NameCensus.

UK surname

Stewart

A Scottish occupational surname referring to the steward of a royal or noble household.

In the 1881 census there were 46,990 people recorded with the Stewart surname, ranking it #63 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 70,636, ranked #62, up from #63 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to Govan Combination, Edinburgh and Dundee, Liff, Benvie and Invergowry. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Lossiemouth East and Seatown, Northumberland and Whitfield.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Stewart is 70,880 in 2010. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 50.3%.

1881 census count

46,990

Ranked #63

Modern count

70,636

2016, ranked #62

Peak year

2010

70,880 bearers

Map years

9

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Stewart had 46,990 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #63 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 70,636 in 2016, ranked #62.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 55,694 in 1901.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Established but Challenged.

Stewart surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Stewart surname density by area, 1881 census.

Loading map
Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Stewart 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 34,202 #55
1861 historical 35,141 #59
1881 historical 46,990 #63
1891 historical 50,702 #61
1901 historical 55,694 #65
1911 historical 18,846 #246
1997 modern 64,310 #66
1998 modern 66,601 #66
1999 modern 67,044 #66
2000 modern 67,160 #65
2001 modern 65,174 #66
2002 modern 66,925 #65
2003 modern 65,336 #65
2004 modern 65,486 #65
2005 modern 65,418 #65
2006 modern 65,839 #65
2007 modern 66,727 #66
2008 modern 67,462 #66
2009 modern 69,140 #66
2010 modern 70,880 #64
2011 modern 69,507 #65
2012 modern 68,503 #63
2013 modern 69,791 #63
2014 modern 70,733 #62
2015 modern 70,459 #62
2016 modern 70,636 #62

Geography

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Where Stewarts are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around Govan Combination, Edinburgh, Dundee, Liff, Benvie and Invergowry, Perth and Glasgow. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Lossiemouth East and Seatown, Northumberland, Whitfield, The Glens and Logie and Blackness. 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 Edinburgh Edinburgh
3 Dundee, Liff, Benvie and Invergowry Forfar
4 Perth Perth
5 Glasgow Lanark

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Lossiemouth East and Seatown Moray
2 Northumberland 006 Northumberland
3 Whitfield Dundee City
4 The Glens Dundee City
5 Logie and Blackness Dundee City

Forenames

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First names often paired with Stewart

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

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Stewart

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

The Greater London Mix

Group

Social Rented Sector Professional Support Workers

Within London, Stewart 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

Stewart 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

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

Meaning and origin of Stewart

The surname Stewart is of Scottish origin, deriving from the occupation of a steward or estate manager. It emerged around the 12th century, from the Old English and Anglo-Norman French word "stiward" or "stuard," meaning an administrative officer responsible for managing a household or estate.

The earliest recorded instance of the name Stewart can be found in the Exchequer Rolls of Scotland from the late 12th century, where it appears as "Stuard." Over time, the spelling evolved to the modern form of "Stewart," which became the predominant spelling in Scotland by the 15th century.

The Stewart family rose to prominence during the 13th century when Walter Stewart, a nobleman from Renfrewshire, married Marjorie, the daughter of King Robert I of Scotland (1274-1329). Their son, Robert II (1316-1390), became the first monarch of the House of Stewart, ruling Scotland from 1371 to 1390.

The Stewarts played a significant role in Scottish history, with several members ascending to the Scottish throne, including Robert III (1337-1406), James I (1394-1437), James II (1430-1460), and Mary, Queen of Scots (1542-1587). The Stewart dynasty ruled Scotland until the union with England in 1603, when King James VI of Scotland also became King James I of England.

Another notable figure with the surname Stewart was Sir John Stewart of Darnley (1366-1429), who served as Constable of Scotland and fought alongside King Robert III during the Anglo-Scottish Wars.

In the 16th century, Henry Stewart, Lord Darnley (1545-1567), gained notoriety as the second husband of Mary, Queen of Scots, and the father of King James VI of Scotland.

Martha Stewart (born 1941), the American businesswoman, author, and television personality, is one of the most famous modern-day bearers of the Stewart surname.

The surname Stewart has also been associated with several place names in Scotland, such as Stewart Island, Stewart's Melville College in Edinburgh, and the town of Stewartry in Dumfries and Galloway.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

1881 census detail

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Stewart families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Stewart 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. Lanarkshire leads with 7,509 Stewarts recorded in 1881 and an index of 5.08x.

