NameCensus.

UK surname

Windmill

In the 1881 census there were 482 people recorded with the Windmill surname, ranking it #6,956 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 525, ranked #9,654, down from #6,956 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to Bristol City: St Mary Redcliff, London parishes and Potsgrove. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Bath and North East Somerset, East Riding of Yorkshire and Wakefield.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Windmill is 634 in 1999. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 8.9%.

1881 census count

482

Ranked #6,956

Modern count

525

2016, ranked #9,654

Peak year

1999

634 bearers

Map years

9

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Windmill had 482 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #6,956 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 525 in 2016, ranked #9,654.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 631 in 1911.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Challenged Communities.

Windmill surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Windmill surname density by area, 1881 census.

Loading map
Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

Back to top

Windmill 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 319 #7,273
1861 historical 329 #7,748
1881 historical 482 #6,956
1891 historical 544 #6,940
1901 historical 627 #6,833
1911 historical 631 #6,581
1997 modern 607 #8,081
1998 modern 624 #8,162
1999 modern 634 #8,118
2000 modern 619 #8,249
2001 modern 609 #8,208
2002 modern 601 #8,453
2003 modern 587 #8,461
2004 modern 592 #8,431
2005 modern 573 #8,544
2006 modern 552 #8,786
2007 modern 548 #8,927
2008 modern 540 #9,091
2009 modern 566 #8,969
2010 modern 567 #9,148
2011 modern 566 #9,070
2012 modern 562 #9,037
2013 modern 556 #9,249
2014 modern 554 #9,331
2015 modern 531 #9,584
2016 modern 525 #9,654

Geography

Back to top

Where Windmills are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around Bristol City: St Mary Redcliff, London parishes, Potsgrove, Halesowen (all except Hunnington, Romsley; partly in Halesowen, Worcestershire) and Ivinghoe, Cheddington, Slapton, Pitstone (Berkhampstead, Hertfordshire), Eddlesborough, Little Gadde. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Bath and North East Somerset, East Riding of Yorkshire, Wakefield, East Hertfordshire and Blaenau Gwent. 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 Bristol City: St Mary Redcliff Gloucestershire
2 London parishes London 3
3 Potsgrove Bedfordshire
4 Halesowen (all except Hunnington, Romsley; partly in Halesowen, Worcestershire) Staffordshire
5 Ivinghoe, Cheddington, Slapton, Pitstone (Berkhampstead, Hertfordshire), Eddlesborough, Little Gadde Bedfordshire

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Bath and North East Somerset 027 Bath and North East Somerset
2 East Riding of Yorkshire 024 East Riding of Yorkshire
3 Wakefield 024 Wakefield
4 East Hertfordshire 009 East Hertfordshire
5 Blaenau Gwent 004 Blaenau Gwent

Forenames

Back to top

First names often paired with Windmill

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

Modern profile

Back to top

Neighbourhood profile for Windmill

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

Baseline UK

Group

Challenged Communities

Nationally, the Windmill surname is most associated with neighbourhoods classed as Challenged Communities, within Baseline UK. This does not mean every Windmill household fits that profile, but it gives a useful signal about where the modern surname distribution is strongest.

Read profile summary

Group profile

Residents of these neighbourhoods typically live in households with dependent children, and there are fewer-than-average residents of normal retirement age or over. Identification with ethnic minorities, particularly Black, or Mixed or Multiple ethnicities is common. The rate of Christian religious affiliation is low. Housing predominantly consists of semi-detached houses, along with a significant number of terraced properties and flats. Overcrowded social housing is common, and private renting occurs at average UK levels. Those in employment work mainly in caring leisure and other services; process, plant and machine operation; or elementary occupations. Unemployment is high, and few individuals have degree level qualifications. Many of these neighbourhoods occur in commuter towns or less accessible areas of larger towns and cities.

Wider pattern

This Supergroup exemplifies the broad base to the UK’s social structure, encompassing as it does the average or modal levels of many neighbourhood characteristics, including all housing tenures, a range of levels of educational attainment and religious affiliations, and a variety of pre-retirement age structures. Yet, in combination, these mixes are each distinctive of the parts of the UK. Overall, terraced houses and flats are the most prevalent, as is employment in intermediate or low-skilled occupations. However, this Supergroup is also characterised by above average levels of unemployment and lower levels of use of English as the main language. Many neighbourhoods occur in south London and the UK’s other major urban centres.

London neighbourhood type

London Output Area Classification

Supergroup

Older Residents in Owner-Occupied Suburbs

Group

London Fringe

Within London, Windmill is most associated with areas classed as London Fringe, part of Older Residents in Owner-Occupied Suburbs. 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

Predominantly located in neighbourhoods on the outskirts of Greater London, residents of these neighbourhoods typically have their highest qualifications below degree (Level 4) level, with those still in work engaged in skilled trades and occupations in distribution, hotels and restaurants. There is low ethnic diversity in these neighbourhoods and high levels of Christian religious affiliation. Detached or terraced houses predominate, often with spare rooms.

Wider London pattern

The age distribution of these neighbourhoods is skewed towards the middle-aged and old, although few residents live alone or in communal establishments and numbers of dependent children are around average. Owner occupation is the norm, as is residence in detached or semi-detached houses. Residential densities are low and many households have spare rooms. Most residents were born in the UK and, aside from some identifying as members of Chinese or Indian ethnicities, identify as White. Mixed ethnicity households are rare. Incidence of married couples is higher than average and few individuals have never been married. A large proportion of individuals still in employment work in administrative and secretarial occupations, or in the construction industry. Few residents are students, and many households own more than one car.

