NameCensus.

UK surname

Salter

An occupational surname referring to a maker or seller of salt.

In the 1881 census there were 6,817 people recorded with the Salter surname, ranking it #622 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 8,216, ranked #802, down from #622 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to Bristol City: St Mary Redcliff, London parishes and Newchurch. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include East Devon, North Lincolnshire and Mid Devon.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Salter is 9,079 in 1911. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 20.5%.

1881 census count

6,817

Ranked #622

Modern count

8,216

2016, ranked #802

Peak year

1911

9,079 bearers

Map years

9

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Salter had 6,817 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #622 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 8,216 in 2016, ranked #802.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 9,079 in 1911.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Rural Amenity.

Salter surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Salter surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Salter 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 4,577 #616
1861 historical 3,699 #761
1881 historical 6,817 #622
1891 historical 7,012 #641
1901 historical 8,015 #665
1911 historical 9,079 #541
1997 modern 8,567 #735
1998 modern 8,766 #751
1999 modern 8,776 #757
2000 modern 8,785 #751
2001 modern 8,496 #760
2002 modern 8,702 #759
2003 modern 8,482 #760
2004 modern 8,397 #768
2005 modern 8,180 #778
2006 modern 8,176 #779
2007 modern 8,203 #785
2008 modern 8,201 #790
2009 modern 8,391 #792
2010 modern 8,563 #791
2011 modern 8,438 #793
2012 modern 8,227 #795
2013 modern 8,331 #799
2014 modern 8,414 #794
2015 modern 8,307 #792
2016 modern 8,216 #802

Geography

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Where Salters are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around Bristol City: St Mary Redcliff, London parishes, Newchurch and St Pancras. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to East Devon, North Lincolnshire and Mid Devon. 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 Bristol City: St Mary Redcliff Gloucestershire
2 London parishes London 1
3 Newchurch Hampshire
4 London parishes London 3
5 St Pancras London (North Districts)

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 East Devon 008 East Devon
2 North Lincolnshire 001 North Lincolnshire
3 East Devon 004 East Devon
4 East Devon 003 East Devon
5 Mid Devon 003 Mid Devon

Forenames

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First names often paired with Salter

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

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Salter

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

Salter is most concentrated in decile 5 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.

5
Lower access Higher access

Neighbourhood deprivation

Index of Multiple Deprivation

Salter falls in decile 7 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.

7
More deprived Less deprived

Broadband speed

Fixed broadband download speed

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

Meaning and origin of Salter

The surname Salter is derived from the Old English word "salter" which referred to a worker in salt, either as a maker or seller of salt. It originated in England during the medieval period, primarily in areas where there were salt mines or salt production centers.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Salter can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, which was a survey of landholdings in England commissioned by William the Conqueror. This document mentions several individuals with the surname Salter or similar spellings like "Saltor" or "Saltere."

The name Salter was particularly prevalent in counties like Cheshire, Staffordshire, and Worcestershire, where salt production was an important industry. Some early examples include John le Salter, who was documented in the Assize Rolls of Staffordshire in 1272, and William le Salter, who was recorded in the Subsidy Rolls of Worcestershire in 1327.

Salter is also associated with various place names in England, such as Salters Hill in Derbyshire, Salters Lane in Oxfordshire, and Salters Brook in Staffordshire. These toponyms suggest that the name may have originated from individuals who lived or worked near areas related to salt production.

Notable historical figures with the surname Salter include Sir Nicholas Salter (c.1505-1586), who was a member of Parliament and Lord Mayor of London in 1590. Another notable Salter was John Salter (1577-1642), an English clergyman and author who wrote several religious works.

Other prominent individuals with this surname include Samuel Salter (1604-1670), one of the founders of the town of Windsor, Connecticut, in the American colonies, and James Salter (1925-2015), an American writer and novelist best known for his works such as "A Sport and a Pastime" and "Light Years."

The surname Salter has also been borne by several artists and musicians, including Mary Jo Salter (born 1954), an American poet and academic, and Sly Salter (born 1987), an American rapper and songwriter.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

1881 census detail

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Salter families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Salter 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. Middlesex leads with 1,120 Salters recorded in 1881 and an index of 1.68x.

County Total Index
Middlesex 1,120 1.68x
Devon 1,116 8.02x
Hampshire 584 4.26x
Surrey 512 1.57x
Somerset 435 4.04x
Lancashire 285 0.36x
Suffolk 268 3.29x
Kent 240 1.05x
Gloucestershire 220 1.68x
Wiltshire 193 3.27x
Staffordshire 172 0.76x
Worcestershire 169 1.94x
Essex 166 1.26x
Yorkshire 140 0.21x
Shropshire 113 1.96x
Berkshire 108 2.15x
Lincolnshire 87 0.81x
Glamorgan 81 0.70x
Sussex 79 0.70x
Oxfordshire 77 1.87x
Norfolk 76 0.74x
Warwickshire 69 0.41x
Buckinghamshire 57 1.41x
Cornwall 51 0.67x
Cheshire 40 0.27x
Aberdeenshire 35 0.57x
Monmouthshire 33 0.68x
Derbyshire 32 0.31x
Montgomeryshire 30 1.96x
Dorset 21 0.48x
Hertfordshire 21 0.46x
Brecknockshire 20 1.50x
Durham 19 0.10x
Channel Islands 17 0.86x
Denbighshire 16 0.63x
Herefordshire 16 0.58x
Bedfordshire 15 0.43x
Leicestershire 15 0.20x
Royal Navy 14 1.76x
Midlothian 13 0.15x
Fife 11 0.28x
Renfrewshire 11 0.21x
Flintshire 9 0.50x
Northamptonshire 7 0.11x
Kincardineshire 6 0.74x
Lanarkshire 5 0.02x
Orkney 5 0.68x
Cardiganshire 4 0.25x
Perthshire 4 0.13x
Pembrokeshire 3 0.14x
Cumberland 2 0.03x
Northumberland 2 0.02x
Ayrshire 1 0.02x
Cambridgeshire 1 0.02x
Dunbartonshire 1 0.06x
Shetland 1 0.15x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Lambeth in Surrey leads with 143 Salters recorded in 1881 and an index of 2.45x.

