NameCensus.

UK surname

Sheriff

An occupational surname referring to a person who held the position of sheriff, a local law enforcement officer.

In the 1881 census there were 831 people recorded with the Sheriff surname, ranking it #4,535 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 1,284, ranked #4,666, down from #4,535 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to Govan Combination, Gateshead and London parishes. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Sunderland, Rotherham and South Tyneside.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Sheriff is 1,284 in 2016. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 54.5%.

1881 census count

831

Ranked #4,535

Modern count

1,284

2016, ranked #4,666

Peak year

2016

1,284 bearers

Map years

9

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Sheriff had 831 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #4,535 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 1,284 in 2016, ranked #4,666.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 1,147 in 1901.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Established but Challenged.

Sheriff surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Sheriff surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Sheriff 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 559 #4,537
1861 historical 650 #4,130
1881 historical 831 #4,535
1891 historical 952 #4,349
1901 historical 1,147 #4,237
1911 historical 853 #5,199
1997 modern 1,085 #5,135
1998 modern 1,106 #5,235
1999 modern 1,117 #5,230
2000 modern 1,119 #5,196
2001 modern 1,098 #5,179
2002 modern 1,125 #5,192
2003 modern 1,111 #5,132
2004 modern 1,097 #5,198
2005 modern 1,093 #5,156
2006 modern 1,127 #5,032
2007 modern 1,165 #4,932
2008 modern 1,189 #4,873
2009 modern 1,249 #4,778
2010 modern 1,280 #4,765
2011 modern 1,263 #4,775
2012 modern 1,219 #4,850
2013 modern 1,233 #4,881
2014 modern 1,255 #4,835
2015 modern 1,263 #4,757
2016 modern 1,284 #4,666

Geography

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Where Sheriffs are most common

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

The modern local-area list points to Sunderland, Rotherham and South Tyneside. 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 Govan Combination Lanark
2 Gateshead Durham
3 London parishes London 3
4 Edinburgh Edinburgh
5 Birmingham Town: Birmingham Warwickshire

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Sunderland 003 Sunderland
2 Rotherham 003 Rotherham
3 Sunderland 023 Sunderland
4 Sunderland 008 Sunderland
5 South Tyneside 018 South Tyneside

Forenames

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First names often paired with Sheriff

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

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Sheriff

Modern surname records can be compared with neighbourhood classifications. For Sheriff, 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 Sheriff surname is most associated with neighbourhoods classed as Established but Challenged, within Semi- and Un-Skilled Workforce. This does not mean every Sheriff 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

Social Rented Sector Families with Children

Group

Social Rented Sector Pockets

Within London, Sheriff is most associated with areas classed as Social Rented Sector Pockets, part of Social Rented Sector Families with Children. 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

Found in pockets across London, residents are less likely to live in private sector rentals and fewer adults are students. Fewer individuals work in transport and communications occupations relative to the Supergroup average. More individuals identify as Black and were born in Africa.

Wider London pattern

Residents of these neighbourhoods include sizable numbers identifying with ethnicities originating outside Europe, particularly in Africa or Bangladesh. The proportion of residents identifying as White, Indian or Pakistani is well below the London average. Neighbourhood age profiles are skewed towards younger adults, and above average numbers of families have children. Rates of use of English at home are below average. Marriage rates are low, and levels of separation or divorce are above average. Housing is predominantly in flats, and renting in the social rented sector the norm - few residents are owner occupiers. Housing is often overcrowded, and neighbourhoods are amongst the most densely populated in London. Disability rates are above average, although levels of unpaid care provision are about average. Employment is in caring, leisure, other service occupations, sales and customer service, or process, plant, and machine operation. Part time working and full-time student study are common. Levels of unemployment are slightly above average. Most residents have only Level 1 or 2 educational qualifications or have completed apprenticeships.

Healthy neighbourhoods

Access to healthy assets and hazards

Sheriff is most concentrated in decile 10 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.

10
Lower access Higher access

Neighbourhood deprivation

Index of Multiple Deprivation

Sheriff falls in decile 2 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.

2
More deprived Less deprived

Broadband speed

Fixed broadband download speed

The modern neighbourhood pattern for Sheriff 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 Sheriff, not the ethnicity of every person with the surname.

