NameCensus.

UK surname

Villers

A surname denoting someone from any of the numerous places called Villers in France.

In the 1881 census there were 94 people recorded with the Villers surname, ranking it #20,467 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 132, ranked #25,882, down from #20,467 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to St Leonard Shoreditch, St John Hackney and Coventry Holy Trinity (incl. Radford), Coventry St Michael, Wyken. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Birmingham, Westminster and West Somerset.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Villers is 133 in 2005. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 40.4%.

1881 census count

94

Ranked #20,467

Modern count

132

2016, ranked #25,882

Peak year

2005

133 bearers

Map years

6

1891 to 2016

Key insights

  • Villers had 94 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #20,467 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 132 in 2016, ranked #25,882.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 120 in 1911.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Suburban Professionals.

Villers surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Villers surname density by area, 2016 modern.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Villers 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 95 #17,707
1861 historical 80 #23,566
1881 historical 94 #20,467
1891 historical 114 #22,006
1901 historical 116 #20,933
1911 historical 120 #20,447
1997 modern 105 #26,188
1998 modern 116 #25,332
1999 modern 114 #25,766
2000 modern 120 #24,950
2001 modern 119 #24,733
2002 modern 116 #25,632
2003 modern 122 #24,628
2004 modern 124 #24,559
2005 modern 133 #23,502
2006 modern 124 #24,750
2007 modern 129 #24,503
2008 modern 120 #25,922
2009 modern 128 #25,427
2010 modern 127 #26,176
2011 modern 121 #26,789
2012 modern 129 #25,705
2013 modern 132 #25,789
2014 modern 133 #25,851
2015 modern 133 #25,729
2016 modern 132 #25,882

Geography

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Where Villers' are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around St Leonard Shoreditch, St John Hackney, Coventry Holy Trinity (incl. Radford), Coventry St Michael, Wyken, London parishes 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 Birmingham, Westminster, West Somerset and Tamworth. 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 St John Hackney London (North Districts)
3 Coventry Holy Trinity (incl. Radford), Coventry St Michael, Wyken Warwickshire
4 London parishes London 2
5 Birmingham Town: Birmingham Warwickshire

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Birmingham 025 Birmingham
2 Westminster 022 Westminster
3 Birmingham 023 Birmingham
4 West Somerset 002 West Somerset
5 Tamworth 003 Tamworth

Forenames

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First names often paired with Villers

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

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Villers

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

Ethnically Diverse Suburban Professionals

Group

Suburban Professionals

Nationally, the Villers surname is most associated with neighbourhoods classed as Suburban Professionals, within Ethnically Diverse Suburban Professionals. This does not mean every Villers household fits that profile, but it gives a useful signal about where the modern surname distribution is strongest.

Read profile summary

Group profile

Employment in this Group is typically in managerial and professional occupations, and education to degree level is common. Residents are typically of working age, many of whom identify with an Indian ethnicity. Households are unlikely to be of Mixed or Multiple ethnicities, and English is not the main language used in some households. This Group is found on the outskirts of most conurbations as well as in the suburbs of some free-standing towns.

Wider pattern

Those working within the managerial, professional and administrative occupations typically reflect a wide range of ethnic groups, and reside in detached or semi-detached housing. Their residential locations at the edges of cities and conurbations and car-based lifestyles are more characteristic of Supergroup membership than birthplace or participation in child-rearing. Houses are typically owner-occupied and marriage rates are lower than the national average. This Supergroup is found throughout suburban UK.

London neighbourhood type

London Output Area Classification

Supergroup

Professional Employment and Family Lifecycles

Group

European Enclaves

Within London, Villers 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

Villers is most concentrated in decile 8 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.

8
Lower access Higher access

Neighbourhood deprivation

Index of Multiple Deprivation

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

Meaning and origin of Villers

The surname Villers originated in France during the medieval period. It is derived from the Old French word "villier," which means "large village" or "small town." The name likely referred to someone who lived in a particular village or town.

The earliest recorded instances of the name Villers can be found in various documents from the 12th and 13th centuries in northern France. For example, the name appeared in the Cartulaire de l'abbaye de Longpont, a collection of charters from the Abbey of Longpont in Picardy, dating back to the 12th century.

