NameCensus.

UK surname

Wadham

In the 1881 census there were 618 people recorded with the Wadham surname, ranking it #5,698 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 544, ranked #9,364, down from #5,698 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to Englishcombe, Tiverton, London parishes and Newchurch. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Taunton Deane and South Somerset.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Wadham is 815 in 1911. Compared with 1881, the name has fallen by 12.0%.

1881 census count

618

Ranked #5,698

Modern count

544

2016, ranked #9,364

Peak year

1911

815 bearers

Map years

9

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Wadham had 618 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #5,698 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 544 in 2016, ranked #9,364.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 815 in 1911.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Ageing Communities.

Wadham surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Wadham surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Wadham 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 374 #6,376
1861 historical 325 #7,835
1881 historical 618 #5,698
1891 historical 664 #5,855
1901 historical 752 #5,930
1911 historical 815 #5,400
1997 modern 548 #8,679
1998 modern 567 #8,715
1999 modern 594 #8,497
2000 modern 591 #8,507
2001 modern 571 #8,575
2002 modern 577 #8,664
2003 modern 577 #8,555
2004 modern 568 #8,661
2005 modern 547 #8,819
2006 modern 541 #8,930
2007 modern 534 #9,102
2008 modern 513 #9,454
2009 modern 531 #9,417
2010 modern 552 #9,338
2011 modern 527 #9,584
2012 modern 520 #9,607
2013 modern 536 #9,535
2014 modern 536 #9,579
2015 modern 538 #9,489
2016 modern 544 #9,364

Geography

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Where Wadhams are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around Englishcombe, Tiverton, London parishes, Newchurch and Poole St James. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Taunton Deane and South Somerset. 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 Englishcombe, Tiverton Somerset
2 London parishes London 1
3 Newchurch Hampshire
4 Poole St James Dorset
5 London parishes London 3

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Taunton Deane 008 Taunton Deane
2 Taunton Deane 007 Taunton Deane
3 Taunton Deane 009 Taunton Deane
4 South Somerset 023 South Somerset
5 Taunton Deane 002 Taunton Deane

Forenames

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First names often paired with Wadham

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

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Wadham

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

Ageing Communities

Nationally, the Wadham surname is most associated with neighbourhoods classed as Ageing Communities, within Suburbanites and Peri-Urbanities. This does not mean every Wadham household fits that profile, but it gives a useful signal about where the modern surname distribution is strongest.

Read profile summary

Group profile

Many residents are of normal retirement age or above and live in communal establishments, and there are few dependent children. The dominant property type is a mix of retirement flats and detached houses. Those in work are likely to be employed in managerial and professional occupations, and many residents are educated to degree level. Levels of owner occupation are high, but the private rental sector is also present. Rural locations predominate.

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

Older Residents in Owner-Occupied Suburbs

Group

London Fringe

Within London, Wadham is most associated with areas classed as London Fringe, part of Older Residents in Owner-Occupied Suburbs. 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

Predominantly located in neighbourhoods on the outskirts of Greater London, residents of these neighbourhoods typically have their highest qualifications below degree (Level 4) level, with those still in work engaged in skilled trades and occupations in distribution, hotels and restaurants. There is low ethnic diversity in these neighbourhoods and high levels of Christian religious affiliation. Detached or terraced houses predominate, often with spare rooms.

Wider London pattern

The age distribution of these neighbourhoods is skewed towards the middle-aged and old, although few residents live alone or in communal establishments and numbers of dependent children are around average. Owner occupation is the norm, as is residence in detached or semi-detached houses. Residential densities are low and many households have spare rooms. Most residents were born in the UK and, aside from some identifying as members of Chinese or Indian ethnicities, identify as White. Mixed ethnicity households are rare. Incidence of married couples is higher than average and few individuals have never been married. A large proportion of individuals still in employment work in administrative and secretarial occupations, or in the construction industry. Few residents are students, and many households own more than one car.

Healthy neighbourhoods

Access to healthy assets and hazards

Wadham is most concentrated in decile 2 for access to healthy assets and hazards. This places the surname towards the less healthy 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.

2
Lower access Higher access

Neighbourhood deprivation

Index of Multiple Deprivation

Wadham falls in decile 6 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.

6
More deprived Less deprived

Broadband speed

Fixed broadband download speed

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

1881 census detail

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Wadham families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Wadham 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. Middlesex leads with 144 Wadhams recorded in 1881 and an index of 2.38x.

County Total Index
Middlesex 144 2.38x
Hampshire 114 9.21x
Dorset 56 14.13x
Somerset 52 5.35x
Surrey 49 1.67x
Lancashire 29 0.40x
Durham 26 1.45x
Devon 21 1.67x
Kent 20 0.97x
Sussex 15 1.47x
Glamorgan 13 1.24x
Essex 11 0.92x
Gloucestershire 11 0.93x
Hertfordshire 8 1.92x
Northumberland 7 0.78x
Berkshire 6 1.32x
Yorkshire 6 0.10x
Buckinghamshire 4 1.10x
Lincolnshire 4 0.41x
Shropshire 3 0.58x
Suffolk 3 0.41x
Warwickshire 3 0.20x
Worcestershire 3 0.38x
Nottinghamshire 2 0.25x
Wiltshire 2 0.37x
Bedfordshire 1 0.32x
Cambridgeshire 1 0.26x
Derbyshire 1 0.11x
Herefordshire 1 0.40x
Oxfordshire 1 0.27x
Royal Navy 1 1.39x
Rutland 1 2.26x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Carisbrooke in Hampshire leads with 21 Wadhams recorded in 1881 and an index of 122.24x.

