NameCensus.

UK surname

Wadsworth

From the English place name, likely referring to a village near a ford frequented by wading birds.

In the 1881 census there were 4,167 people recorded with the Wadsworth surname, ranking it #1,081 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 4,013, ranked #1,691, down from #1,081 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to Halifax, Manchester and Bradford. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Calderdale, Kirklees and Amber Valley.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Wadsworth is 5,165 in 1911. Compared with 1881, the name has stayed broadly stable by 3.7%.

1881 census count

4,167

Ranked #1,081

Modern count

4,013

2016, ranked #1,691

Peak year

1911

5,165 bearers

Map years

9

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Wadsworth had 4,167 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #1,081 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 4,013 in 2016, ranked #1,691.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 5,165 in 1911.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Inner Suburbs and Small Town Living.

Wadsworth surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Wadsworth surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Wadsworth 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 2,708 #1,090
1861 historical 2,590 #1,136
1881 historical 4,167 #1,081
1891 historical 4,413 #1,072
1901 historical 4,930 #1,145
1911 historical 5,165 #1,013
1997 modern 4,142 #1,561
1998 modern 4,194 #1,608
1999 modern 4,255 #1,593
2000 modern 4,268 #1,571
2001 modern 4,196 #1,563
2002 modern 4,259 #1,572
2003 modern 4,139 #1,583
2004 modern 4,161 #1,582
2005 modern 4,110 #1,585
2006 modern 4,066 #1,601
2007 modern 4,076 #1,609
2008 modern 4,098 #1,612
2009 modern 4,153 #1,633
2010 modern 4,215 #1,643
2011 modern 4,190 #1,631
2012 modern 4,085 #1,644
2013 modern 4,106 #1,668
2014 modern 4,093 #1,687
2015 modern 4,033 #1,694
2016 modern 4,013 #1,691

Geography

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Where Wadsworths are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around Halifax, Manchester, Bradford, Keighley and Huddersfield. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Calderdale, Kirklees, Amber Valley, Derby and Rossendale. 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 Halifax Yorkshire, West Riding
2 Manchester Lancashire
3 Bradford Yorkshire, West Riding
4 Keighley Yorkshire, West Riding
5 Huddersfield Yorkshire, West Riding

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Calderdale 025 Calderdale
2 Kirklees 059 Kirklees
3 Amber Valley 005 Amber Valley
4 Derby 025 Derby
5 Rossendale 010 Rossendale

Forenames

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First names often paired with Wadsworth

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

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Wadsworth

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

Inner Suburbs and Small Town Living

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

Read profile summary

Group profile

Families with resident dependent children (but not students) are common. Established family groups and White ethnicity predominate, as do individuals born in the UK. They are more likely than the Supergroup average to have been resident in their terraced, semi-detached, or detached houses for more than one year. Levels of multiple car ownership are high. Properties are owned and typically have surplus living space. Associate professionals and administrative occupations are prevalent, and parents are likely to be in middle age or approaching retirement. Educational attainment is above the Supergroup average. Scattered developments and concentrations are found in many small towns.

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

The Greater London Mix

Group

Social Rented Sector Professional Support Workers

Within London, Wadsworth 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

Wadsworth 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

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

Meaning and origin of Wadsworth

The surname Wadsworth is of English origin, derived from a combination of the Old English words "wad" meaning "ford" or "river crossing" and "worth" meaning "enclosure" or "estate." It originally referred to someone who lived near a ford or river crossing on an estate or enclosed area.

The earliest recorded instances of the Wadsworth surname can be traced back to the 13th century in various counties across England, including Yorkshire, Lancashire, and Derbyshire. The name was particularly prevalent in the West Riding of Yorkshire, where it is believed to have originated from the village of Wadsworth, near Hebden Bridge.

One of the earliest documented references to the Wadsworth name can be found in the Subsidy Rolls of Yorkshire from 1297, which lists a "John de Waddesworth." The name also appears in the Lay Subsidy Rolls for Wiltshire in 1332, where it is recorded as "Walterus de Waddesworth."