Place Total Index
Lambeth 143 2.45x
St Pancras London 134 2.49x
Islington London 80 1.24x
Long Melford 80 105.78x
Carisbrooke 72 37.87x
Ryde 72 24.47x
Battersea 70 2.85x
Portsea 65 2.42x
Preston 58 2.73x
Hackney London 54 1.44x
Ottery St Mary 54 59.19x
Shoreditch London 52 1.80x
Birmingham 48 0.85x
Brading 47 25.82x
St George Hanover 47 5.39x
Bethnal Green London 44 1.52x
Bedminster 41 4.06x
Camberwell 41 0.96x
West Ham 41 1.41x
Sidmouth 40 50.24x
Hemyock 39 188.04x
Exeter St Sidwell 38 11.93x
Newington 38 1.54x
Chelsea London 37 1.84x
Tormoham 37 6.29x
Poplar London 36 2.85x
Hammersmith London 34 2.07x
Paddington London 34 1.38x
Walcot 34 5.94x
Blackburn 32 1.52x
Great Yarmouth 32 3.76x
Kensington London 32 0.86x
Wellington 32 21.94x
Greenwich 31 2.91x
Kingston On Thames 31 3.96x
Totnes 30 36.88x
Newland 29 26.33x
St George In East 29 6.38x
Whippingham 28 27.00x
Bristol St Philip Jacob 27 2.19x
Clayhidon 27 199.70x
Fulham London 27 2.79x
Reading St Giles 27 5.49x
Bermondsey 26 1.31x
Kidderminster Borough 26 5.09x
Cropthorne 25 154.80x
Harwich St Nicholas 25 24.54x
Lewisham 25 2.06x
Tiverton 25 10.44x
Wolverhampton 25 1.44x
Broad Clist 24 50.02x
Clerkenwell London 24 1.52x
Halberton 24 74.05x
Plymtree 24 240.72x
Topsham 24 36.56x
Uffculme 24 57.92x
Littleham 22 21.64x
Bromley London 21 1.43x
Cullompton 21 34.59x
Holy Trinity 21 71.97x
Liverpool 21 0.44x
Maidstone 21 3.09x
Arreton 20 45.55x
Bristol St James St Paul 20 4.58x
Chippenham 20 16.14x
Kingswinford 20 2.44x
Melksham 20 19.50x
Southwark St George Martyr 20 1.49x
West Bromwich 20 1.55x
Westminster St James 20 2.91x
Deptford St Paul 19 1.08x
Folkestone 19 4.30x
Northwood 19 9.74x
St Marylebone London 19 0.53x
Streatham 19 3.83x
Taunton St Mary 19 9.62x
Wandsworth 19 2.95x
Mile End Old Town 18 1.71x
Sutton St Mary 18 17.82x
Tettenhall 18 13.05x

Top female names

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

Name Count
Mary 419
Elizabeth 260
Sarah 208
Jane 133
Ellen 132
Eliza 121
Alice 119
Ann 118
Emma 118
Emily 115
Annie 90
Louisa 69
Hannah 55
Charlotte 51
Martha 49
Harriet 43
Fanny 42
Kate 41
Florence 40
Maria 40
Susan 38
Clara 37
Caroline 36
Lucy 35
Margaret 32
Ada 31
Edith 31
Amelia 27
Catherine 25
Minnie 25
Esther 24
Rose 23
Jessie 21
Julia 21
Rebecca 21
Anna 20
Matilda 20
Frances 19
Agnes 18
Anne 18
Bessie 18
Harriett 18
Eleanor 17
Elizth. 14
Isabella 13
Lydia 13
Maud 13
Sophia 13
Susannah 13
Georgina 12

Top male names

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

Name Count
William 439
John 333
George 242
James 207
Henry 186
Thomas 178
Charles 174
Robert 104
Edward 82
Alfred 80
Joseph 77
Samuel 74
Frederick 73
Arthur 61
Albert 58
Harry 55
Frank 51
Richard 42
Walter 42
Ernest 37
Herbert 35
Edwin 29
Francis 27
Wm. 19
Daniel 15
David 13
Fred 13
Sidney 12
Abraham 11
Mark 11
Isaac 10
Leonard 10
Stephen 10
Benjamin 9
Eli 9
Fredk. 9
Job 9
Peter 9
Aaron 8
Tom 8
Edmund 7
Fredrick 7
Geo. 7
Jacob 7
Percy 7
Jesse 6
Willm. 6
Enoch 5
Reuben 5
Frederic 4

FAQ

Salter surname: questions and answers

How common was the Salter surname in 1881?

In 1881, 6,817 people were recorded with the Salter surname. That placed it at #622 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Salter surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 8,216 in 2016. That gives Salter a modern rank of #802.

What does the Salter surname mean?

An occupational surname referring to a maker or seller of salt.

What does the Salter map show?

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