NameCensus.

UK surname

Tufnell

An English habitational surname derived from the place name Tufnell in Middlesex.

In the 1881 census there were 152 people recorded with the Tufnell surname, ranking it #15,372 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 199, ranked #19,653, down from #15,372 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to London parishes, St Pancras and St Paul's Walden. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Colchester, Winchester and Rutland.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Tufnell is 292 in 1911. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 30.9%.

1881 census count

152

Ranked #15,372

Modern count

199

2016, ranked #19,653

Peak year

1911

292 bearers

Map years

9

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Tufnell had 152 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #15,372 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 199 in 2016, ranked #19,653.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 292 in 1911.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Rural Amenity.

Tufnell surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Tufnell surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Tufnell 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 100 #17,164
1861 historical 100 #21,103
1881 historical 152 #15,372
1891 historical 228 #13,582
1901 historical 275 #12,332
1911 historical 292 #11,674
1997 modern 222 #16,508
1998 modern 223 #16,936
1999 modern 225 #16,931
2000 modern 222 #17,032
2001 modern 229 #16,467
2002 modern 231 #16,677
2003 modern 226 #16,766
2004 modern 224 #16,918
2005 modern 217 #17,217
2006 modern 212 #17,612
2007 modern 216 #17,575
2008 modern 202 #18,528
2009 modern 197 #19,218
2010 modern 196 #19,698
2011 modern 202 #19,154
2012 modern 205 #18,909
2013 modern 214 #18,671
2014 modern 215 #18,764
2015 modern 206 #19,208
2016 modern 199 #19,653

Geography

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Where Tufnells are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around London parishes, St Pancras, St Paul's Walden and Hitchin. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Colchester, Winchester, Rutland, Forest of Dean and Basingstoke and Deane. 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 London parishes London 3
3 St Pancras London (North Districts)
4 St Paul's Walden Hertfordshire
5 Hitchin Hertfordshire

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Colchester 003 Colchester
2 Winchester 004 Winchester
3 Rutland 004 Rutland
4 Forest of Dean 003 Forest of Dean
5 Basingstoke and Deane 002 Basingstoke and Deane

Forenames

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First names often paired with Tufnell

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

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Tufnell

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

Professional Employment and Family Lifecycles

Group

European Enclaves

Within London, Tufnell is most associated with areas classed as European Enclaves, 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.

Read profile summary

Group profile

Many residents of these accessible neighbourhoods have wide-ranging non-UK European origins. Typically residing in privately rented flats, many residents live alone and are beyond normal retirement age. There are more students than elsewhere in the Supergroup, some of which live in communal establishments. Household residents are often drawn from different ethnic groups.

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

Tufnell is most concentrated in decile 6 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.

6
Lower access Higher access

Neighbourhood deprivation

Index of Multiple Deprivation

Tufnell falls in decile 7 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.

7
More deprived Less deprived

Broadband speed

Fixed broadband download speed

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

Meaning and origin of Tufnell

The surname TUFNELL is of English origin, deriving from the Old English personal name "Tuffa" combined with the Old English word "hnyll" meaning a hill or knoll. It is believed to have originated in the county of Buckinghamshire during the late Anglo-Saxon period, around the 9th or 10th century.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as "Tuffenelle" in reference to a landowner in the village of Tuffley, near Gloucester. This suggests that the name may have been associated with a specific location or estate at that time.

The surname TUFNELL underwent various spelling variations throughout the Middle Ages, including Tuffnell, Tufnell, Tuffenale, and Tuffnale, reflecting the inconsistencies in spelling and pronunciation during that period.

In the 13th century, records show a John de Tufnell as a landowner in the county of Berkshire, while a Robert Tufnell was mentioned in the Pipe Rolls of Bedfordshire in 1262.

Notable individuals with the surname TUFNELL include Sir John Tufnell (1578-1624), an English politician who served as a Member of Parliament for Wootton Bassett in the early 17th century. Another prominent figure was Sir George Tufnell (1788-1849), a British Army officer who participated in the Napoleonic Wars and later served as a Member of Parliament for Beverley.

In the 19th century, Henry Tufnell (1805-1854) was a British Army officer who played a significant role in the Crimean War, while his cousin, Edward Tufnell (1806-1886), was a clergyman and author who wrote several works on religious topics.