County Total Index
Lanarkshire 7,509 5.08x
Perthshire 3,912 19.07x
Angus 3,553 8.39x
Midlothian 2,926 4.78x
Lancashire 2,351 0.43x
Renfrewshire 2,248 6.35x
Aberdeenshire 2,093 4.94x
Middlesex 1,883 0.41x
Ayrshire 1,763 5.15x
Durham 1,289 0.95x
Stirlingshire 1,161 6.89x
Northumberland 1,055 1.55x
Yorkshire 1,026 0.23x
Inverness-shire 1,012 7.41x
Fife 1,009 3.73x
Dunbartonshire 856 6.97x
Argyllshire 795 6.25x
Surrey 787 0.35x
Morayshire 764 10.76x
Ross-shire 675 5.38x
Banffshire 588 6.20x
Kent 494 0.32x
Cumberland 417 1.06x
Hampshire 402 0.43x
Kincardineshire 395 7.10x
Wigtownshire 386 6.36x
Buteshire 347 12.53x
Cheshire 290 0.29x
Dumfriesshire 289 2.86x
West Lothian 273 3.97x
Kirkcudbrightshire 272 4.11x
Roxburghshire 260 3.14x
Essex 243 0.27x
East Lothian 224 3.70x
Clackmannanshire 210 5.56x
Sussex 171 0.22x
Devon 158 0.17x
Berwickshire 156 2.82x
Caithness 149 2.38x
Selkirkshire 148 3.58x
Staffordshire 141 0.09x
Warwickshire 137 0.12x
Gloucestershire 120 0.13x
Sutherland 119 3.39x
Nottinghamshire 109 0.18x
Peeblesshire 94 4.37x
Shetland 90 1.93x
Derbyshire 89 0.12x
Lincolnshire 80 0.11x
Royal Navy 75 1.38x
Nairnshire 70 5.02x
Northamptonshire 67 0.16x
Orkney 66 1.31x
Leicestershire 64 0.13x
Glamorgan 63 0.08x
Norfolk 63 0.09x
Suffolk 62 0.11x
Hertfordshire 60 0.19x
Monmouthshire 56 0.17x
Kinross-shire 53 4.59x
Worcestershire 53 0.09x
Oxfordshire 52 0.18x
Westmorland 51 0.51x
Cornwall 48 0.09x
Buckinghamshire 46 0.17x
Berkshire 45 0.13x
Bedfordshire 40 0.17x
Shropshire 37 0.09x
Isle of Man 34 0.40x
Somerset 30 0.04x
Dorset 29 0.10x
Denbighshire 28 0.16x
Channel Islands 20 0.15x
Wiltshire 20 0.05x
Herefordshire 14 0.07x
Huntingdonshire 14 0.15x
Pembrokeshire 14 0.10x
Cambridgeshire 13 0.04x
Caernarfonshire 12 0.06x
Flintshire 9 0.07x
Cardiganshire 7 0.06x
Brecknockshire 6 0.07x
Carmarthenshire 5 0.03x
Montgomeryshire 5 0.05x
Rutland 2 0.06x
Anglesey 1 0.01x
Merionethshire 1 0.01x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Govan in Lanarkshire leads with 2,147 Stewarts recorded in 1881 and an index of 5.87x.