Meaning and origin of Sheriff

The surname Sheriff is of Anglo-Norman origin, derived from the Old English words "scir" meaning shire and "refa" meaning guardian or bailiff. It originated in England during the 11th century after the Norman Conquest and was initially used to denote someone who held the position of a shire-reeve, a royal official responsible for enforcing the law and collecting taxes.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Sheriff can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, which was a comprehensive survey of landholdings and property rights in England commissioned by William the Conqueror. This historical document mentions individuals with the surname Sheriff or variants like Shireve, Shirreve, and Shereve.

During the Middle Ages, the Sheriff surname was particularly prominent in the counties of Norfolk, Suffolk, and Essex, where many families held the hereditary position of shire-reeve. Notable individuals from this era include Sir John Sheriff (1545-1618), a wealthy landowner and Member of Parliament for Norfolk, and Richard Sheriff (c.1500-1555), a clergyman who served as the Bishop of St. David's in Wales.

As surnames became more widespread and hereditary, the Sheriff name also spread to other parts of England and eventually to Scotland and Ireland. One notable bearer of the name was William Sheriff (1784-1868), a Scottish engineer and inventor credited with developing the first practical steam locomotive for railways.

In the United States, the Sheriff surname can be traced back to the 17th century when English settlers began arriving in colonial America. One of the earliest recorded instances is that of Samuel Sheriff (1624-1696), who was among the founders of Portsmouth, Rhode Island. Another notable American with this surname was Patrick Henry Sheriff (1786-1821), a lawyer and statesman who served as the Attorney General of North Carolina.

Other notable individuals with the surname Sheriff include John Sheriff (1658-1734), an English merchant and Member of Parliament for Scarborough, and Sir Robert Sheriff (1868-1947), a British judge and politician who served as the Lord Mayor of London from 1923 to 1924.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

1881 census detail

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Sheriff families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Sheriff 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 87 Sheriffs recorded in 1881 and an index of 1.07x.

County Total Index
Middlesex 87 1.07x
Lanarkshire 63 2.39x
Durham 62 2.56x
Yorkshire 57 0.71x
Devon 56 3.30x
Lancashire 48 0.50x
Angus 39 5.17x
Leicestershire 39 4.32x
Surrey 37 0.93x
Warwickshire 36 1.75x
Lincolnshire 32 2.46x
Midlothian 26 2.38x
Worcestershire 24 2.26x
Fife 21 4.36x
Renfrewshire 21 3.33x
Staffordshire 21 0.76x
Northumberland 17 1.40x
West Lothian 14 11.41x
East Lothian 13 12.05x
Nottinghamshire 11 1.00x
Roxburghshire 11 7.46x
Kincardineshire 10 10.08x
Channel Islands 8 3.31x
Gloucestershire 8 0.50x
Northamptonshire 8 1.04x
Kent 7 0.25x
Buckinghamshire 6 1.22x
Derbyshire 6 0.47x
Essex 6 0.37x
Stirlingshire 6 2.00x
Glamorgan 5 0.35x
Ayrshire 4 0.66x
Hampshire 4 0.24x
Kinross-shire 4 19.43x
Aberdeenshire 2 0.27x
Herefordshire 2 0.60x
Norfolk 2 0.16x
Radnorshire 2 3.04x
Sussex 2 0.15x
Berkshire 1 0.16x
Cambridgeshire 1 0.19x
Cheshire 1 0.06x
Cornwall 1 0.11x
Dorset 1 0.19x
Inverness-shire 1 0.41x
Royal Navy 1 1.03x
Somerset 1 0.08x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Leicester St Margaret in Leicestershire leads with 33 Sheriffs recorded in 1881 and an index of 14.98x.

