NameCensus.

UK surname

Wilberforce

In the 1881 census there were 152 people recorded with the Wilberforce surname, ranking it #15,372 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 226, ranked #18,044, down from #15,372 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to Hull Holy Trinity, Jarrow and Birstall. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Wrexham, Stockton-on-Tees and Kingston upon Hull.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Wilberforce is 247 in 1999. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 48.7%.

1881 census count

152

Ranked #15,372

Modern count

226

2016, ranked #18,044

Peak year

1999

247 bearers

Map years

7

1881 to 2016

Key insights

  • Wilberforce had 152 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #15,372 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 226 in 2016, ranked #18,044.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 196 in 1901.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Rural Amenity.

Wilberforce surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Wilberforce surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Wilberforce 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 61 #22,412
1861 historical 83 #23,189
1881 historical 152 #15,372
1891 historical 156 #17,842
1901 historical 196 #15,329
1911 historical 178 #16,073
1997 modern 226 #16,306
1998 modern 237 #16,272
1999 modern 247 #15,932
2000 modern 234 #16,470
2001 modern 233 #16,260
2002 modern 245 #16,041
2003 modern 227 #16,718
2004 modern 229 #16,684
2005 modern 228 #16,683
2006 modern 233 #16,560
2007 modern 236 #16,617
2008 modern 231 #16,973
2009 modern 230 #17,382
2010 modern 231 #17,711
2011 modern 223 #17,940
2012 modern 219 #18,087
2013 modern 220 #18,324
2014 modern 221 #18,412
2015 modern 224 #18,117
2016 modern 226 #18,044

Geography

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Where Wilberforces are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around Hull Holy Trinity, Jarrow, Birstall, Middlesborough and St Lawrence, St Nicholas in the Suburbs. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Wrexham, Stockton-on-Tees, Kingston upon Hull, Harrogate and Redcar and Cleveland. 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 Jarrow Durham
3 Birstall Yorkshire, West Riding
4 Middlesborough Durham
5 St Lawrence, St Nicholas in the Suburbs Yorkshire, East Riding

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Wrexham 017 Wrexham
2 Stockton-on-Tees 019 Stockton-on-Tees
3 Kingston upon Hull 016 Kingston upon Hull, City of
4 Harrogate 017 Harrogate
5 Redcar and Cleveland 002 Redcar and Cleveland

Forenames

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First names often paired with Wilberforce

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

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Wilberforce

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

The Greater London Mix

Group

Social Rented Sector Professional Support Workers

Within London, Wilberforce is most associated with areas classed as Social Rented Sector Professional Support Workers, part of The Greater London Mix. 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 located in Inner London, these neighbourhoods retain a diverse employment structure, with some concentration in associated professional and technical occupations rather than skilled trades or construction. Social renting is more common and levels of homeownership are low. Many residents identify as Black. There is a lower than average rate of marriage or civil partnership, few that are very old (85 or over) and higher than average incidence of disability.

Wider London pattern

A Supergroup embodying London's diversity in many respects, apart from low numbers of residents identifying as of Bangladeshi, Indian, Pakistani or Other (non-Chinese) Asian ethnicity. There is lower than average prevalence of families with dependent children, while there are above average occurrences of never-married individuals and single-person households. The age distribution is skewed towards younger, single residents and couples without children, with many individuals identifying as of mixed or multiple ethnicity. Social rented or private rented housing is slightly more prevalent than average, and many residents live in flats. Individuals typically work in professional and associated roles in public administration, education or health rather than in elementary occupations in agriculture, energy, water, construction or manufacturing. Incidence of students is slightly below average. Individuals declaring no religion are more prevalent than average and non-use of English at home is below average.

Healthy neighbourhoods

Access to healthy assets and hazards

Wilberforce is most concentrated in decile 10 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.

10
Lower access Higher access

Neighbourhood deprivation

Index of Multiple Deprivation

Wilberforce falls in decile 4 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.

4
More deprived Less deprived

Broadband speed

Fixed broadband download speed

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

1881 census detail

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Wilberforce families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Wilberforce 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 68 Wilberforces recorded in 1881 and an index of 4.63x.

