NameCensus.

UK surname

Wickstead

In the 1881 census there were 229 people recorded with the Wickstead surname, ranking it #11,784 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 268, ranked #16,003, down from #11,784 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to Sedgley, Bury and Offley, High. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin and South Somerset.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Wickstead is 300 in 1911. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 17.0%.

1881 census count

229

Ranked #11,784

Modern count

268

2016, ranked #16,003

Peak year

1911

300 bearers

Map years

9

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Wickstead had 229 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #11,784 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 268 in 2016, ranked #16,003.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 300 in 1911.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Rural Amenity.

Wickstead surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Wickstead surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Wickstead 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 195 #10,620
1861 historical 182 #12,949
1881 historical 229 #11,784
1891 historical 282 #11,597
1901 historical 298 #11,695
1911 historical 300 #11,441
1997 modern 249 #15,319
1998 modern 266 #15,053
1999 modern 256 #15,557
2000 modern 267 #15,055
2001 modern 268 #14,812
2002 modern 269 #15,044
2003 modern 252 #15,530
2004 modern 252 #15,618
2005 modern 246 #15,802
2006 modern 242 #16,097
2007 modern 245 #16,134
2008 modern 246 #16,247
2009 modern 257 #16,099
2010 modern 258 #16,432
2011 modern 257 #16,335
2012 modern 262 #16,001
2013 modern 269 #15,963
2014 modern 267 #16,161
2015 modern 266 #16,105
2016 modern 268 #16,003

Geography

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Where Wicksteads are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around Sedgley, Bury, Offley, High, Wolstanton and Edgmond (Edgmond), Chetwynd, Cheswardine, Hinstock. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin, South Somerset and Stockport. 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 Sedgley Staffordshire
2 Bury Lancashire
3 Offley, High Shropshire
4 Wolstanton Staffordshire
5 Edgmond (Edgmond), Chetwynd, Cheswardine, Hinstock Shropshire

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Shropshire 005 Shropshire
2 Telford and Wrekin 009 Telford and Wrekin
3 South Somerset 017 South Somerset
4 Stockport 001 Stockport
5 Telford and Wrekin 002 Telford and Wrekin

Forenames

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First names often paired with Wickstead

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

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Wickstead

Modern surname records can be compared with neighbourhood classifications. For Wickstead, 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 Wickstead surname is most associated with neighbourhoods classed as Rural Amenity, within Suburbanites and Peri-Urbanities. This does not mean every Wickstead 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

Professional Employment and Family Lifecycles

Group

Inner London Working Professionals

Within London, Wickstead is most associated with areas classed as Inner London Working Professionals, 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

These primarily Inner London neighbourhoods are more densely populated than the Supergroup average. Residents have a younger over-all age profile than the Supergroup as a whole, and are less likely to be owner occupiers. Full time employment is more common than elsewhere in the Supergroup and multiple car ownership is uncommon. Chinese and non-EU-born European migrants are less in evidence than elsewhere in the Supergroup.

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

Wickstead 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

Wickstead falls in decile 7 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.

7
More deprived Less deprived

Broadband speed

Fixed broadband download speed

The modern neighbourhood pattern for Wickstead 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 Wickstead, not the ethnicity of every person with the surname.

1881 census detail

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Wickstead families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Wickstead 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. Staffordshire leads with 58 Wicksteads recorded in 1881 and an index of 7.73x.

County Total Index
Staffordshire 58 7.73x
Lancashire 48 1.82x
Shropshire 34 17.69x
Middlesex 32 1.44x
Cheshire 18 3.67x
Surrey 10 0.92x
Leicestershire 5 2.03x
Somerset 4 1.12x
Kent 3 0.40x
Northamptonshire 3 1.43x
Hertfordshire 2 1.30x
Midlothian 2 0.67x
Warwickshire 2 0.36x
Yorkshire 2 0.09x
Berkshire 1 0.60x
Derbyshire 1 0.29x
Flintshire 1 1.67x
Gloucestershire 1 0.23x
Hampshire 1 0.22x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. West Derby in Lancashire leads with 13 Wicksteads recorded in 1881 and an index of 16.84x.

