NameCensus.

UK surname

Twist

An English surname possibly referring to someone with a twist or deformity.

In the 1881 census there were 1,484 people recorded with the Twist surname, ranking it #2,817 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 1,697, ranked #3,677, down from #2,817 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to Winwick, North Meols and Liverpool. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include St. Helens.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Twist is 1,881 in 1999. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 14.4%.

1881 census count

1,484

Ranked #2,817

Modern count

1,697

2016, ranked #3,677

Peak year

1999

1,881 bearers

Map years

9

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Twist had 1,484 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #2,817 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 1,697 in 2016, ranked #3,677.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 1,877 in 1911.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Small Town Suburbia.

Twist surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Twist surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Twist 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 881 #3,106
1861 historical 881 #3,147
1881 historical 1,484 #2,817
1891 historical 1,531 #2,881
1901 historical 1,743 #2,975
1911 historical 1,877 #2,635
1997 modern 1,836 #3,277
1998 modern 1,869 #3,351
1999 modern 1,881 #3,351
2000 modern 1,869 #3,344
2001 modern 1,813 #3,370
2002 modern 1,836 #3,400
2003 modern 1,777 #3,430
2004 modern 1,760 #3,464
2005 modern 1,759 #3,442
2006 modern 1,726 #3,504
2007 modern 1,728 #3,527
2008 modern 1,739 #3,535
2009 modern 1,782 #3,538
2010 modern 1,830 #3,517
2011 modern 1,775 #3,571
2012 modern 1,705 #3,637
2013 modern 1,745 #3,619
2014 modern 1,740 #3,646
2015 modern 1,710 #3,661
2016 modern 1,697 #3,677

Geography

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Where Twists are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around Winwick, North Meols, Liverpool, Ormskirk and Birmingham Town: Birmingham. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to St. Helens. 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 Winwick Lancashire
2 North Meols Lancashire
3 Liverpool Lancashire
4 Ormskirk Lancashire
5 Birmingham Town: Birmingham Warwickshire

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 St. Helens 014 St. Helens
2 St. Helens 020 St. Helens
3 St. Helens 004 St. Helens
4 St. Helens 012 St. Helens
5 St. Helens 022 St. Helens

Forenames

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First names often paired with Twist

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

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Twist

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

Small Town Suburbia

Nationally, the Twist surname is most associated with neighbourhoods classed as Small Town Suburbia, within Retired Professionals. This does not mean every Twist 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 is predominantly comprised of married couples with no resident dependent children, living in areas characterised neither by under-occupancy nor overcrowding throughout the UK in or adjacent to small towns. White ethnic groups and affiliation with Christianity predominates. Housing tends to be predominantly semi-detached or detached and workers are employed principally in managerial and professional occupations, with semi-skilled occupations also in evidence. These areas of the Supergroup are of higher population density.

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

The Greater London Mix

Group

Social Rented Sector Professional Support Workers

Within London, Twist 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

Twist is most concentrated in decile 5 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.

5
Lower access Higher access

Neighbourhood deprivation

Index of Multiple Deprivation

Twist 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 Twist is most associated with a typical fixed broadband download band of 60-70 mbit/s.

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

9
Slower band Faster band

Area snapshot

Ethnic group estimate

Most common ethnic group estimate
White - British

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

Meaning and origin of Twist

The surname Twist has its origins in England, emerging in the late 12th century. It is derived from the Old English word "twist," meaning a winding or twisted path, or a crooked and meandering course. It may have initially been used as a descriptive name to identify someone who lived along a twisting road or path.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Twist can be found in the Pipe Rolls of Nottinghamshire from the year 1195, where a person named Willelmus Twist is mentioned. The name also appears in the Hundred Rolls of Oxfordshire in 1273, with a reference to a Robert le Twist.

During the medieval period, the name Twist was predominantly found in the counties of Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire, and Oxfordshire, suggesting that these areas may have been the original strongholds of the name.

In the 16th century, the name Twist was also associated with several place names, such as Twistleton in Staffordshire and Twistleton Hall in Lancashire. These place names likely derived from the surname, indicating the presence of families bearing the name in those locations.

Notable individuals with the surname Twist throughout history include:

1. Sir John Twist (1585-1659), an English politician and Member of Parliament for Woodstock during the English Civil War. 2. William Twist (1786-1845), an English painter and engraver known for his landscapes and portraits. 3. Oliver Twist, the famous fictional character created by Charles Dickens in his novel "Oliver Twist," published in 1838. 4. John Twist (1785-1861), an English industrialist and cotton spinner who played a significant role in the development of the textile industry in Lancashire. 5. Sir Martin Twist (1923-2000), a British businessman and former Chairman of the Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company (P&O).

While the surname Twist has its roots in England, it has since spread to other parts of the world, particularly through emigration and the mobility of families over the centuries.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

1881 census detail

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Twist families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Twist 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. Lancashire leads with 823 Twists recorded in 1881 and an index of 4.80x.

