NameCensus.

UK surname

Wolton

In the 1881 census there were 237 people recorded with the Wolton surname, ranking it #11,509 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 352, ranked #13,104, down from #11,509 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to Coddenham, Swilland and London parishes. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Maldon, Tendring and Mid Suffolk.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Wolton is 355 in 2007. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 48.5%.

1881 census count

237

Ranked #11,509

Modern count

352

2016, ranked #13,104

Peak year

2007

355 bearers

Map years

9

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Wolton had 237 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #11,509 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 352 in 2016, ranked #13,104.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 328 in 1911.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Spacious Rural Living.

Wolton surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Wolton surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Wolton 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 196 #10,573
1861 historical 232 #10,535
1881 historical 237 #11,509
1891 historical 306 #10,945
1901 historical 214 #14,517
1911 historical 328 #10,714
1997 modern 342 #12,379
1998 modern 343 #12,707
1999 modern 346 #12,726
2000 modern 352 #12,510
2001 modern 345 #12,504
2002 modern 353 #12,512
2003 modern 345 #12,549
2004 modern 348 #12,495
2005 modern 350 #12,359
2006 modern 343 #12,626
2007 modern 355 #12,458
2008 modern 345 #12,839
2009 modern 344 #13,138
2010 modern 352 #13,187
2011 modern 351 #13,059
2012 modern 335 #13,408
2013 modern 355 #13,045
2014 modern 350 #13,263
2015 modern 343 #13,365
2016 modern 352 #13,104

Geography

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Where Woltons are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around Coddenham, Swilland, London parishes, Holland, Little and Ufford. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Maldon, Tendring, Mid Suffolk, Ipswich and Kensington and Chelsea. 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 Coddenham Suffolk
2 Swilland Suffolk
3 London parishes London 3
4 Holland, Little Essex
5 Ufford Suffolk

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Maldon 002 Maldon
2 Tendring 015 Tendring
3 Mid Suffolk 012 Mid Suffolk
4 Ipswich 016 Ipswich
5 Kensington and Chelsea 014 Kensington and Chelsea

Forenames

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First names often paired with Wolton

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

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Wolton

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

Retired Professionals

Group

Spacious Rural Living

Nationally, the Wolton surname is most associated with neighbourhoods classed as Spacious Rural Living, within Retired Professionals. This does not mean every Wolton household fits that profile, but it gives a useful signal about where the modern surname distribution is strongest.

Read profile summary

Group profile

These predominantly ageing households typically have no resident dependent children. Most are owner-occupiers and live in detached houses in low density residential developments (although renting is more common than in the rest of the Supergroup). White ethnicity predominates. Residents are typically beyond retirement age but those still in work have managerial, professional or skilled trade occupations. White ethnicity and Christian religious affiliation predominate. Neighbourhoods are located throughout rural UK.

Wider pattern

Typically married but no longer with resident dependent children, these well-educated households either remain working in their managerial, professional, administrative or other skilled occupations, or are retired from them – the modal individual age is beyond normal retirement age. Underoccupied detached and semi-detached properties predominate, and unpaid care is more prevalent than reported disability. The prevalence of this Supergroup outside most urban conurbations indicates that rural lifestyles prevail, typically sustained by using two or more cars per household.

London neighbourhood type

London Output Area Classification

Supergroup

Professional Employment and Family Lifecycles

Group

European Enclaves

Within London, Wolton 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

Wolton 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

Wolton falls in decile 5 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.

5
More deprived Less deprived

Broadband speed

Fixed broadband download speed

The modern neighbourhood pattern for Wolton is most associated with a typical fixed broadband download band of 60-70 mbit/s.

The scale below places that band in context, from slower local download bands through to faster ones.

9
Slower band Faster band

Area snapshot

Ethnic group estimate

Most common ethnic group estimate
White - British

This describes the area pattern most associated with Wolton, not the ethnicity of every person with the surname.

1881 census detail

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Wolton families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Wolton 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. Suffolk leads with 103 Woltons recorded in 1881 and an index of 36.58x.

