NameCensus.

UK surname

Wadge

In the 1881 census there were 269 people recorded with the Wadge surname, ranking it #10,506 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 341, ranked #13,425, down from #10,506 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to Lanchester (Collierley, Kyo, Billingside, Medomsley, Ebchchester, Benfieldside, Heelyfield, Conside, Alternon and Portsmouth, Portsea. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Cornwall, Plymouth and County Durham.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Wadge is 402 in 1911. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 26.8%.

1881 census count

269

Ranked #10,506

Modern count

341

2016, ranked #13,425

Peak year

1911

402 bearers

Map years

9

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Wadge had 269 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #10,506 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 341 in 2016, ranked #13,425.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 402 in 1911.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Rural Amenity.

Wadge surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Wadge surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Wadge 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 242 #9,001
1861 historical 315 #8,071
1881 historical 269 #10,506
1891 historical 344 #9,969
1901 historical 373 #9,948
1911 historical 402 #9,249
1997 modern 357 #11,998
1998 modern 374 #11,963
1999 modern 374 #12,026
2000 modern 365 #12,196
2001 modern 353 #12,293
2002 modern 344 #12,777
2003 modern 336 #12,786
2004 modern 330 #12,994
2005 modern 314 #13,403
2006 modern 313 #13,517
2007 modern 306 #13,862
2008 modern 313 #13,746
2009 modern 336 #13,345
2010 modern 332 #13,745
2011 modern 329 #13,694
2012 modern 321 #13,836
2013 modern 331 #13,748
2014 modern 337 #13,659
2015 modern 334 #13,645
2016 modern 341 #13,425

Geography

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Where Wadges are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around Lanchester (Collierley, Kyo, Billingside, Medomsley, Ebchchester, Benfieldside, Heelyfield, Conside, Alternon, Portsmouth, Portsea, Linkinhorne and Calstock. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Cornwall, Plymouth, County Durham and South Tyneside. 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 Lanchester (Collierley, Kyo, Billingside, Medomsley, Ebchchester, Benfieldside, Heelyfield, Conside Durham
2 Alternon Cornwall
3 Portsmouth, Portsea Hampshire
4 Linkinhorne Cornwall
5 Calstock Cornwall

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Cornwall 006 Cornwall
2 Cornwall 013 Cornwall
3 Plymouth 013 Plymouth
4 County Durham 024 County Durham
5 South Tyneside 023 South Tyneside

Forenames

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First names often paired with Wadge

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

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Wadge

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

Suburbanites and Peri-Urbanities

Group

Rural Amenity

Nationally, the Wadge surname is most associated with neighbourhoods classed as Rural Amenity, within Suburbanites and Peri-Urbanities. This does not mean every Wadge 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 comprises older parents or retirees, with no resident dependent children, and with the lowest residential densities in this Supergroup. Predominantly UK-born, residents typically live in detached houses, although others do live in semi-detached and terraced properties. The level of multiple car ownership is the highest in this Supergroup. Most houses are owner occupied although social renting is also present. Many concentrations occur in high amenity rural locations, such as Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

Wider pattern

Pervasive throughout the UK, members of this Supergroup typically own (or are buying) their detached, semi-detached or terraced homes. They are also typically educated to A Level/Highers or degree level and work in skilled or professional occupations. Typically born in the UK, some families have children, although the median adult age is above 45 and some property has become under-occupied after children have left home. This Supergroup is pervasive not only in suburban locations, but also in neighbourhoods at or beyond the edge of cities that adjoin rural parts of the country.

London neighbourhood type

London Output Area Classification

Supergroup

Young Families and Mainstream Employment

Group

Terraced and Semi-Detached Suburbs

Within London, Wadge is most associated with areas classed as Terraced and Semi-Detached Suburbs, part of Young Families and Mainstream Employment. 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 concentrated in suburban areas, these terraced and semi-detached developments are less overcrowded than the Supergroup average, and resident households are more likely to own two or more cars. There are fewer residents aged 25-44, and a larger share of residents employed in administrative and secretarial occupations. Residents are more likely to have been born in the UK, less likely to have been born in the EU or Africa, and much less likely to self-identify as Bangladeshi.

Wider London pattern

Many families in these neighbourhoods have young children. Housing is principally in the social rented sector, in terraced or semi-detached units. While over-all residential densities are low, overcrowding is also prevalent locally. Residents are drawn from a range of ethnic minorities, with many identifying as Black and above average numbers born in Africa. Numbers identifying as of Chinese, Indian or White ethnicity are below average. Levels of proficiency in English are below average. Levels of separation or divorce and incidence of disability are both above average. Education is typically limited to Level 1, 2, or apprenticeship qualifications. Few residents work in professional or managerial occupations but the employment structure is otherwise diverse: it includes skilled trades, caring, leisure and other service occupations, sales and customer service occupations, construction, and work as process, plant, and machine operatives.

Healthy neighbourhoods

Access to healthy assets and hazards

Wadge is most concentrated in decile 7 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.

