NameCensus.

UK surname

Spooner

One who makes or sells spoons, or a person living near a spoon-shaped geographical feature.

In the 1881 census there were 4,319 people recorded with the Spooner surname, ranking it #1,034 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 5,762, ranked #1,164, down from #1,034 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to London parishes, Lambeth and Sheffield. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Staffordshire Moorlands, Breckland and North East Derbyshire.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Spooner is 6,210 in 1998. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 33.4%.

1881 census count

4,319

Ranked #1,034

Modern count

5,762

2016, ranked #1,164

Peak year

1998

6,210 bearers

Map years

9

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Spooner had 4,319 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #1,034 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 5,762 in 2016, ranked #1,164.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 5,794 in 1911.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Rural Amenity.

Spooner surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Spooner surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Spooner 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 2,865 #1,020
1861 historical 2,608 #1,130
1881 historical 4,319 #1,034
1891 historical 4,578 #1,023
1901 historical 5,268 #1,070
1911 historical 5,794 #899
1997 modern 5,944 #1,106
1998 modern 6,210 #1,095
1999 modern 6,198 #1,105
2000 modern 6,161 #1,107
2001 modern 6,030 #1,103
2002 modern 6,147 #1,103
2003 modern 5,955 #1,113
2004 modern 5,991 #1,109
2005 modern 5,781 #1,125
2006 modern 5,779 #1,131
2007 modern 5,767 #1,139
2008 modern 5,773 #1,146
2009 modern 5,857 #1,147
2010 modern 5,960 #1,154
2011 modern 5,892 #1,153
2012 modern 5,789 #1,151
2013 modern 5,922 #1,142
2014 modern 5,958 #1,147
2015 modern 5,862 #1,151
2016 modern 5,762 #1,164

Geography

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Where Spooners are most common

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

The modern local-area list points to Staffordshire Moorlands, Breckland and North East Derbyshire. 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 Lambeth London (South Districts)
4 Sheffield Yorkshire, West Riding
5 London parishes London 2

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Staffordshire Moorlands 011 Staffordshire Moorlands
2 Staffordshire Moorlands 013 Staffordshire Moorlands
3 Staffordshire Moorlands 006 Staffordshire Moorlands
4 Breckland 001 Breckland
5 North East Derbyshire 004 North East Derbyshire

Forenames

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First names often paired with Spooner

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

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Spooner

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

Rural Amenity

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

Read profile summary

Group profile

This Group comprises older parents or retirees, with no resident dependent children, and with the lowest residential densities in this Supergroup. Predominantly UK-born, residents typically live in detached houses, although others do live in semi-detached and terraced properties. The level of multiple car ownership is the highest in this Supergroup. Most houses are owner occupied although social renting is also present. Many concentrations occur in high amenity rural locations, such as Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

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

Older Residents in Owner-Occupied Suburbs

Group

London Fringe

Within London, Spooner is most associated with areas classed as London Fringe, 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

Predominantly located in neighbourhoods on the outskirts of Greater London, residents of these neighbourhoods typically have their highest qualifications below degree (Level 4) level, with those still in work engaged in skilled trades and occupations in distribution, hotels and restaurants. There is low ethnic diversity in these neighbourhoods and high levels of Christian religious affiliation. Detached or terraced houses predominate, often with spare rooms.

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

Spooner is most concentrated in decile 7 for access to healthy assets and hazards. This places the surname near the middle of the scale.

Lower deciles point towards weaker access to healthy assets or stronger exposure to local hazards. Higher deciles point towards stronger access and fewer hazards.

7
Lower access Higher access

Neighbourhood deprivation

Index of Multiple Deprivation

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

Meaning and origin of Spooner

The surname Spooner has its origins in England, where it first emerged in the 13th century. It is derived from the Old English word "sponer," which referred to a maker or seller of spoons. The name likely originated as an occupational surname, denoting someone who made or sold wooden spoons for a living.

In the early days, the surname was often spelled in various ways, including Sponer, Sponere, and Spuner. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Hundred Rolls of 1273, which lists a Robert le Sponere from Oxfordshire.

