NameCensus.

UK surname

Sapsford

In the 1881 census there were 461 people recorded with the Sapsford surname, ranking it #7,193 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 692, ranked #7,773, down from #7,193 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to London parishes, St Leonard Bromley and Hallingbury, Little. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include East Hertfordshire, Tower Hamlets and Breckland.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Sapsford is 774 in 1999. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 50.1%.

1881 census count

461

Ranked #7,193

Modern count

692

2016, ranked #7,773

Peak year

1999

774 bearers

Map years

9

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Sapsford had 461 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #7,193 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 692 in 2016, ranked #7,773.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 676 in 1911.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Challenged Communities.

Sapsford surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Sapsford surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Sapsford 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 195 #10,620
1861 historical 311 #8,151
1881 historical 461 #7,193
1891 historical 527 #7,112
1901 historical 564 #7,397
1911 historical 676 #6,248
1997 modern 741 #6,944
1998 modern 761 #7,021
1999 modern 774 #6,970
2000 modern 758 #7,055
2001 modern 746 #7,017
2002 modern 767 #6,999
2003 modern 766 #6,894
2004 modern 770 #6,880
2005 modern 727 #7,121
2006 modern 744 #7,029
2007 modern 753 #7,031
2008 modern 763 #7,017
2009 modern 770 #7,099
2010 modern 763 #7,297
2011 modern 740 #7,390
2012 modern 723 #7,435
2013 modern 708 #7,662
2014 modern 699 #7,777
2015 modern 694 #7,769
2016 modern 692 #7,773

Geography

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Where Sapsfords are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around London parishes, St Leonard Bromley, Hallingbury, Little and Hatfield Broad Oak. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to East Hertfordshire, Tower Hamlets, Breckland and Broxbourne. 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 Leonard Bromley London (East Districts)
3 Hallingbury, Little Hertfordshire
4 Hatfield Broad Oak Essex
5 London parishes London 2

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 East Hertfordshire 007 East Hertfordshire
2 Tower Hamlets 028 Tower Hamlets
3 Breckland 011 Breckland
4 Broxbourne 005 Broxbourne
5 East Hertfordshire 008 East Hertfordshire

Forenames

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First names often paired with Sapsford

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

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Sapsford

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

Sapsford is most concentrated in decile 4 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.

4
Lower access Higher access

Neighbourhood deprivation

Index of Multiple Deprivation

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

1881 census detail

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Sapsford families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Sapsford 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. Essex leads with 244 Sapsfords recorded in 1881 and an index of 27.55x.

County Total Index
Essex 244 27.55x
Middlesex 100 2.23x
Hertfordshire 45 14.55x
Kent 18 1.18x
Surrey 17 0.78x
Lancashire 12 0.23x
Derbyshire 10 1.42x
Buckinghamshire 5 1.84x
Hampshire 3 0.33x
Yorkshire 2 0.05x
Cheshire 1 0.10x
Nottinghamshire 1 0.17x
Royal Navy 1 1.87x
Warwickshire 1 0.09x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Hatfield Broad Oak in Essex leads with 93 Sapsfords recorded in 1881 and an index of 3110.37x.

Place Total Index
Hatfield Broad Oak 93 3110.37x
Bishop Stortford 40 387.22x
Great Hallingbury 39 4062.50x
Little Hallingbury 29 3222.22x
Bromley London 22 22.29x
Hackney London 11 4.37x
Limehouse London 10 20.30x
Whitwell 10 358.42x
Epping 9 250.00x
Hampstead London 9 12.88x
Quendon 9 3103.45x
Waltham Holy Cross 8 96.62x
White Roothing 8 1230.77x
Chelsea London 7 5.18x
Chigwell 7 83.73x
Streatham 7 21.03x
Broughton In Salford 6 12.32x
Edmonton 6 16.60x
Friern Barnet 6 60.73x
Preston 6 4.21x
Strood 6 68.73x
Birchanger 5 684.93x
Great Baddow 5 158.73x
Harlow 5 130.89x
Lewisham 5 6.12x
Little Bardfield 5 943.40x
Marsh Gibbon 5 438.60x
Spitalfields London 5 14.81x
Thaxted 5 170.07x
Greenwich 4 5.60x
Sawbridgeworth 4 85.47x
Southwark St George Martyr 4 4.43x
St Giles Cripplegate 4 67.11x
St Marylebone London 4 1.67x
Camberwell 3 1.05x
Farnborough 3 31.06x
Islington London 3 0.69x
Poplar London 3 3.54x
Romford 3 21.43x
Sheering 3 361.45x
Tottenham 3 4.20x
Leyton 2 13.11x
Leyton Low 2 11.11x
Minster In Sheppey 2 7.89x
St Gregory By St Pauls 2 178.57x
Brightside Bierlow 1 1.15x
Cheam 1 42.74x
Clerkenwell London 1 0.94x
Darenth 1 42.37x
Epsom 1 9.38x
Henham 1 79.37x
Hertingfordbury 1 79.37x
Hucknall Torkard 1 6.52x
Kensington London 1 0.40x
Lambeth 1 0.26x
Leamington Priors 1 3.59x
Manuden 1 90.09x
Mile End Old Town 1 1.41x
Nether Hallam 1 1.66x
Royal Navy 1 2.19x
Siddington 1 158.73x
Springfield 1 25.77x
St George Hanover 1 1.71x
Takeley 1 78.74x
Theydon Mount 1 434.78x
Walthamstow 1 3.14x
West Ham 1 0.51x
Westminster St 1 6.05x

Top female names

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

Top male names

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

Name Count
George 31
William 31
Charles 21
John 20
James 16
Henry 13
Thomas 13
Frederick 9
Albert 6
Arthur 6
Richard 6
Walter 6
Alfred 3
Elias 3
Ernest 3
Jacob 3
Joseph 3
Abraham 2
Benjamin 2
Daniel 2
Edward 2
Esau 2
Fred 2
Herbert 2
Angela 1
Chas.Ward 1
David 1
Earnest 1
Emma 1
Ezekiel 1
Fredrick 1
G. 1
Geo. 1
Harry 1
Issael 1
Jesse 1
Lichfield 1
Luke 1
Mark 1
Moses 1
Percival 1
Percy 1
Peter 1
Phillip 1
Ralph 1
Reginald 1
Robert 1
Rupert 1
Samuel 1
Wm. 1

FAQ

Sapsford surname: questions and answers

How common was the Sapsford surname in 1881?

In 1881, 461 people were recorded with the Sapsford surname. That placed it at #7,193 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Sapsford surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 692 in 2016. That gives Sapsford a modern rank of #7,773.

What does the Sapsford map show?

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