In the late 14th century, the Wadsworth family gained prominence in the area around Haworth, West Yorkshire, with records showing a John Wadsworth holding lands there in 1379. Another notable figure was Thomas Wadsworth (c. 1630-1670), a Puritan minister and one of the founders of the town of Milton, Massachusetts, in the early days of the Massachusetts Bay Colony.

During the English Civil War, Captain Joseph Wadsworth (1610-1675) was a prominent military officer who fought for the Parliamentarian forces. He later became a landowner and magistrate in Massachusetts. His son, Benjamin Wadsworth (1670-1737), was the first president of Harvard College (now Harvard University) from 1725 to 1737.

Other famous individuals with the Wadsworth surname include the English poet and playwright James Wadsworth (1572-1623), whose works include "The English Spanish Pilgrim" and "The Present Estate of Spayne." In the 19th century, James Samuel Wadsworth (1807-1864) was a prominent American lawyer, politician, and philanthropist from New York.

The Wadsworth name has also been associated with several notable places throughout history. For example, the village of Wadsworth in West Yorkshire, which dates back to the Domesday Book of 1086, where it was recorded as "Wadreswrde." Additionally, there is a Wadsworth Falls State Park in Connecticut, named after the Wadsworth family who owned land in the area in the 18th century.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

1881 census detail

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Wadsworth families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Wadsworth 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. Yorkshire leads with 2,358 Wadsworths recorded in 1881 and an index of 5.84x.

County Total Index
Yorkshire 2,358 5.84x
Lancashire 770 1.59x
Cheshire 186 2.07x
Northamptonshire 155 4.05x
Derbyshire 84 1.32x
Middlesex 74 0.18x
Warwickshire 70 0.68x
Nottinghamshire 56 1.02x
Surrey 51 0.26x
Buckinghamshire 46 1.87x
Lincolnshire 42 0.64x
Staffordshire 38 0.28x
Kent 32 0.23x
Bedfordshire 20 0.95x
Worcestershire 19 0.36x
Leicestershire 16 0.35x
Durham 15 0.12x
Essex 15 0.19x
Hertfordshire 13 0.46x
Huntingdonshire 13 1.61x
Gloucestershire 12 0.15x
Oxfordshire 12 0.48x
Somerset 8 0.12x
Sussex 8 0.12x
Berkshire 7 0.23x
Channel Islands 7 0.58x
Denbighshire 6 0.39x
Dorset 6 0.22x
Northumberland 5 0.08x
Cumberland 4 0.11x
Hampshire 4 0.05x
Aberdeenshire 3 0.08x
Cambridgeshire 3 0.12x
Norfolk 3 0.05x
Suffolk 3 0.06x
Flintshire 2 0.18x
Midlothian 2 0.04x
Wiltshire 2 0.06x
Brecknockshire 1 0.12x
Devon 1 0.01x
Lanarkshire 1 0.01x
Pembrokeshire 1 0.08x
Royal Navy 1 0.21x
Shropshire 1 0.03x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Halifax in Yorkshire leads with 142 Wadsworths recorded in 1881 and an index of 23.96x.

