NameCensus.

UK surname

Turriff

A locational surname derived from a place name in Aberdeenshire, Scotland.

In the 1881 census there were 81 people recorded with the Turriff surname, ranking it #22,082 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 144, ranked #24,390, down from #22,082 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to No data. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Longside and Rattray, Deer and Mormond and Auchnagatt.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Turriff is 148 in 2015. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 77.8%.

1881 census count

81

Ranked #22,082

Modern count

144

2016, ranked #24,390

Peak year

2015

148 bearers

Map years

3

1998 to 2016

Key insights

  • Turriff had 81 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #22,082 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 144 in 2016, ranked #24,390.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 81 in 1881.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Spacious Rural Living.

Turriff surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Turriff surname density by area, 2016 modern.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Turriff 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 70 #21,020
1861 historical 65 #25,618
1881 historical 81 #22,082
1891 historical 66 #28,541
1901 historical 76 #25,734
1911 historical 8 #32,903
1997 modern 110 #25,529
1998 modern 122 #24,556
1999 modern 129 #23,907
2000 modern 127 #24,121
2001 modern 127 #23,781
2002 modern 130 #23,903
2003 modern 137 #22,939
2004 modern 137 #23,098
2005 modern 140 #22,774
2006 modern 142 #22,724
2007 modern 138 #23,478
2008 modern 137 #23,883
2009 modern 140 #24,033
2010 modern 145 #24,031
2011 modern 142 #24,182
2012 modern 141 #24,258
2013 modern 140 #24,779
2014 modern 140 #24,977
2015 modern 148 #23,934
2016 modern 144 #24,390

Geography

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Where Turriffs 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 Longside and Rattray, Deer and Mormond, Auchnagatt, Broughty Ferry West and Brechin East. Treat these as concentration signals, not proof that every family line began there.

Top historical parishes

Rank Parish Area
1 No data No data

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Longside and Rattray Aberdeenshire
2 Deer and Mormond Aberdeenshire
3 Auchnagatt Aberdeenshire
4 Broughty Ferry West Dundee City
5 Brechin East Angus

Forenames

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First names often paired with Turriff

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

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Turriff

Modern surname records can be compared with neighbourhood classifications. For Turriff, 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 Turriff surname is most associated with neighbourhoods classed as Spacious Rural Living, within Retired Professionals. This does not mean every Turriff 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, Turriff 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

Turriff 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

Turriff falls in decile 8 for neighbourhood deprivation. This puts the surname towards the less deprived end of the index.

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

8
More deprived Less deprived

Broadband speed

Fixed broadband download speed

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

Meaning and origin of Turriff

The surname Turriff is of Scottish origin, derived from the name of the town of Turriff in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. The name is believed to have its roots in the Gaelic language, possibly originating from the words "torr" meaning a hill or mound and "aibh" meaning a place by the water.

Turriff is first recorded as a place name in the 12th century, appearing in various forms such as "Turrau" and "Turveth" in early Scottish charters and records. The name likely evolved over time due to changes in pronunciation and spelling conventions.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Turriff can be found in the Exchequer Rolls of Scotland from the late 13th century, where a "William de Turriff" is mentioned in relation to land transactions in the area.

During the Middle Ages, the town of Turriff grew in importance as a market town and agricultural center, and it is likely that many individuals adopted the surname Turriff as a way of identifying their place of origin or residence.

Notable historical figures with the surname Turriff include:

1. John Turriff (c. 1590 - c. 1650), a Scottish minister and author who wrote a treatise on the art of preaching. 2. Alexander Turriff (c. 1620 - 1687), a Scottish mathematician and astronomer who made contributions to the development of logarithms. 3. Margaret Turriff (c. 1650 - 1720), a prominent landowner and philanthropist in Aberdeenshire, known for her support of education and the establishment of a school in Turriff. 4. Robert Turriff (c. 1710 - 1778), a Scottish merchant and landowner who played a significant role in the development of the town of Turriff during the 18th century. 5. James Turriff (1789 - 1861), a Scottish painter and engraver who was known for his landscape paintings and etchings of Scottish scenery.

While the surname Turriff is most commonly associated with Scotland, individuals bearing this name can also be found in other parts of the United Kingdom, as well as in countries with significant Scottish immigration, such as Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

1881 census detail

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Turriff families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Turriff 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. Aberdeenshire leads with 51 Turriffs recorded in 1881 and an index of 69.71x.

County Total Index
Aberdeenshire 51 69.71x
Kincardineshire 7 72.77x
Middlesex 6 0.76x
Angus 4 5.47x
Banffshire 4 24.41x
Wigtownshire 4 38.13x
Dunbartonshire 2 9.42x
Kirkcudbrightshire 2 17.48x
Lanarkshire 1 0.39x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Crimond in Aberdeenshire leads with 16 Turriffs recorded in 1881 and an index of 6956.52x.

Place Total Index
Crimond 16 6956.52x
Aberdeen Old Machar 14 91.68x
Kincardine O Neil 11 2115.38x
Poplar London 6 40.24x
Laurencekirk 5 892.86x
Fraserburgh 4 194.17x
Inch 4 392.16x
St Fergus 4 975.61x
Peterhead 3 77.52x
Brechin 2 69.44x
Cardross 2 78.43x
Fetteresso 2 132.45x
Oathlaw 2 1666.67x
Urr 2 134.23x
Aberdeen St Nicholas 1 7.30x
Barony 1 1.55x
Longside 1 114.94x
New Deer 1 75.76x

Top female names

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

Name Count
Alice 1
Isabella 1
Janet 1
Mary 1

Top male names

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

Name Count
Peter 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 Turriff households.

FAQ

Turriff surname: questions and answers

How common was the Turriff surname in 1881?

In 1881, 81 people were recorded with the Turriff surname. That placed it at #22,082 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Turriff surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 144 in 2016. That gives Turriff a modern rank of #24,390.

What does the Turriff surname mean?

A locational surname derived from a place name in Aberdeenshire, Scotland.

What does the Turriff map show?

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