NameCensus.

UK surname

Wordley

In the 1881 census there were 351 people recorded with the Wordley surname, ranking it #8,742 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 450, ranked #10,809, down from #8,742 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to Cavendish, Bishops Cannings and London parishes. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Babergh, Wiltshire and West Berkshire.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Wordley is 488 in 1911. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 28.2%.

1881 census count

351

Ranked #8,742

Modern count

450

2016, ranked #10,809

Peak year

1911

488 bearers

Map years

9

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Wordley had 351 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #8,742 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 450 in 2016, ranked #10,809.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 488 in 1911.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Rural Amenity.

Wordley surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Wordley surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Wordley 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 188 #10,939
1861 historical 210 #11,551
1881 historical 351 #8,742
1891 historical 403 #8,822
1901 historical 418 #9,200
1911 historical 488 #7,980
1997 modern 451 #10,049
1998 modern 446 #10,469
1999 modern 444 #10,555
2000 modern 441 #10,611
2001 modern 457 #10,113
2002 modern 458 #10,295
2003 modern 434 #10,588
2004 modern 443 #10,442
2005 modern 446 #10,283
2006 modern 446 #10,301
2007 modern 448 #10,365
2008 modern 455 #10,319
2009 modern 467 #10,372
2010 modern 461 #10,701
2011 modern 445 #10,880
2012 modern 437 #10,915
2013 modern 455 #10,743
2014 modern 461 #10,694
2015 modern 454 #10,751
2016 modern 450 #10,809

Geography

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Where Wordleys are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around Cavendish, Bishops Cannings, London parishes, St Pancras and Orsett, Little Thurrock, Stock. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Babergh, Wiltshire, West Berkshire, Letham and Glamis and The Vale of Glamorgan. 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 Cavendish Suffolk
2 Bishops Cannings Wiltshire
3 London parishes London 3
4 St Pancras London (North Districts)
5 Orsett, Little Thurrock, Stock Essex

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Babergh 007 Babergh
2 Wiltshire 029 Wiltshire
3 West Berkshire 010 West Berkshire
4 Letham and Glamis Angus
5 The Vale of Glamorgan 005 Vale of Glamorgan

Forenames

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First names often paired with Wordley

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

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Wordley

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

Suburbanites and Peri-Urbanities

Group

Rural Amenity

Nationally, the Wordley surname is most associated with neighbourhoods classed as Rural Amenity, within Suburbanites and Peri-Urbanities. This does not mean every Wordley household fits that profile, but it gives a useful signal about where the modern surname distribution is strongest.

Read profile summary

Group profile

This Group comprises older parents or retirees, with no resident dependent children, and with the lowest residential densities in this Supergroup. Predominantly UK-born, residents typically live in detached houses, although others do live in semi-detached and terraced properties. The level of multiple car ownership is the highest in this Supergroup. Most houses are owner occupied although social renting is also present. Many concentrations occur in high amenity rural locations, such as Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

Wider pattern

Pervasive throughout the UK, members of this Supergroup typically own (or are buying) their detached, semi-detached or terraced homes. They are also typically educated to A Level/Highers or degree level and work in skilled or professional occupations. Typically born in the UK, some families have children, although the median adult age is above 45 and some property has become under-occupied after children have left home. This Supergroup is pervasive not only in suburban locations, but also in neighbourhoods at or beyond the edge of cities that adjoin rural parts of the country.

London neighbourhood type

London Output Area Classification

Supergroup

The Greater London Mix

Group

Social Rented Sector Professional Support Workers

Within London, Wordley is most associated with areas classed as Social Rented Sector Professional Support Workers, part of The Greater London Mix. 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 located in Inner London, these neighbourhoods retain a diverse employment structure, with some concentration in associated professional and technical occupations rather than skilled trades or construction. Social renting is more common and levels of homeownership are low. Many residents identify as Black. There is a lower than average rate of marriage or civil partnership, few that are very old (85 or over) and higher than average incidence of disability.

Wider London pattern

A Supergroup embodying London's diversity in many respects, apart from low numbers of residents identifying as of Bangladeshi, Indian, Pakistani or Other (non-Chinese) Asian ethnicity. There is lower than average prevalence of families with dependent children, while there are above average occurrences of never-married individuals and single-person households. The age distribution is skewed towards younger, single residents and couples without children, with many individuals identifying as of mixed or multiple ethnicity. Social rented or private rented housing is slightly more prevalent than average, and many residents live in flats. Individuals typically work in professional and associated roles in public administration, education or health rather than in elementary occupations in agriculture, energy, water, construction or manufacturing. Incidence of students is slightly below average. Individuals declaring no religion are more prevalent than average and non-use of English at home is below average.

Healthy neighbourhoods

Access to healthy assets and hazards

Wordley 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

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

1881 census detail

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Wordley families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Wordley 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 78 Wordleys recorded in 1881 and an index of 18.70x.

