NameCensus.

UK surname

Scotson

In the 1881 census there were 324 people recorded with the Scotson surname, ranking it #9,214 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 255, ranked #16,576, down from #9,214 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to Wigan, Manchester and Hartlepool. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Wigan, Rural Keith and Strathisla and Warrington.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Scotson is 425 in 1911. Compared with 1881, the name has fallen by 21.3%.

1881 census count

324

Ranked #9,214

Modern count

255

2016, ranked #16,576

Peak year

1911

425 bearers

Map years

9

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Scotson had 324 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #9,214 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 255 in 2016, ranked #16,576.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 425 in 1911.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Small Town Suburbia.

Scotson surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Scotson surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Scotson 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 170 #11,780
1861 historical 193 #12,371
1881 historical 324 #9,214
1891 historical 344 #9,969
1901 historical 372 #9,972
1911 historical 425 #8,877
1997 modern 288 #13,886
1998 modern 281 #14,506
1999 modern 291 #14,234
2000 modern 288 #14,312
2001 modern 280 #14,364
2002 modern 280 #14,660
2003 modern 260 #15,216
2004 modern 269 #14,955
2005 modern 252 #15,551
2006 modern 248 #15,820
2007 modern 248 #15,994
2008 modern 251 #16,026
2009 modern 258 #16,050
2010 modern 262 #16,252
2011 modern 254 #16,458
2012 modern 257 #16,212
2013 modern 267 #16,053
2014 modern 261 #16,421
2015 modern 261 #16,318
2016 modern 255 #16,576

Geography

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Where Scotsons are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around Wigan, Manchester, Hartlepool, Billingham and Stockton-on-Tees (Stockton-on-Tees), Stainton (Thornaby ), Norton. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Wigan, Rural Keith and Strathisla and Warrington. 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 Wigan Lancashire
2 Manchester Lancashire
3 Hartlepool Durham
4 Billingham Durham
5 Stockton-on-Tees (Stockton-on-Tees), Stainton (Thornaby ), Norton Durham

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Wigan 038 Wigan
2 Rural Keith and Strathisla Moray
3 Wigan 024 Wigan
4 Wigan 009 Wigan
5 Warrington 017 Warrington

Forenames

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First names often paired with Scotson

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

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Scotson

Modern surname records can be compared with neighbourhood classifications. For Scotson, 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 Scotson surname is most associated with neighbourhoods classed as Small Town Suburbia, within Retired Professionals. This does not mean every Scotson 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

Professional Employment and Family Lifecycles

Group

Inner London Working Professionals

Within London, Scotson is most associated with areas classed as Inner London Working Professionals, part of Professional Employment and Family Lifecycles. 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

These primarily Inner London neighbourhoods are more densely populated than the Supergroup average. Residents have a younger over-all age profile than the Supergroup as a whole, and are less likely to be owner occupiers. Full time employment is more common than elsewhere in the Supergroup and multiple car ownership is uncommon. Chinese and non-EU-born European migrants are less in evidence than elsewhere in the Supergroup.

Wider London pattern

These neighbourhoods house people of all ages, predominantly of White British or European extraction. Resident turnover is low. Religious affiliation is less common than average and tends to be Christian if expressed. Homeownership, typically of terraced houses, is common but use of the social rented sector is not. Employment is typically in professional, managerial and associate professional or technical occupations. There are few full-time students. Level 4 qualifications are common. More households lack dependent children than have them which, considered alongside low levels of crowding and over-all age structure, indicates that many households may be post child-rearing and in late middle age. Incidence of disability is low, as is residence in communal establishments.

Healthy neighbourhoods

Access to healthy assets and hazards

Scotson is most concentrated in decile 8 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.

8
Lower access Higher access

Neighbourhood deprivation

Index of Multiple Deprivation

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

1881 census detail

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Scotson families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Scotson 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 200 Scotsons recorded in 1881 and an index of 5.38x.

