NameCensus.

UK surname

Swash

In the 1881 census there were 186 people recorded with the Swash surname, ranking it #13,448 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 499, ranked #9,997, up from #13,448 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to London parishes, Hatfield, Fishlake, Thorne, Crowle (Eastoft) and St Matthew Bethnal Green. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Middlesbrough, Tendring and Stroud.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Swash is 518 in 2013. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 168.3%.

1881 census count

186

Ranked #13,448

Modern count

499

2016, ranked #9,997

Peak year

2013

518 bearers

Map years

9

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Swash had 186 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #13,448 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 499 in 2016, ranked #9,997.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 295 in 1911.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Spacious Rural Living.

Swash surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Swash surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Swash 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 124 #14,792
1861 historical 134 #16,754
1881 historical 186 #13,448
1891 historical 228 #13,582
1901 historical 247 #13,238
1911 historical 295 #11,597
1997 modern 449 #10,094
1998 modern 446 #10,469
1999 modern 453 #10,400
2000 modern 476 #10,004
2001 modern 460 #10,063
2002 modern 454 #10,367
2003 modern 451 #10,274
2004 modern 451 #10,301
2005 modern 443 #10,331
2006 modern 461 #10,054
2007 modern 465 #10,096
2008 modern 469 #10,119
2009 modern 481 #10,148
2010 modern 491 #10,192
2011 modern 492 #10,072
2012 modern 499 #9,870
2013 modern 518 #9,755
2014 modern 512 #9,911
2015 modern 508 #9,891
2016 modern 499 #9,997

Geography

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Where Swashs are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around London parishes, Hatfield, Fishlake, Thorne, Crowle (Eastoft), St Matthew Bethnal Green and Epworth, Belton, Haxey (Owston, Lincolnshire), Owston (West Butterwick and Kelfield; Owston, Lincol. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Middlesbrough, Tendring, Stroud, North Lincolnshire and Selby. 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 3
2 Hatfield, Fishlake, Thorne, Crowle (Eastoft) Yorkshire, West Riding
3 St Matthew Bethnal Green London (East Districts)
4 London parishes London 2
5 Epworth, Belton, Haxey (Owston, Lincolnshire), Owston (West Butterwick and Kelfield; Owston, Lincol Yorkshire, West Riding

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Middlesbrough 019 Middlesbrough
2 Tendring 014 Tendring
3 Stroud 002 Stroud
4 North Lincolnshire 020 North Lincolnshire
5 Selby 008 Selby

Forenames

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First names often paired with Swash

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

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Swash

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

Retired Professionals

Group

Spacious Rural Living

Nationally, the Swash surname is most associated with neighbourhoods classed as Spacious Rural Living, within Retired Professionals. This does not mean every Swash household fits that profile, but it gives a useful signal about where the modern surname distribution is strongest.

Read profile summary

Group profile

These predominantly ageing households typically have no resident dependent children. Most are owner-occupiers and live in detached houses in low density residential developments (although renting is more common than in the rest of the Supergroup). White ethnicity predominates. Residents are typically beyond retirement age but those still in work have managerial, professional or skilled trade occupations. White ethnicity and Christian religious affiliation predominate. Neighbourhoods are located throughout rural UK.

Wider pattern

Typically married but no longer with resident dependent children, these well-educated households either remain working in their managerial, professional, administrative or other skilled occupations, or are retired from them – the modal individual age is beyond normal retirement age. Underoccupied detached and semi-detached properties predominate, and unpaid care is more prevalent than reported disability. The prevalence of this Supergroup outside most urban conurbations indicates that rural lifestyles prevail, typically sustained by using two or more cars per household.

London neighbourhood type

London Output Area Classification

Supergroup

Young Families and Mainstream Employment

Group

Social Rented Sector and Diverse Origins

Within London, Swash is most associated with areas classed as Social Rented Sector and Diverse Origins, part of Young Families and Mainstream Employment. 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

Scattered across London’s Inner and Outer suburbs, residents of these neighbourhoods are typically housed in the social rented sector. Although terraced and semi-detached houses predominate, more residents live in flats than elsewhere in the Supergroup. Neighbourhoods are more ethnically diverse than the Supergroup average. Those identifying as of Bangladeshi, Pakistani and some Black ethnicities are more prevalent. Europeans born in a overseas non-EU countries make up more of the lower proportion of residents identifying as White. Few residents are very old (85+). Employment in distribution, hotels and restaurants is more common than elsewhere in the Supergroup.

Wider London pattern

Many families in these neighbourhoods have young children. Housing is principally in the social rented sector, in terraced or semi-detached units. While over-all residential densities are low, overcrowding is also prevalent locally. Residents are drawn from a range of ethnic minorities, with many identifying as Black and above average numbers born in Africa. Numbers identifying as of Chinese, Indian or White ethnicity are below average. Levels of proficiency in English are below average. Levels of separation or divorce and incidence of disability are both above average. Education is typically limited to Level 1, 2, or apprenticeship qualifications. Few residents work in professional or managerial occupations but the employment structure is otherwise diverse: it includes skilled trades, caring, leisure and other service occupations, sales and customer service occupations, construction, and work as process, plant, and machine operatives.

