NameCensus.

UK surname

Wagner

A German occupational surname referring to a wagonmaker or cartwright.

In the 1881 census there were 612 people recorded with the Wagner surname, ranking it #5,741 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 1,637, ranked #3,802, up from #5,741 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to London parishes, St Pancras and St Dunstan Stepney. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Cambridge, Waveney and Wakefield.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Wagner is 1,654 in 2014. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 167.5%.

1881 census count

612

Ranked #5,741

Modern count

1,637

2016, ranked #3,802

Peak year

2014

1,654 bearers

Map years

9

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Wagner had 612 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #5,741 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 1,637 in 2016, ranked #3,802.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 1,116 in 1911.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Diverse Educated Urban Singles.

Wagner surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Wagner surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Wagner 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 160 #12,347
1861 historical 263 #9,423
1881 historical 612 #5,741
1891 historical 723 #5,460
1901 historical 1,006 #4,735
1911 historical 1,116 #4,165
1997 modern 1,335 #4,306
1998 modern 1,418 #4,231
1999 modern 1,465 #4,163
2000 modern 1,478 #4,110
2001 modern 1,413 #4,191
2002 modern 1,448 #4,184
2003 modern 1,386 #4,255
2004 modern 1,428 #4,158
2005 modern 1,436 #4,108
2006 modern 1,470 #4,036
2007 modern 1,486 #4,034
2008 modern 1,509 #4,010
2009 modern 1,519 #4,075
2010 modern 1,599 #3,951
2011 modern 1,588 #3,934
2012 modern 1,614 #3,817
2013 modern 1,639 #3,837
2014 modern 1,654 #3,821
2015 modern 1,642 #3,805
2016 modern 1,637 #3,802

Geography

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Where Wagners are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around London parishes, St Pancras, St Dunstan Stepney and St John Hackney. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Cambridge, Waveney, Wakefield, Derbyshire Dales and Barnet. 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 London parishes London 1
2 London parishes London 3
3 St Pancras London (North Districts)
4 St Dunstan Stepney London (East Districts)
5 St John Hackney London (North Districts)

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Cambridge 007 Cambridge
2 Waveney 015 Waveney
3 Wakefield 010 Wakefield
4 Derbyshire Dales 001 Derbyshire Dales
5 Barnet 037 Barnet

Forenames

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First names often paired with Wagner

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

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Wagner

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

Multicultural and Educated Urbanites

Group

Diverse Educated Urban Singles

Nationally, the Wagner surname is most associated with neighbourhoods classed as Diverse Educated Urban Singles, within Multicultural and Educated Urbanites. This does not mean every Wagner 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 includes many never-married individuals not living with dependent children. Many were born in EU countries and are now aged between 25-44. This Group is characterised by its ethnic group diversity, although those identifying as Asian are not well represented. Affiliation with the Christian religion amongst residents is low. Reported disability rates are low. Neighbourhoods include some central locations in London and other major cities. Private renting is the norm, and there is some overcrowding. Many individuals are educated to degree level, and full-time employment is common, particularly in managerial and professional occupations.

Wider pattern

Established populations comprising ethnic minorities together with persons born outside the UK predominate in this Supergroup. Residents present diverse personal characteristics and circumstances: while generally well-educated and practising skilled occupations, some residents live in overcrowded rental sector housing. English may not be the main language used by people in this Group. Although the typical adult resident is middle aged, single person households are common and marriage rates are low by national standards. This Supergroup predominates in Inner London, with smaller enclaves in many other densely populated metropolitan areas.

London neighbourhood type

London Output Area Classification

Supergroup

The Greater London Mix

Group

Social Rented Sector Professional Support Workers

Within London, Wagner 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

Wagner is most concentrated in decile 10 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.

10
Lower access Higher access

Neighbourhood deprivation

Index of Multiple Deprivation

Wagner 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 Wagner 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 - Other

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

Meaning and origin of Wagner

The surname WAGNER originated in Germany and is occupational in origin, derived from the Middle High German word "wagener" which means "wagonmaker" or "cartwright". It emerged during the medieval period, around the 12th century, when surnames were becoming more commonplace across Europe.

One of the earliest recorded mentions of the name WAGNER can be found in the Codex Falkensteinensis, a medieval manuscript from the 13th century, which lists a "Henricus Wagnere" among the residents of the town of Falkenstein in Bavaria. This suggests that the name was already well-established by that time in southern Germany.

The surname WAGNER is also documented in various town records and tax rolls from the 14th and 15th centuries in various parts of Germany, such as the Würzburg region of Bavaria and the Rhineland area. Variants of the spelling like "Wagener" and "Wagnär" were also common in different regions.

In the 16th century, the famous German composer and theorist Arnold von Bruck (1500-1554), who was also known as Arnoldus de Prucia or Arnold Wagner, helped to establish the surname's association with music and the arts.

Another notable bearer of the name was the German philosopher and writer Johann Jakob Wagner (1641-1695), who was a prominent figure in the early Enlightenment period.

During the 18th century, the WAGNER surname gained even greater prominence with the birth of the influential German philosopher and writer Johann Joachim Winckelmann (1717-1768), who is considered a pioneering figure in the study of art history and archaeology.

The 19th century saw the rise of the renowned German composer Richard Wagner (1813-1883), whose operas and musical compositions cemented the WAGNER name's place in the annals of European cultural history.

