NameCensus.

UK surname

Wodehouse

In the 1881 census there were 125 people recorded with the Wodehouse surname, ranking it #17,335 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 100, ranked #31,123, down from #17,335 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to London parishes, Halifax and Hertingfordbury. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Craigton, Mosspark and Kingspark South.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Wodehouse is 189 in 1901. Compared with 1881, the name has fallen by 20.0%.

1881 census count

125

Ranked #17,335

Modern count

100

2016, ranked #31,123

Peak year

1901

189 bearers

Map years

9

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Wodehouse had 125 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #17,335 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 100 in 2016, ranked #31,123.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 189 in 1901.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Legacy and Demographically Mixed Communities.

Wodehouse surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Wodehouse surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Wodehouse 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 118 #15,362
1861 historical 112 #19,279
1881 historical 125 #17,335
1891 historical 130 #20,173
1901 historical 189 #15,684
1911 historical 127 #19,749
1997 modern 109 #25,650
1998 modern 114 #25,589
1999 modern 118 #25,227
2000 modern 121 #24,824
2001 modern 116 #25,089
2002 modern 105 #27,123
2003 modern 97 #28,217
2004 modern 102 #27,637
2005 modern 102 #27,689
2006 modern 102 #27,926
2007 modern 100 #28,669
2008 modern 104 #28,341
2009 modern 107 #28,483
2010 modern 104 #29,618
2011 modern 96 #30,721
2012 modern 92 #31,528
2013 modern 95 #31,523
2014 modern 96 #31,667
2015 modern 99 #31,168
2016 modern 100 #31,123

Geography

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Where Wodehouses are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around London parishes, Halifax, Hertingfordbury, St George, Hanover Square, Buckingham Palace and St Paul, St Saviour, St Edmund, St Simon and Jude, St Peter Hungate, St Michael at Plea, St Martin a. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Craigton, Mosspark, Kingspark South, Hammersmith and Fulham and Pollok North and East. 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 London parishes London 1
2 Halifax Yorkshire, West Riding
3 Hertingfordbury Hertfordshire
4 St George, Hanover Square, Buckingham Palace London (West Districts)
5 St Paul, St Saviour, St Edmund, St Simon and Jude, St Peter Hungate, St Michael at Plea, St Martin a Norfolk

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Craigton Glasgow City
2 Mosspark Glasgow City
3 Kingspark South Glasgow City
4 Hammersmith and Fulham 024 Hammersmith and Fulham
5 Pollok North and East Glasgow City

Forenames

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First names often paired with Wodehouse

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

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Wodehouse

Modern surname records can be compared with neighbourhood classifications. For Wodehouse, 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 Wodehouse surname is most associated with neighbourhoods classed as Legacy and Demographically Mixed Communities, within Legacy Communities. This does not mean every Wodehouse 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

European Enclaves

Within London, Wodehouse is most associated with areas classed as European Enclaves, 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

Many residents of these accessible neighbourhoods have wide-ranging non-UK European origins. Typically residing in privately rented flats, many residents live alone and are beyond normal retirement age. There are more students than elsewhere in the Supergroup, some of which live in communal establishments. Household residents are often drawn from different ethnic groups.

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

Wodehouse is most concentrated in decile 1 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.

1
Lower access Higher access

Neighbourhood deprivation

Index of Multiple Deprivation

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

1881 census detail

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Wodehouse families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Wodehouse 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. Norfolk leads with 34 Wodehouses recorded in 1881 and an index of 18.14x.

County Total Index
Norfolk 34 18.14x
Middlesex 26 2.13x
Hampshire 15 6.00x
Surrey 11 1.85x
Suffolk 8 5.39x
Devon 6 2.36x
Hertfordshire 4 4.76x
Somerset 4 2.04x
Worcestershire 4 2.51x
Cumberland 3 2.86x
Nottinghamshire 2 1.22x
Oxfordshire 2 2.66x
Yorkshire 2 0.17x
Essex 1 0.42x
Huntingdonshire 1 4.13x
Kent 1 0.24x
Lancashire 1 0.07x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Chelsea London in Middlesex leads with 9 Wodehouses recorded in 1881 and an index of 24.50x.

Place Total Index
Chelsea London 9 24.50x
Kensington London 8 11.80x
Norwich St Saviour 8 1212.12x
Bury St Edmunds St Mary 7 250.90x
Kingston On Thames 7 49.05x
St George Hanover 6 37.71x
Easton 4 2000.00x
Norwich St Michael At 4 366.97x
Powick 4 363.64x
Aldershot 3 35.84x
Bratton Fleming 3 1363.64x
Distington 3 555.56x
Heigham 3 29.82x
Hertingfordbury 3 882.35x
Hoveton St Peter 3 5000.00x
Barnham Broom 2 1052.63x
Briston 2 555.56x
Calbourne 2 740.74x
Carlton 2 106.95x
Christchurch 2 36.90x
Droxford 2 210.53x
Hampton London 2 100.00x
Kings Lynn St Margaret 2 35.52x
Mongewell 2 3333.33x
Morley St Peter 2 3333.33x
Norwich St Martin At 2 625.00x
Shepton Mallet 2 90.91x
Skipton 2 52.63x
Walcot 2 19.14x
West Teignmouth 2 103.09x
Ashton Under Lyne 1 3.16x
Bramley 1 192.31x
Camberwell 1 1.28x
East Dereham 1 42.19x
Elham 1 200.00x
Frimley 1 59.17x
Hawley 1 212.77x
Hertford All Saints 1 212.77x
Hethersett 1 212.77x
Hingham 1 153.85x
Huntingdon St John 1 142.86x
Loddon 1 208.33x
Lowestoft 1 14.27x
Mundham 1 833.33x
Norwich St John Timberhill 1 200.00x
Portsea 1 2.04x
Richmond 1 12.02x
South Shoebury 1 103.09x
St Martin In Fields 1 13.70x
Tormoham 1 9.31x

Top female names

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

Name Count
William 8
John 5
Alfred 3
George 3
Philip 3
Albert 2
Armine 2
Arthur 2
Charles 2
Edmond 2
Thomas 2
Algernon 1
Armina 1
Capel 1
Chappel 1
Constantine 1
Edward 1
Edwin 1
Ernest 1
Fredc.W. 1
Fredrick 1
Herbert 1
Horace 1
Hugh 1
James 1
Joseph 1
Sarah 1
Stephen 1
Tom.P. 1
Walker 1
Walter 1
Willm. 1

FAQ

Wodehouse surname: questions and answers

How common was the Wodehouse surname in 1881?

In 1881, 125 people were recorded with the Wodehouse surname. That placed it at #17,335 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Wodehouse surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 100 in 2016. That gives Wodehouse a modern rank of #31,123.

What does the Wodehouse map show?

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