Place Total Index
Halifax 142 23.96x
Elland Cum Greetland 93 51.14x
Huddersfield 76 12.92x
Wadsworth 68 103.49x
Saddleworth 62 19.91x
Rishworth 56 361.52x
Skircoat 55 34.55x
Bingley 50 19.45x
Heptonstall 49 86.51x
Ashton Under Lyne 47 4.45x
Leeds 46 2.02x
Ovenden 46 25.60x
Aston 44 1.56x
Horton In Bradford 44 6.98x
Wakefield 44 14.20x
Barkisland 43 146.71x
Haworth 41 42.73x
Soyland 41 84.66x
Stansfield 40 26.93x
Southowram 39 31.65x
Chorlton On Medlock 38 4.95x
Penistone 38 120.75x
Oldham 36 2.31x
Rastrick 36 32.11x
Skelmanthorpe 36 82.61x
Wickersley 35 313.34x
Keighley 34 7.90x
Harlestone 33 416.14x
Macclesfield 32 8.01x
Manchester 32 1.47x
Warley 32 27.43x
Little Bolton 31 4.99x
North Bierley 30 13.76x
Sheffield 30 2.33x
Blackburn 29 2.25x
Worsley 28 9.40x
Shipley 26 12.41x
Bradford 25 2.56x
Newton 25 6.71x
Bowling 23 5.75x
Hunslet 23 3.65x
Longwood 23 35.35x
Pemberton 23 11.93x
Brightside Bierlow 22 2.78x
Hulme 22 2.18x
Newton Blossomville 22 606.06x
Upperthong 22 64.08x
Rawdon 21 44.17x
Rotherham 21 9.23x
Soothill 21 14.40x
Birmingham 20 0.58x
Salford 20 1.41x
Ardwick 19 4.36x
Dalton In Huddersfield 19 21.01x
Hook 19 21.40x
Kimberworth 19 8.48x
Newchurch 19 4.80x
Sowerby In Halifax 19 14.39x
Spotland 19 3.54x
Barton Upon Irwell 18 4.95x
Claypole 18 190.48x
Northowram 18 6.36x
Almondbury 17 8.71x
Dewsbury 17 4.11x
Hipperholme Cum 17 9.58x
Stayley 17 16.54x
Sutton In Macclesfield 17 18.22x
Woodford 17 79.77x
Rainow 16 89.39x
Worsbrough 16 13.53x
Alverthorpe Cum Thornes 15 10.23x
Brotherton 15 92.71x
Ecclesfield 15 5.07x
Erringden 15 57.52x
Lindley Cum Quarmby 15 14.73x
Nether Hallam 15 2.75x
Thurlstone 15 37.68x
Warrington 15 2.62x
Blackley 14 16.52x
Goole 14 20.70x

Top female names

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

Name Count
Mary 294
Sarah 206
Elizabeth 146
Hannah 93
Ann 88
Jane 81
Annie 78
Alice 73
Martha 63
Emma 62
Ellen 52
Eliza 47
Emily 40
Harriet 37
Margaret 29
Ada 26
Edith 26
Clara 25
Charlotte 24
Maria 23
Fanny 20
Florence 20
Lucy 16
Selina 15
Susannah 15
Grace 14
Kate 13
Lydia 13
Agnes 11
Caroline 11
Susan 11
Amelia 10
Betty 10
Frances 10
Gertrude 10
Isabella 10
Louisa 10
Sophia 10
Amy 9
Anne 9
Catherine 9
Rebecca 9
Betsy 8
Ethel 8
Nancy 8
Rachel 8
Ruth 8
Bertha 7
Harriett 7
Susanna 7

Top male names

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

Name Count
John 272
William 222
James 128
Thomas 113
George 108
Joseph 98
Henry 65
Samuel 42
Arthur 39
Charles 37
Harry 34
Fred 30
Richard 30
Edward 29
Frederick 28
Albert 25
Robert 25
Alfred 22
David 22
Walter 22
Herbert 21
Benjamin 18
Ernest 18
Thos. 16
Wm. 16
Isaac 14
Joe 14
Frank 11
Tom 11
Matthew 10
Willie 10
Christopher 9
Edwin 9
Jno. 9
Peter 9
Sam 9
Mathew 8
Ben 7
Eli 7
Geo. 7
Joshua 7
Abraham 6
Chas. 6
Daniel 6
Francis 6
Hugh 6
Alexander 5
Harold 5
Lewis 5
Percy 5

FAQ

Wadsworth surname: questions and answers

How common was the Wadsworth surname in 1881?

In 1881, 4,167 people were recorded with the Wadsworth surname. That placed it at #1,081 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Wadsworth surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 4,013 in 2016. That gives Wadsworth a modern rank of #1,691.

What does the Wadsworth surname mean?

From the English place name, likely referring to a village near a ford frequented by wading birds.

What does the Wadsworth map show?

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