British surnames website

The British Surnames website contains a lot of useful information, including the surnames found in the 1881 census.

At the British Surnames website, you’ll find lists of the Top Ten surnames by county and parish in 1881. There are lists for England, Scotland, Wales, the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man and the Royal Navy.

Interestingly, all of the Top Ten surnames in Shropshire were Welsh. In Herefordshire, nine were Welsh (the exception was the name ‘Smith’), and in Cheshire, five. In all three counties, ‘Jones’ was the most common name.

In the rest of England, ‘Smith’ was the top name, except in Cornwall (where ‘Williams’ was top), Cumberland (‘Graham’), Devon (‘Harris’), Dorset (‘White’), Northumberland (‘Thompson’) and Westmorland (‘Atkinson’).