NameCensus.

UK surname

Wardrobe

In the 1881 census there were 76 people recorded with the Wardrobe surname, ranking it #22,745 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 135, ranked #25,505, down from #22,745 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to Hull Holy Trinity, Gateshead and Edinburgh. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Stoke-on-Trent, Gateshead and East Riding of Yorkshire.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Wardrobe is 150 in 1999. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 77.6%.

1881 census count

76

Ranked #22,745

Modern count

135

2016, ranked #25,505

Peak year

1999

150 bearers

Map years

6

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Wardrobe had 76 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #22,745 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 135 in 2016, ranked #25,505.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 117 in 1851.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Young Families in Industrial Towns.

Wardrobe surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Wardrobe surname density by area, 2016 modern.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Wardrobe 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 117 #15,456
1861 historical 79 #23,702
1881 historical 76 #22,745
1891 historical 74 #27,538
1901 historical 101 #22,726
1911 historical 107 #21,842
1997 modern 132 #22,821
1998 modern 148 #21,841
1999 modern 150 #21,826
2000 modern 142 #22,544
2001 modern 140 #22,441
2002 modern 142 #22,687
2003 modern 139 #22,734
2004 modern 128 #24,117
2005 modern 126 #24,287
2006 modern 121 #25,133
2007 modern 122 #25,353
2008 modern 118 #26,212
2009 modern 122 #26,220
2010 modern 131 #25,656
2011 modern 131 #25,430
2012 modern 131 #25,439
2013 modern 132 #25,789
2014 modern 132 #25,971
2015 modern 134 #25,607
2016 modern 135 #25,505

Geography

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Where Wardrobes are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around Hull Holy Trinity, Gateshead, Edinburgh, Bathgate and Snaith. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Stoke-on-Trent, Gateshead, East Riding of Yorkshire and Sunderland. 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 Hull Holy Trinity Yorkshire, East Riding
2 Gateshead Durham
3 Edinburgh Edinburgh
4 Bathgate Linlithgow
5 Snaith Yorkshire, West Riding

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Stoke-on-Trent 031 Stoke-on-Trent
2 Gateshead 021 Gateshead
3 East Riding of Yorkshire 043 East Riding of Yorkshire
4 Gateshead 027 Gateshead
5 Sunderland 020 Sunderland

Forenames

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First names often paired with Wardrobe

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

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Wardrobe

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

Semi- and Un-Skilled Workforce

Group

Young Families in Industrial Towns

Nationally, the Wardrobe surname is most associated with neighbourhoods classed as Young Families in Industrial Towns, within Semi- and Un-Skilled Workforce. This does not mean every Wardrobe household fits that profile, but it gives a useful signal about where the modern surname distribution is strongest.

Read profile summary

Group profile

These neighbourhoods house predominantly young, UK-born individuals identifying with a White ethnic group with dependent children. Long-term disability and unpaid care are prevalent, and religious affiliations are uncommon. Housing is terraced or semi-detached and social rented sector housing is the norm. Unemployment is above the Supergroup average, and employment is principally in elementary occupations, as process plant and machine operatives, or in caring and leisure services. Educational attainment is low. The group is scattered throughout former industrial towns in the Midlands and the South Wales Valleys.

Wider pattern

Living in terraced or semi-detached houses, residents of these neighbourhoods typically lack high levels of education and work in elementary or routine service occupations. Unemployment is above average. Residents are predominantly born in the UK, and residents are also predominantly from ethnic minorities. Social (but not private sector) rented sector housing is common. This Supergroup is found throughout the UK’s conurbations and industrial regions but is also an integral part of smaller towns.

London neighbourhood type

London Output Area Classification

Supergroup

Professional Employment and Family Lifecycles

Group

European Enclaves

Within London, Wardrobe is most associated with areas classed as European Enclaves, part of Professional Employment and Family Lifecycles. 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

Many residents of these accessible neighbourhoods have wide-ranging non-UK European origins. Typically residing in privately rented flats, many residents live alone and are beyond normal retirement age. There are more students than elsewhere in the Supergroup, some of which live in communal establishments. Household residents are often drawn from different ethnic groups.