Healthy neighbourhoods

Access to healthy assets and hazards

Windmill is most concentrated in decile 6 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.

6
Lower access Higher access

Neighbourhood deprivation

Index of Multiple Deprivation

Windmill falls in decile 10 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.

10
More deprived Less deprived

Broadband speed

Fixed broadband download speed

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

1881 census detail

Back to top

Windmill families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Windmill 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. Somerset leads with 66 Windmills recorded in 1881 and an index of 8.83x.

County Total Index
Somerset 66 8.83x
Buckinghamshire 60 21.37x
Staffordshire 56 3.57x
Middlesex 51 1.10x
Worcestershire 41 6.76x
Bedfordshire 33 13.73x
Surrey 29 1.28x
Gloucestershire 27 2.96x
Hertfordshire 21 6.56x
Essex 20 2.18x
Yorkshire 16 0.35x
Warwickshire 10 0.85x
Kent 9 0.57x
Glamorgan 6 0.74x
Lancashire 6 0.11x
Northumberland 5 0.72x
Durham 4 0.29x
Derbyshire 3 0.41x
Northamptonshire 3 0.69x
Monmouthshire 2 0.60x
Nottinghamshire 2 0.32x
Cambridgeshire 1 0.34x
Devon 1 0.10x
Hampshire 1 0.11x
Norfolk 1 0.14x
Oxfordshire 1 0.35x
Sussex 1 0.13x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Kingswinford in Staffordshire leads with 47 Windmills recorded in 1881 and an index of 82.59x.

Place Total Index
Kingswinford 47 82.59x
Ivinghoe 33 1506.85x
Oldbury 33 110.63x
Wing 16 615.38x
Timsbury 15 663.72x
Glastonbury 11 180.33x
Potsgrove 11 3437.50x
St George Hanover 9 14.85x
Chelsea London 8 5.72x
Monckton Combe 8 334.73x
St Albans 8 121.95x
Allerton Bywater 7 281.12x
Barking 7 26.10x
Bedminster 7 9.97x
Bermondsey 7 5.06x
Birmingham 7 1.79x
Newington 7 4.08x
Pensford St Thomas 7 1666.67x
Publow 7 823.53x
Westbury On Severn East 7 34.00x
Woburn 7 334.93x
Bristol St James In 6 44.81x
Pedmore 6 759.49x
Roath 6 16.34x
Bristol St Augustine 5 34.01x
Camberwell 5 1.69x
Clerkenwell London 5 4.56x
Greenwich 5 6.76x
Heath Reach 5 292.40x
Holywell 5 140.85x
Lambeth 5 1.24x
St Albans St Peter 5 46.30x
Streatham 5 14.51x
Twyford 5 561.80x
Bristol St Philip Jacob 4 4.67x
Great Stanmore 4 191.39x
Luton 4 9.61x
Mile End Old Town 4 5.46x
Romford 4 27.61x
Rotherham 4 15.42x
St Pancras London 4 1.07x
Usworth 4 54.50x
Aldenham 3 103.09x
Billington 3 441.18x
Burton Upon Trent 3 8.18x
Hammersmith London 3 2.62x
Helmdon 3 357.14x
Hornchurch 3 66.82x
Huntspill 3 98.04x
Islington London 3 0.67x
St Albans St Stephen 3 107.14x
Staveley 3 23.26x
Waddesdon Westcott 3 340.91x
Wanstead 3 18.69x
West Bromwich 3 3.34x
West Ham 3 1.48x
West Malling 3 84.03x
Aston 2 0.62x
Eccleston In Prescot 2 7.23x
Fulham London 2 2.97x
Gloucester Barton St Mary 2 12.00x
Lancaster 2 6.10x
Nottingham St Mary 2 1.24x
Penn 2 114.29x
Sedgley 2 3.44x
Shepton Mallet 2 23.84x
Spitalfields London 2 5.73x
St George In East 2 6.33x
Trevethin 2 6.31x
Watford 2 8.06x
Bow London 1 1.69x
Bristol St Paul In 1 4.12x
Henlow 1 67.57x
Kenton 1 32.79x
Keynsham 1 18.62x
Leighton Buzzard 1 9.67x
Linton Upon Ouse 1 212.77x
Rainhill 1 28.33x
Stanton Drew 1 136.99x
York Holy Trinity 1 25.13x

Top female names

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

Top male names

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

Name Count
William 32
John 29
Joseph 17
George 16
James 12
Alfred 10
Charles 10
Henry 10
Arthur 8
Edward 7
Robert 7
Richard 6
Frederick 5
Samuel 5
Thomas 5
Amos 3
Daniel 3
Ernest 3
Herbert 3
Benjamin 2
David 2
Edwin 2
Emanuel 2
Harry 2
Isaac 2
Jabez 2
Jesse 2
Jonathan 2
Walter 2
Andrew 1
Aubrey 1
C. 1
Dutton 1
Edmund 1
Enoch 1
Ezra 1
Frank 1
Fredk. 1
G.Henry 1
Glyn 1
Hezekiah 1
Horatio 1
Job 1
Jonathon 1
Louis 1
Mary 1
S.Thomas 1
Sidney 1
Theodore 1
Wm. 1

FAQ

Windmill surname: questions and answers

How common was the Windmill surname in 1881?

In 1881, 482 people were recorded with the Windmill surname. That placed it at #6,956 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Windmill surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 525 in 2016. That gives Windmill a modern rank of #9,654.

What does the Windmill map show?

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