Place Total Index
Carisbrooke 21 122.24x
Northwood 18 102.16x
Camberwell 17 4.41x
Bridport 15 183.82x
Darlington 15 21.63x
Kensington London 15 4.47x
St Marylebone London 14 4.34x
Farlington 13 513.83x
Poole St James 13 87.31x
St Pancras London 13 2.67x
Barnstaple 12 60.82x
Rochester St Nicholas 12 187.21x
West Hatch 12 1379.31x
Everton 11 4.82x
Pentridge 10 2040.82x
Tottenham 10 10.40x
Ryde 9 33.85x
Twerton 9 89.82x
Barrow In Furness 8 8.21x
Bromley London 8 6.02x
Chettle 8 2962.96x
Islington London 8 1.37x
Lambeth 8 1.52x
Limehouse London 8 12.07x
Littlehampton 8 98.40x
Newington 8 3.59x
Westminster St John 8 10.88x
Yarmouth 8 490.80x
Bristol St Mary Redcliff 7 64.87x
Elswick 7 9.76x
Langton Long Blandford 7 1228.07x
Whitechapel London 7 11.76x
Bradford 6 625.00x
Hackney London 6 1.77x
Millbrook 6 19.25x
Roath 6 12.57x
St Andrew Holborn 6 29.31x
Street 6 114.07x
Swansea Town 6 6.96x
Waterloo 6 1176.47x
Bethnal Green London 5 1.91x
Hornsey 5 6.55x
Liverpool 5 1.15x
Paddington London 5 2.25x
Shanklin 5 135.50x
St George Hanover 5 6.34x
Stockton On Tees 5 5.77x
West Ham 5 1.90x
Clerkenwell London 4 2.81x
Creech St Michael 4 165.29x
Godshill 4 139.86x
Graveley 4 506.33x
Mirfield 4 12.18x
Newport 4 59.61x
Shoreditch London 4 1.53x
Stoke Damerel 4 4.55x
Walcot 4 7.73x
West Derby 4 1.91x
Westoe 4 3.93x
Weston 4 53.55x
Birmingham 3 0.59x
Brading 3 18.24x
Clapham 3 3.97x
Clewer 3 16.16x
Clifton 3 5.01x
East Ham 3 13.56x
Feltham 3 49.75x
Freshwater 3 53.00x
Kings Somborne 3 115.38x
Oving 3 87.21x
Portsea 3 1.24x
Sotherton 3 810.81x
Stourbridge 3 14.79x
Wimbledon 3 9.08x
Alverstoke 2 4.46x
Cheshunt 2 13.75x
Exeter St Mary Major 2 26.39x
Nursling 2 101.01x
Stoke Upon Tern 2 104.17x
Tarrant Hinton 2 465.12x

Top female names

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

Name Count
Mary 28
Elizabeth 24
Jane 21
Sarah 20
Alice 14
Eliza 14
Ellen 12
Emily 10
Annie 9
Ann 8
Emma 8
Ada 5
Edith 5
Harriet 5
Amelia 4
Amy 4
Beatrice 4
Caroline 4
Flora 4
Jessie 4
Anne 3
Bessie 3
Charlotte 3
Clara 3
Fanny 3
Florence 3
Kate 3
Louisa 3
Maria 3
Susan 3
Alma 2
Dorothy 2
Esther 2
Ethel 2
Hannah 2
Isabella 2
L. 2
Lydia 2
M. 2
Mabel 2
Margaret 2
Marian 2
Martha 2
Minnie 2
Elizh. 1
Elizth. 1
Elizth.A. 1
Infant 1
Isabell 1
Warified 1

Top male names

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

Name Count
William 41
Henry 24
James 22
John 22
George 21
Charles 15
Alfred 11
Thomas 11
Edward 10
Arthur 9
Frederick 9
Robert 8
Harry 7
Walter 7
Benjamin 6
Francis 6
Frank 6
Albert 5
Joseph 5
Mark 4
Samuel 4
Andrew 3
Herbert 3
Richard 3
David 2
Josiah 2
Leonard 2
Percy 2
Archibald 1
Benjn. 1
Bernard 1
Bertie 1
Daniel 1
Eli 1
F. 1
Fredk. 1
Fredk.J. 1
Fredrick 1
Geo. 1
Geo.F. 1
Gerald 1
Harold 1
Hugh 1
J. 1
Lofftus 1
Malcolm 1
Matthew 1
Michael 1
Philip 1
Wm.Jas. 1

FAQ

Wadham surname: questions and answers

How common was the Wadham surname in 1881?

In 1881, 618 people were recorded with the Wadham surname. That placed it at #5,698 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Wadham surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 544 in 2016. That gives Wadham a modern rank of #9,364.

What does the Wadham map show?

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