NameCensus.

UK surname

Woolger

In the 1881 census there were 220 people recorded with the Woolger surname, ranking it #12,087 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 204, ranked #19,320, down from #12,087 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to London parishes, Bramber and Brighton. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include East Devon, Warwick and Croydon.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Woolger is 278 in 1851. Compared with 1881, the name has fallen by 7.3%.

1881 census count

220

Ranked #12,087

Modern count

204

2016, ranked #19,320

Peak year

1851

278 bearers

Map years

9

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Woolger had 220 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #12,087 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 204 in 2016, ranked #19,320.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 278 in 1851.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Multicultural Inner Suburbs.

Woolger surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Woolger surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Woolger 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 278 #8,089
1861 historical 213 #11,419
1881 historical 220 #12,087
1891 historical 278 #11,746
1901 historical 248 #13,204
1911 historical 250 #12,918
1997 modern 228 #16,211
1998 modern 234 #16,404
1999 modern 242 #16,146
2000 modern 236 #16,380
2001 modern 230 #16,415
2002 modern 231 #16,677
2003 modern 224 #16,859
2004 modern 218 #17,230
2005 modern 203 #17,961
2006 modern 193 #18,675
2007 modern 203 #18,303
2008 modern 209 #18,114
2009 modern 220 #17,911
2010 modern 225 #18,000
2011 modern 207 #18,841
2012 modern 203 #19,025
2013 modern 205 #19,218
2014 modern 206 #19,318
2015 modern 205 #19,269
2016 modern 204 #19,320

Geography

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Where Woolgers are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around London parishes, Bramber, Brighton and Dunsfold, Bramley, Shalford. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to East Devon, Warwick, Croydon and Tonbridge and Malling. 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 London parishes London 3
3 Bramber Sussex
4 Brighton Sussex
5 Dunsfold, Bramley, Shalford Surrey

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 East Devon 017 East Devon
2 East Devon 019 East Devon
3 Warwick 011 Warwick
4 Croydon 025 Croydon
5 Tonbridge and Malling 002 Tonbridge and Malling

Forenames

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First names often paired with Woolger

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

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Woolger

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

Multicultural Inner Suburbs

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

Read profile summary

Group profile

These neighbourhoods house many younger and middle-aged adults with children. All ethnic minorities, apart from those identifying as Pakistani or Bangladeshi, appear to be present in above average proportions. Affiliation to Christian religions is uncommon. Long-term disability rates are low, mirrored in limited provision of unpaid care. Privately rented terrace houses and flats are the norm. Managerial, professional and technical occupations are prevalent, and work is rarely part time. Many individuals have degree level qualifications. These areas form the inner suburbs of many of the UK’s 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

Young Families and Mainstream Employment

Group

Terraced and Semi-Detached Suburbs

Within London, Woolger is most associated with areas classed as Terraced and Semi-Detached Suburbs, part of Young Families and Mainstream Employment. 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 concentrated in suburban areas, these terraced and semi-detached developments are less overcrowded than the Supergroup average, and resident households are more likely to own two or more cars. There are fewer residents aged 25-44, and a larger share of residents employed in administrative and secretarial occupations. Residents are more likely to have been born in the UK, less likely to have been born in the EU or Africa, and much less likely to self-identify as Bangladeshi.

Wider London pattern

Many families in these neighbourhoods have young children. Housing is principally in the social rented sector, in terraced or semi-detached units. While over-all residential densities are low, overcrowding is also prevalent locally. Residents are drawn from a range of ethnic minorities, with many identifying as Black and above average numbers born in Africa. Numbers identifying as of Chinese, Indian or White ethnicity are below average. Levels of proficiency in English are below average. Levels of separation or divorce and incidence of disability are both above average. Education is typically limited to Level 1, 2, or apprenticeship qualifications. Few residents work in professional or managerial occupations but the employment structure is otherwise diverse: it includes skilled trades, caring, leisure and other service occupations, sales and customer service occupations, construction, and work as process, plant, and machine operatives.

