NameCensus.

UK surname

Tuffnell

In the 1881 census there were 256 people recorded with the Tuffnell surname, ranking it #10,885 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 266, ranked #16,094, down from #10,885 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to Edmonton, St Paul's Walden and Enfield. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Ashfield, Teignbridge and Tendring.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Tuffnell is 349 in 1997. Compared with 1881, the name has stayed broadly stable by 3.9%.

1881 census count

256

Ranked #10,885

Modern count

266

2016, ranked #16,094

Peak year

1997

349 bearers

Map years

8

1861 to 2016

Key insights

  • Tuffnell had 256 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #10,885 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 266 in 2016, ranked #16,094.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 339 in 1911.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Challenged Communities.

Tuffnell surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Tuffnell surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Tuffnell 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 78 #19,840
1861 historical 156 #14,813
1881 historical 256 #10,885
1891 historical 278 #11,746
1901 historical 300 #11,647
1911 historical 339 #10,510
1997 modern 349 #12,197
1998 modern 343 #12,707
1999 modern 337 #12,942
2000 modern 331 #13,045
2001 modern 314 #13,318
2002 modern 310 #13,697
2003 modern 305 #13,662
2004 modern 324 #13,197
2005 modern 308 #13,590
2006 modern 309 #13,633
2007 modern 312 #13,674
2008 modern 306 #13,943
2009 modern 303 #14,315
2010 modern 295 #14,911
2011 modern 296 #14,729
2012 modern 277 #15,375
2013 modern 285 #15,313
2014 modern 287 #15,342
2015 modern 270 #15,911
2016 modern 266 #16,094

Geography

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Where Tuffnells are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around Edmonton, St Paul's Walden, Enfield, Sheffield and Luton. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Ashfield, Teignbridge, Tendring, Trafford and Sheffield. 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 Edmonton Middlesex (Exclusive Of London Districts)
2 St Paul's Walden Hertfordshire
3 Enfield Middlesex (Exclusive Of London Districts)
4 Sheffield Yorkshire, West Riding
5 Luton Bedfordshire

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Ashfield 006 Ashfield
2 Teignbridge 018 Teignbridge
3 Tendring 008 Tendring
4 Trafford 023 Trafford
5 Sheffield 009 Sheffield

Forenames

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First names often paired with Tuffnell

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

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Tuffnell

Modern surname records can be compared with neighbourhood classifications. For Tuffnell, 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 Tuffnell surname is most associated with neighbourhoods classed as Challenged Communities, within Baseline UK. This does not mean every Tuffnell 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

Professional Employment and Family Lifecycles

Group

Established Homeowners with Children

Within London, Tuffnell is most associated with areas classed as Established Homeowners with Children, part of Professional Employment and Family Lifecycles. 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

These predominantly British-born residents are typically married/in civil partnerships and own the properties in which they are raising their children. Parents are typically over 45, and many other residents are beyond normal retirement age. Detached and semi-detached houses predominate and multiple car ownership is common.

Wider London pattern

These neighbourhoods house people of all ages, predominantly of White British or European extraction. Resident turnover is low. Religious affiliation is less common than average and tends to be Christian if expressed. Homeownership, typically of terraced houses, is common but use of the social rented sector is not. Employment is typically in professional, managerial and associate professional or technical occupations. There are few full-time students. Level 4 qualifications are common. More households lack dependent children than have them which, considered alongside low levels of crowding and over-all age structure, indicates that many households may be post child-rearing and in late middle age. Incidence of disability is low, as is residence in communal establishments.

Healthy neighbourhoods

Access to healthy assets and hazards

Tuffnell 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

Tuffnell falls in decile 6 for neighbourhood deprivation. This puts the surname near the middle of the scale.

Decile 1 represents the more deprived end of the scale. Decile 10 represents the less deprived end.

6
More deprived Less deprived

Broadband speed

Fixed broadband download speed

The modern neighbourhood pattern for Tuffnell is most associated with a typical fixed broadband download band of Over 70 mbit/s.

The scale below places that band in context, from slower local download bands through to faster ones.

10
Slower band Faster band

Area snapshot

Ethnic group estimate

Most common ethnic group estimate
White - British

This describes the area pattern most associated with Tuffnell, not the ethnicity of every person with the surname.

