NameCensus.

UK surname

Weeds

In the 1881 census there were 135 people recorded with the Weeds surname, ranking it #16,515 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 129, ranked #26,270, down from #16,515 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to Thorpe St Andrew, Northampton St Giles, Northampton St Sepulchre, Northampton Priory and Hythe St Leonard, Cheriton, Newington, Saltwood, West Hythe, Burmarsh. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include King's Lynn and West Norfolk, Arun and Broadland.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Weeds is 221 in 1911. Compared with 1881, the name has stayed broadly stable by 4.4%.

1881 census count

135

Ranked #16,515

Modern count

129

2016, ranked #26,270

Peak year

1911

221 bearers

Map years

9

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Weeds had 135 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #16,515 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 129 in 2016, ranked #26,270.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 221 in 1911.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Spacious Rural Living.

Weeds surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Weeds surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Weeds 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 109 #16,212
1861 historical 174 #13,483
1881 historical 135 #16,515
1891 historical 166 #17,077
1901 historical 181 #16,107
1911 historical 221 #14,044
1997 modern 157 #20,513
1998 modern 157 #21,058
1999 modern 157 #21,201
2000 modern 144 #22,357
2001 modern 140 #22,441
2002 modern 161 #20,925
2003 modern 144 #22,270
2004 modern 138 #22,997
2005 modern 130 #23,848
2006 modern 130 #24,053
2007 modern 130 #24,389
2008 modern 125 #25,249
2009 modern 135 #24,594
2010 modern 133 #25,379
2011 modern 136 #24,819
2012 modern 136 #24,830
2013 modern 139 #24,912
2014 modern 132 #25,971
2015 modern 130 #26,093
2016 modern 129 #26,270

Geography

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Where Weeds' are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around Thorpe St Andrew, Northampton St Giles, Northampton St Sepulchre, Northampton Priory, Hythe St Leonard, Cheriton, Newington, Saltwood, West Hythe, Burmarsh, St Paul, St Saviour, St Edmund, St Simon and Jude, St Peter Hungate, St Michael at Plea, St Martin a and Lakenham , Eaton St Andrew, Town Close, St Stephen, St Peter Mancroft, St Giles, St Andrew, St John. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to King's Lynn and West Norfolk, Arun, Broadland and Wandsworth. 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 Thorpe St Andrew Norfolk
2 Northampton St Giles, Northampton St Sepulchre, Northampton Priory Northamptonshire
3 Hythe St Leonard, Cheriton, Newington, Saltwood, West Hythe, Burmarsh Kent
4 St Paul, St Saviour, St Edmund, St Simon and Jude, St Peter Hungate, St Michael at Plea, St Martin a Norfolk
5 Lakenham , Eaton St Andrew, Town Close, St Stephen, St Peter Mancroft, St Giles, St Andrew, St John Norfolk

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 King's Lynn and West Norfolk 017 King's Lynn and West Norfolk
2 King's Lynn and West Norfolk 018 King's Lynn and West Norfolk
3 Arun 019 Arun
4 Broadland 010 Broadland
5 Wandsworth 014 Wandsworth

Forenames

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First names often paired with Weeds

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

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Weeds

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

Retired Professionals

Group

Spacious Rural Living

Nationally, the Weeds surname is most associated with neighbourhoods classed as Spacious Rural Living, within Retired Professionals. This does not mean every Weeds household fits that profile, but it gives a useful signal about where the modern surname distribution is strongest.

Read profile summary

Group profile

These predominantly ageing households typically have no resident dependent children. Most are owner-occupiers and live in detached houses in low density residential developments (although renting is more common than in the rest of the Supergroup). White ethnicity predominates. Residents are typically beyond retirement age but those still in work have managerial, professional or skilled trade occupations. White ethnicity and Christian religious affiliation predominate. Neighbourhoods are located throughout rural UK.

Wider pattern

Typically married but no longer with resident dependent children, these well-educated households either remain working in their managerial, professional, administrative or other skilled occupations, or are retired from them – the modal individual age is beyond normal retirement age. Underoccupied detached and semi-detached properties predominate, and unpaid care is more prevalent than reported disability. The prevalence of this Supergroup outside most urban conurbations indicates that rural lifestyles prevail, typically sustained by using two or more cars per household.

London neighbourhood type

London Output Area Classification

Supergroup

Social Rented Sector Families with Children

Group

Social Rented Sector Pockets

Within London, Weeds is most associated with areas classed as Social Rented Sector Pockets, part of Social Rented Sector Families with Children. 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

Found in pockets across London, residents are less likely to live in private sector rentals and fewer adults are students. Fewer individuals work in transport and communications occupations relative to the Supergroup average. More individuals identify as Black and were born in Africa.

