NameCensus.

UK surname

Tindall

An English occupational surname referring to someone who lights or maintains fires, derived from the Old English "tyndan".

In the 1881 census there were 1,825 people recorded with the Tindall surname, ranking it #2,385 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 2,469, ranked #2,669, down from #2,385 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to London parishes, Hastings St Mary-in-the-Castle, Hastings St Andrew and Hull Holy Trinity. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Scarborough, West Lindsey and East Riding of Yorkshire.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Tindall is 2,621 in 1901. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 35.3%.

1881 census count

1,825

Ranked #2,385

Modern count

2,469

2016, ranked #2,669

Peak year

1901

2,621 bearers

Map years

9

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Tindall had 1,825 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #2,385 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 2,469 in 2016, ranked #2,669.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 2,621 in 1901.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Rural Amenity.

Tindall surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Tindall surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Tindall 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 1,101 #2,554
1861 historical 973 #2,856
1881 historical 1,825 #2,385
1891 historical 1,674 #2,686
1901 historical 2,621 #2,106
1911 historical 2,521 #2,029
1997 modern 2,403 #2,609
1998 modern 2,499 #2,618
1999 modern 2,499 #2,637
2000 modern 2,493 #2,626
2001 modern 2,429 #2,625
2002 modern 2,472 #2,646
2003 modern 2,438 #2,619
2004 modern 2,433 #2,629
2005 modern 2,352 #2,670
2006 modern 2,359 #2,669
2007 modern 2,381 #2,672
2008 modern 2,425 #2,648
2009 modern 2,486 #2,660
2010 modern 2,553 #2,650
2011 modern 2,555 #2,622
2012 modern 2,488 #2,633
2013 modern 2,547 #2,624
2014 modern 2,540 #2,642
2015 modern 2,499 #2,655
2016 modern 2,469 #2,669

Geography

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Where Tindalls are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around London parishes, Hastings St Mary-in-the-Castle, Hastings St Andrew, Hull Holy Trinity and St Michael-le-Belfry, St Giles. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Scarborough, West Lindsey and East Riding of Yorkshire. 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 Hastings St Mary-in-the-Castle, Hastings St Andrew Sussex
3 Hull Holy Trinity Yorkshire, East Riding
4 London parishes London 3
5 St Michael-le-Belfry, St Giles Yorkshire, East Riding

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Scarborough 002 Scarborough
2 West Lindsey 003 West Lindsey
3 Scarborough 014 Scarborough
4 East Riding of Yorkshire 003 East Riding of Yorkshire
5 East Riding of Yorkshire 001 East Riding of Yorkshire

Forenames

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First names often paired with Tindall

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

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Tindall

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

The Greater London Mix

Group

Skilled Trades and Construction Workers

Within London, Tindall is most associated with areas classed as Skilled Trades and Construction 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

These scattered, peripheral and often low residential density neighbourhoods house more workers in skilled trades and construction. Few households rent social housing and there are few students. Multiple car ownership is higher than the Supergroup average, perhaps because of poorer public transport connectivity. Incidence of mixed or multiple ethnicity is below the Supergroup average, and the absence of individuals identifying as Pakistani or Other Asian groups is also less pronounced. Flatted accommodation is less dominant than elsewhere in the Supergroup.

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

Tindall 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

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

Meaning and origin of Tindall

The surname Tindall is of English origin, deriving from the Old English words "tind" meaning "projecting point" and "halh" meaning "a nook or corner of land". It originally referred to someone who lived near a prominent hill or peak.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Tindall can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as "Tindehale". This suggests the name was already established in parts of England by the late 11th century.

During the Middle Ages, the surname was predominantly found in the northern counties of Yorkshire, Durham, and Northumberland, indicating these were likely the original homelands of the Tindall family. Variations in spelling included Tyndall, Tyndal, Tindell, and Tindill.

Notable early bearers of the name include Richard de Tyndall, recorded in Yorkshire in 1379, and John Tyndall, a 16th century Protestant reformer and scholar from Gloucestershire.

In the 17th century, Matthew Tindall (1657-1733) was an English freethinker and controversial writer who argued for religious tolerance. His works influenced later Deist thinkers.

The name Tindall is also associated with several place names in England, such as Tindall Fell in Westmorland and Tindall Green in Suffolk, reinforcing its geographic origins.

Other historical figures bearing this surname include Sir Nicholas Tindal (1687-1774), an English jurist and Chief Justice of the Common Pleas, and John Tyndall (1820-1893), a prominent British scientist who made important discoveries in the fields of physics and glaciology.

Tyndall Glacier in Chile and the crater Tyndall on the moon are named after the latter, illustrating the lasting impact of certain Tindall individuals throughout history.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

1881 census detail

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Tindall families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Tindall 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. Yorkshire leads with 783 Tindalls recorded in 1881 and an index of 4.47x.

County Total Index
Yorkshire 783 4.47x
Lincolnshire 251 8.88x
Middlesex 122 0.69x
Lancashire 101 0.48x
Kent 77 1.28x
Surrey 71 0.82x
Sussex 62 2.08x
Northumberland 49 1.86x
Durham 39 0.74x
Nottinghamshire 39 1.64x
Angus 31 1.89x
Aberdeenshire 21 1.28x
Berkshire 15 1.13x
Derbyshire 15 0.54x
Leicestershire 13 0.66x
Cumberland 12 0.79x
Hampshire 12 0.33x
Essex 11 0.32x
Lanarkshire 10 0.17x
Bedfordshire 9 0.98x
Buckinghamshire 9 0.84x
Cheshire 8 0.20x
Renfrewshire 8 0.58x
Warwickshire 7 0.16x
Cambridgeshire 6 0.54x
Northamptonshire 6 0.36x
Devon 4 0.11x
Westmorland 4 1.03x
Staffordshire 3 0.05x
Glamorgan 2 0.06x
Midlothian 2 0.08x
Norfolk 2 0.07x
Wiltshire 2 0.13x
Dunbartonshire 1 0.21x
Hertfordshire 1 0.08x
Morayshire 1 0.36x
Roxburghshire 1 0.31x
Somerset 1 0.04x
Suffolk 1 0.05x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Scarborough in Yorkshire leads with 75 Tindalls recorded in 1881 and an index of 47.10x.

