NameCensus.

UK surname

Scott

An English and Scottish ethnic surname referring to a person from Scotland or of Scottish descent.

In the 1881 census there were 76,018 people recorded with the Scott surname, ranking it #27 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 104,222, ranked #29, down from #27 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to Hawick and Wilton, Govan Combination and Gateshead. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Northumberland, Hawick Central and Denholm and Hermitage.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Scott is 106,075 in 2010. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 37.1%.

1881 census count

76,018

Ranked #27

Modern count

104,222

2016, ranked #29

Peak year

2010

106,075 bearers

Map years

9

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Scott had 76,018 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #27 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 104,222 in 2016, ranked #29.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 92,830 in 1901.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Established but Challenged.

Scott surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Scott surname density by area, 1881 census.

Loading map
Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Scott 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 52,083 #27
1861 historical 55,780 #23
1881 historical 76,018 #27
1891 historical 83,474 #27
1901 historical 92,830 #28
1911 historical 67,356 #49
1997 modern 100,167 #30
1998 modern 103,743 #30
1999 modern 104,327 #30
2000 modern 103,931 #30
2001 modern 100,989 #30
2002 modern 103,375 #29
2003 modern 100,908 #29
2004 modern 100,645 #30
2005 modern 99,651 #30
2006 modern 99,624 #30
2007 modern 100,498 #30
2008 modern 101,074 #30
2009 modern 103,477 #30
2010 modern 106,075 #30
2011 modern 104,349 #30
2012 modern 102,102 #30
2013 modern 104,005 #30
2014 modern 105,107 #30
2015 modern 104,121 #30
2016 modern 104,222 #29

Geography

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Where Scotts are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around Hawick and Wilton, Govan Combination, Gateshead, London parishes and Edinburgh. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Northumberland, Hawick Central, Denholm and Hermitage, Selkirk and Jedburgh. 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 Hawick and Wilton Roxburgh
2 Govan Combination Lanark
3 Gateshead Durham
4 London parishes London 3
5 Edinburgh Edinburgh

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Northumberland 003 Northumberland
2 Hawick Central Scottish Borders
3 Denholm and Hermitage Scottish Borders
4 Selkirk Scottish Borders
5 Jedburgh Scottish Borders

Forenames

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First names often paired with Scott

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

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Scott

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

Semi- and Un-Skilled Workforce

Group

Established but Challenged

Nationally, the Scott surname is most associated with neighbourhoods classed as Established but Challenged, within Semi- and Un-Skilled Workforce. This does not mean every Scott household fits that profile, but it gives a useful signal about where the modern surname distribution is strongest.

Read profile summary

Group profile

Many households in these neighbourhoods comprise separated or divorced single parents with dependent children. Residents are typically born in the UK, and these neighbourhoods have relatively few members of ethnic minorities. The prevalence of children, their parents and those at or above normal retirement age, suggests neighbourhood structures may be long-established. Levels of unpaid care are high, and long-term disability is more common than in the Supergroup as a whole. Use of the social rented sector is common, often in terraced houses. Levels of overcrowding are above the Supergroup average. Unemployment is high, while those in work are employed in elementary occupations such as caring, leisure and customer services. Many residents have low level qualifications. Neighbourhood concentrations of this Group are found in the South Wales Valleys, Belfast, Londonderry and the Central Lowlands of Scotland.

Wider pattern

Living in terraced or semi-detached houses, residents of these neighbourhoods typically lack high levels of education and work in elementary or routine service occupations. Unemployment is above average. Residents are predominantly born in the UK, and residents are also predominantly from ethnic minorities. Social (but not private sector) rented sector housing is common. This Supergroup is found throughout the UK’s conurbations and industrial regions but is also an integral part of smaller towns.

London neighbourhood type

London Output Area Classification

Supergroup

The Greater London Mix

Group

Social Rented Sector Professional Support Workers

Within London, Scott is most associated with areas classed as Social Rented Sector Professional Support Workers, part of The Greater London Mix. 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 located in Inner London, these neighbourhoods retain a diverse employment structure, with some concentration in associated professional and technical occupations rather than skilled trades or construction. Social renting is more common and levels of homeownership are low. Many residents identify as Black. There is a lower than average rate of marriage or civil partnership, few that are very old (85 or over) and higher than average incidence of disability.

