NameCensus.

UK surname

Turkington

An Anglo-Saxon surname derived from a locational name in England.

In the 1881 census there were 67 people recorded with the Turkington surname, ranking it #24,104 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 319, ranked #14,121, up from #24,104 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to St Leonard Shoreditch, Govan Combination and London parishes. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Dundonald, Loans and Symington, North East Lincolnshire and Halton.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Turkington is 328 in 2011. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 376.1%.

1881 census count

67

Ranked #24,104

Modern count

319

2016, ranked #14,121

Peak year

2011

328 bearers

Map years

6

1891 to 2016

Key insights

  • Turkington had 67 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #24,104 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 319 in 2016, ranked #14,121.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 139 in 1901.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Established but Challenged.

Turkington surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Turkington surname density by area, 2016 modern.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Turkington 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 50 #24,274
1861 historical 77 #23,975
1881 historical 67 #24,104
1891 historical 128 #20,393
1901 historical 139 #18,876
1911 historical 111 #21,392
1997 modern 300 #13,530
1998 modern 306 #13,720
1999 modern 327 #13,209
2000 modern 318 #13,415
2001 modern 312 #13,392
2002 modern 320 #13,414
2003 modern 308 #13,587
2004 modern 298 #13,937
2005 modern 307 #13,625
2006 modern 308 #13,669
2007 modern 308 #13,791
2008 modern 315 #13,686
2009 modern 314 #13,985
2010 modern 324 #13,979
2011 modern 328 #13,730
2012 modern 315 #14,031
2013 modern 321 #14,073
2014 modern 321 #14,150
2015 modern 315 #14,247
2016 modern 319 #14,121

Geography

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Where Turkingtons are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around St Leonard Shoreditch, Govan Combination, London parishes, Warsill, Ripon (Newby-with-Mulwith, Ripon) and Glasgow. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Dundonald, Loans and Symington, North East Lincolnshire, Halton and Thurrock. 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 St Leonard Shoreditch London (East Districts)
2 Govan Combination Lanark
3 London parishes London 3
4 Warsill, Ripon (Newby-with-Mulwith, Ripon) Yorkshire, West Riding
5 Glasgow Lanark

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Dundonald, Loans and Symington South Ayrshire
2 North East Lincolnshire 003 North East Lincolnshire
3 Halton 015 Halton
4 North East Lincolnshire 011 North East Lincolnshire
5 Thurrock 006 Thurrock

Forenames

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First names often paired with Turkington

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

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Turkington

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

Semi- and Un-Skilled Workforce

Group

Established but Challenged

Nationally, the Turkington surname is most associated with neighbourhoods classed as Established but Challenged, within Semi- and Un-Skilled Workforce. This does not mean every Turkington household fits that profile, but it gives a useful signal about where the modern surname distribution is strongest.

Read profile summary

Group profile

Many households in these neighbourhoods comprise separated or divorced single parents with dependent children. Residents are typically born in the UK, and these neighbourhoods have relatively few members of ethnic minorities. The prevalence of children, their parents and those at or above normal retirement age, suggests neighbourhood structures may be long-established. Levels of unpaid care are high, and long-term disability is more common than in the Supergroup as a whole. Use of the social rented sector is common, often in terraced houses. Levels of overcrowding are above the Supergroup average. Unemployment is high, while those in work are employed in elementary occupations such as caring, leisure and customer services. Many residents have low level qualifications. Neighbourhood concentrations of this Group are found in the South Wales Valleys, Belfast, Londonderry and the Central Lowlands of Scotland.

Wider pattern

Living in terraced or semi-detached houses, residents of these neighbourhoods typically lack high levels of education and work in elementary or routine service occupations. Unemployment is above average. Residents are predominantly born in the UK, and residents are also predominantly from ethnic minorities. Social (but not private sector) rented sector housing is common. This Supergroup is found throughout the UK’s conurbations and industrial regions but is also an integral part of smaller towns.

London neighbourhood type

London Output Area Classification

Supergroup

The Greater London Mix

Group

Social Rented Sector Professional Support Workers

Within London, Turkington is most associated with areas classed as Social Rented Sector Professional Support 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

Mainly located in Inner London, these neighbourhoods retain a diverse employment structure, with some concentration in associated professional and technical occupations rather than skilled trades or construction. Social renting is more common and levels of homeownership are low. Many residents identify as Black. There is a lower than average rate of marriage or civil partnership, few that are very old (85 or over) and higher than average incidence of disability.