Place Total Index
Scarborough 75 47.10x
Leeds 35 3.54x
Great Grimsby 26 14.49x
York St Mary 25 34.44x
St Marylebone London 23 2.44x
Holy Trinity 21 4.98x
Brightside Bierlow 19 5.53x
Camberwell 19 1.68x
Hastings All Sts 19 67.62x
Dorrington 18 746.89x
Lambeth 18 1.17x
Elswick 17 8.09x
Morton In Gainsborough 16 287.77x
Caytn Deepdal Kilrby 15 405.41x
Preston Next Faversham 15 105.78x
Sculcoates 15 5.40x
Hammersmith London 14 3.21x
Manningham 14 6.48x
Aberdeen Old Machar 13 3.80x
Huddersfield 13 5.09x
Old Windsor 13 84.64x
Westgate 13 7.98x
Gainsborough 12 18.00x
Rudston 12 327.87x
Bilton Cum Harrogate 11 18.35x
Chatton 11 136.14x
Doncaster 11 8.59x
Dundee 11 1.80x
Messingham 11 160.58x
Middle Rasen 11 204.46x
Wykeham 11 317.00x
Attercliffe Cum Darnall 10 6.13x
Bradford 10 2.36x
Clifton In York 10 27.28x
Danby 10 141.24x
Great Driffield 10 27.80x
Greencroft 10 103.63x
Islington London 10 0.58x
New Sleaford 10 55.19x
Oldham 10 1.48x
Osgodby In Selby 10 735.29x
Sancton Houghton 10 446.43x
Scalby In Scarborough 10 275.48x
Tadcaster West 10 72.05x
Bromley London 9 2.31x
Foots Cray 9 77.92x
Glaisdale 9 134.73x
Hastings St Mary In The 9 14.15x
Leighton Buzzard 9 22.85x
Litherland 9 20.51x
Margate St John Baptist 9 8.15x
Market Rasen 9 56.93x
Nocton 9 236.84x
Norton In Malton 9 42.37x
St George Hanover 9 3.90x
Thwing 9 338.35x
Wheatley 9 149.25x
Balby Cum Hexthorpe 8 38.24x
Belton 8 69.69x
Brighton 8 1.33x
Brotherton 8 113.96x
Cowpe Lench Newhall Hey 8 35.68x
Ecclesall Bierlow 8 2.24x
Folkton Flixton 8 394.09x
Fraserburgh 8 17.35x
Great Bowden 8 44.87x
Montrose 8 8.06x
Newark Upon Trent 8 9.34x
Sherburn 8 55.56x
St Luke London 8 2.82x
St Vigeans 8 9.05x
Tonbridge 8 3.68x
Westminster St 8 12.27x
Almondbury 7 8.26x
Branston 7 80.83x
Cowden 7 177.67x
Ledsham 7 426.83x
Low Holme 7 81.49x
Radcliffe 7 6.92x
Rufforth 7 421.69x

Top female names

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

Name Count
Mary 116
Elizabeth 69
Sarah 59
Hannah 43
Jane 43
Ann 39
Annie 35
Alice 24
Eliza 24
Emily 21
Emma 21
Ellen 19
Margaret 14
Edith 12
Fanny 12
Frances 12
Anne 11
Charlotte 11
Ada 10
Harriet 10
Martha 10
Catherine 9
Florence 9
Isabella 9
Clara 8
Maria 8
Agnes 7
Harriett 7
Kate 7
Louisa 7
Caroline 6
Rachel 6
Rose 6
Elizth. 5
Lucy 5
Susan 5
Susannah 5
Eleanor 4
Esther 4
Julia 4
Laura 4
Amelia 3
Betsy 3
Ethel 3
Georgina 3
Helen 3
Henrietta 3
Jemima 3
Ruth 3
Sophia 3

Top male names

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

Name Count
William 123
John 121
George 76
Thomas 52
Charles 37
Joseph 33
Robert 31
James 30
Henry 28
Edward 20
Alfred 18
Arthur 18
Richard 18
Frederick 13
Walter 13
Frank 9
Albert 8
Edwin 8
Herbert 8
Wm. 8
Fred 7
Samuel 7
Tom 6
Alexander 5
Harry 5
Adam 4
Benjamin 4
Chas. 4
Ernest 4
Francis 4
Geo. 4
Isaac 4
Thos. 4
Jos. 3
Thompson 3
Arnold 2
David 2
Eston 2
Frances 2
Hy. 2
Jas. 2
Matthew 2
Peter 2
Richd. 2
Robt. 2
Sidney 2
Stephen 2
Ed. 1
Edmund 1
Zachariah 1

FAQ

Tindall surname: questions and answers

How common was the Tindall surname in 1881?

In 1881, 1,825 people were recorded with the Tindall surname. That placed it at #2,385 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Tindall surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 2,469 in 2016. That gives Tindall a modern rank of #2,669.

What does the Tindall surname mean?

An English occupational surname referring to someone who lights or maintains fires, derived from the Old English "tyndan".

What does the Tindall map show?

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