Wider London pattern

A Supergroup embodying London's diversity in many respects, apart from low numbers of residents identifying as of Bangladeshi, Indian, Pakistani or Other (non-Chinese) Asian ethnicity. There is lower than average prevalence of families with dependent children, while there are above average occurrences of never-married individuals and single-person households. The age distribution is skewed towards younger, single residents and couples without children, with many individuals identifying as of mixed or multiple ethnicity. Social rented or private rented housing is slightly more prevalent than average, and many residents live in flats. Individuals typically work in professional and associated roles in public administration, education or health rather than in elementary occupations in agriculture, energy, water, construction or manufacturing. Incidence of students is slightly below average. Individuals declaring no religion are more prevalent than average and non-use of English at home is below average.

Healthy neighbourhoods

Access to healthy assets and hazards

Scott is most concentrated in decile 1 for access to healthy assets and hazards. This places the surname towards the less healthy 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.

1
Lower access Higher access

Neighbourhood deprivation

Index of Multiple Deprivation

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

Meaning and origin of Scott

The surname Scott is of Scottish origin and dates back to the 12th century. It is derived from an old word "Scot" which was used to refer to a person of Scottish descent or someone from Scotland. The name likely originated from the areas along the Anglo-Scottish border regions.

One of the earliest recorded references to the surname Scott can be found in the Ragman Rolls of 1296, a collection of homage rolls rendered to King Edward I of England. Several individuals bearing the name Scott are listed in these rolls, indicating the name was well-established in Scotland by the late 13th century.

The name Scott is also found in the Domesday Book of 1086, which was a survey of land ownership in England commissioned by William the Conqueror. However, the spellings in this ancient manuscript vary, with forms such as "Scot" and "Scotte" being used.

In the 14th century, a prominent Scottish family bearing the name Scott emerged in the Borders region. Sir Michael Scott, who lived from around 1175 to 1234, was a renowned medieval scholar and philosopher. He was often referred to as "Michael Scot" and is considered one of the most influential figures in the transmission of knowledge from the Arabic world to Europe during the Middle Ages.

Another notable figure with the surname Scott was Sir Walter Scott, the famous Scottish novelist, playwright, and poet. Born in 1771 and died in 1832, he is widely regarded as one of the greatest writers of the Romantic era and is best known for his historical novels such as "Ivanhoe" and "Rob Roy".

In the 16th century, the Scotts of Buccleuch rose to prominence as one of the most powerful families in the Scottish Borders. Sir Walter Scott, 1st Lord Scott of Buccleuch, who lived from 1565 to 1611, played a significant role in the pacification of the Borders region and was a prominent figure in the court of King James VI of Scotland.

The surname Scott has also been associated with several place names in Scotland, such as Scotstoun, Scotston, and Scotscraig, which further reinforces its Scottish roots and origins.

Other notable individuals with the surname Scott include Robert Falcon Scott, the British Royal Navy officer and explorer who led the ill-fated Terra Nova Expedition to the South Pole in 1912, and Winfield Scott, an American military commander and political candidate who served as a general in the United States Army during the Mexican-American War and the Civil War.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

1881 census detail

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Scott families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Scott 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. Yorkshire leads with 7,013 Scotts recorded in 1881 and an index of 0.96x.