7
Lower access Higher access

Neighbourhood deprivation

Index of Multiple Deprivation

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

1881 census detail

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Wadge families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Wadge 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. Cornwall leads with 122 Wadges recorded in 1881 and an index of 40.02x.

County Total Index
Cornwall 122 40.02x
Durham 41 5.12x
Devon 36 6.42x
Lancashire 14 0.44x
Hampshire 10 1.81x
Somerset 8 1.85x
Channel Islands 5 6.27x
Middlesex 5 0.19x
Surrey 5 0.38x
Yorkshire 5 0.19x
Glamorgan 4 0.85x
Leicestershire 4 1.34x
Gloucestershire 3 0.57x
Kent 3 0.33x
Royal Navy 3 9.35x
Westmorland 3 5.07x
Derbyshire 2 0.47x
Cheshire 1 0.17x
Cumberland 1 0.43x
Suffolk 1 0.30x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Lewannick in Cornwall leads with 30 Wadges recorded in 1881 and an index of 5084.75x.

Place Total Index
Lewannick 30 5084.75x
Altarnun 14 1320.75x
Linkinhorne 14 660.38x
Habergham Eaves 13 44.52x
St Stephens By Saltash 13 992.37x
St Dominick 12 1578.95x
North Hill 11 1122.45x
St Ive 11 564.10x
Esh 10 171.53x
Chester Le Street 9 146.34x
Wingate 8 145.72x
Bere Ferrers 7 760.87x
Gateshead 6 10.01x
Alverstoke 5 25.04x
Beerferris 5 458.72x
Egloskerry 5 1250.00x
Plymouth Charles The 5 20.25x
Portsea 5 4.62x
St Helier 5 19.25x
Leicester St Margaret 4 5.49x
Stoke Damerel 4 10.20x
Swansea Town 4 10.41x
Taunton St James 4 63.29x
Ashburton 3 111.94x
Framwellgate 3 63.16x
High Barton 3 882.35x
Lambeth 3 1.28x
Norton In Malton 3 92.88x
St Breward 3 447.76x
Tanfield 3 31.51x
Twerton 3 67.11x
Antony 2 68.03x
Barnes 2 36.04x
Deptford St Paul 2 2.82x
Maker 2 70.92x
North Wingfield 2 106.38x
Paddington London 2 2.02x
Plymouth St Andrew 2 4.63x
Royal Navy 2 7.29x
Tamerton Foliott 2 185.19x
Tavistock 2 31.35x
Whitworth 2 34.13x
Bawtry 1 119.05x
Birkenhead 1 2.11x
Bishopsteignton 1 94.34x
Bratton Clovelly 1 181.82x
Bridgerule East 1 666.67x
Bristol St Paul In 1 7.11x
Bristol St Philip Jacob 1 2.01x
Calstock 1 16.72x
Clifton 1 3.75x
Clifton In York 1 17.92x
East Stonehouse 1 9.06x
Egloshayle 1 69.93x
Hackney London 1 0.66x
Ipswich St Margaret 1 8.98x
Kensington London 1 0.67x
Lewisham 1 2.04x
Milton Abbott 1 123.46x
Oldham 1 0.97x
Plympton St Mary 1 30.86x
Shepton Mallet 1 20.58x
St Luke London 1 2.32x
St Mary Magdalene 1 44.64x
Stratton 1 60.61x
Week St Mary 1 208.33x
Wigton 1 28.74x

Top female names

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

Name Count
Mary 34
Elizabeth 10
Emma 8
Emily 6
Ann 5
Caroline 5
Margaret 4
Bessie 3
Eliza 3
Jane 3
Alice 2
Anna 2
Annie 2
Beatrice 2
Charlotte 2
Edith 2
Elizth. 2
Emiline 2
Florence 2
Grace 2
Hannah 2
Louisa 2
Lydia 2
Martha 2
Rebecca 2
Sarah 2
Susan 2
Susanna 2
Amy 1
Anne 1
Bertha 1
Catherine 1
Constant 1
Eda 1
Ehiria 1
Eliza. 1
Elizebeth 1
Ellen 1
Emelia 1
Georgiana 1
Georgina 1
Jemima 1
Jenie 1
Jessica 1
Jessie 1
Kate 1
Lilly 1
Loveday 1
M. 1
Valletta 1

Top male names

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

Name Count
William 19
John 18
Henry 11
Richard 9
George 6
Thomas 6
Alfred 4
Samuel 4
Francis 3
Frederick 3
James 3
Charles 2
Edward 2
Ernest 2
Frank 2
Joseph 2
Josiah 2
Peter 2
Philip 2
Robert 2
Agrippa 1
Earnest 1
Edwin 1
Fredk. 1
Fredk.C. 1
Fredrick 1
Harold 1
Nathaniel 1
Norman 1
Octavius 1
Rd. 1
Robt. 1
Septimus 1
Stanley 1
Tom 1
Walter 1

FAQ

Wadge surname: questions and answers

How common was the Wadge surname in 1881?

In 1881, 269 people were recorded with the Wadge surname. That placed it at #10,506 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Wadge surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 341 in 2016. That gives Wadge a modern rank of #13,425.

What does the Wadge map show?

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