Other notable individuals with the surname WAGNER include the German physicist Rudolf Wagner (1805-1864), who made significant contributions to the field of electromagnetism, and the American economist Adolf Wagner (1835-1917), who is known for his work on public finance and the development of the "law of increasing state activity".

Sourced from namecensus.com.

1881 census detail

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Wagner families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Wagner 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 260 Wagners recorded in 1881 and an index of 4.35x.

County Total Index
Middlesex 260 4.35x
Lancashire 67 0.95x
Surrey 62 2.13x
Yorkshire 46 0.78x
Essex 34 2.89x
Kent 27 1.33x
Hampshire 14 1.14x
Somerset 14 1.46x
Sussex 14 1.39x
Lanarkshire 9 0.47x
Northumberland 9 1.01x
Gloucestershire 7 0.60x
Devon 6 0.48x
Glamorgan 6 0.58x
Durham 5 0.28x
Shropshire 5 0.97x
Midlothian 4 0.50x
Cheshire 3 0.23x
Hertfordshire 3 0.73x
Monmouthshire 3 0.70x
Berkshire 2 0.45x
Cornwall 2 0.30x
Nottinghamshire 2 0.25x
Warwickshire 2 0.13x
Wigtownshire 2 2.52x
Channel Islands 1 0.57x
Lincolnshire 1 0.10x
Norfolk 1 0.11x
Staffordshire 1 0.05x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. West Ham in Essex leads with 32 Wagners recorded in 1881 and an index of 12.30x.

Place Total Index
West Ham 32 12.30x
Islington London 31 5.36x
St Pancras London 29 6.04x
Mile End Old Town 24 25.47x
Hackney London 20 5.98x
Manchester 14 4.39x
St Marylebone London 14 4.39x
Hammersmith London 13 8.84x
Spitalfields London 13 28.95x
Liverpool 12 2.79x
Bethnal Green London 11 4.24x
Lambeth 11 2.11x
Lewisham 11 10.13x
St Botolph Aldgate 11 134.97x
St Giles In Fields 11 53.42x
Battersea 10 4.55x
Hampstead London 10 10.76x
Holy Trinity 10 7.03x
Limehouse London 10 15.26x
Newington 10 4.53x
Pontefract 10 78.49x
Weston Super Mare 10 41.22x
Wandsworth 8 13.92x
Bradford 7 4.89x
Brighton 7 3.45x
Fulham London 7 8.09x
Westminster St 7 31.80x
Accrington 6 9.32x
Basingstoke 6 42.64x
Bromley 6 19.33x
Glasgow 6 1.75x
Kimberworth 6 18.28x
Padiham 6 35.07x
Shoreditch London 6 2.32x
Tottenham 6 6.31x
West Derby 6 2.90x
Bristol St Peter 5 119.33x
Chorlton On Medlock 5 4.44x
Keighley 5 7.93x
Kensington London 5 1.51x
Southwark Christchurch 5 17.88x
St George In East 5 12.31x
Sunderland 5 15.94x
Blackburn 4 2.12x
Camberwell 4 1.05x
Edmonton 4 8.32x
Folkestone 4 10.12x
Llandaff 4 11.57x
Newcastle On Tyne All Sts 4 7.54x
North Shields 4 22.56x
Paddington London 4 1.82x
Portsea 4 1.67x
Southwark St George Martyr 4 3.33x
Stoke Damerel 4 4.60x
Stretford 4 10.26x
Walcot 4 7.82x
Woolwich 4 5.32x
Barony 3 0.61x
Bermondsey 3 1.69x
Bridgnorth St Leonard 3 51.28x
Croydon 3 1.86x
Hertford St John 3 48.94x
Hove 3 6.79x
Kirkdale 3 2.52x
North Meols 3 4.33x
Toxteth Park 3 1.25x
Batley 2 3.56x
Birkenhead 2 1.90x
Cardiff St John 2 5.89x
Edinburgh Greenside 2 18.92x
Edinburgh St Cuthberts 2 0.62x
Hastings St Mary 2 7.98x
Hendon 2 9.31x
Lymington 2 22.25x
Nottingham St Mary 2 0.96x
Phillack 2 22.94x
Sheffield 2 1.06x
St Anne Soho London 2 5.87x
St Woollos 2 4.15x
Stranraer 2 27.59x

Top female names

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

Top male names

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

Name Count
John 28
William 23
George 22
Charles 18
Frederick 15
Henry 15
Edward 10
Christopher 7
Joseph 6
Albert 5
Alfred 5
Thomas 5
Chas. 4
Conrad 4
David 4
James 4
Lewis 4
Carl 3
Hermann 3
Martin 3
Philip 3
Phillip 3
Richard 3
Theodore 3
Alexander 2
Anthony 2
Eribert 2
Ernest 2
Frank 2
Franz 2
Fred 2
Frederic 2
Fritz 2
Gustav 2
Harry 2
Herbert 2
Herman 2
Jacob 2
Karl 2
Louis 2
Ludwig 2
Paul 2
Peter 2
Simon 2
Solomon 2
Valentin 2
Englebert 1
Eugene 1
Isaac 1
Wolfe 1

FAQ

Wagner surname: questions and answers

How common was the Wagner surname in 1881?

In 1881, 612 people were recorded with the Wagner surname. That placed it at #5,741 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Wagner surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 1,637 in 2016. That gives Wagner a modern rank of #3,802.

What does the Wagner surname mean?

A German occupational surname referring to a wagonmaker or cartwright.

What does the Wagner map show?

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