NameCensus.

UK surname

Tidy

In the 1881 census there were 1,079 people recorded with the Tidy surname, ranking it #3,675 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 1,097, ranked #5,350, down from #3,675 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to Abinger, Ockley, Wotton with Oakwood, London parishes and Lenton, Radford, Papplewick, Nuthall, Greasley, Brewhouse Yard. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Waverley, Islington and Stockton-on-Tees.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Tidy is 1,385 in 1911. Compared with 1881, the name has stayed broadly stable by 1.7%.

1881 census count

1,079

Ranked #3,675

Modern count

1,097

2016, ranked #5,350

Peak year

1911

1,385 bearers

Map years

9

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Tidy had 1,079 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #3,675 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 1,097 in 2016, ranked #5,350.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 1,385 in 1911.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Challenged Communities.

Tidy surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Tidy surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Tidy 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 640 #4,055
1861 historical 662 #4,050
1881 historical 1,079 #3,675
1891 historical 1,123 #3,782
1901 historical 1,226 #4,037
1911 historical 1,385 #3,478
1997 modern 1,253 #4,547
1998 modern 1,264 #4,682
1999 modern 1,255 #4,740
2000 modern 1,237 #4,780
2001 modern 1,206 #4,782
2002 modern 1,215 #4,855
2003 modern 1,176 #4,888
2004 modern 1,168 #4,925
2005 modern 1,120 #5,067
2006 modern 1,139 #4,976
2007 modern 1,154 #4,972
2008 modern 1,150 #5,022
2009 modern 1,151 #5,134
2010 modern 1,139 #5,276
2011 modern 1,128 #5,258
2012 modern 1,100 #5,290
2013 modern 1,108 #5,338
2014 modern 1,108 #5,364
2015 modern 1,098 #5,359
2016 modern 1,097 #5,350

Geography

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Where Tidys are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around Abinger, Ockley, Wotton with Oakwood, London parishes, Lenton, Radford, Papplewick, Nuthall, Greasley, Brewhouse Yard and Oxted. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Waverley, Islington, Stockton-on-Tees, East Hampshire and Havant. 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 Abinger, Ockley, Wotton with Oakwood Surrey
2 London parishes London 1
3 Lenton, Radford, Papplewick, Nuthall, Greasley, Brewhouse Yard Nottinghamshire
4 London parishes London 3
5 Oxted Surrey

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Waverley 013 Waverley
2 Islington 019 Islington
3 Stockton-on-Tees 017 Stockton-on-Tees
4 East Hampshire 012 East Hampshire
5 Havant 004 Havant

Forenames

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First names often paired with Tidy

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

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Tidy

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

Baseline UK

Group

Challenged Communities

Nationally, the Tidy surname is most associated with neighbourhoods classed as Challenged Communities, within Baseline UK. This does not mean every Tidy household fits that profile, but it gives a useful signal about where the modern surname distribution is strongest.

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Group profile

Residents of these neighbourhoods typically live in households with dependent children, and there are fewer-than-average residents of normal retirement age or over. Identification with ethnic minorities, particularly Black, or Mixed or Multiple ethnicities is common. The rate of Christian religious affiliation is low. Housing predominantly consists of semi-detached houses, along with a significant number of terraced properties and flats. Overcrowded social housing is common, and private renting occurs at average UK levels. Those in employment work mainly in caring leisure and other services; process, plant and machine operation; or elementary occupations. Unemployment is high, and few individuals have degree level qualifications. Many of these neighbourhoods occur in commuter towns or less accessible areas of larger towns and cities.

Wider pattern

This Supergroup exemplifies the broad base to the UK’s social structure, encompassing as it does the average or modal levels of many neighbourhood characteristics, including all housing tenures, a range of levels of educational attainment and religious affiliations, and a variety of pre-retirement age structures. Yet, in combination, these mixes are each distinctive of the parts of the UK. Overall, terraced houses and flats are the most prevalent, as is employment in intermediate or low-skilled occupations. However, this Supergroup is also characterised by above average levels of unemployment and lower levels of use of English as the main language. Many neighbourhoods occur in south London and the UK’s other major urban centres.

London neighbourhood type

London Output Area Classification

Supergroup

Young Families and Mainstream Employment

Group

Terraced and Semi-Detached Suburbs

Within London, Tidy is most associated with areas classed as Terraced and Semi-Detached Suburbs, 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.

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Group profile

Mainly concentrated in suburban areas, these terraced and semi-detached developments are less overcrowded than the Supergroup average, and resident households are more likely to own two or more cars. There are fewer residents aged 25-44, and a larger share of residents employed in administrative and secretarial occupations. Residents are more likely to have been born in the UK, less likely to have been born in the EU or Africa, and much less likely to self-identify as Bangladeshi.

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

Tidy is most concentrated in decile 9 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.

9
Lower access Higher access

Neighbourhood deprivation

Index of Multiple Deprivation

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

1881 census detail

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Tidy families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Tidy 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. Surrey leads with 432 Tidys recorded in 1881 and an index of 8.40x.