The Spooner name gained prominence in the 14th century, with several mentions in historical records. In the Pipe Rolls of 1332, a John Spooner is listed as a resident of Somerset. The surname also appears in the Lay Subsidy Rolls of 1334, which record a Thomas Sponere from Gloucestershire.

During the Tudor period, the Spooners were a well-established family in Worcestershire and surrounding areas. One notable member was William Spooner (c. 1520-1595), a wealthy landowner and Member of Parliament for Worcestershire in the 1550s.

In the 17th century, the Spooner name was associated with several notable figures. Jedidiah Spooner (1633-1684) was a prominent Puritan minister in Massachusetts Bay Colony, while William Spooner (1609-1678) was one of the founders of Plymouth Colony, arriving on the ship Anne in 1623.

The 18th and 19th centuries saw the Spooner name spread further across England and beyond. Benjamin Spooner (1736-1820) was a British politician and Member of Parliament for Worcestershire, while Lysander Spooner (1808-1887) was an American political philosopher, essayist, and abolitionist.

Other notable Spooners include Edward Spooner (1811-1892), a British engineer and inventor of the Spooner's vacuum brake for trains, and Alden Spooner (1783-1846), an American entrepreneur and founder of the town of Spooner, Wisconsin, which bears his name.

Throughout its history, the Spooner surname has been associated with various places, including the villages of Spooner Row and Spooner Green in Norfolk, as well as the hamlet of Spooners in Gloucestershire.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

1881 census detail

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Spooner families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Spooner 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 618 Spooners recorded in 1881 and an index of 1.47x.

County Total Index
Middlesex 618 1.47x
Surrey 509 2.48x
Staffordshire 388 2.73x
Norfolk 378 5.83x
Essex 367 4.41x
Yorkshire 348 0.83x
Suffolk 201 3.92x
Kent 179 1.24x
Durham 159 1.27x
Warwickshire 156 1.47x
Derbyshire 144 2.18x
Lancashire 139 0.28x
Sussex 139 1.96x
Nottinghamshire 91 1.60x
Worcestershire 72 1.31x
Cheshire 44 0.47x
Glamorgan 38 0.52x
Devon 34 0.39x
Buckinghamshire 32 1.26x
Leicestershire 28 0.60x
Hampshire 27 0.31x
Westmorland 26 2.81x
Lincolnshire 24 0.36x
Northumberland 21 0.33x
Monmouthshire 18 0.59x
Bedfordshire 17 0.78x
Cumberland 14 0.39x
Berkshire 13 0.41x
Caernarfonshire 11 0.65x
Wiltshire 10 0.27x
Shropshire 9 0.25x
Cambridgeshire 8 0.30x
Somerset 8 0.12x
Dorset 7 0.25x
Hertfordshire 7 0.24x
Denbighshire 5 0.31x
Pembrokeshire 5 0.37x
Gloucestershire 4 0.05x
Lanarkshire 4 0.03x
Royal Navy 4 0.80x
Cornwall 2 0.04x
Herefordshire 2 0.12x
Huntingdonshire 2 0.24x
Northamptonshire 2 0.05x
Oxfordshire 2 0.08x
Carmarthenshire 1 0.06x
Midlothian 1 0.02x
Perthshire 1 0.05x
Renfrewshire 1 0.03x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. West Bromwich in Staffordshire leads with 86 Spooners recorded in 1881 and an index of 10.56x.