Place Total Index
West Derby 13 16.84x
Sedgley 12 43.04x
High Offley 11 1774.19x
Liverpool 11 6.86x
Newport 11 474.14x
Wolstanton Oldcott 10 367.65x
Bury 9 29.85x
Twickenham 9 94.34x
Everton 8 9.51x
St Pancras London 8 4.47x
Runcorn 7 61.84x
Cheswardine 6 731.71x
Bow London 5 17.66x
Lambeth 5 2.58x
Leek Lowe 5 50.05x
Syston 5 216.45x
Tyrley 5 862.07x
Battersea 4 4.89x
Monks Coppenhall 4 21.59x
Norton In Hales 4 1428.57x
Rowley Regis 4 19.12x
Wem 4 139.86x
Weston Super Mare 4 44.25x
Whitchurch 4 107.24x
Islington London 3 1.39x
Kensington London 3 2.43x
Kettering 3 35.46x
Tranmere 3 16.63x
Birmingham 2 1.07x
Chelsea London 2 2.98x
Lewisham 2 4.94x
Ludlow St Lawrence 2 52.36x
Manchester 2 1.69x
Shrewsbury Holy Cross 2 94.34x
Smallthorne 2 71.68x
Stoke Upon Trent 2 2.51x
Wolverhampton 2 3.47x
Wybunbury 2 444.44x
Barton Upon Irwell 1 5.03x
Bilston 1 6.87x
Birkdale 1 14.97x
Bowdon 1 51.28x
Boxwell With Leighterton 1 526.32x
Brenchley 1 36.76x
Bushey 1 27.40x
Camberwell 1 0.70x
Eccleshall 1 35.09x
Edinburgh St Andrews 1 40.65x
Edinburgh St Cuthberts 1 0.83x
Elvington 1 344.83x
Kirkdale 1 2.25x
Leeds 1 0.80x
New Windsor 1 17.83x
Newton 1 4.92x
Norbury 1 625.00x
Normanton 1 34.01x
North Meols 1 3.87x
Portsea 1 1.12x
Rhuddlan 1 19.01x
Shrewsbury St Chad 1 14.84x
St George Bloomsbury 1 7.84x
St George Martyr 1 26.67x
Thornton Le Moors 1 526.32x
Watford 1 8.41x
West Bromwich 1 2.33x
Wolstanton 1 4.39x

Top female names

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

Name Count
Mary 23
Sarah 7
Elizabeth 5
Emily 5
Eliza 4
Ellen 4
Hannah 4
Jane 4
Ann 3
Catherine 3
Emma 3
Harriet 3
Margaret 3
Alice 2
Annie 2
Charlotte 2
Clara 2
Edith 2
Martha 2
Prudence 2
Susan 2
A. 1
Ada 1
Amy 1
Bessie 1
Caroline 1
Dora 1
Eliz. 1
Fanny 1
Florence 1
Georging 1
Helen 1
Hesther 1
Isabella 1
Jessie 1
Lillian 1
Louisa 1
Lydia 1
M.A. 1
Maria 1
Marion 1
Maude 1
Thomas 1
Wenna 1

Top male names

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

Name Count
John 16
Thomas 16
William 15
Joseph 8
Samuel 5
James 4
Alfred 3
Charles 3
Henry 3
Richard 3
Abraham 2
Edwin 2
Francis 2
George 2
Harry 2
Hugh 2
Jos. 2
Walter 2
Alexander 1
Arnold 1
Benjamin 1
C. 1
Crispa 1
Edward 1
Frank 1
Fred 1
Georke 1
H. 1
Isaac 1
J.E. 1
Josh. 1
Lewis 1
Matthew 1
Phillip 1
Robt. 1
Saml. 1
Thos. 1
Willie 1
Willm. 1
Wm. 1

FAQ

Wickstead surname: questions and answers

How common was the Wickstead surname in 1881?

In 1881, 229 people were recorded with the Wickstead surname. That placed it at #11,784 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Wickstead surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 268 in 2016. That gives Wickstead a modern rank of #16,003.

What does the Wickstead map show?

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