1881 census detail

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Tuffnell families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Tuffnell 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. Bedfordshire leads with 63 Tuffnells recorded in 1881 and an index of 48.72x.

County Total Index
Bedfordshire 63 48.72x
Hertfordshire 46 26.72x
Middlesex 41 1.64x
Kent 31 3.64x
Yorkshire 15 0.61x
Surrey 13 1.07x
Hampshire 11 2.15x
Essex 8 1.62x
Buckinghamshire 6 3.97x
Lincolnshire 5 1.25x
Staffordshire 4 0.47x
Cheshire 3 0.54x
Derbyshire 3 0.77x
Lancashire 3 0.10x
Nottinghamshire 3 0.89x
Rutland 1 5.45x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Luton in Bedfordshire leads with 51 Tuffnells recorded in 1881 and an index of 227.88x.

Place Total Index
Luton 51 227.88x
Ecclesfield 15 82.69x
Letchworth 12 13333.33x
St Paul Walden 12 1379.31x
Edmonton 11 54.67x
Chatham 10 42.66x
Beckenham 8 71.81x
Hammersmith London 8 13.01x
Ryde 8 72.73x
Clophill 7 736.84x
Lambeth 7 3.21x
Chipping Barnet 6 199.34x
St Mary Magdalen Milk 6 12000.00x
West Ham 6 5.51x
Bedford St Mary 5 150.15x
Enfield 5 30.53x
Gillingham 5 28.46x
Gosberton 5 282.49x
Rickmansworth 5 105.49x
Checkley 4 182.65x
Islington London 4 1.65x
Newport Pagnell 4 126.58x
Rochester St Nicholas 4 150.94x
Streatham 4 21.59x
Basford 3 19.34x
Beswick 3 39.58x
Hornsey 3 9.50x
Litchurch 3 19.07x
Portsea 3 2.99x
Bethnal Green London 2 1.84x
Codicote 2 194.17x
Deptford St Paul 2 3.04x
Hitchin 2 25.74x
Sarratt 2 333.33x
Sutton In Macclesfield 2 34.97x
Terling 2 270.27x
Acton 1 6.83x
Berkhampstead 1 25.84x
Great Bookham 1 106.38x
Great Brickhill 1 208.33x
Great Linford 1 263.16x
Hemel Hempstead 1 12.89x
Lewisham 1 2.20x
Lilley 1 232.56x
Macclesfield 1 4.08x
Rochester St Margaret 1 11.14x
Southwark St George Martyr 1 1.99x
St Ippollitts 1 114.94x
Tring 1 21.74x
Uppingham 1 45.66x
Westminster St 1 10.86x

Top female names

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

Name Count
Mary 16
Sarah 8
Annie 7
Elizabeth 7
Emily 7
Ann 6
Ellen 6
Fanny 4
Kate 4
Eliza 3
Emma 3
Harriet 3
Alice 2
Charlotte 2
Clara 2
Eleanor 2
Florence 2
Louisa 2
Maud 2
Ada 1
Adelaide 1
Bertha 1
Betsey 1
Betsy 1
Catherine 1
Cissy 1
Constance 1
E.C. 1
Eflin 1
Elizh. 1
Ester 1
Eva 1
Flora 1
Frances 1
Gertrude 1
Hannah 1
Henrietta 1
Ida 1
Jane 1
Joan 1
Lavinia 1
Lily 1
Lizze 1
Lucy 1
Lydia 1
Mabel 1
Maria 1
Marion 1
Martha 1
Matilda 1

Top male names

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

Name Count
William 18
James 13
George 9
John 9
Arthur 8
Thomas 8
Henry 6
Edward 5
Frederick 5
Robert 5
Harry 4
Herbert 4
Charles 3
Frank 3
Joseph 3
Albert 2
Benjamin 2
Fredrick 2
Philip 2
Sydney 2
Walter 2
Abel 1
Arther 1
Chas.Edwd. 1
Daniel 1
Edwin 1
Leonard 1
Louis 1
Oliver 1
Owen 1
Phillip 1
Ralph 1
Rowland 1
Willie 1
Wm. 1

FAQ

Tuffnell surname: questions and answers

How common was the Tuffnell surname in 1881?

In 1881, 256 people were recorded with the Tuffnell surname. That placed it at #10,885 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Tuffnell surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 266 in 2016. That gives Tuffnell a modern rank of #16,094.

What does the Tuffnell map show?

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