County Total Index
Yorkshire 68 4.63x
Durham 19 4.31x
Lancashire 19 1.08x
Middlesex 10 0.67x
Sussex 9 3.60x
Hampshire 8 2.63x
Kent 3 0.59x
Surrey 3 0.42x
Glamorgan 2 0.77x
Northumberland 2 0.91x
Warwickshire 2 0.53x
Bedfordshire 1 1.30x
Buckinghamshire 1 1.12x
Cambridgeshire 1 1.06x
Cheshire 1 0.31x
Gloucestershire 1 0.34x
Lanarkshire 1 0.21x
Nottinghamshire 1 0.50x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Everton in Lancashire leads with 12 Wilberforces recorded in 1881 and an index of 21.40x.

Place Total Index
Everton 12 21.40x
Cottingham 9 283.91x
Hunslet 9 39.28x
Stockton On Tees 9 42.33x
Westoe 9 36.00x
York St Lawrence 9 588.24x
Holy Trinity 7 19.81x
Thornton In Pocklington 7 8750.00x
East Lavington 6 5454.55x
Clifton In York 5 162.87x
Heston 5 101.63x
St Maurice Winchester 5 396.83x
Raskelf 4 1666.67x
Wavertree 4 71.05x
Heene 3 697.67x
Kensington London 3 3.64x
Kingston On Thames 3 17.29x
Linthorpe 3 34.21x
Melbourne 3 1304.35x
Southampton St Mary 3 15.70x
Bexley 2 44.74x
Birmingham 2 1.61x
Gate Fulford 2 58.31x
Southcoates 2 24.51x
Westgate 2 14.64x
York St Mary 2 32.89x
Ystradyfodwg 2 8.83x
All Saints Cambridge 1 151.52x
Barony 1 0.82x
Bedford St Paul 1 18.98x
Bootle Cum Linacre 1 7.16x
Byers Green 1 80.65x
East Retford 1 57.80x
Eton 1 49.26x
Hampstead London 1 4.33x
Holy Trinity St Mary 1 44.64x
Ingleby Greenhow 1 500.00x
Kingstonupon Hull 1 84.75x
Leeds 1 1.21x
Liverpool 1 0.94x
Rochester St Margaret 1 18.76x
St Pancras London 1 0.84x
Toxteth Park 1 1.68x
Wallasey 1 90.09x
Wilton In Guisbrough 1 151.52x
Woodchester 1 217.39x
York St Nicholas In 1 120.48x

Top female names

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

Name Count
Mary 11
Elizabeth 7
Annie 4
Emily 4
Jane 4
Sarah 4
Ann 3
Caroline 3
Agnes 2
Alice 2
Anna 2
Charlotte 2
Frances 2
Gertrude 2
Ada 1
Aley 1
Amelia 1
Angela 1
Betsey 1
Dorothy 1
Eliza 1
Ella 1
Ellen 1
Esther 1
Ethel 1
Evelyn 1
Fanny 1
Hannah 1
Harriet 1
Hilda 1
Isabella 1
Katarine 1
Kate 1
Lavinia 1
Lily 1
Mabel 1
Maggie 1
Margaret 1
Margret 1
Martha 1
Meg 1
Phillis 1
Phoebe 1
Priscilla 1
Violet 1

Top male names

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

Name Count
William 12
John 7
Charles 4
Thomas 4
Arthur 3
Edward 3
George 3
Mark 3
Thos. 3
Ernest 2
Herbert 2
Reginald 2
Richard 2
Albert 1
Alex 1
Alfred 1
Anthony 1
Aurthur 1
Francis 1
Henry 1
Herbort 1
Hugh 1
James 1
Joseph 1
Lionel 1
Richd.Fd. 1
Robt.Henry 1
Samuel 1
Tom 1
Walter 1
Wilfrid 1

FAQ

Wilberforce surname: questions and answers

How common was the Wilberforce surname in 1881?

In 1881, 152 people were recorded with the Wilberforce surname. That placed it at #15,372 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Wilberforce surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 226 in 2016. That gives Wilberforce a modern rank of #18,044.

What does the Wilberforce map show?

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