NameCensus.

UK surname

Wighton

In the 1881 census there were 303 people recorded with the Wighton surname, ranking it #9,654 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 286, ranked #15,240, down from #9,654 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to London parishes, Forfar and Edinburgh. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Balgay, Whitfield and Douglas East.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Wighton is 347 in 1901. Compared with 1881, the name has fallen by 5.6%.

1881 census count

303

Ranked #9,654

Modern count

286

2016, ranked #15,240

Peak year

1901

347 bearers

Map years

9

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Wighton had 303 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #9,654 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 286 in 2016, ranked #15,240.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 347 in 1901.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Legacy and Demographically Mixed Communities.

Wighton surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Wighton surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Wighton 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 339 #6,922
1861 historical 337 #7,564
1881 historical 303 #9,654
1891 historical 303 #11,039
1901 historical 347 #10,500
1911 historical 142 #18,487
1997 modern 254 #15,111
1998 modern 297 #13,967
1999 modern 312 #13,615
2000 modern 291 #14,200
2001 modern 275 #14,540
2002 modern 279 #14,693
2003 modern 266 #14,987
2004 modern 258 #15,386
2005 modern 259 #15,294
2006 modern 268 #15,000
2007 modern 260 #15,476
2008 modern 259 #15,688
2009 modern 267 #15,661
2010 modern 269 #15,935
2011 modern 262 #16,098
2012 modern 269 #15,706
2013 modern 275 #15,719
2014 modern 284 #15,455
2015 modern 286 #15,270
2016 modern 286 #15,240

Geography

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Where Wightons are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around London parishes, Forfar, Edinburgh, Dundee, Liff, Benvie and Invergowry and Glasgow. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Balgay, Whitfield, Douglas East, Douglas West and Kirkton. Treat these as concentration signals, not proof that every family line began there.

Top historical parishes

Rank Parish Area
1 London parishes London 1
2 Forfar Forfar
3 Edinburgh Edinburgh
4 Dundee, Liff, Benvie and Invergowry Forfar
5 Glasgow Lanark

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Balgay Dundee City
2 Whitfield Dundee City
3 Douglas East Dundee City
4 Douglas West Dundee City
5 Kirkton Dundee City

Forenames

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First names often paired with Wighton

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

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Wighton

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

Legacy Communities

Group

Legacy and Demographically Mixed Communities

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

Read profile summary

Group profile

Households in these areas often include divorced or separated parents and commonly include children and young adults. The age structure is heavily skewed towards the most advanced age groups. Individuals identifying as members of ethnic minorities are not present in large numbers. Flats predominate, with some terraced, semi-detached, and detached units. Multiple car ownership is low, and housing is predominantly in the private and social rented sectors. Employment is less skewed towards traditional routine industrial occupations. Levels of educational attainment are generally low. The Group occurs principally in the Central Lowlands of Scotland and other Scottish towns.

Wider pattern

These neighbourhoods characteristically comprise pockets of flats that are scattered across the UK, particularly in towns that retain or have legacies of heavy industry or are in more remote seaside locations. Employed residents of these neighbourhoods work mainly in low-skilled occupations. Residents typically have limited educational qualifications. Unemployment is above average. Some residents live in overcrowded housing within the social rented sector and experience long-term disability. All adult age groups are represented, although there is an overall age bias towards elderly people in general and the very old in particular. Individuals identifying as belonging to ethnic minorities or Mixed or Multiple ethnic groups are uncommon.

London neighbourhood type

London Output Area Classification

Supergroup

Professional Employment and Family Lifecycles

Group

Established Homeowners with Children

Within London, Wighton is most associated with areas classed as Established Homeowners with Children, 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 predominantly British-born residents are typically married/in civil partnerships and own the properties in which they are raising their children. Parents are typically over 45, and many other residents are beyond normal retirement age. Detached and semi-detached houses predominate and multiple car ownership is common.

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

Wighton is most concentrated in decile 2 for access to healthy assets and hazards. This places the surname towards the less healthy 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.