County Total Index
Yorkshire 7,013 0.96x
Middlesex 5,394 0.73x
Lanarkshire 5,100 2.13x
Durham 4,886 2.22x
Lancashire 4,596 0.52x
Northumberland 4,467 4.06x
Midlothian 3,545 3.58x
Surrey 2,645 0.73x
Angus 2,538 3.71x
Roxburghshire 2,287 17.08x
Cumberland 1,937 3.04x
Fife 1,726 3.94x
Aberdeenshire 1,673 2.44x
Kent 1,557 0.62x
Renfrewshire 1,295 2.26x
Perthshire 1,217 3.67x
Lincolnshire 1,200 1.02x
Essex 1,173 0.80x
Selkirkshire 1,023 15.30x
Staffordshire 950 0.38x
Dumfriesshire 941 5.76x
Norfolk 914 0.80x
Ayrshire 901 1.63x
Hampshire 861 0.57x
Nottinghamshire 836 0.84x
Warwickshire 765 0.41x
Suffolk 737 0.82x
Cheshire 721 0.44x
Stirlingshire 635 2.33x
Sussex 620 0.50x
Devon 619 0.40x
Berwickshire 591 6.60x
Somerset 554 0.47x
Orkney 516 6.35x
Wiltshire 500 0.76x
Gloucestershire 461 0.32x
Leicestershire 432 0.53x
Derbyshire 406 0.35x
Buckinghamshire 380 0.85x
East Lothian 378 3.86x
Dunbartonshire 370 1.86x
Morayshire 341 2.97x
Banffshire 336 2.19x
Westmorland 334 2.06x
Cambridgeshire 332 0.71x
Hertfordshire 331 0.65x
Worcestershire 280 0.29x
Peeblesshire 273 7.85x
Northamptonshire 272 0.39x
Glamorgan 266 0.21x
Dorset 264 0.54x
West Lothian 240 2.16x
Kincardineshire 235 2.61x
Kirkcudbrightshire 232 2.17x
Bedfordshire 221 0.58x
Cornwall 198 0.24x
Argyllshire 195 0.95x
Shropshire 183 0.29x
Wigtownshire 182 1.85x
Clackmannanshire 166 2.72x
Monmouthshire 160 0.30x
Berkshire 143 0.26x
Shetland 137 1.81x
Kinross-shire 111 5.94x
Oxfordshire 102 0.22x
Ross-shire 97 0.48x
Inverness-shire 91 0.41x
Huntingdonshire 85 0.58x
Buteshire 83 1.85x
Royal Navy 75 0.85x
Rutland 60 1.11x
Channel Islands 50 0.23x
Carmarthenshire 40 0.13x
Pembrokeshire 33 0.14x
Brecknockshire 31 0.21x
Denbighshire 31 0.11x
Herefordshire 29 0.10x
Flintshire 28 0.14x
Caithness 27 0.27x
Nairnshire 27 1.20x
Cardiganshire 21 0.12x
Merionethshire 16 0.12x
Montgomeryshire 15 0.09x
Isle of Man 12 0.09x
Sutherland 10 0.18x
Anglesey 8 0.06x
Caernarfonshire 7 0.02x
Radnorshire 1 0.02x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Edinburgh St Cuthberts in Midlothian leads with 1,451 Scotts recorded in 1881 and an index of 3.64x.

