NameCensus.

UK surname

Tanner

An occupational surname referring to a person who tans animal hides into leather.

In the 1881 census there were 6,702 people recorded with the Tanner surname, ranking it #630 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 8,049, ranked #821, down from #630 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to Bristol City: St Mary Redcliff, London parishes and St Philip and Jacob. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Powys, Wiltshire and Adur.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Tanner is 8,915 in 1911. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 20.1%.

1881 census count

6,702

Ranked #630

Modern count

8,049

2016, ranked #821

Peak year

1911

8,915 bearers

Map years

9

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Tanner had 6,702 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #630 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 8,049 in 2016, ranked #821.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 8,915 in 1911.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Rural Amenity.

Tanner surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Tanner surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Tanner 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 4,343 #653
1861 historical 3,383 #841
1881 historical 6,702 #630
1891 historical 6,120 #756
1901 historical 8,238 #654
1911 historical 8,915 #554
1997 modern 8,432 #754
1998 modern 8,745 #754
1999 modern 8,775 #759
2000 modern 8,704 #763
2001 modern 8,484 #763
2002 modern 8,669 #761
2003 modern 8,333 #779
2004 modern 8,337 #777
2005 modern 8,095 #791
2006 modern 8,075 #795
2007 modern 8,096 #801
2008 modern 8,123 #800
2009 modern 8,244 #808
2010 modern 8,337 #812
2011 modern 8,224 #811
2012 modern 8,023 #816
2013 modern 8,242 #806
2014 modern 8,279 #809
2015 modern 8,159 #815
2016 modern 8,049 #821

Geography

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Where Tanners are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around Bristol City: St Mary Redcliff, London parishes, St Philip and Jacob and St Pancras. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Powys, Wiltshire, Adur, Cornwall and Bristol. 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 Bristol City: St Mary Redcliff Gloucestershire
2 London parishes London 1
3 London parishes London 3
4 St Philip and Jacob Gloucestershire
5 St Pancras London (North Districts)

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Powys 005 Powys
2 Wiltshire 062 Wiltshire
3 Adur 001 Adur
4 Cornwall 054 Cornwall
5 Bristol 036 Bristol, City of

Forenames

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First names often paired with Tanner

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

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Tanner

Modern surname records can be compared with neighbourhood classifications. For Tanner, 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 Tanner surname is most associated with neighbourhoods classed as Rural Amenity, within Suburbanites and Peri-Urbanities. This does not mean every Tanner 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, Tanner 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

Tanner is most concentrated in decile 5 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.

5
Lower access Higher access

Neighbourhood deprivation

Index of Multiple Deprivation

Tanner falls in decile 8 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.

8
More deprived Less deprived

Broadband speed

Fixed broadband download speed

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

Meaning and origin of Tanner

The surname Tanner originated in England and dates back to the 12th century. It is an occupational name derived from the Old English "tannere", referring to someone who tanned animal hides to produce leather. The name is found throughout England, particularly in London, Essex, and the southern counties.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Tanner appears in the Pipe Rolls of Gloucestershire in 1191, where a certain Roger le Tannur is mentioned. The name is also found in the Hundred Rolls of Oxfordshire in 1273, where a John le Tannere is listed. In the Domesday Book of 1086, the placename Tannor is recorded in Suffolk, which may have influenced the development of the surname.

In the 13th century, a William le Tannur was a prominent citizen of London and served as an alderman. Sir John Tanner (c. 1350-1416) was a wealthy merchant and landowner from Norfolk who served as Lord Mayor of London in 1399. Another notable figure was Edmund Tanner (1575-1655), an English clergyman and scholar who served as Bishop of St. Asaph and wrote several religious works.

Thomas Tanner (1674-1735) was an English antiquarian and bishop who served as Chancellor of Norwich Cathedral and published several works on British antiquities. His contemporary, Dr. Thomas Tanner (1692-1768), was a prominent physician and writer on medical topics. In the 18th century, John Tanner (1715-1795) was a Mohawk leader and interpreter who played a significant role in the American Revolution.