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

Turkington is most concentrated in decile 10 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.

10
Lower access Higher access

Neighbourhood deprivation

Index of Multiple Deprivation

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

Meaning and origin of Turkington

The surname Turkington has its origins in England, and it is believed to have emerged around the 12th or 13th century. It is derived from an Old English place name, "Torcingtun," which means "the farm or settlement of Torca's people." This place name is likely referring to a location in either Nottinghamshire or Derbyshire, where the name was first recorded.

One of the earliest known records of the Turkington name can be found in the Hundred Rolls of Nottinghamshire, a survey of landowners conducted in 1275. It mentions a person named "William de Torkyngton," which is an early spelling variation of the surname.

Throughout the centuries, the name has been recorded in various historical documents with slight variations in spelling, such as Torkinton, Torkington, and Turkyngton. These variations were common during the Middle Ages when spelling conventions were not yet standardized.

In the 16th century, a notable figure bearing the Turkington surname was Sir Roger Torkington, a wealthy merchant and landowner from Warwickshire. He was born in 1510 and served as the Sheriff of Warwickshire in 1555.

Another prominent individual with the Turkington name was John Torkington, a 16th-century English traveler and writer. He was born around 1530 and is best known for his travelogue, "The Travels of an English Merchant," which documented his journey to the Middle East and North Africa.

In the 17th century, the Turkington name appeared in the records of the Virginia Company, which established the first permanent English settlement in North America at Jamestown. A man named Robert Torkington was listed as an early settler in Virginia in the 1620s.

Moving forward to the 18th century, a notable figure was Sir John Torkington, a British naval officer and politician. He was born in 1729 and served as a Member of Parliament for Liverpool from 1796 to 1806.

Another individual of note was Richard Torkington, a 19th-century English author and clergyman. He was born in 1805 and is remembered for his work "The Fossil Remains of a Former World," which explored the geological history of the earth.

While the Turkington surname has its roots in England, it has since spread to various parts of the world due to migration and settlement patterns. However, the oldest and most significant records of the name can be traced back to the English counties of Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire, where the name originated from an Old English place name centuries ago.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

1881 census detail

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Turkington families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Turkington 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 20 Turkingtons recorded in 1881 and an index of 3.18x.

County Total Index
Yorkshire 20 3.18x
Middlesex 11 1.74x
Lanarkshire 10 4.88x
Lancashire 5 0.66x
Midlothian 5 5.89x
Gloucestershire 4 3.22x
Surrey 4 1.30x
Hampshire 3 2.31x
Cheshire 2 1.43x
Staffordshire 1 0.47x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Ripon in Yorkshire leads with 8 Turkingtons recorded in 1881 and an index of 547.95x.

Place Total Index
Ripon 8 547.95x
Glasgow 5 13.73x
Holbeck 5 120.19x
Islington London 5 8.14x
South Leith 5 52.30x
Bristol St Philip Jacob 4 34.16x
Streatham 4 85.11x
Wortley In Bramley 4 80.32x
Portsea 3 11.78x
Shoreditch London 3 10.92x
Bradford 2 13.15x
Chorley 2 47.39x
Govan 2 3.94x
Liscard 2 79.37x
Preston 2 9.94x
Rutherglen 2 66.45x
St George Hanover 2 24.18x
Barony 1 1.93x
Leeds 1 2.82x
St Paul Covent Garden 1 158.73x
West Derby 1 4.54x
Wolstanton 1 15.38x

Top female names

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

Name Count
Mary 8
Sarah 5
Ann 3
Jane 2
Agnes 1
Alice 1
Anne 1
Annie 1
Edith 1
Emily 1
Emma 1
Florence 1
Lilly 1
Marguerite 1
Maria 1
Susanah 1

Top male names

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

Name Count
William 5
John 3
George 2
Joseph 2
Samuel 2
Thomas 2
Albert 1
David 1
James 1
Wm. 1

Top occupations

Occupational titles are kept as recorded and later transcribed, so related jobs, spelling variants and mistakes stay separate. Scholar was the census term for a child in education. That means the other rows often tell you more about adult work in Turkington households.

FAQ

Turkington surname: questions and answers

How common was the Turkington surname in 1881?

In 1881, 67 people were recorded with the Turkington surname. That placed it at #24,104 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Turkington surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 319 in 2016. That gives Turkington a modern rank of #14,121.

What does the Turkington surname mean?

An Anglo-Saxon surname derived from a locational name in England.

What does the Turkington map show?

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