NameCensus.

UK surname

Samwell

In the 1881 census there were 109 people recorded with the Samwell surname, ranking it #18,793 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 227, ranked #17,992, up from #18,793 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to London parishes, St Pancras and Doncaster. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Northampton, North East Lincolnshire and Leeds.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Samwell is 239 in 2010. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 108.3%.

1881 census count

109

Ranked #18,793

Modern count

227

2016, ranked #17,992

Peak year

2010

239 bearers

Map years

8

1861 to 2016

Key insights

  • Samwell had 109 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #18,793 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 227 in 2016, ranked #17,992.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 185 in 1911.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Challenged Communities.

Samwell surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Samwell surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Samwell 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 94 #17,837
1861 historical 125 #17,678
1881 historical 109 #18,793
1891 historical 112 #22,291
1901 historical 116 #20,933
1911 historical 185 #15,686
1997 modern 211 #17,048
1998 modern 224 #16,888
1999 modern 221 #17,126
2000 modern 223 #16,978
2001 modern 217 #17,059
2002 modern 217 #17,388
2003 modern 217 #17,176
2004 modern 219 #17,180
2005 modern 222 #16,983
2006 modern 207 #17,892
2007 modern 197 #18,669
2008 modern 214 #17,854
2009 modern 220 #17,911
2010 modern 239 #17,280
2011 modern 231 #17,530
2012 modern 220 #18,034
2013 modern 218 #18,441
2014 modern 224 #18,202
2015 modern 225 #18,050
2016 modern 227 #17,992

Geography

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Where Samwells are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around London parishes, St Pancras, Doncaster, Northampton St Giles, Northampton St Sepulchre, Northampton Priory and Leicester St Margaret and Bishop's Fee, Leicester All Saints, Blackfriars. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Northampton, North East Lincolnshire, Leeds and North Norfolk. 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 3
2 St Pancras London (North Districts)
3 Doncaster Yorkshire, West Riding
4 Northampton St Giles, Northampton St Sepulchre, Northampton Priory Northamptonshire
5 Leicester St Margaret and Bishop's Fee, Leicester All Saints, Blackfriars Leicestershire

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Northampton 005 Northampton
2 North East Lincolnshire 005 North East Lincolnshire
3 Leeds 030 Leeds
4 North Norfolk 010 North Norfolk
5 Leeds 022 Leeds

Forenames

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First names often paired with Samwell

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

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Samwell

Modern surname records can be compared with neighbourhood classifications. For Samwell, 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 Samwell surname is most associated with neighbourhoods classed as Challenged Communities, within Baseline UK. This does not mean every Samwell 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, Samwell 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

Samwell 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

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

1881 census detail

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Samwell families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Samwell 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 27 Samwells recorded in 1881 and an index of 2.54x.

County Total Index
Middlesex 27 2.54x
Northamptonshire 19 19.00x
Leicestershire 18 15.27x
Derbyshire 14 8.41x
Yorkshire 13 1.23x
Surrey 7 1.35x
Wiltshire 4 4.25x
Buckinghamshire 3 4.67x
Devon 1 0.45x
Hampshire 1 0.46x
Hertfordshire 1 1.36x
Monmouthshire 1 1.30x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Derby St Werburgh in Derbyshire leads with 10 Samwells recorded in 1881 and an index of 104.06x.

Place Total Index
Derby St Werburgh 10 104.06x
Doncaster 8 103.90x
Shoreditch London 8 17.36x
Northampton Priory St 7 116.67x
Belgrave 6 225.56x
Camberwell 6 8.84x
Leicester All Sts 6 259.74x
Leicester St Margaret 6 20.88x
Northampton St Giles 6 157.48x
Wootton 6 2000.00x
Hunslet 5 30.43x
Westminster St James 5 45.75x
St Andrew Holborn 4 111.11x
Salisbury St Thomas 3 405.41x
St Luke London 3 17.60x
St Pancras London 3 3.51x
Derby St Peter 2 37.74x
Little Chester 2 952.38x
Newport Pagnell 2 149.25x
Aberystruth 1 14.77x
Chelsea London 1 3.12x
Hornsey 1 7.44x
Lambeth 1 1.08x
Paddington London 1 2.56x
Penn 1 250.00x
Portsea 1 2.34x
Stoke Damerel 1 6.46x
Swindon 1 13.72x
Twickenham 1 21.93x
Watford 1 17.61x

Top female names

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

Name Count
Mary 6
Sarah 6
Charlotte 3
Florence 3
Ada 2
Edith 2
Jane 2
Kate 2
Rose 2
Adela 1
Adelaide 1
Amy 1
Ann 1
Annie 1
C.M. 1
Clara 1
Elizabeth 1
Ellen 1
Emma 1
Fanny 1
Gertrude 1
Helen 1
Irene 1
Jeannett 1
Jessie 1
Lucey 1
Lucy 1
Mabel 1
May 1
Mercy 1
Rachel 1

Top male names

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

Name Count
George 7
William 4
Charles 3
Frederick 3
Harry 3
John 3
Robert 3
Thomas 3
Albert 2
Alfred 2
Arthur 2
Granville 2
Henry 2
Joseph 2
Abel 1
David 1
Edmund 1
Edward 1
Edwin 1
Eriel 1
Ernest 1
Francis 1
Frank 1
Fredrick 1
Herbert 1
Lavater 1
Morgan 1
Oscar 1
Regnald 1
Smith 1
Susan 1
Williamson 1

FAQ

Samwell surname: questions and answers

How common was the Samwell surname in 1881?

In 1881, 109 people were recorded with the Samwell surname. That placed it at #18,793 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Samwell surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 227 in 2016. That gives Samwell a modern rank of #17,992.

What does the Samwell map show?

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