Place Total Index
Govan 2,147 5.87x
Barony 1,993 5.33x
Dundee 1,313 8.31x
Glasgow 1,276 4.86x
Edinburgh St Cuthberts 1,183 4.80x
Liff Benvie 550 8.56x
Aberdeen Old Machar 505 5.71x
Aberdeen St Nicholas 461 5.82x
West Greenock 382 6.01x
Abbey 350 6.48x
South Leith 323 4.69x
Perth East Church 320 16.54x
Drainie 307 48.80x
Liverpool 305 0.93x
Blair Athole 264 96.58x
Inverness 248 7.22x
Kilmarnock 248 6.09x
Old Monkland 229 3.90x
Hamilton 209 5.07x
Dull 208 50.59x
Dunfermline 205 4.93x
Stirling 205 9.64x
Forfar 202 8.81x
Falkirk 200 5.07x
Kirkintilloch 193 11.57x
Lambeth 182 0.46x
Stornoway 180 11.00x
East Greenock 179 5.35x
Toxteth Park 178 0.97x
Perth Middle Church 175 22.68x
Perth West Church 175 17.98x
Bishopwearmouth 173 1.48x
Everton 170 0.98x
St Pancras London 170 0.46x
Paisley Middle Church 169 8.19x
Cathcart 168 8.77x
Moulin 167 51.51x
Monifieth 161 10.76x
Portsea 159 0.87x
Paisley High Church 148 5.25x
Blairgowrie 144 17.75x
Caputh 143 44.30x
Logierait 143 39.60x
Kensington London 142 0.56x
Islington London 140 0.32x
Neilston 140 7.87x
Montrose 136 5.30x
St Vigeans 136 5.95x
Campbeltown 135 8.80x
New Monkland 135 3.09x
Brechin 130 7.81x
Bothwell 129 3.22x
Callander 129 38.14x
Keith 129 12.76x
Edinburgh Canongate 128 8.21x
Bonhill 127 6.44x
Kirriemuir 126 12.06x
Lochbroom 124 18.92x
Maryhill 124 4.29x
Alloa 122 6.66x
St Ninians 122 7.30x
Dalserf 121 8.20x
Westgate 119 2.83x
Port Glasgow 118 6.89x
Row 118 7.43x
Fortingall 113 43.14x
Rathven 113 6.34x
Dalkeith 112 9.27x
Crieff 110 14.42x
Rattray 110 23.04x
Perth St Pauls 109 22.95x
Little Dunkeld 108 31.02x
Hedworth Monkton Jarrow 107 1.82x
Camberwell 105 0.36x
St Marylebone London 104 0.43x
Gateshead 100 0.98x
Old Kilpatrick 100 6.89x
Kilmadock 99 20.99x
Paisley Low Church 98 8.74x
Kilbarchan 97 9.01x
North Leith 97 3.42x
Barrow In Furness 96 1.30x
Newcastle On Tyne All Sts 96 2.36x
Rothesay 96 7.16x
St George Hanover 96 1.61x
Cambusnethan 95 2.89x
Kilmory 95 23.54x

Top female names

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

Name Count
Mary 873
Elizabeth 468
Jane 349
Sarah 337
Margaret 329
Ann 219
Annie 158
Isabella 149
Ellen 143
Alice 123
Eliza 117
Catherine 112
Emily 111
Emma 107
Martha 97
Agnes 82
Jessie 77
Louisa 73
Hannah 69
Caroline 63
Maria 61
Florence 60
Edith 58
Charlotte 54
Janet 54
Ada 51
Anne 51
Fanny 51
Harriet 46
Helen 44
Kate 41
Eleanor 38
Clara 37
Frances 33
Matilda 33
Susan 31
Elizth. 27
Amelia 26
Esther 26
Marion 26
Christina 24
Grace 24
Lucy 24
Rose 24
Minnie 23
Beatrice 22
Julia 22
Amy 21
Harriett 21
Sophia 19

Top male names

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

Name Count
John 845
William 754
James 567
Charles 410
Thomas 327
George 318
Robert 305
Henry 189
Alexander 164
Joseph 147
Edward 95
David 85
Walter 76
Arthur 74
Samuel 71
Frederick 66
Alfred 60
Richard 60
Albert 56
Peter 46
Archibald 40
Harry 37
Francis 36
Wm. 36
Frank 34
Andrew 33
Donald 31
Hugh 26
Duncan 25
Herbert 23
Chas. 19
Ernest 19
Robt. 19
Percy 17
Thos. 17
Adam 16
Michael 16
Edwin 15
Benjamin 14
Daniel 14
Geo. 14
Allan 11
Christopher 11
Fred 11
Isaac 11
Matthew 11
Willm. 11
Fredk. 10
J. 10
Stephen 10

Top occupations

Occupational titles are kept as recorded and later transcribed, so related jobs, spelling variants and mistakes stay separate. Scholar was the census term for a child in education. That means the other rows often tell you more about adult work in Stewart households.

FAQ

Stewart surname: questions and answers

How common was the Stewart surname in 1881?

In 1881, 46,990 people were recorded with the Stewart surname. That placed it at #63 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Stewart surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 70,636 in 2016. That gives Stewart a modern rank of #62.

What does the Stewart surname mean?

A Scottish occupational surname referring to the steward of a royal or noble household.

What does the Stewart map show?

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