NameCensus.

UK surname

Scraggs

A topographic surname derived from a scraggy (rough, broken) landscape.

In the 1881 census there were 112 people recorded with the Scraggs surname, ranking it #18,501 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 77, ranked #33,236, down from #18,501 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to London parishes, St Pancras and Heyford, Warren or Upper. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Rochdale, East Hertfordshire and Uttlesford.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Scraggs is 140 in 1901. Compared with 1881, the name has fallen by 31.3%.

1881 census count

112

Ranked #18,501

Modern count

77

2016, ranked #33,236

Peak year

1901

140 bearers

Map years

4

1881 to 1911

Key insights

  • Scraggs had 112 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #18,501 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 77 in 2016, ranked #33,236.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 140 in 1901.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Young Families in Industrial Towns.

Scraggs surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Scraggs surname density by area, 1881 census.

Loading map
Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

Back to top

Scraggs 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 86 #18,820
1861 historical 59 #26,466
1881 historical 112 #18,501
1891 historical 110 #22,557
1901 historical 140 #18,795
1911 historical 137 #18,880
1997 modern 90 #28,360
1998 modern 91 #28,806
1999 modern 98 #28,050
2000 modern 105 #27,001
2001 modern 105 #26,620
2002 modern 112 #26,165
2003 modern 106 #26,775
2004 modern 103 #27,503
2005 modern 96 #28,671
2006 modern 93 #29,411
2007 modern 98 #29,019
2008 modern 97 #29,527
2009 modern 99 #29,754
2010 modern 98 #30,540
2011 modern 95 #30,877
2012 modern 83 #32,611
2013 modern 88 #32,349
2014 modern 87 #32,585
2015 modern 87 #32,514
2016 modern 77 #33,236

Geography

Back to top

Where Scraggs' are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around London parishes, St Pancras, Heyford, Warren or Upper, St Mary Islington and Eastwood. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Rochdale, East Hertfordshire, Uttlesford, Southend-on-Sea and Allerdale. 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 Heyford, Warren or Upper Oxfordshire
4 St Mary Islington London (North Districts)
5 Eastwood Essex

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Rochdale 025 Rochdale
2 East Hertfordshire 007 East Hertfordshire
3 Uttlesford 005 Uttlesford
4 Southend-on-Sea 004 Southend-on-Sea
5 Allerdale 005 Allerdale

Forenames

Back to top

First names often paired with Scraggs

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

Modern profile

Back to top

Neighbourhood profile for Scraggs

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

Young Families in Industrial Towns

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

Read profile summary

Group profile

These neighbourhoods house predominantly young, UK-born individuals identifying with a White ethnic group with dependent children. Long-term disability and unpaid care are prevalent, and religious affiliations are uncommon. Housing is terraced or semi-detached and social rented sector housing is the norm. Unemployment is above the Supergroup average, and employment is principally in elementary occupations, as process plant and machine operatives, or in caring and leisure services. Educational attainment is low. The group is scattered throughout former industrial towns in the Midlands and the South Wales Valleys.

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

Professional Employment and Family Lifecycles

Group

European Enclaves

Within London, Scraggs is most associated with areas classed as European Enclaves, 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

Many residents of these accessible neighbourhoods have wide-ranging non-UK European origins. Typically residing in privately rented flats, many residents live alone and are beyond normal retirement age. There are more students than elsewhere in the Supergroup, some of which live in communal establishments. Household residents are often drawn from different ethnic groups.

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

Scraggs 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

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

Meaning and origin of Scraggs

The surname "SCRAGGS" is believed to have originated in England, with its roots tracing back to the 13th century. It is thought to be a derivation of the Old English word "scragga," which referred to a thin or scraggly individual.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Hundred Rolls of 1273, where a William Scragge is mentioned as a resident of Oxfordshire. The name also appears in various tax records and parish registers from the 14th and 15th centuries, often appearing with variations in spelling such as "Scraggy," "Scraggie," and "Scraggey."

