NameCensus.

UK surname

Woolmer

In the 1881 census there were 485 people recorded with the Woolmer surname, ranking it #6,931 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 564, ranked #9,103, down from #6,931 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to London parishes, Rushton and St Paul Deptford, St Nicholas Deptford. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Kettering, Brighton and Hove and St Edmundsbury.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Woolmer is 696 in 1911. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 16.3%.

1881 census count

485

Ranked #6,931

Modern count

564

2016, ranked #9,103

Peak year

1911

696 bearers

Map years

9

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Woolmer had 485 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #6,931 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 564 in 2016, ranked #9,103.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 696 in 1911.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Challenged Communities.

Woolmer surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Woolmer surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Woolmer 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 307 #7,502
1861 historical 292 #8,626
1881 historical 485 #6,931
1891 historical 529 #7,085
1901 historical 668 #6,512
1911 historical 696 #6,106
1997 modern 623 #7,941
1998 modern 649 #7,923
1999 modern 678 #7,703
2000 modern 641 #8,015
2001 modern 633 #7,937
2002 modern 619 #8,262
2003 modern 594 #8,391
2004 modern 600 #8,346
2005 modern 578 #8,495
2006 modern 588 #8,406
2007 modern 588 #8,486
2008 modern 592 #8,504
2009 modern 600 #8,598
2010 modern 601 #8,774
2011 modern 597 #8,723
2012 modern 591 #8,706
2013 modern 582 #8,931
2014 modern 596 #8,843
2015 modern 579 #8,964
2016 modern 564 #9,103

Geography

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Where Woolmers are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around London parishes, Rushton, St Paul Deptford, St Nicholas Deptford and Leicester St Margaret and Bishop's Fee, Leicester All Saints, Blackfriars. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Kettering, Brighton and Hove, St Edmundsbury, Croydon and West Dorset. 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 Rushton Northamptonshire
4 St Paul Deptford, St Nicholas Deptford London (South Districts)
5 Leicester St Margaret and Bishop's Fee, Leicester All Saints, Blackfriars Leicestershire

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Kettering 006 Kettering
2 Brighton and Hove 017 Brighton and Hove
3 St Edmundsbury 014 St Edmundsbury
4 Croydon 034 Croydon
5 West Dorset 002 West Dorset

Forenames

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First names often paired with Woolmer

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

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Woolmer

Modern surname records can be compared with neighbourhood classifications. For Woolmer, 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 Woolmer surname is most associated with neighbourhoods classed as Challenged Communities, within Baseline UK. This does not mean every Woolmer 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, Woolmer 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

Woolmer is most concentrated in decile 8 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.

8
Lower access Higher access

Neighbourhood deprivation

Index of Multiple Deprivation

Woolmer falls in decile 8 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.

8
More deprived Less deprived

Broadband speed

Fixed broadband download speed

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

1881 census detail

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Woolmer families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Woolmer 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. Kent leads with 89 Woolmers recorded in 1881 and an index of 5.51x.

County Total Index
Kent 89 5.51x
Middlesex 71 1.50x
Northamptonshire 71 15.96x
Surrey 46 2.00x
Essex 44 4.71x
Lancashire 29 0.52x
Leicestershire 27 5.15x
Hertfordshire 25 7.67x
Lincolnshire 16 2.12x
Norfolk 14 1.92x
Yorkshire 14 0.30x
Gloucestershire 9 0.97x
Cheshire 8 0.77x
Sussex 5 0.63x
Warwickshire 5 0.42x
Somerset 3 0.39x
Cambridgeshire 2 0.67x
Derbyshire 2 0.27x
Worcestershire 2 0.32x
Berkshire 1 0.28x
Buckinghamshire 1 0.35x
Suffolk 1 0.17x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Rushton in Northamptonshire leads with 30 Woolmers recorded in 1881 and an index of 3750.00x.

Place Total Index
Rushton 30 3750.00x
Halling 22 1042.65x
Deptford St Paul 19 15.26x
Leicester St Margaret 18 14.07x
Marston Trussell 17 5151.52x
Chelsea London 15 10.52x
Rothwell 11 246.09x
West Ham 11 5.34x
Manchester 10 3.96x
Barking 9 32.94x
Greenwich 9 11.95x
Rochester St Margaret 9 52.88x
St George Hanover 9 14.57x
St Luke London 9 11.86x
Broxbourne 8 123.84x
Edmonton 8 20.99x
Gravesend 8 58.52x
Ramsgate 8 30.36x
Barrowby 7 534.35x
Croydon 7 5.47x
Lambeth 7 1.70x
Snodland 7 152.84x
Stroud 7 38.76x
Bocking 6 106.76x
Hatfield 6 90.77x
Leeds 6 2.27x
Loddon 6 320.86x
Mitcham 6 41.18x
Oldham 6 3.31x
Sandridge 6 437.96x
St Marylebone London 6 2.38x
Battersea 5 2.87x
Brinklow 5 393.70x
Kettering 5 27.78x
Merstham 5 342.47x
Nether Hallam 5 7.88x
Spittlegate 5 47.80x
Brighton 4 2.49x
Camberwell 4 1.32x
Friern Barnet 4 38.39x
Great Lever 4 67.11x
Halstead 4 36.73x
Newington 4 2.29x
North Ockendon 4 740.74x
Norwich St Simon St Jude 4 701.75x
Orton 4 3636.36x
Paddington London 4 2.30x
Beswick 3 20.89x
Fulham London 3 4.37x
Gilmorton 3 288.46x
Gosfield 3 303.03x
Hertford St John 3 61.73x
Hunslet 3 4.10x
Loughborough 3 12.61x
Milton In Gravesend 3 12.39x
Openshaw 3 11.41x
Bromsgrove 2 9.62x
Carshalton 2 22.68x
Dingley 2 952.38x
Downham Market 2 40.00x
Gloucester Barton St Mary 2 11.78x
Grappenhall 2 156.25x
Harpenden 2 40.24x
Heanor 2 18.05x
Knutsford Nether 2 31.70x
Latchford 2 28.82x
Litlington 2 183.49x
St Bartholomew Great 2 46.51x
St Pancras London 2 0.53x
Sutton 2 11.99x
Warrington 2 3.01x
Weekley 2 500.00x
Audlem 1 40.65x
Bow London 1 1.66x
Charlton 1 9.33x
Great Dunmow 1 20.53x
Hanwell 1 11.92x
Kingston On Thames 1 1.81x
Monken Hadley 1 52.91x
Tottenham 1 1.33x

Top female names

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

Name Count
William 36
George 24
John 23
Charles 14
James 13
Alfred 12
Thomas 11
Samuel 10
Henry 9
Edward 8
Arthur 7
Frederick 7
Walter 6
Joseph 4
Albert 3
Ernest 3
Harry 3
Herbert 3
Robert 3
Shirley 3
Alexander 2
Eri 2
Hugh 2
Richard 2
Tom 2
Abraham 1
Amos 1
Benjamin 1
David 1
Emanuel 1
Frank 1
Fredrick 1
Geo. 1
Geo.Walter 1
Hugo 1
Isaac 1
Lewis 1
Louis 1
Philip 1
Ralph 1
Richd. 1
Sherley 1
Sydney 1
Theophilus 1
Thirly 1
Ths. 1
Wesley 1
Willm. 1

FAQ

Woolmer surname: questions and answers

How common was the Woolmer surname in 1881?

In 1881, 485 people were recorded with the Woolmer surname. That placed it at #6,931 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Woolmer surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 564 in 2016. That gives Woolmer a modern rank of #9,103.

What does the Woolmer map show?

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