NameCensus.

UK surname

Silverton

A locational surname derived from a place with a silver mine or silver-bearing river.

In the 1881 census there were 114 people recorded with the Silverton surname, ranking it #18,324 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 276, ranked #15,673, up from #18,324 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to London parishes, Holton, Blythford and Lambeth. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Northumberland, Rotherham and Swindon.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Silverton is 330 in 1911. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 142.1%.

1881 census count

114

Ranked #18,324

Modern count

276

2016, ranked #15,673

Peak year

1911

330 bearers

Map years

8

1861 to 2016

Key insights

  • Silverton had 114 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #18,324 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 276 in 2016, ranked #15,673.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 330 in 1911.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Suburban Professionals.

Silverton surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Silverton surname density by area, 1881 census.

Loading map
Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

Back to top

Silverton 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 93 #17,946
1861 historical 171 #13,692
1881 historical 114 #18,324
1891 historical 191 #15,437
1901 historical 187 #15,793
1911 historical 330 #10,669
1997 modern 310 #13,241
1998 modern 330 #13,046
1999 modern 320 #13,398
2000 modern 311 #13,588
2001 modern 295 #13,867
2002 modern 293 #14,203
2003 modern 295 #13,964
2004 modern 290 #14,178
2005 modern 280 #14,452
2006 modern 288 #14,267
2007 modern 276 #14,855
2008 modern 285 #14,647
2009 modern 288 #14,838
2010 modern 286 #15,231
2011 modern 288 #15,009
2012 modern 277 #15,375
2013 modern 288 #15,192
2014 modern 284 #15,455
2015 modern 280 #15,485
2016 modern 276 #15,673

Geography

Back to top

Where Silvertons are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around London parishes, Holton, Blythford, Lambeth and St John Hackney. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Northumberland, Rotherham, Swindon, Medway and Basingstoke and Deane. 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 1
2 London parishes London 3
3 Holton, Blythford Suffolk
4 Lambeth London (South Districts)
5 St John Hackney London (North Districts)

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Northumberland 020 Northumberland
2 Rotherham 002 Rotherham
3 Swindon 018 Swindon
4 Medway 006 Medway
5 Basingstoke and Deane 013 Basingstoke and Deane

Forenames

Back to top

First names often paired with Silverton

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

Modern profile

Back to top

Neighbourhood profile for Silverton

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

Ethnically Diverse Suburban Professionals

Group

Suburban Professionals

Nationally, the Silverton surname is most associated with neighbourhoods classed as Suburban Professionals, within Ethnically Diverse Suburban Professionals. This does not mean every Silverton household fits that profile, but it gives a useful signal about where the modern surname distribution is strongest.

Read profile summary

Group profile

Employment in this Group is typically in managerial and professional occupations, and education to degree level is common. Residents are typically of working age, many of whom identify with an Indian ethnicity. Households are unlikely to be of Mixed or Multiple ethnicities, and English is not the main language used in some households. This Group is found on the outskirts of most conurbations as well as in the suburbs of some free-standing towns.

Wider pattern

Those working within the managerial, professional and administrative occupations typically reflect a wide range of ethnic groups, and reside in detached or semi-detached housing. Their residential locations at the edges of cities and conurbations and car-based lifestyles are more characteristic of Supergroup membership than birthplace or participation in child-rearing. Houses are typically owner-occupied and marriage rates are lower than the national average. This Supergroup is found throughout suburban UK.

London neighbourhood type

London Output Area Classification

Supergroup

Older Residents in Owner-Occupied Suburbs

Group

Professional Periphery

Within London, Silverton is most associated with areas classed as Professional Periphery, part of Older Residents in Owner-Occupied Suburbs. 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 neighbourhoods predominantly house residents aged 45+, with many aged 85+. Most employed residents work in senior roles, and relatively few work in unskilled jobs. Terraced housing is comparatively rare, but communal living is more common. More residents identify as of Indian ethnicity and more affiliate with non-Christian religions. Disability levels are below the Supergroup average.

Wider London pattern

The age distribution of these neighbourhoods is skewed towards the middle-aged and old, although few residents live alone or in communal establishments and numbers of dependent children are around average. Owner occupation is the norm, as is residence in detached or semi-detached houses. Residential densities are low and many households have spare rooms. Most residents were born in the UK and, aside from some identifying as members of Chinese or Indian ethnicities, identify as White. Mixed ethnicity households are rare. Incidence of married couples is higher than average and few individuals have never been married. A large proportion of individuals still in employment work in administrative and secretarial occupations, or in the construction industry. Few residents are students, and many households own more than one car.