One of the earliest known individuals with the surname Villers was Guillaume de Villers, a French knight who fought in the Fourth Crusade and participated in the sack of Constantinople in 1204. Another notable figure was Jacques de Villers, a 13th-century French scholar and theologian who served as the Archbishop of Tyre in the Kingdom of Jerusalem.

During the Middle Ages, the name Villers was sometimes spelled with variations such as Villiers, Vilers, or Vilers. These variations likely reflected regional differences in pronunciation and orthography. The name was also associated with certain place names in France, such as Villers-Bretonneux and Villers-sous-Montrond.

In the 14th century, the name Villers appeared in the Froissart's Chronicles, a famous historical work by the French chronicler Jean Froissart. The chronicler mentioned a knight named Jean de Villers, who fought alongside the French during the Hundred Years' War against the English.

Another notable individual with the surname Villers was Nicolas de Villers, a 15th-century French diplomat and ambassador to the court of the Holy Roman Emperor. He played a significant role in negotiating treaties and alliances between France and other European powers.

Throughout the centuries, the surname Villers has been borne by various individuals from different walks of life, including nobles, scholars, soldiers, and artists. However, the name's origins can be traced back to the medieval period in France, where it was associated with the concept of a large village or small town.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

1881 census detail

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Villers families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Villers 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. Warwickshire leads with 40 Villers' recorded in 1881 and an index of 18.07x.

County Total Index
Warwickshire 40 18.07x
Middlesex 18 2.05x
Worcestershire 11 9.60x
Leicestershire 7 7.19x
Kent 2 0.67x
Surrey 2 0.47x
Sussex 2 1.35x
Derbyshire 1 0.73x
Devon 1 0.55x
Essex 1 0.58x
Lanarkshire 1 0.35x
Lancashire 1 0.10x
Northumberland 1 0.77x
Somerset 1 0.71x
Staffordshire 1 0.34x

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 13 Villers' recorded in 1881 and an index of 21.33x.

Place Total Index
Aston 13 21.33x
Birmingham 12 16.26x
Coventry St Michael 10 140.65x
Worcester St Peter 8 368.66x
Seals 7 2058.82x
Finchley 3 89.02x
Hackney London 3 6.10x
Poplar London 3 18.11x
Westminster St 3 92.59x
Hove 2 30.82x
Islington London 2 2.35x
Kensington London 2 4.10x
Shoreditch London 2 5.25x
Stoke 2 454.55x
Allesley 1 344.83x
Barking 1 19.72x
Barnstaple 1 34.84x
Barony 1 1.39x
Coventry Holy Trinity 1 15.13x
Dulverton 1 243.90x
Hartshorn 1 192.31x
Lambeth 1 1.31x
Lillington 1 357.14x
Madresfield 1 1250.00x
Newington 1 3.08x
Pershore Holy Cross 1 136.99x
Plumstead 1 10.02x
Salford 1 3.26x
Seal 1 208.33x
Tynemouth 1 14.29x
Upperswinford 1 103.09x
Walsall Foreign 1 6.53x

Top female names

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

Name Count
Elizabeth 7
Mary 3
Sarah 3
Ann 2
Annie 2
Catherine 2
Ellenor 2
Emma 2
Harriet 2
Agnes 1
Charlotte 1
Dorothy 1
Eleanor 1
Elizth. 1
Emily 1
Esther 1
Eva 1
Fanny 1
Flora 1
Frances 1
Jane 1
John 1
Lillian 1
Lilly 1
Louisa 1
Margaret 1
Maria 1
Marian 1
Maud 1
Minnie 1
Polly 1
Virginie 1

Top male names

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

Name Count
William 7
Joseph 5
Thomas 5
Henry 4
Charles 3
John 3
Albert 2
Alfred 1
Arthur 1
Claude 1
David 1
Frank 1
Harry 1
Herbert 1
Mary 1
Robert 1
Thos. 1
Walter 1

FAQ

Villers surname: questions and answers

How common was the Villers surname in 1881?

In 1881, 94 people were recorded with the Villers surname. That placed it at #20,467 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Villers surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 132 in 2016. That gives Villers a modern rank of #25,882.

What does the Villers surname mean?

A surname denoting someone from any of the numerous places called Villers in France.

What does the Villers map show?

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