County Total Index
Suffolk 78 18.70x
Essex 69 10.21x
Middlesex 67 1.96x
Staffordshire 33 2.86x
Wiltshire 28 9.25x
Surrey 19 1.14x
Shropshire 14 4.73x
Yorkshire 12 0.35x
Kent 10 0.86x
Glamorgan 8 1.34x
Warwickshire 5 0.58x
Bedfordshire 3 1.69x
Sussex 3 0.52x
Dorset 1 0.45x
Lancashire 1 0.02x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Glemsford in Suffolk leads with 33 Wordleys recorded in 1881 and an index of 1126.28x.

Place Total Index
Glemsford 33 1126.28x
Cavendish 20 1481.48x
Dedham 18 878.05x
St Pancras London 16 5.81x
Bishops Cannings 15 1339.29x
Dawley 14 130.11x
Burslem 13 39.26x
South Fambridge 13 13000.00x
West Bromwich 11 16.63x
Worsbrough 11 110.66x
Battersea 9 7.14x
Isleworth 9 59.13x
Devizes St James 8 199.01x
Hackney London 8 4.17x
Swansea Town 8 16.37x
Bilston 7 31.25x
Lambeth 7 2.34x
Sudbury All Sts 7 551.18x
St Andrew Holborn 6 51.68x
Birmingham 5 1.74x
Ipswich St Helen 5 101.21x
Islington London 5 1.51x
Kensington London 5 2.63x
Maldon St Marys 5 308.64x
West Ham 5 3.35x
Althorne 4 1052.63x
Bow London 4 9.18x
Dartford 4 33.47x
Mountnessing 4 388.35x
Stoke Newington London 4 15.00x
Sudbury St Gregory 4 119.76x
West Thurrock 4 177.78x
Ashingdon 3 2727.27x
Bethnal Green London 3 2.02x
Boreham 3 256.41x
Chippenham 3 47.24x
Hammersmith London 3 3.56x
Long Melford 3 77.32x
Luton 3 9.78x
Orsett 3 170.45x
Southwark St George Martyr 3 4.35x
St George Hanover 3 6.71x
Great Bardfield 2 180.18x
Hadleigh 2 49.38x
Hastings St Mary In The 2 16.23x
Plumstead 2 5.14x
Shimpling 2 344.83x
Stoke Upon Trent 2 1.63x
Blackburn 1 0.93x
Deptford St Paul 1 1.11x
Devizes St Mary 1 32.68x
Dovercourt 1 42.02x
Gillingham 1 4.15x
Hampstead London 1 1.88x
Hastings St Mary 1 6.96x
Hawstead 1 250.00x
Little Wakering 1 263.16x
Maidstone 1 2.87x
Milton In Gravesend 1 5.71x
Portland 1 8.28x
Rowde 1 71.43x
South Ockendon 1 71.43x
Springfield 1 33.78x
Stansfield 1 8.01x
Sudbury St Peter 1 43.67x
Wivenhoe 1 37.31x

Top female names

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

Name Count
Mary 22
Elizabeth 15
Sarah 14
Alice 10
Ellen 9
Emma 8
Ann 5
Eliza 5
Emily 5
Maria 5
Kate 4
Caroline 3
Margaret 3
Sophia 3
Susan 3
Susannah 3
Agnes 2
Charlotte 2
Clara 2
Edith 2
Ethel 2
Fanny 2
Hannah 2
Harriett 2
Louisa 2
Maude 2
Rosa 2
Selina 2
Amelia 1
Anne 1
Bertha 1
Bessie 1
C. 1
Catherine 1
Dinah 1
E.Jane 1
Eleanor 1
Ella 1
Elsie 1
Ester 1
Harriet 1
Infant 1
Isabella 1
Jane 1
Janie 1
Jessie 1
Katie 1
Laura 1
Lily 1
Lizzie 1

Top male names

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

Name Count
William 23
George 18
John 16
James 13
Thomas 11
Charles 7
Arthur 6
Edward 6
Henry 5
Walter 5
Alfred 4
Harry 4
Robert 4
Albert 3
David 3
Frederick 3
Joseph 3
Edgar 2
Frank 2
Richard 2
Bernard 1
Daniel 1
Decimus 1
Denis 1
Earnest 1
Esau 1
Francis 1
Geo. 1
Herbert 1
Hezikiah 1
J. 1
Jacob 1
Mark 1
Oswald 1
Peter 1
Phillip 1
Rebekah 1
Samuel 1
Sheldrake 1
Sidney 1
Willie 1

FAQ

Wordley surname: questions and answers

How common was the Wordley surname in 1881?

In 1881, 351 people were recorded with the Wordley surname. That placed it at #8,742 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Wordley surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 450 in 2016. That gives Wordley a modern rank of #10,809.

What does the Wordley map show?

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