Other notable individuals with the surname Tanner include Benjamin Tanner (1835-1923), an American author and educator; Amy Tanner (1859-1951), a British trade unionist and suffragette; and Clarence Tanner (1902-1984), an American baseball player and manager in the Negro Leagues.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

1881 census detail

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Tanner families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Tanner 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. Gloucestershire leads with 902 Tanners recorded in 1881 and an index of 7.02x.

County Total Index
Gloucestershire 902 7.02x
Middlesex 891 1.36x
Surrey 875 2.74x
Hampshire 520 3.87x
Wiltshire 498 8.59x
Somerset 372 3.53x
Kent 279 1.25x
Oxfordshire 218 5.39x
Lancashire 213 0.27x
Sussex 191 1.73x
Glamorgan 189 1.66x
Berkshire 162 3.29x
Essex 145 1.12x
Devon 144 1.06x
Northamptonshire 87 1.41x
Yorkshire 83 0.13x
Monmouthshire 76 1.60x
Warwickshire 76 0.46x
Worcestershire 71 0.83x
Staffordshire 67 0.30x
Shropshire 57 1.01x
Dorset 55 1.28x
Cornwall 54 0.73x
Montgomeryshire 52 3.46x
Ayrshire 42 0.86x
Buckinghamshire 38 0.96x
Lanarkshire 36 0.17x
Herefordshire 35 1.30x
Westmorland 33 2.29x
Durham 28 0.14x
Nottinghamshire 25 0.28x
Cheshire 19 0.13x
Hertfordshire 15 0.33x
Northumberland 14 0.14x
Channel Islands 13 0.67x
Merionethshire 13 1.08x
Derbyshire 12 0.12x
Leicestershire 12 0.17x
Suffolk 12 0.15x
Cumberland 10 0.18x
Midlothian 10 0.11x
Carmarthenshire 7 0.25x
Lincolnshire 6 0.06x
Renfrewshire 6 0.12x
Royal Navy 6 0.77x
Bedfordshire 5 0.15x
Cardiganshire 5 0.31x
Kirkcudbrightshire 5 0.53x
Stirlingshire 5 0.21x
Angus 4 0.07x
Norfolk 4 0.04x
Denbighshire 3 0.12x
Flintshire 3 0.17x
Roxburghshire 3 0.25x
Cambridgeshire 2 0.05x
Pembrokeshire 2 0.10x
Wigtownshire 2 0.23x
Aberdeenshire 1 0.02x
Huntingdonshire 1 0.08x
Isle of Man 1 0.08x
Perthshire 1 0.03x
Radnorshire 1 0.19x
Ross-shire 1 0.06x
Rutland 1 0.21x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Lambeth in Surrey leads with 117 Tanners recorded in 1881 and an index of 2.05x.

