Charles 5
Walter 5
Arthur 4
Edwin 4
Richard 4
Thos. 4
Daniel 3
James 3
Benjamin 2
Ernest 2
Frank 2
Harry 2
Alexander 1
Alfred 1
Bertram 1
Caleb 1
Emily 1
Ephraim 1
Francis 1
Fred 1
Geo. 1
Javen 1
Jesse 1
Levi 1
Mathew 1
Michael 1
Robert 1
Saml. 1
Simeon 1
Sydney 1
Tom 1
Willm. 1
Wm. 1
Wm.Henry 1

FAQ

Russon surname: questions and answers

How common was the Russon surname in 1881?

In 1881, 416 people were recorded with the Russon surname. That placed it at #7,749 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Russon surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 1,029 in 2016. That gives Russon a modern rank of #5,676.

What does the Russon surname mean?

An English surname derived from the Middle English nickname "Russe", referring to a person of Russian descent or origins.

What does the Russon map show?

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