NameCensus.

UK surname

Silverthorn

An English surname derived from a grey or silvery thorny plant.

In the 1881 census there were 96 people recorded with the Silverthorn surname, ranking it #20,248 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 99, ranked #31,358, down from #20,248 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to Mynyddyslwyn, Bedminster and Melksham. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Bracknell Forest, Eastleigh and Southampton.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Silverthorn is 118 in 2004. Compared with 1881, the name has stayed broadly stable by 3.1%.

1881 census count

96

Ranked #20,248

Modern count

99

2016, ranked #31,358

Peak year

2004

118 bearers

Map years

5

1891 to 2006

Key insights

  • Silverthorn had 96 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #20,248 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 99 in 2016, ranked #31,358.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 114 in 1891.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Inner Suburbs and Small Town Living.

Silverthorn surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Silverthorn surname density by area, 2006 modern.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Silverthorn 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 89 #18,446
1861 historical 81 #23,431
1881 historical 96 #20,248
1891 historical 114 #22,006
1901 historical 103 #22,444
1911 historical 107 #21,842
1997 modern 103 #26,498
1998 modern 110 #26,129
1999 modern 116 #25,487
2000 modern 111 #26,111
2001 modern 104 #26,765
2002 modern 113 #26,024
2003 modern 108 #26,486
2004 modern 118 #25,317
2005 modern 107 #26,875
2006 modern 105 #27,479
2007 modern 102 #28,351
2008 modern 99 #29,181
2009 modern 94 #30,538
2010 modern 98 #30,540
2011 modern 98 #30,384
2012 modern 100 #30,258
2013 modern 96 #31,381
2014 modern 97 #31,518
2015 modern 94 #31,872
2016 modern 99 #31,358

Geography

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Where Silverthorns are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around Mynyddyslwyn, Bedminster, Melksham, London parishes and Southampton St Mary. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Bracknell Forest, Eastleigh, Southampton, Cornwall and Caerphilly. 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 Mynyddyslwyn Monmouthshire
2 Bedminster Somerset
3 Melksham Wiltshire
4 London parishes London 3
5 Southampton St Mary Hampshire

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Bracknell Forest 012 Bracknell Forest
2 Eastleigh 012 Eastleigh
3 Southampton 025 Southampton
4 Cornwall 008 Cornwall
5 Caerphilly 013 Caerphilly

Forenames

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First names often paired with Silverthorn

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

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Silverthorn

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

Suburbanites and Peri-Urbanities

Group

Inner Suburbs and Small Town Living

Nationally, the Silverthorn surname is most associated with neighbourhoods classed as Inner Suburbs and Small Town Living, within Suburbanites and Peri-Urbanities. This does not mean every Silverthorn household fits that profile, but it gives a useful signal about where the modern surname distribution is strongest.

Read profile summary

Group profile

Families with resident dependent children (but not students) are common. Established family groups and White ethnicity predominate, as do individuals born in the UK. They are more likely than the Supergroup average to have been resident in their terraced, semi-detached, or detached houses for more than one year. Levels of multiple car ownership are high. Properties are owned and typically have surplus living space. Associate professionals and administrative occupations are prevalent, and parents are likely to be in middle age or approaching retirement. Educational attainment is above the Supergroup average. Scattered developments and concentrations are found in many small towns.

Wider pattern

Pervasive throughout the UK, members of this Supergroup typically own (or are buying) their detached, semi-detached or terraced homes. They are also typically educated to A Level/Highers or degree level and work in skilled or professional occupations. Typically born in the UK, some families have children, although the median adult age is above 45 and some property has become under-occupied after children have left home. This Supergroup is pervasive not only in suburban locations, but also in neighbourhoods at or beyond the edge of cities that adjoin rural parts of the country.

London neighbourhood type

London Output Area Classification

Supergroup

The Greater London Mix

Group

Social Rented Sector Professional Support Workers

Within London, Silverthorn 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

Silverthorn 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

Silverthorn falls in decile 10 for neighbourhood deprivation. This puts the surname towards the less deprived end of the index.

Decile 1 represents the more deprived end of the scale. Decile 10 represents the less deprived end.

10
More deprived Less deprived

Broadband speed

Fixed broadband download speed

The modern neighbourhood pattern for Silverthorn is most associated with a typical fixed broadband download band of Over 70 mbit/s.

The scale below places that band in context, from slower local download bands through to faster ones.

10
Slower band Faster band

Area snapshot

Ethnic group estimate

Most common ethnic group estimate
White - British

This describes the area pattern most associated with Silverthorn, not the ethnicity of every person with the surname.

