NameCensus.

UK surname

Yeomans

An occupational surname referring to a servant or attendant in a royal or noble household.

In the 1881 census there were 2,468 people recorded with the Yeomans surname, ranking it #1,802 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 3,915, ranked #1,727, up from #1,802 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to London parishes, Lenton, Radford, Papplewick, Nuthall, Greasley, Brewhouse Yard and St Werburgh. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Derbyshire Dales, Kettering and East Staffordshire.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Yeomans is 4,132 in 1999. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 58.6%.

1881 census count

2,468

Ranked #1,802

Modern count

3,915

2016, ranked #1,727

Peak year

1999

4,132 bearers

Map years

9

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Yeomans had 2,468 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #1,802 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 3,915 in 2016, ranked #1,727.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 3,439 in 1911.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Rural Amenity.

Yeomans surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Yeomans surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Yeomans 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 1,647 #1,746
1861 historical 1,300 #2,196
1881 historical 2,468 #1,802
1891 historical 2,272 #2,060
1901 historical 3,125 #1,795
1911 historical 3,439 #1,525
1997 modern 3,863 #1,683
1998 modern 4,066 #1,657
1999 modern 4,132 #1,642
2000 modern 4,065 #1,661
2001 modern 3,990 #1,658
2002 modern 4,063 #1,661
2003 modern 4,025 #1,640
2004 modern 3,982 #1,660
2005 modern 3,857 #1,692
2006 modern 3,887 #1,674
2007 modern 3,882 #1,698
2008 modern 3,927 #1,690
2009 modern 4,012 #1,693
2010 modern 4,096 #1,694
2011 modern 4,021 #1,708
2012 modern 3,950 #1,705
2013 modern 4,023 #1,705
2014 modern 4,031 #1,712
2015 modern 3,962 #1,717
2016 modern 3,915 #1,727

Geography

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Where Yeomans' are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around London parishes, Lenton, Radford, Papplewick, Nuthall, Greasley, Brewhouse Yard, St Werburgh and Birmingham Town: Aston. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Derbyshire Dales, Kettering, East Staffordshire and Amber Valley. 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 3
2 Lenton, Radford, Papplewick, Nuthall, Greasley, Brewhouse Yard Nottinghamshire
3 St Werburgh Derbyshire
4 Birmingham Town: Aston Warwickshire
5 London parishes London 2

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Derbyshire Dales 010 Derbyshire Dales
2 Kettering 002 Kettering
3 Derbyshire Dales 009 Derbyshire Dales
4 East Staffordshire 014 East Staffordshire
5 Amber Valley 008 Amber Valley

Forenames

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First names often paired with Yeomans

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

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Yeomans

Modern surname records can be compared with neighbourhood classifications. For Yeomans, 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 Yeomans surname is most associated with neighbourhoods classed as Rural Amenity, within Suburbanites and Peri-Urbanities. This does not mean every Yeomans 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

Older Residents in Owner-Occupied Suburbs

Group

London Fringe

Within London, Yeomans 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

Yeomans is most concentrated in decile 7 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.

7
Lower access Higher access

Neighbourhood deprivation

Index of Multiple Deprivation

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

Meaning and origin of Yeomans

The surname Yeomans is an English occupational name derived from the Old English word 'geman', meaning a villein, a man of peasant stock employed on a manor farm. It originated in the 11th century during the feudal system in England, where yeomen were farmers who cultivated their own land.

Yeomans is also a variant spelling of the surname Yeoman, which is recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086, the earliest surviving public record commissioned by William the Conqueror. One of the earliest recorded examples of the spelling 'Yeomans' is found in the Pipe Rolls of Gloucestershire in 1242, referring to a Robert le Yemans.

The name Yeomans is particularly associated with the counties of Gloucestershire, Somerset, and Wiltshire in the southwest of England, where it first emerged. It is believed that the surname may have derived from a place name such as Yeomanstown or Yeomans Land, although no specific location with these names has been identified.

One of the earliest notable figures with the surname Yeomans was John Yeomans (c. 1510-1572), an English Catholic priest and martyr who was executed during the Reformation under Elizabeth I. Another was Robert Yeomans (c. 1572-1644), an English clergyman and academic who served as the Warden of Wadham College, Oxford.

In the 17th century, Sir Robert Yeomans (1619-1691) was a prominent English merchant and politician who served as the Lord Mayor of London in 1676. His son, John Yeomans (1650-1721), was a successful merchant and member of the East India Company.

Later notable individuals with the surname include George Yeomans (1800-1868), an English architect and surveyor who designed several churches and public buildings in London, and Sir Robert Yeomans (1845-1923), a British civil engineer and contractor who was involved in the construction of several major railway projects.

These are just a few examples of the historical figures who have carried the surname Yeomans, which has its roots in the agricultural society of medieval England and reflects the occupational origins of many English surnames.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

1881 census detail

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Yeomans families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Yeomans 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. Derbyshire leads with 467 Yeomans' recorded in 1881 and an index of 12.39x.