2
Lower access Higher access

Neighbourhood deprivation

Index of Multiple Deprivation

Wighton falls in decile 9 for neighbourhood deprivation. This puts the surname towards the less deprived end of the index.

Decile 1 represents the more deprived end of the scale. Decile 10 represents the less deprived end.

9
More deprived Less deprived

Broadband speed

Fixed broadband download speed

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

1881 census detail

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Wighton families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Wighton 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. Angus leads with 116 Wightons recorded in 1881 and an index of 42.09x.

County Total Index
Angus 116 42.09x
Lanarkshire 38 3.95x
Perthshire 33 24.71x
Midlothian 30 7.53x
Middlesex 27 0.91x
Essex 16 2.72x
Norfolk 8 1.75x
Caernarfonshire 5 4.16x
Lincolnshire 4 0.84x
Argyllshire 3 3.62x
Banffshire 3 4.86x
Kent 3 0.30x
Kincardineshire 3 8.28x
Nottinghamshire 3 0.75x
Surrey 3 0.21x
Aberdeenshire 2 0.73x
Cambridgeshire 2 1.06x
Devon 2 0.32x
Dorset 1 0.51x
Dunbartonshire 1 1.25x
Hampshire 1 0.16x
Northamptonshire 1 0.36x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Dundee in Angus leads with 59 Wightons recorded in 1881 and an index of 57.34x.

Place Total Index
Dundee 59 57.34x
Kinnoull 27 769.23x
Liff Benvie 26 62.14x
Forfar 20 134.05x
Barony 13 5.34x
Liberton 12 195.12x
Bothwell 10 38.33x
Cambusnethan 9 42.12x
St Pancras London 9 3.76x
Dalkeith 8 101.78x
Edinburgh St Cuthberts 7 4.37x
Govan 6 2.52x
Tottenham 6 12.66x
West Ham 6 4.63x
Bethnal Green London 5 3.87x
Hornchurch 5 173.61x
Llanbeblig 5 40.95x
Wanstead 5 48.64x
Abernethy 4 229.89x
Montrose 4 23.95x
Sall 4 2000.00x
Fettercairn 3 194.81x
Fordyce 3 67.57x
North Leith 3 16.27x
Skirbeck Quarter 3 344.83x
Aberdeen Old Machar 2 3.48x
Costessey 2 204.08x
Deptford St Paul 2 2.55x
Dunoon 2 117.65x
Heston 2 20.24x
Islington London 2 0.69x
Newington 2 1.82x
Selston 2 44.64x
St Andrewthe Less 2 9.29x
Alyth 1 27.86x
Arbroath 1 10.95x
Barnstaple 1 10.29x
Beckenham 1 7.54x
Burrington 1 126.58x
Dunnichen 1 68.97x
Glenisla 1 123.46x
Kirriemuir 1 14.71x
Lambeth 1 0.39x
Marsham 1 178.57x
Melcombe Regis 1 12.36x
Monifieth 1 10.27x
Morven 1 116.28x
Newtyle 1 107.53x
Northampton Priory St 1 5.96x
Panbride 1 69.44x
Perth West Church 1 15.77x
Portsmouth 1 7.12x
Redenhall 1 56.18x
Row 1 9.67x
Skirbeck 1 37.45x
St Luke London 1 2.10x
St Martin In Fields 1 5.61x
Stoke Newington London 1 4.32x
Worksop 1 8.41x

Top female names

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

Name Count
Emma 3
Jane 3
Jessie 3
Annie 2
Eleanor 2
Elizabeth 2
Mary 2
Sophia 2
Susan 2
Alice 1
Eliz. 1
Emily 1
Ethel 1
Gertrude 1
Grace 1
Hannah 1
Helen 1
Lilly 1
Lucy 1
Maria 1
Martha 1
Maryann 1
Rebecca 1
Rosa 1
Sarah 1
Welly 1

Top male names

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

FAQ

Wighton surname: questions and answers

How common was the Wighton surname in 1881?

In 1881, 303 people were recorded with the Wighton surname. That placed it at #9,654 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Wighton surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 286 in 2016. That gives Wighton a modern rank of #15,240.

What does the Wighton map show?

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