County Total Index
Lancashire 823 4.80x
Warwickshire 189 5.19x
Yorkshire 70 0.49x
Staffordshire 60 1.23x
Middlesex 53 0.37x
Surrey 36 0.51x
Flintshire 28 7.21x
Durham 26 0.60x
Kent 26 0.53x
Cheshire 24 0.75x
Worcestershire 21 1.11x
Nottinghamshire 14 0.72x
Carmarthenshire 12 1.97x
Monmouthshire 11 1.05x
Montgomeryshire 11 3.32x
Northamptonshire 11 0.81x
Norfolk 10 0.45x
Devon 8 0.27x
Shropshire 7 0.56x
Brecknockshire 6 2.08x
Caernarfonshire 6 1.03x
Essex 5 0.18x
Hertfordshire 5 0.50x
Derbyshire 4 0.18x
Pembrokeshire 4 0.87x
Gloucestershire 2 0.07x
Lanarkshire 2 0.04x
Lincolnshire 2 0.09x
Angus 1 0.07x
Berkshire 1 0.09x
Hampshire 1 0.03x
Sussex 1 0.04x
Wiltshire 1 0.08x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Aston in Warwickshire leads with 95 Twists recorded in 1881 and an index of 9.47x.

Place Total Index
Aston 95 9.47x
Windle 72 74.64x
Birmingham 70 5.77x
Haydock 59 199.73x
Parr 55 89.68x
Golborne 44 196.96x
North Meols 44 26.22x
Sutton 41 71.32x
Eccleston In Prescot 39 45.32x
Scarisbrick 37 185.93x
Liverpool 36 3.46x
Hindley 25 34.20x
Ashton In Makerfield 23 47.12x
Skelmersdale 22 77.00x
Ashton Under Lyne 21 5.61x
Rhuddlan 20 58.50x
West Derby 20 3.99x
Everton 19 3.48x
West Bromwich 19 6.81x
Preston 18 3.92x
Toxteth Park 18 3.10x
Abram 17 129.28x
Doncaster 16 15.30x
Bishop Auckland 15 26.01x
Lambeth 15 1.19x
Wavertree 14 25.51x
Harwood 13 145.09x
Selby 13 43.45x
Halliwell 12 19.23x
Handsworth 12 9.98x
Holbeck 12 12.65x
Lathom 12 57.97x
Coventry St Michael 11 9.40x
Northampton St Giles 11 21.25x
St Woollos 11 9.44x
Kings Norton 10 5.91x
Much Woolton 10 42.99x
Nottingham St Mary 10 1.99x
St George In East 10 10.18x
Birkdale 9 20.75x
Dudley 9 3.92x
Little Bolton 9 4.08x
Llanelly 9 6.56x
Long Ditton 9 78.33x
Preston Next Faversham 9 77.65x
Stoke Upon Trent 9 1.74x
Tanworth 9 93.46x
Whiston 9 67.31x
Farnworth 8 7.79x
Hampton Wick London 8 75.61x
Kings Lynn St Margaret 8 12.00x
Lowton 8 68.61x
Blackburn 7 1.53x
Farington 7 70.14x
Ormskirk 7 21.34x
Plymouth St Andrew 7 3.02x
Brandon Byshottles 6 11.14x
Builth 6 83.33x
Hammerwich 6 86.71x
Leeds 6 0.74x
Manchester 6 0.78x
Middle Town 6 1200.00x
Milton In Gravesend 6 8.12x
Shoreditch London 6 0.96x
St Luke London 6 2.59x
Bootle Cum Linacre 5 3.67x
Chelsea London 5 1.15x
Dukinfield 5 3.39x
Hawarden 5 16.39x
Mile End Old Town 5 2.19x
Newington 5 0.94x
Plumstead 5 3.04x
Radcliffe 5 6.05x
Salford 5 0.99x
Walsall Foreign 5 1.98x
Watford 5 6.48x
West Ham 5 0.79x
Westleigh 5 12.84x
Widnes 5 4.04x
Wolverhampton 5 1.33x

Top female names

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

Name Count
Mary 116
Elizabeth 67
Ellen 42
Ann 38
Sarah 36
Jane 32
Margaret 32
Alice 29
Martha 23
Annie 19
Eliza 15
Emma 15
Louisa 13
Hannah 11
Harriet 11
Maria 11
Catherine 9
Emily 9
Elizth. 8
Caroline 7
Charlotte 7
Esther 7
Frances 7
Ada 6
Kate 6
Bertha 5
Edith 5
Fanny 5
Lucy 5
Anne 4
Eliz. 4
Gertrude 4
Phoebe 4
Agnes 3
Amy 3
Eleanor 3
Florence 3
Lilian 3
Maggie 3
Maud 3
Minnie 3
Susan 3
Clara 2
Helen 2
Jessie 2
Lilly 2
Margeret 2
Margt. 2
Nancey 2
Nellie 2

Top male names

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

Name Count
John 95
William 86
James 66
Thomas 50
Henry 42
Joseph 42
George 37
Peter 28
Samuel 22
Charles 19
Edward 16
Richard 16
Robert 15
Arthur 11
Wm. 11
Alfred 10
Walter 10
Isaac 9
Frederick 6
Albert 5
David 5
Edwin 5
Francis 5
Harry 5
Benjamin 4
Edmund 4
Ernest 4
Frank 4
Hugh 4
Moses 4
Paul 4
Christopher 3
Fredrick 3
Joshua 3
Reuben 3
Thos. 3
Aaron 2
Abraham 2
Eli 2
Florance 2
Horace 2
Jno. 2
Matthew 2
Nimrod 2
Norman 2
Oliver 2
Percy 2
Phillip 2
Robt. 2
Will. 2

FAQ

Twist surname: questions and answers

How common was the Twist surname in 1881?

In 1881, 1,484 people were recorded with the Twist surname. That placed it at #2,817 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Twist surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 1,697 in 2016. That gives Twist a modern rank of #3,677.

What does the Twist surname mean?

An English surname possibly referring to someone with a twist or deformity.

What does the Twist map show?

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