NameCensus.

UK surname

Walmesley

In the 1881 census there were 349 people recorded with the Walmesley surname, ranking it #8,778 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 83, ranked #32,815, down from #8,778 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to Towcester, Wigan and Preston. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Marchmont West, Darnley West and Thanet.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Walmesley is 401 in 1891. Compared with 1881, the name has fallen by 76.2%.

1881 census count

349

Ranked #8,778

Modern count

83

2016, ranked #32,815

Peak year

1891

401 bearers

Map years

6

1851 to 1911

Key insights

  • Walmesley had 349 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #8,778 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 83 in 2016, ranked #32,815.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 401 in 1891.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Legacy Industrial and Coastal Communities.

Walmesley surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Walmesley surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Walmesley 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 240 #9,068
1861 historical 302 #8,393
1881 historical 349 #8,778
1891 historical 401 #8,860
1901 historical 330 #10,899
1911 historical 183 #15,811
1997 modern 91 #28,215
1998 modern 91 #28,806
1999 modern 96 #28,326
2000 modern 103 #27,280
2001 modern 94 #28,246
2002 modern 99 #28,082
2003 modern 92 #28,974
2004 modern 88 #29,758
2005 modern 90 #29,527
2006 modern 90 #29,893
2007 modern 92 #29,929
2008 modern 90 #30,567
2009 modern 94 #30,538
2010 modern 96 #30,854
2011 modern 95 #30,877
2012 modern 87 #32,180
2013 modern 87 #32,472
2014 modern 86 #32,663
2015 modern 83 #32,847
2016 modern 83 #32,815

Geography

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Where Walmesleys are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around Towcester, Wigan, Preston, Blackburn and Lichfield St Mary. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Marchmont West, Darnley West, Thanet, North Warwickshire and Warwick. 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 Towcester Northamptonshire
2 Wigan Lancashire
3 Preston Lancashire
4 Blackburn Lancashire
5 Lichfield St Mary Staffordshire

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Marchmont West City of Edinburgh
2 Darnley West Glasgow City
3 Thanet 015 Thanet
4 North Warwickshire 003 North Warwickshire
5 Warwick 001 Warwick

Forenames

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First names often paired with Walmesley

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

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Walmesley

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

Baseline UK

Group

Legacy Industrial and Coastal Communities

Nationally, the Walmesley surname is most associated with neighbourhoods classed as Legacy Industrial and Coastal Communities, within Baseline UK. This does not mean every Walmesley household fits that profile, but it gives a useful signal about where the modern surname distribution is strongest.

Read profile summary

Group profile

Single-person households are common in these neighbourhoods, and these residents are typically divorced rather than never married. A high proportion of residents were born outside the UK in the EU. There are many young adults, some with young children, but relatively few residents are of normal retirement age or over. Although levels of identification with ethnic minorities are in line with the Supergroup average, individuals identifying with Mixed or Multiple ethnicities is more common than average. High long-term disability rates are observed, and unpaid care is more common than in the rest of the Group. The predominant housing types are terraced houses and flats, which are typically part of the social rented sector. This Group is commonly found in coastal areas and (present-day or former) industrial towns and cities.

Wider pattern

This Supergroup exemplifies the broad base to the UK’s social structure, encompassing as it does the average or modal levels of many neighbourhood characteristics, including all housing tenures, a range of levels of educational attainment and religious affiliations, and a variety of pre-retirement age structures. Yet, in combination, these mixes are each distinctive of the parts of the UK. Overall, terraced houses and flats are the most prevalent, as is employment in intermediate or low-skilled occupations. However, this Supergroup is also characterised by above average levels of unemployment and lower levels of use of English as the main language. Many neighbourhoods occur in south London and the UK’s other major urban centres.

London neighbourhood type

London Output Area Classification

Supergroup

The Greater London Mix

Group

Social Rented Sector Professional Support Workers

Within London, Walmesley 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

Walmesley 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

Walmesley 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 Walmesley is most associated with a typical fixed broadband download band of 25-30 mbit/s.

The scale below places that band in context, from slower local download bands through to faster ones.

5
Slower band Faster band

Area snapshot

Ethnic group estimate

Most common ethnic group estimate
White - British

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

1881 census detail

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Walmesley families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Walmesley 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. Lancashire leads with 242 Walmesleys recorded in 1881 and an index of 5.89x.