Place Total Index
Edinburgh St Cuthberts 1,451 3.64x
Barony 1,143 1.89x
Govan 1,124 1.90x
Dundee 876 3.43x
Glasgow 867 2.04x
Hawick 606 20.22x
Islington London 580 0.81x
Bishopwearmouth 554 2.94x
Lambeth 498 0.77x
Gateshead 488 2.96x
South Leith 474 4.25x
Liverpool 464 0.87x
Westoe 438 3.51x
St Pancras London 430 0.72x
Selkirk 425 22.56x
Birmingham 398 0.64x
Elswick 382 4.35x
Leeds 378 0.91x
Aberdeen Old Machar 351 2.46x
Liff Benvie 310 2.98x
Wilton 310 21.10x
Kensington London 304 0.74x
Camberwell 301 0.64x
Hackney London 300 0.72x
West Greenock 296 2.88x
Galashiels 290 11.73x
West Ham 288 0.89x
Byker 262 4.82x
Toxteth Park 257 0.87x
Newcastle On Tyne All Sts 246 3.75x
Shoreditch London 241 0.75x
Hedworth Monkton Jarrow 238 2.50x
Tynemouth 233 3.96x
St Marylebone London 226 0.57x
Westgate 219 3.22x
Aberdeen St Nicholas 217 1.69x
Falkirk 215 3.37x
Everton 213 0.76x
Bethnal Green London 212 0.66x
Paddington London 210 0.77x
Montrose 208 5.01x
Aston 205 0.40x
Manchester 203 0.51x
West Derby 203 0.79x
Bedlington 196 5.34x
Hamilton 196 2.94x
Jedburgh 196 14.94x
Battersea 195 0.72x
Langholm 195 16.62x
Nottingham St Mary 192 0.75x
Bermondsey 187 0.85x
Bradford 187 1.05x
Holy Trinity 185 1.05x
Lesmahagow 181 7.16x
Mile End Old Town 181 1.55x
Chelsea London 173 0.78x
Kelso 173 12.97x
Melrose 172 10.22x
Deptford St Paul 171 0.88x
St Vigeans 171 4.63x
Stockton On Tees 171 1.61x
Old Monkland 169 1.78x
North Leith 167 3.64x
Sheffield 167 0.72x
Bothwell 166 2.56x
Melrose 166 14.34x
Salford 166 0.64x
Northowram 165 3.21x
Newcastle On Tyne St 162 2.84x
Brighton 161 0.64x
Bromley London 161 0.99x
Leicester St Margaret 160 0.80x
Newington 158 0.58x
St George Hanover 155 1.61x
Abbey 154 1.76x
Brechin 153 5.69x
Heworth 152 3.51x
Cross Burness N 148 34.86x
Kirkdale 148 1.00x
Longbenton 145 3.11x
Monifieth 144 5.95x
Portsea 144 0.49x
Cambusnethan 141 2.66x
Oldham 139 0.49x
Croydon 137 0.69x
Darlington 135 1.59x
Arbroath 133 5.86x
Keighley 133 1.70x

Top female names

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

Name Count
Mary 3,402
Elizabeth 1,915
Sarah 1,566
Jane 1,262
Ann 933
Margaret 903
Annie 733
Alice 627
Eliza 611
Ellen 584
Emma 555
Hannah 523
Emily 498
Isabella 467
Martha 415
Louisa 303
Catherine 288
Maria 269
Charlotte 262
Agnes 254
Ada 250
Edith 226
Harriet 221
Fanny 211
Florence 205
Caroline 201
Frances 192
Kate 179
Susan 175
Clara 174
Anne 155
Lucy 155
Jessie 152
Eleanor 147
Harriett 142
Rebecca 117
Rose 110
Elizth. 99
Amelia 97
Julia 93
Matilda 91
Esther 89
Sophia 89
Susannah 89
Minnie 88
Amy 87
Dorothy 81
Ethel 76
Ruth 74
Helen 73

Top male names

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

Name Count
John 3,159
William 2,876
James 1,740
George 1,642
Thomas 1,584
Walter 982
Robert 911
Joseph 800
Henry 759
Charles 726
Edward 453
Arthur 394
Alfred 372
Frederick 318
Richard 312
Samuel 304
David 272
Harry 240
Albert 235
Frank 175
Wm. 171
Andrew 164
Alexander 146
Herbert 143
Ernest 131
Francis 129
Thos. 113
Edwin 110
Benjamin 103
Fred 90
Matthew 86
Peter 84
Isaac 81
Tom 77
Christopher 71
Adam 65
Ralph 63
Geo. 54
Mark 54
Michael 54
Stephen 54
Percy 48
Abraham 46
Robt. 45
Daniel 41
Sidney 41
Fredk. 39
Anthony 37
Jonathan 37
Archibald 36

Top occupations

Occupational titles are kept as recorded and later transcribed, so related jobs, spelling variants and mistakes stay separate. Scholar was the census term for a child in education. That means the other rows often tell you more about adult work in Scott households.

FAQ

Scott surname: questions and answers

How common was the Scott surname in 1881?

In 1881, 76,018 people were recorded with the Scott surname. That placed it at #27 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Scott surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 104,222 in 2016. That gives Scott a modern rank of #29.

What does the Scott surname mean?

An English and Scottish ethnic surname referring to a person from Scotland or of Scottish descent.

What does the Scott map show?

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