Interestingly, the name "SCRAGGS" is closely associated with the village of Scraggs, located in the county of Derbyshire. It is believed that the surname may have originated from this place name, which itself is derived from the Old English words "scracg," meaning a thin, stunted tree, and "hyll," meaning a hill.

One of the earliest known individuals with the surname "SCRAGGS" was John Scraggs, a merchant from Bristol who lived in the late 15th century. Another notable figure was William Scraggs, a Protestant martyr who was burned at the stake in 1555 during the Marian Persecutions under Queen Mary I.

In the 17th century, the name "SCRAGGS" gained some prominence with the birth of Edward Scraggs (1617-1692), an English clergyman and author who served as the Vicar of Taunton in Somerset. His son, Walter Scraggs (1648-1712), followed in his footsteps and became a respected Anglican minister.

Another significant figure was Thomas Scraggs (1688-1753), a wealthy merchant and landowner from Gloucestershire. His descendants went on to establish themselves as prominent members of the gentry class in the region.

Throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, the name "SCRAGGS" continued to be found across various parts of England, with families bearing this surname residing in counties such as Yorkshire, Lincolnshire, and Warwickshire. Notable individuals from this period include Thomas Scraggs (1799-1876), a successful industrialist and philanthropist from Manchester, and Margaret Scraggs (1842-1921), a pioneering educator and advocate for women's rights.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

1881 census detail

Back to top

Scraggs families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Scraggs 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 30 Scraggs' recorded in 1881 and an index of 2.80x.

County Total Index
Middlesex 30 2.80x
Oxfordshire 16 24.15x
Essex 15 7.08x
Surrey 12 2.30x
Bedfordshire 10 18.00x
Lancashire 6 0.47x
Buckinghamshire 3 4.62x
Kent 3 0.82x
Warwickshire 3 1.11x
Hertfordshire 2 2.70x
Lincolnshire 2 1.17x
Norfolk 2 1.21x
Cumberland 1 1.08x
Hampshire 1 0.45x
Nottinghamshire 1 0.69x
Somerset 1 0.58x
Suffolk 1 0.77x
Yorkshire 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. Eastwood in Essex leads with 13 Scraggs' recorded in 1881 and an index of 6842.11x.

Place Total Index
Eastwood 13 6842.11x
Islington London 11 10.58x
Leighton Buzzard 10 418.41x
St Pancras London 9 10.42x
Kidlington 7 1372.55x
Upper Heyford 7 5000.00x
Clapham 6 44.74x
Ashton Under Lyne 5 17.97x
Gravesend 3 96.77x
Hartwell 3 6000.00x
Southwark St George Martyr 3 13.90x
St Giles Cripplegate 3 211.27x
Westminster St 3 75.76x
Bilton 2 322.58x
St Peterat Gowts Lincoln 2 82.99x
Bedminster 1 6.16x
Bermondsey 1 3.13x
Bury 1 6.88x
Costessey 1 285.71x
Crosscanonby 1 32.68x
Feltham 1 93.46x
Foleshill 1 35.09x
Great Yarmouth 1 7.32x
Halesworth 1 107.53x
Headingley Cum Burley 1 14.62x
Holywell 1 322.58x
Kingston On Thames 1 7.96x
Lambeth 1 1.07x
Leigh 1 135.14x
Mile End Old Town 1 5.90x
Nottingham St Nicholas 1 50.76x
Oxford St Mary Magdalen 1 126.58x
Portsea 1 2.32x
Prittlewell 1 34.01x
Spitalfields London 1 12.39x
Watford 1 17.45x
Westminster St James 1 9.07x
Weston 1 277.78x

Top female names

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

FAQ

Scraggs surname: questions and answers

How common was the Scraggs surname in 1881?

In 1881, 112 people were recorded with the Scraggs surname. That placed it at #18,501 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Scraggs surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 77 in 2016. That gives Scraggs a modern rank of #33,236.

What does the Scraggs surname mean?

A topographic surname derived from a scraggy (rough, broken) landscape.

What does the Scraggs map show?

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