Healthy neighbourhoods

Access to healthy assets and hazards

Silverton 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

Silverton falls in decile 9 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.

9
More deprived Less deprived

Broadband speed

Fixed broadband download speed

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

Meaning and origin of Silverton

The surname Silverton originated in England during the late medieval period, deriving from the Old English words "seolfor" meaning silver and "tun" meaning an enclosure or settlement. It likely referred to someone who lived near a silver mine or traded in silver.

One of the earliest recorded spellings of the name is found in the Pipe Rolls of Yorkshire in 1208, where it appears as "Roger de Silverton". This suggests the name was already established in northern England by the early 13th century.

In the 14th century, the name crops up in various administrative records across the country. For instance, a Thomas Sylverton is mentioned in the Court Rolls of the Manor of Wakefield in Yorkshire in 1348. The varied spellings like Sylverton and Silverton reflect how surnames were still evolving at this time.

Some suggest the name may be toponymic, referring to the village of Silverton in Devon, first recorded as "Sylfretone" in the Domesday Book of 1086. However, it's unclear if the surname derived from this placename or vice versa.

Notable bearers of the Silverton surname include Sir John Silverton (c.1475-1553), an English landowner and Member of Parliament during the reign of Henry VIII. Later, in the 17th century, we find Edward Silverton (1631-1695), a Puritan minister who emigrated to Massachusetts.

Other early examples are Robert Silverton (c.1520-1585), a London merchant, and the Reverend William Silverton (1664-1741), vicar of St Mary's Church in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk. Moving into the 19th century, there is the artist Emily Silverton (1836-1902) who specialized in flower paintings.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

1881 census detail

Back to top

Silverton families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Silverton 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 68 Silvertons recorded in 1881 and an index of 6.06x.

County Total Index
Middlesex 68 6.06x
Surrey 15 2.74x
Gloucestershire 9 4.09x
Kent 7 1.83x
Essex 3 1.35x
Hampshire 3 1.30x
Yorkshire 3 0.27x
Lancashire 2 0.15x
Lincolnshire 1 0.56x
Northumberland 1 0.60x
Nottinghamshire 1 0.66x
Suffolk 1 0.73x
Worcestershire 1 0.68x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Hackney London in Middlesex leads with 25 Silvertons recorded in 1881 and an index of 39.75x.

Place Total Index
Hackney London 25 39.75x
Bethnal Green London 22 45.15x
Almondsbury 8 952.38x
Kensington London 6 9.62x
St George In East 6 78.64x
Wimbledon 6 97.72x
Lewisham 5 24.50x
Kingston On Thames 4 30.46x
Sutton 3 236.22x
Wivenhoe 3 340.91x
Battersea 2 4.85x
Old Alresford 2 1052.63x
St George Martyr 2 105.82x
St Martin In Fields 2 29.76x
Streatham 2 24.04x
Bermondsey 1 2.99x
Bristol St James St Paul 1 13.62x
Chelsea London 1 2.96x
Deptford St Paul 1 3.39x
Epworth 1 119.05x
Hampton London 1 54.35x
Herne 1 59.17x
Hursley 1 188.68x
Islington London 1 0.92x
Liverpool 1 1.24x
North Piddle 1 1666.67x
Nottingham St Mary 1 2.56x
Seaton Delaval 1 68.03x
Shoreditch London 1 2.06x
Ulverston 1 25.77x
Whitechapel London 1 9.04x
Wissett 1 666.67x

Top female names

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

Name Count
Mary 7
Eliza 4
Elizabeth 4
Jane 4
Adelaide 3
Emma 3
Louisa 3
Alice 2
Caroline 2
Elizebth. 2
Emily 2
Rose 2
Ada 1
Ann 1
Anne 1
Dora 1
Ellen 1
Elsie 1
Flora 1
Florence 1
Francis 1
Hannah 1
Jessie 1
Julia 1
Kate 1
Lottie 1
Lydia 1
Margaret 1
Minerva 1
Olive 1
Rosina 1
Sarah 1
Selina 1

Top male names

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

Name Count
William 10
John 9
Edward 7
Thomas 6
George 5
Frederick 3
Henry 3
James 3
A. 1
Alfred 1
Arthur 1
Charles 1
David 1
Fredrick 1
Jesse 1
Samuel 1
Wm. 1

FAQ

Silverton surname: questions and answers

How common was the Silverton surname in 1881?

In 1881, 114 people were recorded with the Silverton surname. That placed it at #18,324 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Silverton surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 276 in 2016. That gives Silverton a modern rank of #15,673.

What does the Silverton surname mean?

A locational surname derived from a place with a silver mine or silver-bearing river.

What does the Silverton map show?

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