Wider London pattern

Residents of these neighbourhoods include sizable numbers identifying with ethnicities originating outside Europe, particularly in Africa or Bangladesh. The proportion of residents identifying as White, Indian or Pakistani is well below the London average. Neighbourhood age profiles are skewed towards younger adults, and above average numbers of families have children. Rates of use of English at home are below average. Marriage rates are low, and levels of separation or divorce are above average. Housing is predominantly in flats, and renting in the social rented sector the norm - few residents are owner occupiers. Housing is often overcrowded, and neighbourhoods are amongst the most densely populated in London. Disability rates are above average, although levels of unpaid care provision are about average. Employment is in caring, leisure, other service occupations, sales and customer service, or process, plant, and machine operation. Part time working and full-time student study are common. Levels of unemployment are slightly above average. Most residents have only Level 1 or 2 educational qualifications or have completed apprenticeships.

Healthy neighbourhoods

Access to healthy assets and hazards

Weeds 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

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

1881 census detail

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Weeds families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Weeds 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. Norfolk leads with 69 Weeds' recorded in 1881 and an index of 34.08x.

County Total Index
Norfolk 69 34.08x
Cornwall 16 10.73x
Middlesex 12 0.91x
Northamptonshire 7 5.65x
Suffolk 7 4.36x
Hertfordshire 6 6.61x
Nottinghamshire 6 3.38x
Yorkshire 6 0.46x
Bedfordshire 2 2.93x
Derbyshire 1 0.49x
Kent 1 0.22x
Leicestershire 1 0.69x
Sussex 1 0.45x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Thorpe Next Norwich in Norfolk leads with 15 Weeds' recorded in 1881 and an index of 697.67x.

Place Total Index
Thorpe Next Norwich 15 697.67x
Antony 11 763.89x
Great Yarmouth 9 53.67x
St George In East 9 100.45x
Norwich St Clement 8 340.43x
East Dereham 6 234.38x
Fritton 6 5454.55x
Haddiscoe 6 3333.33x
Norwich St Augustine 6 731.71x
St Albans St Peter 6 196.08x
Tuxford 6 1363.64x
St Breock 5 617.28x
Nether Hallam 4 22.66x
Northampton St Sepulchre 4 63.49x
Ashmanhaugh 3 4285.71x
Heigham 3 27.60x
Lamport 3 4285.71x
Aspley Guise 2 307.69x
Bergh Apton 2 952.38x
Ecclesall Bierlow 2 7.54x
Norwich St James 2 125.79x
Norwich St Peter 2 150.38x
Bethnal Green London 1 1.75x
Brighton 1 2.23x
Coltishall 1 232.56x
Folkestone 1 11.48x
Leicester St Margaret 1 2.81x
North Walsham 1 68.49x
Norwich Liberty Of Town 1 714.29x
Norwich St Giles 1 153.85x
Norwich St Mary In Marsh 1 434.78x
Shipmeadow 1 1000.00x
Shoreditch London 1 1.75x
Sprowston 1 112.36x
Stoke Newington London 1 9.75x
Unstone 1 123.46x
Wicklewood 1 303.03x

Top female names

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

Name Count
Mary 8
Elizabeth 7
Ellen 4
Emma 4
Sarah 4
Alice 2
Amelia 2
Eleanor 2
Fanny 2
Jane 2
Katherine 2
Margaret 2
Maria 2
Rose 2
Agnes 1
Amy 1
Angelina 1
Annie 1
Bertha 1
Blanch 1
Catherine 1
Charlotte 1
Edith 1
Eliza 1
Elsie 1
Ethel 1
Florence 1
Hannah 1
Harriet 1
Jemima 1
Julia 1
Leonora 1
Letitea 1
Liley 1
Lilian 1
Linda 1
Louisa 1
Lousea 1
Marian 1
Minnie 1
Neley 1
Nora 1
Rachel 1
Rosa 1
Selina 1

Top male names

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

Name Count
William 12
Frederick 5
George 5
Robert 4
Charles 3
Edward 3
Horatio 3
James 3
Arthur 2
Francis 2
Herbert 2
Thomas 2
Walter 2
Albert 1
Alfred 1
Earnest 1
Edwd. 1
Frank 1
Harry 1
Henry 1
John 1
Michael 1
Saml. 1
Sampson 1

FAQ

Weeds surname: questions and answers

How common was the Weeds surname in 1881?

In 1881, 135 people were recorded with the Weeds surname. That placed it at #16,515 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Weeds surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 129 in 2016. That gives Weeds a modern rank of #26,270.

What does the Weeds map show?

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