County Total Index
Surrey 432 8.40x
Kent 215 5.97x
Middlesex 165 1.56x
Sussex 138 7.75x
Nottinghamshire 30 2.11x
Lancashire 23 0.18x
Hampshire 13 0.60x
Warwickshire 11 0.41x
Staffordshire 9 0.25x
Devon 8 0.36x
Yorkshire 8 0.08x
Cornwall 5 0.42x
Buckinghamshire 3 0.47x
Hertfordshire 3 0.41x
Somerset 3 0.18x
Durham 2 0.06x
Huntingdonshire 2 0.95x
Royal Navy 2 1.59x
Berkshire 1 0.13x
Channel Islands 1 0.32x
Essex 1 0.05x
Herefordshire 1 0.23x
Lanarkshire 1 0.03x
Leicestershire 1 0.09x
Norfolk 1 0.06x
Shropshire 1 0.11x
Westmorland 1 0.43x
Worcestershire 1 0.07x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Croydon in Surrey leads with 69 Tidys recorded in 1881 and an index of 24.17x.

Place Total Index
Croydon 69 24.17x
Ewhurst 42 1304.35x
Oxted 41 662.36x
St Marylebone London 29 5.15x
Greenwich 24 14.28x
Brighton 22 6.13x
Deptford St Paul 21 7.56x
Dorking 21 60.82x
St Pancras London 21 2.47x
Woolwich 21 15.78x
Tonbridge 19 14.63x
Caterham 17 74.79x
Warlingham 17 406.70x
Plumstead 16 13.33x
Buxted 13 186.51x
Camberwell 12 1.78x
Paddington London 12 3.09x
Stoke 12 49.44x
West Farleigh 12 863.31x
Chertsey 11 33.10x
Shoreditch London 11 2.40x
Sittingbourne 11 38.68x
Worth 11 85.14x
Cobham 10 118.48x
Ewell 10 92.08x
Islington London 10 0.98x
Lambeth 10 1.09x
Nottingham St Mary 10 2.72x
Shere 10 161.03x
Brenchley 9 69.82x
Kensington London 9 1.53x
Chelsea London 8 2.52x
Cuckfield 8 44.52x
Lewisham 8 4.17x
Limpsfield 8 162.60x
Middleton 8 476.19x
Portsea 8 1.89x
St Sepulchre London 8 51.78x
Westerham 8 96.27x
Willesden 8 8.04x
Ash Next Sandwich 7 87.83x
Bexley 7 21.98x
Cranleigh 7 92.96x
Elstead 7 283.40x
Enfield 7 10.11x
Epsom 7 27.93x
Horsham 7 20.25x
Newington 7 1.80x
Portslade 7 64.34x
Rotherham 7 11.87x
St George Hanover 7 5.08x
Worplesdon 7 112.90x
Abinger 6 140.52x
East Farleigh 6 99.34x
Edenbridge 6 84.99x
Littlehampton 6 42.22x
Mickleham 6 207.61x
Newick 6 153.45x
Plymouth St Andrew 6 3.55x
South Muskham 6 674.16x
Wandsworth 6 5.91x
Warnham 6 155.84x
Barrow In Furness 5 2.94x
Bletchingley 5 74.52x
Bootle Cum Linacre 5 5.03x
Everton 5 1.25x
Faversham 5 14.56x
Great Stanmore 5 105.49x
Guildford St Nicholas 5 55.01x
Hambledon 5 91.91x
Hastings St Leonards 5 19.11x
Hove 5 6.40x
Lenton 5 14.92x
Newton 5 5.18x
Saredon 5 510.20x
West Grinstead 5 93.11x
West Horsley 5 231.48x
Wonersh 5 77.88x
Worksop 5 11.85x
Wotton 5 200.00x

Top female names

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

Top male names

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

Name Count
William 79
George 55
James 40
John 38
Thomas 38
Henry 36
Charles 25
Alfred 18
Edward 13
Harry 13
Richard 11
Stephen 11
Frederick 10
Albert 9
Arthur 9
David 9
Frank 9
Joseph 8
Robert 6
Walter 6
Edwin 4
Ernest 3
Jesse 3
Mark 3
Percy 3
Robinson 3
Thos. 3
Alan 2
Benjamin 2
Caleb 2
Frederic 2
Fredk. 2
Gordon 2
Horace 2
Infant 2
Martin 2
Samuel 2
Alick 1
C. 1
Chas.H. 1
Ephraim 1
Fanny 1
Francis 1
Fred 1
Frederich 1
Hy. 1
Hylton 1
Jack 1
Jacob 1
Willm. 1

FAQ

Tidy surname: questions and answers

How common was the Tidy surname in 1881?

In 1881, 1,079 people were recorded with the Tidy surname. That placed it at #3,675 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Tidy surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 1,097 in 2016. That gives Tidy a modern rank of #5,350.

What does the Tidy map show?

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