One of the most renowned individuals with the TUFNELL surname was Henry Loftus Tottenham Tufnell (1825-1908), a British Army officer and explorer who served in various military campaigns and surveyed parts of Australia and New Zealand.

The surname TUFNELL has been associated with various place names throughout England, including Tuffley in Gloucestershire, Tufnell Park in London, and Tufton, a small village in Buckinghamshire, which may have been the original location from which the name derived.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

1881 census detail

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Tufnell families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Tufnell 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. Hertfordshire leads with 28 Tufnells recorded in 1881 and an index of 27.58x.

County Total Index
Hertfordshire 28 27.58x
Middlesex 26 1.77x
Essex 22 7.57x
Hampshire 12 3.97x
Kent 12 2.39x
Surrey 12 1.67x
Staffordshire 8 1.61x
Lincolnshire 5 2.12x
Wiltshire 5 3.84x
Bedfordshire 4 5.24x
Berkshire 4 3.62x
Warwickshire 4 1.08x
Buckinghamshire 2 2.25x
Royal Navy 2 11.40x
Suffolk 2 1.11x
Sussex 2 0.81x
Leicestershire 1 0.61x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Hitchin in Hertfordshire leads with 8 Tufnells recorded in 1881 and an index of 174.67x.

Place Total Index
Hitchin 8 174.67x
Little Wymondley 8 4000.00x
Great Waltham 7 593.22x
Paddington London 7 12.92x
Portsmouth 6 86.33x
St Bartholomew Hyde 6 833.33x
Stoke Upon Trent 5 9.48x
Aston 4 3.91x
Camberwell 4 4.25x
Chelsea London 4 9.01x
Deptford St Paul 4 10.32x
Fryerning 4 1142.86x
Heckington 4 444.44x
Newington 4 7.35x
Plumstead 4 23.88x
Sarratt 4 1142.86x
Woolwich 4 21.54x
Bocking 3 171.43x
Box 3 270.27x
Islington London 3 2.10x
Reading St Giles 3 27.65x
Stotfold 3 205.48x
Bromley London 2 6.17x
Cheadle 2 83.68x
Cheshunt 2 56.34x
Flamstead 2 212.77x
Great Cornard 2 487.80x
Hackney London 2 2.42x
Hatfield Peverel 2 317.46x
Lambeth 2 1.56x
Little Easton 2 1333.33x
Marlborough 2 909.09x
Penge 2 21.25x
Royal Navy 2 13.33x
Shoreditch London 2 3.13x
St George Hanover 2 10.40x
Stony Stratford East 2 540.54x
Wormingford 2 833.33x
Bedford St Peter 1 50.51x
Brickendon 1 212.77x
Brighton 1 2.00x
Clerkenwell London 1 2.88x
Eastbourne 1 8.75x
Gosfield 1 322.58x
Hampstead London 1 4.36x
Hatfield Broad Oak 1 102.04x
Helpringham 1 212.77x
Kimpton 1 208.33x
Leicester St Margaret 1 2.51x
Rickmansworth 1 35.71x
Rolleston 1 263.16x
Sandhurst 1 46.73x
St Marylebone London 1 1.27x
Watford 1 12.71x
Westminster St 1 18.42x

Top female names

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

Name Count
John 9
William 8
Frederick 6
George 6
Henry 6
James 6
Alfred 4
Arthur 3
Edward 3
Thomas 3
Adolphus 2
Lionel 2
Walter 2
Benj. 1
Benjamin 1
Carleton 1
Charles 1
E.M. 1
Fanshaw 1
Francis 1
Henery 1
Herbert 1
Herbt. 1
Nevill 1
Prime 1
Robt.G. 1
Wm. 1
Wyndham 1

FAQ

Tufnell surname: questions and answers

How common was the Tufnell surname in 1881?

In 1881, 152 people were recorded with the Tufnell surname. That placed it at #15,372 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Tufnell surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 199 in 2016. That gives Tufnell a modern rank of #19,653.

What does the Tufnell surname mean?

An English habitational surname derived from the place name Tufnell in Middlesex.

What does the Tufnell map show?

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