Wider London pattern

These neighbourhoods house people of all ages, predominantly of White British or European extraction. Resident turnover is low. Religious affiliation is less common than average and tends to be Christian if expressed. Homeownership, typically of terraced houses, is common but use of the social rented sector is not. Employment is typically in professional, managerial and associate professional or technical occupations. There are few full-time students. Level 4 qualifications are common. More households lack dependent children than have them which, considered alongside low levels of crowding and over-all age structure, indicates that many households may be post child-rearing and in late middle age. Incidence of disability is low, as is residence in communal establishments.

Healthy neighbourhoods

Access to healthy assets and hazards

Wardrobe is most concentrated in decile 4 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.

4
Lower access Higher access

Neighbourhood deprivation

Index of Multiple Deprivation

Wardrobe 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 Wardrobe is most associated with a typical fixed broadband download band of Over 70 mbit/s.

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

10
Slower band Faster band

Area snapshot

Ethnic group estimate

Most common ethnic group estimate
White - British

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

1881 census detail

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Wardrobe families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Wardrobe 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 47 Wardrobes recorded in 1881 and an index of 6.40x.

County Total Index
Yorkshire 47 6.40x
Ayrshire 10 18.03x
Durham 4 1.81x
Midlothian 3 3.02x
Warwickshire 3 1.61x
Cornwall 2 2.38x
Lanarkshire 2 0.83x
Aberdeenshire 1 1.46x
Argyllshire 1 4.85x
Cumberland 1 1.57x
Lancashire 1 0.11x
Renfrewshire 1 1.74x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Sculcoates in Yorkshire leads with 23 Wardrobes recorded in 1881 and an index of 197.59x.

Place Total Index
Sculcoates 23 197.59x
Ecclesall Bierlow 10 66.93x
Beith 9 542.17x
Gateshead 4 24.23x
Rawcliffe In Goole 4 952.38x
Hook 3 185.19x
South Leith 3 26.86x
Aston 2 3.89x
Barony 2 3.30x
Holy Trinity St Mary 2 178.57x
Sheffield 2 8.55x
Southcoates 2 49.02x
St Gluvias 2 425.53x
Aberdeen Old Machar 1 6.98x
Ayr 1 38.17x
Caldewgate 1 28.57x
Coleshill 1 166.67x
Holy Trinity 1 5.66x
Kilmallie 1 94.34x
Layton With Warbreck 1 30.96x
Neilston 1 34.72x

Top female names

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

Name Count
Elizabeth 4
Ann 3
Annie 2
Edith 2
Mary 2
Amy 1
Catherine 1
Clara 1
Elizth. 1
Emily 1
Emma 1
Fanny 1
Florence 1
Hannah 1
Jessie 1
Louisa 1
Lucy 1
Margaret 1
Sophia 1

Top male names

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

Name Count
William 8
Arthur 3
Henry 2
John 2
Richard 2
Thomas 2
Alfred 1
Charles 1
Ernest 1
Frank 1
Frederick 1
Harry 1
Johnathan 1
Langhorn 1
Mordecai 1
Sydney 1
Wm. 1
Wm.Herbert 1

Top occupations

Occupational titles are kept as recorded and later transcribed, so related jobs, spelling variants and mistakes stay separate. Scholar was the census term for a child in education. That means the other rows often tell you more about adult work in Wardrobe households.

FAQ

Wardrobe surname: questions and answers

How common was the Wardrobe surname in 1881?

In 1881, 76 people were recorded with the Wardrobe surname. That placed it at #22,745 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Wardrobe surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 135 in 2016. That gives Wardrobe a modern rank of #25,505.

What does the Wardrobe map show?

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