County Total Index
Lancashire 242 5.89x
Staffordshire 17 1.45x
Renfrewshire 11 4.10x
Cheshire 10 1.31x
Yorkshire 10 0.29x
Kent 8 0.68x
Essex 7 1.02x
Middlesex 7 0.20x
Denbighshire 6 4.59x
Durham 6 0.58x
Channel Islands 5 4.87x
Surrey 5 0.30x
Northamptonshire 4 1.23x
Cumberland 3 1.01x
Hampshire 2 0.28x
Warwickshire 2 0.23x
Buckinghamshire 1 0.48x
Cornwall 1 0.26x
Devon 1 0.14x
Dorset 1 0.44x
Flintshire 1 1.07x
Gloucestershire 1 0.15x
Lincolnshire 1 0.18x
Royal Navy 1 2.42x
Somerset 1 0.18x
Sussex 1 0.17x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Blackburn in Lancashire leads with 38 Walmesleys recorded in 1881 and an index of 34.76x.

Place Total Index
Blackburn 38 34.76x
Preston 23 20.92x
Wigan 19 33.09x
Lichfield St Mary 17 504.45x
Barton Upon Irwell 14 45.26x
Eastwood 11 66.55x
Ince In Makerfield 10 52.30x
Lower Booths 10 135.87x
Farnworth 9 36.56x
Chorley 8 34.69x
Manchester 8 4.33x
Over Hulton 8 683.76x
Accrington 7 18.74x
Huncoat 7 636.36x
Much Hoole 7 1014.49x
Read 7 636.36x
Spotland 7 15.32x
Whitstable 7 120.69x
Castle Eden 6 576.92x
Oswaldtwistle 6 41.32x
Rothwell 6 86.58x
South Weald 6 102.56x
Beswick 5 47.57x
Clitheroe 5 41.36x
Everton 5 3.82x
Ruthin 5 373.13x
St John 5 255.10x
Croston 4 188.68x
Farington 4 167.36x
Newton 4 12.63x
Towcester 4 119.05x
Barrow In Furness 3 5.37x
Bradford 3 3.61x
Newton In Ashton Under 3 39.79x
Oldham 3 2.26x
Paddington London 3 2.36x
Putney 3 19.01x
Rickergate 3 47.54x
Sharples 3 67.26x
Stockport 3 7.63x
Withnell 3 119.05x
Lambeth 2 0.66x
Pemberton 2 12.21x
Runcorn 2 11.35x
Shevington 2 106.38x
West Derby 2 1.66x
Aighton Bailey 1 50.51x
Aldershot 1 4.21x
Ardwick 1 2.70x
Atherstone 1 22.42x
Beaconsfield 1 51.55x
Bristol St James St Paul 1 4.42x
Broughton 1 19.46x
Burnley 1 2.89x
Chester St Michael 1 111.11x
Chorlton On Medlock 1 1.53x
Christ Church Newgate 1 62.11x
Dymeirchion 1 129.87x
Easington In Clitheroe 1 285.71x
Hastings St Mary 1 6.88x
Heysham 1 133.33x
Higher Booths 1 13.50x
Holbeach 1 16.21x
Isleworth 1 6.49x
Layton With Warbreck 1 6.63x
Leamington 1 17.27x
Leyton 1 8.50x
Longfleet 1 38.02x
Macclesfield 1 2.94x
Mawgan In Pyder 1 119.05x
Midsomer Norton 1 19.05x
Newton Abbot St Mary 1 16.53x
Over Darwen 1 3.05x
Royal Navy 1 2.83x
Ryde 1 6.56x
St George Hanover 1 2.21x
St Pancras London 1 0.36x
Tonbridge 1 2.35x
Walton Le Dale 1 9.06x

Top female names

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

Name Count
Mary 30
Jane 13
Ann 11
Margaret 11
Elizabeth 10
Alice 9
Ellen 7
Sarah 7
Annie 5
Hannah 4
Anne 3
Catherine 3
Kate 3
Ada 2
Agnes 2
Amelia 2
Charlotte 2
Clara 2
Eleanor 2
Eliza 2
Henrietta 2
Isabella 2
Josephine 2
Louisa 2
Maud 2
Nancy 2
Rose 2
Bessie 1
Betsy 1
Caroline 1
Cecilia 1
Elise 1
Emily 1
Emma 1
Esther 1
Ethel 1
Eva 1
Florence 1
Gertrude 1
Joyce 1
Leah 1
Leanes 1
Lily 1
Lousia 1
Lucy 1
Maggie 1
Margary 1
Margt. 1
Maria 1
Wilhelmina 1

Top male names

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

FAQ

Walmesley surname: questions and answers

How common was the Walmesley surname in 1881?

In 1881, 349 people were recorded with the Walmesley surname. That placed it at #8,778 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Walmesley surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 83 in 2016. That gives Walmesley a modern rank of #32,815.

What does the Walmesley map show?

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