Healthy neighbourhoods

Access to healthy assets and hazards

Woolger 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

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

1881 census detail

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Woolger families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Woolger 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. Surrey leads with 109 Woolgers recorded in 1881 and an index of 10.38x.

County Total Index
Surrey 109 10.38x
Sussex 48 13.21x
Middlesex 28 1.30x
Kent 21 2.86x
Durham 5 0.78x
Cheshire 4 0.84x
Berkshire 2 1.24x
Hampshire 2 0.45x
Gloucestershire 1 0.24x
Royal Navy 1 3.89x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Hove in Sussex leads with 17 Woolgers recorded in 1881 and an index of 106.58x.

Place Total Index
Hove 17 106.58x
Bramley 16 1720.43x
Henfield 15 1071.43x
Walton On Thames 12 248.96x
Westminster St John 11 41.90x
Wisley 9 6428.57x
Bermondsey 8 12.46x
Croydon 8 13.72x
Tudeley 8 1951.22x
Send Ripley 7 510.95x
Thames Ditton 7 321.10x
Wateringbury 7 729.17x
Upper Beeding 6 1333.33x
Brighton 5 6.82x
Ockham 5 1219.51x
St Bartholomew Great 5 255.10x
Westoe 5 13.75x
Runcorn 4 36.46x
Chobham 3 162.16x
Clerkenwell London 3 5.90x
Farnham 3 36.72x
Guildford St Nicholas 3 161.29x
Hambledon 3 270.27x
Paddington London 3 3.79x
Shalford 3 258.62x
Barnes 2 45.05x
Cobham 2 116.28x
Coulsdon 2 104.71x
Cranleigh 2 129.87x
Egham 2 31.01x
Epsom 2 39.06x
Hadlow 2 109.89x
Kingston On Thames 2 7.93x
South Bersted 2 64.72x
Stoke Newington London 2 11.91x
Warlingham 2 235.29x
Wokingham 2 54.20x
Battersea 1 1.26x
Bexley 1 15.38x
Bletchingley 1 72.99x
Bristol St James St Paul 1 7.09x
Byfleet 1 107.53x
Compton 1 285.71x
Fittleworth 1 196.08x
Guildford St Mary 1 77.52x
Hampstead London 1 2.98x
Ifield 1 65.79x
Islington London 1 0.48x
Kensington London 1 0.83x
Portsea 1 1.15x
Richmond 1 6.79x
Royal Navy 1 4.55x
Speldhurst 1 26.74x
St George Hanover 1 3.55x
Steyning 1 81.30x
Tonbridge 1 3.77x
Woolwich 1 3.68x
Yateley 1 119.05x

Top female names

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

Name Count
Elizabeth 10
Emma 7
Jane 7
Mary 7
Sarah 7
Ellen 6
Annie 5
Esther 5
Eliza 4
Emily 4
Harriet 4
Rose 3
Alice 2
Amelia 2
Caroline 2
Edith 2
Florence 2
Louisa 2
Susan 2
Ada 1
Allice 1
Anne 1
Belingar 1
Charlotte 1
Clara 1
Dinah 1
Fanny 1
Fany 1
Flora 1
Frances 1
Hannah 1
Harriett 1
Harriott 1
Isabella 1
Kate 1
Lavinia 1
Louise 1
Lucy 1
Margaret 1
Maria 1
Martha 1
Naomi 1
Philadelphia 1
Rhoda 1
Ruth 1
Susanna 1

Top male names

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

Name Count
James 16
George 13
John 11
William 10
Henry 7
Thomas 7
Alfred 6
Richard 6
Frederick 5
Charles 4
Edward 3
Walter 3
Allen 2
David 2
Edmund 2
Peter 2
Edwin 1
Ellis 1
Fredrick 1
Horace 1
Isaac 1
Moses 1
Robert 1
Samuel 1
Stephen 1
Thos. 1
Tomas 1

FAQ

Woolger surname: questions and answers

How common was the Woolger surname in 1881?

In 1881, 220 people were recorded with the Woolger surname. That placed it at #12,087 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Woolger surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 204 in 2016. That gives Woolger a modern rank of #19,320.

What does the Woolger map show?

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