County Total Index
Suffolk 103 36.58x
Middlesex 26 1.12x
Yorkshire 23 1.00x
Essex 13 2.85x
Lancashire 13 0.47x
Surrey 10 0.89x
Devon 9 1.87x
Lincolnshire 9 2.43x
Warwickshire 9 1.54x
Leicestershire 4 1.56x
Staffordshire 4 0.51x
Hertfordshire 3 1.88x
Norfolk 3 0.84x
Rutland 2 11.79x
Westmorland 2 3.94x
Dorset 1 0.66x
Durham 1 0.15x
Lanarkshire 1 0.13x
Sussex 1 0.26x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Sutton in Suffolk leads with 20 Woltons recorded in 1881 and an index of 4444.44x.

Place Total Index
Sutton 20 4444.44x
Coddenham 14 2187.50x
Swilland 12 7058.82x
Melton 10 900.90x
Birmingham 9 4.63x
Shottisham 9 4090.91x
St Pancras London 9 4.84x
Boyton 8 3636.36x
St George Hanover 8 26.52x
Clee With Weelsby 7 86.53x
Badingham 6 1132.08x
Liverpool 6 3.60x
Camberwell 5 3.39x
Colchester All Sts 5 1388.89x
Sculcoates 5 13.77x
Spitalfields London 5 28.75x
Belgrave 4 69.20x
Bradford 4 7.21x
Brixham 4 71.68x
Bromeswell 4 2352.94x
Dartmouth St Saviour 4 291.97x
Haughton 4 100.00x
Hemingstone 4 1666.67x
Hutton Wandesley 4 4444.44x
Streatham 4 23.32x
Hethel 3 2500.00x
Newbourn 3 2727.27x
Ufford 3 681.82x
Bishop Stortford 2 37.59x
Colchester St Mary At 2 123.46x
Finchley 2 22.57x
Iken 2 769.23x
Kirkland 2 185.19x
Lichfield St Michael 2 81.63x
Purston Jaglin 2 357.14x
Soothill 2 24.18x
Stanstead 2 526.32x
Wortley In Bramley 2 11.03x
York St Mary 2 21.07x
Astley 1 47.17x
Birkdale 1 14.41x
Blackburn 1 1.37x
Bradfield St Clare 1 500.00x
Chapel Allerton 1 29.15x
Chelmsford 1 12.77x
Chelsea London 1 1.44x
Cheshunt 1 17.95x
Claydon 1 238.10x
Flaxton 1 344.83x
Gillingham 1 38.31x
Greenstead 1 151.52x
Hamilton 1 4.80x
Harborne 1 4.00x
Henley On Thames 1 500.00x
Ifield 1 61.35x
Ipswich St Clement 1 13.97x
Ipswich St Mary At Elms 1 112.36x
Ipswich St Mathew 1 12.67x
Orford 1 109.89x
Ramsholt 1 909.09x
Ryhall 1 178.57x
Shoreditch London 1 1.00x
Southwark St George Martyr 1 2.15x
Stanhope 1 14.08x
Stansted Mountfitchet 1 86.96x
West Bromwich 1 2.24x
West Ham 1 0.99x
Whaplode 1 79.37x
Whaplode Drove 1 161.29x
Whitwell 1 1111.11x
Wolborough 1 16.45x

Top female names

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

Name Count
John 19
William 14
Thomas 9
James 7
George 5
Charles 4
Robert 4
Arthur 3
Henry 3
Jeremiah 3
Joseph 3
Samuel 3
Daniel 2
Frederick 2
Horace 2
Noah 2
Abraham 1
Adolph 1
Alfred 1
Allen 1
Athol 1
Edgar 1
Edger 1
Edward 1
Ellathorpe 1
Ephraim 1
Ernest 1
Ferdinand 1
Francis 1
Harry 1
Herbert 1
Mark 1
Melvin 1
Nathaniel 1
Naunton 1
Percy 1
Philip 1
Richard 1
Richd.Henry 1
Robart 1
Robt. 1
Saml.J.C. 1
Sydney 1
Timothy 1
Tom 1

FAQ

Wolton surname: questions and answers

How common was the Wolton surname in 1881?

In 1881, 237 people were recorded with the Wolton surname. That placed it at #11,509 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Wolton surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 352 in 2016. That gives Wolton a modern rank of #13,104.

What does the Wolton map show?

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