Healthy neighbourhoods

Access to healthy assets and hazards

Swash is most concentrated in decile 8 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.

8
Lower access Higher access

Neighbourhood deprivation

Index of Multiple Deprivation

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

1881 census detail

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Swash families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Swash 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 31 Swashs recorded in 1881 and an index of 1.71x.

County Total Index
Middlesex 31 1.71x
Glamorgan 28 8.86x
Hampshire 24 6.45x
Yorkshire 20 1.11x
Norfolk 18 6.45x
Lincolnshire 17 5.86x
Lancashire 11 0.51x
Surrey 10 1.13x
Essex 7 1.95x
Warwickshire 7 1.53x
Gloucestershire 4 1.12x
Cambridgeshire 2 1.74x
Somerset 2 0.68x
Worcestershire 2 0.84x
East Lothian 1 4.16x
Kent 1 0.16x
Suffolk 1 0.45x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Neath in Glamorgan leads with 16 Swashs recorded in 1881 and an index of 248.83x.

Place Total Index
Neath 16 248.83x
Mile End New Town 11 443.55x
Kingstonupon Hull 10 694.44x
Bethnal Green London 9 11.42x
Belton 8 677.97x
Birmingham 7 4.59x
Bishopstoke 7 736.84x
Blaenhonddan 7 476.19x
Chelmsford 7 114.01x
Tottenham 7 24.23x
Toxteth Park 7 9.60x
Bermondsey 4 7.41x
Fareham 4 89.49x
Liverpool 4 3.06x
Thorne 4 179.37x
Gainsborough 3 43.86x
Llanguick 3 53.00x
Norwich St Peter 3 163.93x
Norwich St Swithin 3 625.00x
Portsea 3 4.12x
Shoreditch London 3 3.81x
Southwark St George Martyr 3 8.22x
Strumpshaw 3 1200.00x
Upham 3 731.71x
Althorpe 2 303.03x
Bishops Waltham 2 129.03x
Brightside Bierlow 2 5.67x
Bristol St Philip Jacob 2 5.97x
Great Malvern 2 40.49x
Heigham 2 13.36x
Lambeth 2 1.26x
Littleport 2 90.91x
Lyncombe Widcombe 2 26.14x
Norwich St Augustine 2 178.57x
St Martin Lincoln 2 74.35x
Stapleton 2 29.63x
Thorpe Next Norwich 2 67.57x
Wombwell 2 38.17x
Clerkenwell London 1 2.34x
Dunbar 1 29.67x
Durley 1 333.33x
Epworth 1 74.07x
Exning 1 89.29x
Farlington 1 131.58x
Great Grimsby 1 5.43x
Honing 1 500.00x
Keston 1 217.39x
Kirk Ella 1 454.55x
Middlesbrough 1 4.27x
Norwich St Simon St Jude 1 454.55x
Ringland 1 500.00x
Roath 1 6.97x
South Stoneham 1 12.39x
Southwark St Olave 1 72.46x
St Faith Winchester 1 57.80x
St Mary Kalendar 1 129.87x
Swansea Town 1 3.86x

Top female names

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

Name Count
Elizabeth 8
Eliza 7
Mary 7
Maria 5
Sarah 5
Annie 4
Ann 3
Ellen 3
Emily 3
Emma 3
Jane 3
Margaret 3
Ada 2
Alice 2
Charlotte 2
Grace 2
Hannah 2
Lillie 2
Louisa 2
Martha 2
Selina 2
Susannah 2
Anna 1
Betsy 1
Betty 1
Carroline 1
Charlate 1
Cilisia 1
Esther 1
Eugenie 1
Flora 1
Florence 1
Gladys 1
Harriet 1
Kate 1
Laura 1
Marian 1
Mathilda 1
Rosa 1

Top male names

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

Name Count
Thomas 9
Robert 8
Charles 7
James 7
William 7
Henry 6
George 5
John 5
Richard 5
Walter 4
Arthur 3
Joseph 3
Albert 2
Alfred 2
Edward 2
Frederick 2
Christopher 1
Cornelias 1
Daniel 1
Ernest 1
Eugene 1
Frank 1
Harry 1
Hy. 1
Jesse 1
Marcus 1
Peter 1
Robt. 1
Robt.G. 1
Tom 1
Wm. 1

FAQ

Swash surname: questions and answers

How common was the Swash surname in 1881?

In 1881, 186 people were recorded with the Swash surname. That placed it at #13,448 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Swash surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 499 in 2016. That gives Swash a modern rank of #9,997.

What does the Swash map show?

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