NameCensus.

UK surname

Wellstead

In the 1881 census there were 351 people recorded with the Wellstead surname, ranking it #8,742 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 404, ranked #11,793, down from #8,742 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to Poole St James, South Stoneham and Winterbourne Kingston. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Purbeck, Horsham and Fareham.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Wellstead is 522 in 1911. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 15.1%.

1881 census count

351

Ranked #8,742

Modern count

404

2016, ranked #11,793

Peak year

1911

522 bearers

Map years

8

1861 to 2016

Key insights

  • Wellstead had 351 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #8,742 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 404 in 2016, ranked #11,793.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 522 in 1911.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Rural Amenity.

Wellstead surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Wellstead surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Wellstead 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 91 #18,187
1861 historical 179 #13,127
1881 historical 351 #8,742
1891 historical 381 #9,213
1901 historical 453 #8,671
1911 historical 522 #7,577
1997 modern 498 #9,324
1998 modern 499 #9,600
1999 modern 519 #9,401
2000 modern 486 #9,837
2001 modern 469 #9,927
2002 modern 465 #10,163
2003 modern 459 #10,113
2004 modern 459 #10,137
2005 modern 447 #10,266
2006 modern 444 #10,347
2007 modern 440 #10,533
2008 modern 441 #10,600
2009 modern 449 #10,690
2010 modern 442 #11,066
2011 modern 445 #10,880
2012 modern 414 #11,431
2013 modern 424 #11,402
2014 modern 433 #11,262
2015 modern 418 #11,516
2016 modern 404 #11,793

Geography

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Where Wellsteads are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around Poole St James, South Stoneham, Winterbourne Kingston, Wareham Lady St Mary and Out Parish, Wareham St Martin, West Lulworth, East Stoke and Portsmouth, Portsea. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Purbeck, Horsham, Fareham, Neath Port Talbot and East Hampshire. 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 Poole St James Dorset
2 South Stoneham Hampshire
3 Winterbourne Kingston Dorset
4 Wareham Lady St Mary and Out Parish, Wareham St Martin, West Lulworth, East Stoke Dorset
5 Portsmouth, Portsea Hampshire

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Purbeck 003 Purbeck
2 Horsham 014 Horsham
3 Fareham 001 Fareham
4 Neath Port Talbot 005 Neath Port Talbot
5 East Hampshire 012 East Hampshire

Forenames

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First names often paired with Wellstead

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

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Wellstead

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

Rural Amenity

Nationally, the Wellstead surname is most associated with neighbourhoods classed as Rural Amenity, within Suburbanites and Peri-Urbanities. This does not mean every Wellstead 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 comprises older parents or retirees, with no resident dependent children, and with the lowest residential densities in this Supergroup. Predominantly UK-born, residents typically live in detached houses, although others do live in semi-detached and terraced properties. The level of multiple car ownership is the highest in this Supergroup. Most houses are owner occupied although social renting is also present. Many concentrations occur in high amenity rural locations, such as Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

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

Young Families and Mainstream Employment

Group

Terraced and Semi-Detached Suburbs

Within London, Wellstead is most associated with areas classed as Terraced and Semi-Detached Suburbs, part of Young Families and Mainstream Employment. 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 concentrated in suburban areas, these terraced and semi-detached developments are less overcrowded than the Supergroup average, and resident households are more likely to own two or more cars. There are fewer residents aged 25-44, and a larger share of residents employed in administrative and secretarial occupations. Residents are more likely to have been born in the UK, less likely to have been born in the EU or Africa, and much less likely to self-identify as Bangladeshi.

Wider London pattern

Many families in these neighbourhoods have young children. Housing is principally in the social rented sector, in terraced or semi-detached units. While over-all residential densities are low, overcrowding is also prevalent locally. Residents are drawn from a range of ethnic minorities, with many identifying as Black and above average numbers born in Africa. Numbers identifying as of Chinese, Indian or White ethnicity are below average. Levels of proficiency in English are below average. Levels of separation or divorce and incidence of disability are both above average. Education is typically limited to Level 1, 2, or apprenticeship qualifications. Few residents work in professional or managerial occupations but the employment structure is otherwise diverse: it includes skilled trades, caring, leisure and other service occupations, sales and customer service occupations, construction, and work as process, plant, and machine operatives.

Healthy neighbourhoods

Access to healthy assets and hazards

Wellstead is most concentrated in decile 8 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.

8
Lower access Higher access

Neighbourhood deprivation

Index of Multiple Deprivation

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

1881 census detail

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Wellstead families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Wellstead 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. Dorset leads with 128 Wellsteads recorded in 1881 and an index of 56.80x.

County Total Index
Dorset 128 56.80x
Hampshire 103 14.64x
Middlesex 27 0.79x
Sussex 16 2.76x
Surrey 13 0.78x
Kent 12 1.02x
Yorkshire 9 0.26x
Berkshire 8 3.10x
Flintshire 8 8.67x
Lancashire 7 0.17x
Essex 6 0.89x
Cheshire 4 0.53x
Somerset 4 0.72x
Hertfordshire 2 0.85x
Wiltshire 2 0.66x
Devon 1 0.14x
Gloucestershire 1 0.15x
Suffolk 1 0.24x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Winterborne Kingston in Dorset leads with 53 Wellsteads recorded in 1881 and an index of 8688.52x.