Place Total Index
Leicester St Margaret 33 14.98x
Aston 29 5.13x
Westoe 29 21.11x
Govan 28 4.30x
Brechin 14 47.22x
Glasgow 14 2.99x
Toxteth Park 14 4.28x
Plymouth Charles The 13 17.41x
Sheffield 13 5.06x
Bathgate 12 45.06x
Kingswinford 12 12.02x
West Alvington 12 504.20x
Barony 11 1.65x
Edinburgh St Cuthberts 11 2.51x
St Pancras London 11 1.68x
Dundee 10 3.55x
Falkland 10 131.93x
Gateshead 10 5.51x
St Cyrus 10 240.96x
Clapham 9 8.84x
Clent 9 322.58x
Abthorpe 8 625.00x
Islington London 8 1.01x
Kensington London 8 1.77x
Prudhoe 8 94.90x
St Luke London 8 6.12x
Wolsingham 8 36.23x
Byker 7 11.68x
Cadder 7 35.97x
Gainsborough 7 22.80x
Hillingdon 7 26.95x
Holy Trinity 7 3.61x
Modbury 7 161.66x
Monifieth 7 26.27x
Ottery St Mary 7 62.95x
St Peter Port 7 15.68x
Berwick North 6 79.37x
Bow London 6 5.79x
Fulstow 6 384.62x
Gillingham 6 10.47x
Hammersmith London 6 2.99x
Inverkip 6 40.32x
Kelso 6 40.82x
Lambeth 6 0.84x
Manchester 6 1.38x
Middle Greenock 6 34.84x
Newbottle 6 45.35x
South Leith 6 4.89x
Southwark St George Martyr 6 3.66x
St Marylebone London 6 1.38x
West Greenock 6 5.30x
Airmyn 5 359.71x
Battersea 5 1.67x
Burton Upon Trent 5 7.77x
Cardiff St Mary 5 6.40x
Dunfermline 5 6.74x
Great Comberton 5 847.46x
Jedburgh 5 34.58x
Kirkdale 5 3.08x
Nottingham St Mary 5 1.76x
Tyldesley Cum Shakerley 5 17.97x
Wycombe 5 13.62x
Bristol St Philip Jacob 4 2.66x
Dunbar 4 26.44x
Ecclesall Bierlow 4 2.44x
Goole 4 29.56x
Inveresk 4 13.54x
Kingsbarns 4 180.18x
Leicester All Sts 4 22.55x
Montrose 4 8.75x
North Bedburn 4 59.08x
Plymouth St Andrew 4 3.06x
St Clement Danes 4 30.35x
Stoke Damerel 4 3.37x
West Ham 4 1.13x
Brightside Bierlow 3 1.90x
Maybole 3 16.16x
North Meols 3 3.17x
St George Hanover 3 2.82x
Worksop 3 9.21x

Top female names

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

Name Count
Mary 50
Elizabeth 22
Jane 19
Sarah 18
Ann 15
Eliza 10
Annie 9
Emma 8
Alice 7
Charlotte 6
Louisa 6
Harriet 5
Margaret 5
Susan 5
Anne 4
Ellen 4
Isabella 4
Maria 4
Rebecca 4
Ada 3
Caroline 3
Clara 3
Emily 3
Esther 3
Fanny 3
Hannah 3
Helen 3
Jessie 3
Kate 3
Martha 3
Adeline 2
Edith 2
Florence 2
Helena 2
Lucy 2
Betsey 1
Bridget 1
C. 1
Camelia 1
Dinah 1
Dora 1
Eliz. 1
Elizth. 1
Emilia 1
Gertrude 1
Ida 1
Jesse 1
John 1
Kersnet 1
Thoma 1

Top male names

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

Name Count
William 47
John 32
James 23
Henry 19
George 18
Thomas 17
Charles 15
Joseph 13
Alfred 10
Richard 10
Robert 6
Samuel 6
Albert 5
Stephen 5
Arthur 4
Frederick 4
Herbert 4
David 3
Edmund 3
Edward 3
Frank 3
Thos. 3
Walter 3
Alexander 2
Elijah 2
Harry 2
Peter 2
Sylvester 2
Uriah 2
Wm. 2
Wyatt 2
Alex. 1
Allan 1
Allen 1
Cristopher 1
Daniel 1
Danl. 1
Felix 1
Fred 1
Fredk. 1
Fredrick 1
Frinces 1
Geo. 1
Josiah 1
Levi 1
Mark 1
Michael 1
Oliver 1
Percival 1
Render 1

FAQ

Sheriff surname: questions and answers

How common was the Sheriff surname in 1881?

In 1881, 831 people were recorded with the Sheriff surname. That placed it at #4,535 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Sheriff surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 1,284 in 2016. That gives Sheriff a modern rank of #4,666.

What does the Sheriff surname mean?

An occupational surname referring to a person who held the position of sheriff, a local law enforcement officer.

What does the Sheriff map show?

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