What are the commonest North-East surnames? - Bill Hutchinson, Chester-le-Street.

Defining a North-East surname is not easy because some surnames may originate in our region but may be more common elsewhere.

It is easier to identify surnames that have been associated with the North- East for many centuries. These include many of the Border Reiver names, like Charlton, Robson, Graham, Milburn and Turnbull.

However, we should bear in mind that, just because a surname has been associated with a region for many centuries, it doesn't necessarily mean that this is the region of its origin.

Robson is a name I would most closely associate with our region and there are many in the North-East today. Looking at the Tyneside phone book alone (which covers the most populous part of our region) I have calculated that there are approximately 1,500 Robson households in the Tyneside area. I have also looked up Robson on the CD Rom version of the 1881 census in Darlington Library. It lists 21,546 individuals called Robson in the whole of England, Scotland and Wales and there is quite clearly a very significant proportion born in the North-East.

Of all the Robsons in the UK in 1881, 6,269 are County Durham born (the old county between Tyne and Tees) while 4,978 are Northumberland-born. Yorkshire comes third with 2,255 Robsons and many of these lived in the North Riding, particularly along the banks of the Tees in places like Middlesbrough and Redcar.

Another surname worth mentioning is Thompson, the 15th commonest UK surname today. It is too widespread to be regarded as a North-East name, but a study of electoral rolls shows that Newcastle is the UK town with the highest proportion of Thompsons in its population.

Of the 50 commonest UK surnames there are four worth mentioning for their North-East connections. In 14th, 20th, 34th and 38th places are Robinson, Hall, Watson and Harrison. Whilst these four surnames are spread throughout the country, the highest proportions (as a percentage of town populations) respectively, in Darlington, Durham, Sunderland and York.

However, all of these surnames are ultimately overshadowed by Smith. There are around 2,500 Smith households in the Tyneside phonebook alone and it is undoubtedly the commonest surname in the region. However it would not be appropriate to consider it a North-East surname since it is so widespread.

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