Place Total Index
Winterborne Kingston 53 8688.52x
Portsea 22 15.95x
Botley 19 1496.06x
South Stoneham 13 85.13x
West Wittering 12 1538.46x
Poole St James 10 118.06x
Bere Regis 9 596.03x
Droxford 9 334.57x
Eling 9 126.23x
Tarrant Launceston 9 9000.00x
Wimborne 9 329.67x
Ellesmere Penley 8 2222.22x
Kensington London 7 3.67x
Skipton 7 65.36x
Arne 6 4285.71x
Chaldon Herring 6 1538.46x
Chale 6 750.00x
East Stoke 6 869.57x
Smarden 6 447.76x
Swanage 6 215.83x
Wareham Holy Trinity 6 612.24x
Wavertree 6 46.01x
Christchurch 5 32.77x
Croydon 5 5.38x
Holdenhurst 5 27.09x
Limehouse London 5 13.27x
Newington 5 3.94x
Cranage 4 769.23x
Islington London 4 1.20x
Mile End Old Town 4 7.38x
Wareham Lady St Mary 4 229.89x
Wargrave 4 181.00x
Hastings St Mary 3 20.82x
Southampton All Sts 3 24.83x
West Ham 3 2.00x
Bedminster 2 3.85x
Bethnal Green London 2 1.34x
Elvetham 2 363.64x
Fisherton Anger 2 35.59x
Folkestone 2 8.80x
Harwich St Nicholas 2 38.24x
Hound 2 41.84x
North Mimms 2 134.23x
Northwood 2 19.96x
Paddington London 2 1.58x
Abingdon St Helen 1 13.28x
Appleshaw 1 322.58x
Ashford 1 8.76x
Bathwick 1 16.34x
Bermondsey 1 0.98x
Colchester St Giles 1 14.93x
Dartford 1 8.35x
Dorchester St Peter 1 61.35x
Ealing 1 3.26x
Edmonton 1 3.62x
Egham 1 9.74x
Exeter St David 1 16.37x
Fordingbridge 1 26.11x
Holy Trinity 1 1.22x
Ipswich St Mary Key 1 92.59x
Kingston Lisle 1 250.00x
Lathom 1 20.33x
Lindley Cum Quarmby 1 11.66x
Lydd 1 39.84x
Newport 1 26.18x
North Stoneham 1 62.50x
Portsmouth 1 6.17x
Reading St Giles 1 3.95x
Selsey 1 93.46x
Shaftesbury Holy Trinity 1 86.21x
St George Hanover 1 2.23x
St Mary Extra 1 17.67x
Tewkesbury 1 16.64x
Uffington 1 149.25x
Walmer 1 19.65x
Wincanton 1 35.21x
Winterborne Zelstone 1 588.24x
Woking 1 9.92x
Wool 1 166.67x

Top female names

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

Name Count
Mary 22
Ellen 13
Elizabeth 10
Emma 10
Sarah 9
Ann 8
Emily 8
Anne 6
Annie 6
Eliza 6
Alice 5
Fanny 5
Jane 5
Charlotte 4
Martha 4
Rose 4
Caroline 3
Frances 3
Kate 3
Lydia 3
Susan 3
Anna 2
Betsy 2
Edith 2
Florence 2
Harriett 2
Louisa 2
Maria 2
Bessie 1
Blanche 1
Catherine 1
Clara 1
Cynthia 1
Drucilla 1
Elisebth. 1
Eva 1
Flora 1
Gertrude 1
Hannah 1
Isabella 1
Janet 1
Julia 1
Kezia 1
Kitty 1
Leah 1
Lily 1
Lousia 1
Lucy 1
Margretta 1
Marsha 1

Top male names

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

Name Count
William 21
George 16
John 16
Charles 9
Albert 6
Henry 6
James 6
Edward 5
Frederick 5
Walter 5
Daniel 4
Samuel 4
Thomas 4
Ernest 3
Frank 3
Gerge 3
Harry 3
Herbert 3
Joseph 3
Alick 2
Benjamin 2
David 2
Edmund 2
Frances 2
Fredrick 2
Geo. 2
Robert 2
Sidney 2
Alfred 1
Augustus 1
Bennett 1
Bertie 1
Edwin 1
Emanuel 1
Frederic 1
Hensley 1
Hezekiah 1
Leonard 1
Levi 1
Martin 1
Noah 1
Owen 1
Reginald 1
Thos.F. 1
Wm. 1

FAQ

Wellstead surname: questions and answers

How common was the Wellstead surname in 1881?

In 1881, 351 people were recorded with the Wellstead surname. That placed it at #8,742 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Wellstead surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 404 in 2016. That gives Wellstead a modern rank of #11,793.

What does the Wellstead map show?

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