County Total Index
Lancashire 200 5.38x
Durham 74 7.94x
Yorkshire 17 0.55x
Leicestershire 7 2.02x
Staffordshire 7 0.66x
Cheshire 6 0.87x
Glamorgan 3 0.55x
Middlesex 3 0.10x
Shropshire 3 1.11x
Surrey 1 0.07x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Hindley in Lancashire leads with 23 Scotsons recorded in 1881 and an index of 145.20x.

Place Total Index
Hindley 23 145.20x
Bury 19 44.77x
Stockton On Tees 19 42.32x
Stranton 16 51.02x
Hartlepool 15 113.29x
Prescot 14 208.33x
Warrington 13 29.51x
Chorley 10 47.96x
Wolviston 10 1538.46x
Abram 9 315.79x
Ince In Makerfield 9 52.05x
West Derby 9 8.28x
Wigan 9 17.33x
Hulme 8 10.31x
Little Woolton 8 747.66x
Grindon 7 1891.89x
Leicester St Margaret 7 8.27x
Lowton 6 237.15x
Over Darwen 6 20.22x
Upholland 6 126.05x
Wednesbury 6 22.72x
Aspull 5 57.21x
Gateshead 5 7.17x
Middlesbrough 5 12.38x
Pownall Fee 5 161.81x
Westleigh 5 59.24x
Accrington 4 11.84x
Leyland 4 61.92x
Moss Side 4 20.46x
Stokesley 4 207.25x
Stretford 4 19.57x
Chadderton 3 16.52x
Clayton Le Woods 3 857.14x
Heath Charnock 3 303.03x
Hunslet 3 6.20x
Shrewsbury St Julian 3 44.84x
St Dunstan In East 3 1304.35x
Swansea Town 3 6.71x
Withington 3 25.06x
Ardwick 2 5.97x
Ashton Under Lyne 2 2.46x
Rotherham 2 11.44x
Tudhoe 2 24.54x
Barrow In Furness 1 1.98x
Birtle Cum Bamford 1 41.32x
Croft 1 172.41x
Everton 1 0.84x
Garston 1 9.12x
Great Bolton 1 2.03x
Lambeth 1 0.37x
Leeds 1 0.57x
Pemberton 1 6.75x
Prestwich 1 10.79x
Raby 1 384.62x
Skerton 1 32.79x
Tutbury 1 38.76x
Upper Helmsley 1 1250.00x
Whittle Le Woods 1 81.30x

Top female names

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

Name Count
Mary 35
Jane 12
Sarah 12
Elizabeth 11
Margaret 9
Alice 8
Ann 8
Hannah 7
Ellen 6
Emily 6
Edith 5
Annie 4
Ada 3
Louisa 3
Catherine 2
Dora 2
Emma 2
Isabella 2
Kate 2
Martha 2
Addie 1
Adeliza 1
Agnes 1
Allice 1
Amelia 1
Arminal 1
Bertha 1
Betty 1
Delia 1
Eleanor 1
Elizth. 1
Ester 1
Ethel 1
Fanny 1
Flora 1
Florey 1
Gertrude 1
Grace 1
J.E. 1
Jessie 1
Julia 1
Lavina 1
Lizzie 1
Lydia 1
Maria 1
Marian 1
Maryan 1
Ruth 1
Susannah 1
Tessie 1

Top male names

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

Name Count
John 23
James 20
William 19
Thomas 15
Robert 13
Richard 6
George 5
Henry 4
Joseph 4
Arthur 3
Charles 3
Samuel 3
Wm. 3
Frederick 2
Herbert 2
Joshua 2
Peter 2
Walter 2
Abraham 1
Alfred 1
Collin 1
Earnest 1
Edmund 1
Edward 1
Ernest 1
Frank 1
Fred 1
Fredk.Chas. 1
Harold 1
Harry 1
Jas. 1
Leonard 1
Robt. 1

FAQ

Scotson surname: questions and answers

How common was the Scotson surname in 1881?

In 1881, 324 people were recorded with the Scotson surname. That placed it at #9,214 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Scotson surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 255 in 2016. That gives Scotson a modern rank of #16,576.

What does the Scotson map show?

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