Meaning and origin of Silverthorn

The surname Silverthorn is of English origin, dating back to the 13th century. It is a locational name derived from a place called Silverthorn, a former hamlet located near the village of Lidgate, in Suffolk. The name is composed of the Old English elements "seolfor" meaning silver, and "thorn" meaning a thorny bush or tree.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Subsidy Rolls of Worcestershire from 1275, which mention a William de Sillverthorne. The name also appears in various medieval records from the 14th and 15th centuries, such as the Pipe Rolls of Berkshire and the Feet of Fines for Essex.

In the mid-16th century, a notable individual bearing this surname was John Silverthorn, a wealthy cloth merchant from London, who lived from around 1520 to 1585. He was involved in trade with the Low Countries and played a role in the establishment of the Merchant Adventurers' Company.

Another historical figure with the name Silverthorn was William Silverthorn, a Puritan minister who was born in 1619 in Lincolnshire. He emigrated to New England in the mid-1600s and served as a minister in various settlements, including Newbury, Massachusetts.

In the 18th century, a family of Silverthorns resided in the county of Yorkshire, England. One member of this family, Robert Silverthorn, was a prominent landowner and justice of the peace, born in 1712 and died in 1786.

During the 19th century, the name Silverthorn gained some prominence in the United States. A notable individual was James Silverthorn, a lawyer and politician from New York, who was born in 1807 and served as a member of the New York State Assembly.

Another significant figure was Henry Silverthorn, a Canadian-born businessman and philanthropist who lived from 1825 to 1904. He made his fortune in the lumber industry and donated funds for the establishment of several educational institutions, including Silverthorn Collegiate Institute in Toronto.

These examples illustrate the presence of the surname Silverthorn throughout various periods and regions, highlighting its English origins and its association with notable individuals in various fields over the centuries.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

1881 census detail

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Silverthorn families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Silverthorn 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. Monmouthshire leads with 18 Silverthorns recorded in 1881 and an index of 26.59x.

County Total Index
Monmouthshire 18 26.59x
Somerset 16 10.62x
Wiltshire 15 18.12x
Gloucestershire 13 7.08x
Surrey 10 2.19x
Kent 6 1.88x
Dorset 5 8.14x
Hampshire 5 2.61x
Middlesex 5 0.53x
Berkshire 2 2.85x
Leicestershire 1 0.96x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Risca in Monmouthshire leads with 14 Silverthorns recorded in 1881 and an index of 1093.75x.

Place Total Index
Risca 14 1093.75x
Bedminster 13 91.81x
Melksham 7 486.11x
Salisbury St Thomas 7 1060.61x
Bristol St Philip Jacob 6 34.70x
Camberwell 5 8.36x
Deptford St Paul 5 20.29x
Iron Acton 4 1081.08x
Southampton St Mary 4 33.14x
Bruton 3 508.47x
Clapham 3 25.62x
Llanhilleth 3 681.82x
Blewbury 2 833.33x
Horfield 2 108.11x
Islington London 2 2.20x
Lydlinch 2 1818.18x
Mappowder 2 2857.14x
Ashby De La Zouch 1 41.49x
Battersea 1 2.90x
Bethnal Green London 1 2.46x
Burbage 1 238.10x
Kensington London 1 1.92x
Poole St James 1 43.29x
Portsea 1 2.66x
Sevenoaks 1 38.61x
Siston 1 303.03x
St Pancras London 1 1.33x
St Woollos 1 13.25x
Stoke 1 46.51x

Top female names

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

Name Count
Annie 3
Charlotte 3
Eliza 3
Emily 3
Ada 2
Elizabeth 2
Ellen 2
Jane 2
Jemima 2
Amanda 1
Amy 1
Ansell 1
Belinda 1
Bertha 1
C. 1
Carrie 1
Clarissa 1
Dora 1
Emerly 1
Esther 1
Ethel 1
Fanny 1
Francis 1
H. 1
Hannah 1
Harriet 1
Hester 1
Leah 1
Martha 1
Mary 1
Maud 1
Rebecca 1
Rose 1
Sarah 1

Top male names

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

Name Count
Henry 5
William 5
George 4
Alfred 3
James 3
Walter 3
Frederick 2
John 2
Thomas 2
Albert 1
Alf. 1
Arthur 1
C. 1
Charles 1
David 1
Edwin 1
Ernest 1
Fitzroy 1
Frank 1
Fredrick 1
Fredrk. 1
Jesse 1
Luke 1
Paul 1
Stephen 1
Uriah 1
W. 1
Willie 1

FAQ

Silverthorn surname: questions and answers

How common was the Silverthorn surname in 1881?

In 1881, 96 people were recorded with the Silverthorn surname. That placed it at #20,248 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Silverthorn surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 99 in 2016. That gives Silverthorn a modern rank of #31,358.

What does the Silverthorn surname mean?

An English surname derived from a grey or silvery thorny plant.

What does the Silverthorn map show?

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