NameCensus.

UK surname

Tufts

A surname referring to someone who lived near a clump of trees or bushes.

In the 1881 census there were 75 people recorded with the Tufts surname, ranking it #22,893 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 93, ranked #31,945, down from #22,893 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to No data. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Breckland and South Norfolk.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Tufts is 108 in 1998. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 24.0%.

1881 census count

75

Ranked #22,893

Modern count

93

2016, ranked #31,945

Peak year

1998

108 bearers

Map years

1

1998 to 1998

Key insights

  • Tufts had 75 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #22,893 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 93 in 2016, ranked #31,945.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 75 in 1881.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Spacious Rural Living.

Tufts surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Tufts surname density by area, 1998 modern.

Loading map
Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Tufts 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 58 #22,928
1861 historical 60 #26,313
1881 historical 75 #22,893
1891 historical 38 #31,330
1901 historical 45 #29,156
1911 historical 67 #26,152
1997 modern 97 #27,342
1998 modern 108 #26,417
1999 modern 108 #26,602
2000 modern 105 #27,001
2001 modern 100 #27,402
2002 modern 95 #28,666
2003 modern 97 #28,217
2004 modern 92 #29,197
2005 modern 91 #29,406
2006 modern 85 #30,556
2007 modern 90 #30,228
2008 modern 94 #29,950
2009 modern 95 #30,393
2010 modern 100 #30,225
2011 modern 99 #30,218
2012 modern 90 #31,790
2013 modern 98 #31,078
2014 modern 97 #31,518
2015 modern 99 #31,168
2016 modern 93 #31,945

Geography

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Where Tufts' are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around No data. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Breckland and South Norfolk. 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 No data No data

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Breckland 008 Breckland
2 South Norfolk 004 South Norfolk
3 Breckland 010 Breckland
4 South Norfolk 002 South Norfolk
5 South Norfolk 009 South Norfolk

Forenames

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First names often paired with Tufts

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

Historical female names

No Forenames Found

Historical male names

No Forenames Found

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Tufts

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

Retired Professionals

Group

Spacious Rural Living

Nationally, the Tufts surname is most associated with neighbourhoods classed as Spacious Rural Living, within Retired Professionals. This does not mean every Tufts household fits that profile, but it gives a useful signal about where the modern surname distribution is strongest.

Read profile summary

Group profile

These predominantly ageing households typically have no resident dependent children. Most are owner-occupiers and live in detached houses in low density residential developments (although renting is more common than in the rest of the Supergroup). White ethnicity predominates. Residents are typically beyond retirement age but those still in work have managerial, professional or skilled trade occupations. White ethnicity and Christian religious affiliation predominate. Neighbourhoods are located throughout rural UK.

Wider pattern

Typically married but no longer with resident dependent children, these well-educated households either remain working in their managerial, professional, administrative or other skilled occupations, or are retired from them – the modal individual age is beyond normal retirement age. Underoccupied detached and semi-detached properties predominate, and unpaid care is more prevalent than reported disability. The prevalence of this Supergroup outside most urban conurbations indicates that rural lifestyles prevail, typically sustained by using two or more cars per household.

London neighbourhood type

London Output Area Classification

Supergroup

Professional Employment and Family Lifecycles

Group

Inner London Working Professionals

Within London, Tufts is most associated with areas classed as Inner London Working Professionals, 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

These primarily Inner London neighbourhoods are more densely populated than the Supergroup average. Residents have a younger over-all age profile than the Supergroup as a whole, and are less likely to be owner occupiers. Full time employment is more common than elsewhere in the Supergroup and multiple car ownership is uncommon. Chinese and non-EU-born European migrants are less in evidence than elsewhere in the Supergroup.

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

Tufts 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

Tufts falls in decile 5 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.

5
More deprived Less deprived

Broadband speed

Fixed broadband download speed

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

Meaning and origin of Tufts

The surname Tufts is of English origin and can be traced back to the 13th century. It is derived from the Old English word "tuft," which referred to a clump or thicket of grass, bushes, or trees growing on a hilltop or elevated area of land.

The name likely originated as a topographic surname, describing a person who lived near or on a hillock or mound covered with tufts of vegetation. The earliest recorded spelling of the name was found in the Hundred Rolls of Huntingdonshire in 1273, which mentioned a William Tuft.

In the 14th century, the name appeared in the Yorkshire Poll Tax Returns of 1379 as Tuftys. This indicates the development of the surname from its original topographic meaning to a hereditary family name.

The Tufts surname is also associated with several place names in England, such as Tufton in Berkshire and Tufton in Hampshire. These locations may have derived their names from the same Old English word "tuft," suggesting that the surname could have originated from these areas.

One notable individual with the Tufts surname was Sir William Tufton (1616-1675), a member of the English gentry and a Royalist during the English Civil War. He fought for King Charles I and was knighted for his loyalty in 1644.

Another prominent figure was Thomas Tufts (1644-1724), a wealthy merchant and landowner in colonial Massachusetts. He donated a significant portion of his estate to establish Tufts College, now known as Tufts University, in 1852.

The Domesday Book, a comprehensive record of landholdings in England commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086, does not contain any direct references to the Tufts surname. However, it does mention several places with names derived from the Old English word "tuft," suggesting the topographic origins of the name.

Other notable individuals bearing the Tufts surname include John Tufts (1689-1750), a colonial American merchant and politician; Charles Tufts (1781-1876), a British naval officer and explorer; and Edward Tufts (1809-1886), an American inventor and engineer.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

1881 census detail

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Tufts families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Tufts 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. Norfolk leads with 47 Tufts' recorded in 1881 and an index of 41.79x.

County Total Index
Norfolk 47 41.79x
Middlesex 8 1.09x
Suffolk 6 6.73x
Yorkshire 6 0.83x
Warwickshire 3 1.63x
Cambridgeshire 2 4.32x
Lancashire 2 0.23x
Kent 1 0.40x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Scoulton in Norfolk leads with 15 Tufts' recorded in 1881 and an index of 18750.00x.

Place Total Index
Scoulton 15 18750.00x
Swaffham 12 1318.68x
Marske In Guisbrough 6 465.12x
Hoxne 5 2000.00x
Briningham 4 5714.29x
Bromley London 4 24.86x
Great Ellingham 4 2352.94x
Aston 3 5.91x
Emneth 3 1200.00x
Helhoughton 2 2500.00x
Lakenham 2 125.00x
Linton 2 454.55x
St Pancras London 2 3.40x
West Rudham 2 1666.67x
Canterbury St Mary 1 59.88x
Earlham 1 1666.67x
East Tuddenham 1 909.09x
Edmonton 1 16.98x
Islington London 1 1.41x
Liverpool 1 1.90x
Mellis 1 833.33x
Warrington 1 9.72x
Woodrising 1 5000.00x

Top female names

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

Name Count
William 10
Robert 7
James 4
John 3
Henry 2
Josiah 2
Samuel 2
Thomas 2
Charles 1
Cross 1
Daniel 1
David 1
Francis 1
George 1
Nat. 1
Phillip 1
Sidney 1
Simon 1
True 1

FAQ

Tufts surname: questions and answers

How common was the Tufts surname in 1881?

In 1881, 75 people were recorded with the Tufts surname. That placed it at #22,893 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Tufts surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 93 in 2016. That gives Tufts a modern rank of #31,945.

What does the Tufts surname mean?

A surname referring to someone who lived near a clump of trees or bushes.

What does the Tufts map show?

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