Place Total Index
Lambeth 117 2.05x
Bristol St Philip Jacob 96 7.93x
Islington London 89 1.40x
St Pancras London 83 1.57x
Newington 79 3.26x
Mile End Old Town 76 7.35x
Camberwell 75 1.79x
Bampton 71 226.84x
Bedminster 71 7.16x
Kensington London 63 1.73x
Chippenham 61 50.18x
Bermondsey 58 2.97x
Portsea 58 2.20x
Walton On Thames 57 38.87x
Kingston On Thames 54 7.04x
Stroud 54 21.59x
Ringwood 51 59.34x
Cheltenham 50 5.04x
Mitcham 50 24.77x
Reading St Giles 47 9.74x
Bethnal Green London 45 1.58x
Paddington London 45 1.87x
St Marylebone London 45 1.29x
Walcot 43 7.65x
West Ham 42 1.47x
Hampstead London 41 4.02x
Bisley 40 34.34x
Swindon 40 8.90x
Great Somerford 39 316.05x
Shoreditch London 36 1.27x
Hullavington 35 249.29x
Southampton St Mary 35 4.14x
Croydon 34 1.92x
Westbury On Trym 34 7.81x
Cranleigh 33 70.62x
Hackney London 33 0.90x
Birmingham 32 0.58x
Bitton Oldland 31 23.59x
Poplar London 31 2.51x
Battersea 30 1.24x
Bristol St George 30 5.05x
Malmesbury St Paul 30 60.18x
Cardiff St Mary 28 4.45x
St Ives 28 19.28x
Tetbury 28 38.42x
Bradford On Avon 27 14.55x
Cardiff St John 27 7.24x
Clerkenwell London 25 1.62x
Minchinhampton 25 24.41x
Moulton 25 72.93x
St George In East 25 5.61x
Gillingham 24 5.21x
Plumstead 24 3.22x
Wandsworth 24 3.80x
Avening 22 48.45x
Hove 22 4.54x
Wolverhampton 22 1.29x
Cirencester 21 12.07x
Shere 21 54.42x
Bristol St James St Paul 20 4.67x
Bromley London 20 1.39x
Gloucester Barton St Mary 20 8.50x
Henbury 20 31.88x
Mangotsfield 20 15.61x
Trevethin 20 4.47x
Weston Super Mare 20 7.51x
Barony 19 0.35x
Christchurch 19 6.52x
Rochester St Margaret 19 8.06x
Aldershot 18 4.00x
Chelsea London 18 0.91x
Cowley 18 14.25x
Gloucester St John Baptist 18 21.68x
Greenwich 18 1.73x
Horsham 18 8.39x
Kendal 18 6.83x
Llanrhidian Higher 18 24.83x
Poole St James 18 11.14x
St George Hanover 18 2.10x
Corsham 17 20.10x

Top female names

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

Name Count
Mary 366
Elizabeth 264
Sarah 213
Jane 144
Eliza 133
Alice 112
Ann 102
Emily 101
Ellen 99
Emma 94
Annie 87
Louisa 71
Harriet 60
Martha 60
Hannah 54
Fanny 46
Charlotte 44
Edith 44
Florence 44
Kate 39
Caroline 37
Lucy 36
Ada 35
Maria 31
Margaret 30
Susan 30
Clara 27
Rose 26
Amelia 25
Julia 24
Matilda 24
Harriett 23
Anne 21
Frances 21
Minnie 21
Agnes 20
Eleanor 20
Sophia 19
Amy 18
Ethel 18
Catherine 17
Lydia 15
Georgina 14
Ruth 14
Beatrice 13
Bessie 13
Isabella 13
Rebecca 13
Jessie 12
Maud 11

Top male names

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

Name Count
William 406
John 293
George 283
Thomas 190
Henry 186
Charles 185
James 180
Alfred 110
Edward 102
Joseph 101
Albert 73
Frederick 67
Arthur 60
Richard 54
Robert 52
Edwin 45
Walter 45
Frank 36
Harry 32
Ernest 30
Francis 30
Samuel 29
David 23
Herbert 19
Wm. 17
Sidney 13
Stephen 12
Benjamin 11
Edmund 11
Fredrick 11
Fred 10
Thos. 10
Edgar 9
Fredk. 9
Jesse 9
Mark 9
Sydney 9
Willm. 9
Jacob 8
Philip 8
Geo. 7
Percy 7
Daniel 6
Elijah 6
Harold 6
Isaac 6
Job 6
Eli 5
Lewis 5
Willie 5

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 Tanner households.

FAQ

Tanner surname: questions and answers

How common was the Tanner surname in 1881?

In 1881, 6,702 people were recorded with the Tanner surname. That placed it at #630 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Tanner surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 8,049 in 2016. That gives Tanner a modern rank of #821.

What does the Tanner surname mean?

An occupational surname referring to a person who tans animal hides into leather.

What does the Tanner map show?

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