County Total Index
Derbyshire 467 12.39x
Staffordshire 304 3.74x
Northamptonshire 172 7.59x
Warwickshire 170 2.80x
Worcestershire 167 5.31x
Middlesex 137 0.57x
Yorkshire 113 0.47x
Leicestershire 100 3.74x
Nottinghamshire 100 3.08x
Surrey 91 0.78x
Lancashire 82 0.29x
Shropshire 75 3.60x
Hampshire 68 1.38x
Herefordshire 58 5.87x
Norfolk 52 1.40x
Cumberland 44 2.12x
Northumberland 34 0.95x
Cheshire 31 0.58x
Kent 28 0.34x
Gloucestershire 27 0.57x
Sussex 21 0.52x
Devon 19 0.38x
Durham 16 0.22x
Glamorgan 14 0.33x
Huntingdonshire 13 2.72x
Berkshire 9 0.50x
Monmouthshire 9 0.52x
Bedfordshire 7 0.56x
Denbighshire 6 0.66x
Essex 6 0.13x
Lincolnshire 6 0.16x
Hertfordshire 5 0.30x
Midlothian 4 0.12x
Oxfordshire 2 0.13x
Suffolk 2 0.07x
Westmorland 2 0.38x
Aberdeenshire 1 0.04x
Brecknockshire 1 0.21x
Buckinghamshire 1 0.07x
Cambridgeshire 1 0.07x
Dorset 1 0.06x
Perthshire 1 0.09x
Radnorshire 1 0.51x
Somerset 1 0.03x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Birmingham in Warwickshire leads with 77 Yeomans' recorded in 1881 and an index of 3.80x.

Place Total Index
Birmingham 77 3.80x
Desborough 61 358.40x
Derby St Werburgh 48 22.05x
Cove 45 695.52x
Aston 40 2.39x
Nottingham St Mary 39 4.64x
Derby St Peter 37 30.81x
Oldbury 34 21.97x
Horsley 33 145.44x
Wolverhampton 31 4.96x
Burslem 30 12.88x
Kettering 29 31.65x
Darlaston 27 24.03x
Duffield 26 87.48x
Feckenham 26 72.24x
Horninglow 26 67.90x
Derby St Alkmund 23 20.35x
Lambeth 23 1.10x
Ashborne 21 81.90x
Holy Trinity 21 3.66x
Leicester St Margaret 21 3.22x
Litchurch 21 13.84x
Shrewsbury St Chad 21 28.76x
Barton Under Needwood 20 135.41x
Manchester 20 1.56x
Stoke Upon Trent 20 2.32x
Gorton 19 7.07x
Norbury 19 577.51x
Burton Upon Trent 18 9.46x
Leek Lowe 18 16.64x
Rothwell 18 79.12x
Findern 17 508.98x
Loughborough 17 14.03x
Studley 17 65.46x
Enderby 15 108.46x
St Marylebone London 15 1.17x
East Stonehouse 14 14.18x
Islington London 14 0.60x
Margate St John Baptist 14 9.30x
Farnborough 13 25.07x
Great Gidding 13 326.63x
Shoreditch London 13 1.25x
Hampstead London 12 3.20x
Northampton St Sepulchre 12 10.41x
Alrewas 11 139.77x
Beoley 11 219.56x
Claylane 11 20.98x
Kings Norton 11 3.90x
Kirk Ireton 11 275.00x
Snenton 11 8.62x
Wirksworth 11 32.09x
Bethnal Green London 10 0.96x
Brightside Bierlow 10 2.14x
Derby All Sts 10 31.76x
Penkridge 10 47.69x
Westward 10 115.47x
Alfreton 9 7.86x
Canon Pyon 9 155.98x
Castle Church 9 18.42x
Chesterfield 9 6.37x
East Retford 9 31.96x
Ecclesall Bierlow 9 1.85x
Ferryhill 9 35.93x
Gloucester Kingsholm St 9 51.08x
Lichfield St Chad 9 49.21x
Limpsfield 9 80.21x
Longhurst 9 129.68x
Redditch 9 14.11x
Seals 9 95.64x
St George Bloomsbury 9 6.51x
Swaffham 9 29.88x
York St Maurice 9 20.03x
Ystradyfodwg 9 2.45x
Basford 8 5.35x
Belper 8 10.94x
Erith 8 9.88x
Kensington London 8 0.60x
Shawbury 8 100.13x
Wakefield 8 4.37x
Wellington 8 6.84x

Top female names

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

Name Count
Mary 160
Sarah 102
Elizabeth 89
Ann 77
Emma 52
Annie 37
Jane 35
Fanny 34
Ellen 32
Eliza 31
Martha 30
Alice 29
Hannah 29
Emily 24
Harriet 24
Louisa 20
Margaret 20
Maria 17
Edith 16
Florence 16
Kate 15
Ada 14
Caroline 14
Rebecca 14
Clara 12
Lucy 12
Catherine 11
Harriett 10
Charlotte 9
Frances 9
Agnes 8
Anne 8
Gertrude 7
Amy 6
Henrietta 6
Isabella 6
Lizzie 6
Rose 6
Susan 6
Susannah 6
Esther 5
Helen 5
Julia 5
Elizth. 4
Lydia 4
Minnie 4
Nellie 4
Phoebe 4
Louise 3
Nelly 3

Top male names

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

Name Count
William 155
John 140
Thomas 107
George 92
James 70
Joseph 57
Charles 49
Samuel 40
Henry 36
Richard 36
Arthur 35
Alfred 34
Edward 30
Robert 24
Albert 19
Frederick 18
Herbert 16
Frank 14
Harry 14
David 12
Walter 11
Francis 10
Abraham 7
Ernest 7
Daniel 6
Geo. 6
Wm. 6
Enoch 5
Levi 5
Thos. 5
Benjamin 4
Edwin 4
Elijah 4
Reuben 4
Edwd. 3
Jonathan 3
Louis 3
Montague 3
Philip 3
Tom 3
Willm. 3
Fred 2
Fred. 2
Fredrick 2
Jno. 2
Percy 2
Ralph 2
Richd. 2
Sidney 2
Stephen 2

FAQ

Yeomans surname: questions and answers

How common was the Yeomans surname in 1881?

In 1881, 2,468 people were recorded with the Yeomans surname. That placed it at #1,802 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Yeomans surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 3,915 in 2016. That gives Yeomans a modern rank of #1,727.

What does the Yeomans surname mean?

An occupational surname referring to a servant or attendant in a royal or noble household.

What does the Yeomans map show?

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