Place Total Index
West Bromwich 86 10.56x
Lambeth 85 2.31x
Islington London 79 1.93x
Sheffield 71 5.34x
Nether Hallam 67 11.86x
Nottingham St Mary 61 4.15x
Birmingham 46 1.30x
Woking 42 33.94x
Manchester 38 1.69x
Cheadle 36 52.69x
Stoke Upon Trent 36 2.39x
Hackney London 35 1.48x
Newington 35 2.25x
Camberwell 33 1.23x
Battersea 32 2.06x
Chesterfield 31 12.53x
St Marylebone London 29 1.29x
Wednesbury 29 8.16x
West Ham 29 1.58x
Assington 28 260.95x
Bethnal Green London 28 1.53x
Hadleigh 27 54.22x
Aston 26 0.89x
Bromley London 26 2.80x
Holbeck 26 9.40x
Lewisham 26 3.39x
Bermondsey 25 1.99x
North Chapel 25 218.34x
Burnham 24 78.10x
Hetton Le Hole 24 15.11x
Kensington London 24 1.02x
Limehouse London 24 5.19x
Mile End Old Town 24 3.61x
Oldbury 24 8.86x
Southcoates 24 10.35x
St Pancras London 24 0.71x
Wighton 24 324.76x
Greenwich 23 3.43x
Laindon 23 497.84x
Redditch 23 20.61x
Killamarsh 21 51.17x
Tollesbury 21 100.82x
Bishopwearmouth 20 1.86x
Southwark St George Martyr 20 2.36x
Isleworth 19 10.14x
North Elmham 19 120.87x
Amington Stonydelph 18 194.59x
Dorking 18 13.05x
Haswell 18 20.03x
Lawford 18 148.51x
St Mary Cray 18 65.48x
Stanford Le Hope 18 150.88x
Lodsworth 17 172.76x
Monkwearmouth Shore 17 6.95x
Ogley Hay 17 57.57x
St George Hanover 17 3.09x
Barking 16 6.57x
East Ruston 16 166.32x
Wilnecote 16 52.51x
Wolstanton Knutton 16 18.42x
Cannock 15 6.04x
Croydon 15 1.32x
Horsell 15 115.65x
Swansea Town 15 2.49x
Wells Next Sea 15 39.70x
Willesden 15 3.78x
Bow London 14 2.61x
Gorleston 14 10.74x
North Benfleet 14 476.19x
South Weald 14 19.65x
Wath On Dearne 14 16.80x
Acton 13 5.26x
Boxford 13 136.70x
Brighton 13 0.91x
Ecclesall Bierlow 13 1.53x
Fulham London 13 2.13x
Hemsby 13 139.04x
Wandsworth 13 3.20x
Whitechapel London 13 3.13x
Winslow 13 54.19x

Top female names

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

Name Count
Mary 250
Sarah 169
Elizabeth 166
Eliza 78
Ellen 76
Ann 75
Alice 65
Annie 64
Emma 63
Emily 60
Jane 60
Hannah 47
Harriet 47
Martha 44
Caroline 35
Louisa 34
Fanny 33
Charlotte 32
Maria 32
Edith 31
Florence 31
Harriett 26
Margaret 25
Ada 24
Agnes 21
Esther 19
Kate 19
Amelia 18
Clara 18
Susan 17
Catherine 16
Lucy 16
Rebecca 16
Rose 16
Frances 15
Sophia 15
Gertrude 13
Lydia 13
Susannah 13
Ethel 12
Anne 11
Eleanor 10
Elizth. 10
Jessie 10
Laura 9
Matilda 9
Selina 8
Amy 7
Julia 7
Lizzie 7

Top male names

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

Name Count
William 259
John 223
George 118
James 114
Thomas 107
Henry 99
Joseph 82
Charles 81
Samuel 74
Robert 60
Alfred 53
Arthur 50
Walter 49
Edward 42
Albert 36
Frederick 35
Harry 26
Edwin 23
Herbert 23
Richard 18
Abraham 16
Daniel 16
Frank 15
Fred 15
Ernest 14
Wm. 13
Isaac 10
Stephen 10
Benjamin 9
Francis 9
Tom 9
Edgar 7
Sydney 7
Chas. 6
David 6
Jacob 6
Jno. 6
Sidney 6
Edmund 5
Fredk. 5
Mark 5
Ralph 5
Thos. 5
Anthony 4
Horace 4
Hugh 4
Jonathan 4
Joshua 4
Percy 4
Peter 4

FAQ

Spooner surname: questions and answers

How common was the Spooner surname in 1881?

In 1881, 4,319 people were recorded with the Spooner surname. That placed it at #1,034 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Spooner surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 5,762 in 2016. That gives Spooner a modern rank of #1,164.

What does the Spooner surname mean?

One who makes or sells spoons, or a person living near a spoon-shaped geographical feature.

What does the Spooner map show?

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