We have compiled a list of the 40 most popular surnames across Derbyshire, so you can see how many other people bearing your family name are spread across the county.
As well as this, we have provided details of the hidden meanings behind each surname – with some of these historical names descending from the Normans, Hebrews and Germanic tribes, among others.
All data relating to the popularity of surnames across Derbyshire was taken from Forebears, and information on the meaning of each surname was taken from Ancestry and FindMyPast.
9. Wilson
Wilson is eighth on this list, the surname of 4,216 people across Derbyshire. This is derived from the Middle English personal name Will and the patronymic ‘son of Will’. Will is a topographic name for someone who lived by a spring or stream in Middle English. Pictured here is Paul Wilson, funeral director at Spire Funeral Services in Staveley. Photo: Brian Eyre
10. Hall
Hall is Derbyshire’s ninth most popular surname, held by 4,205 people across the county. It derives from the Middle English hall, Old English heall, Middle High German halle and Old Norse hǫll - all meaning ‘hall’ (a spacious residence). It is a topographic name for someone who lived in or near a hall, or an occupational name for a servant employed at a hall. Pictured here are Natalie Hall and Ruth Berry, of HD Sharman, at the Derbyshire Times Business Awards. Photo: Marie Caley
11. Clarke
There are 3,981 Clarke’s across Derbyshire, with the surname coming in at 10th on this list. It derives from Middle English ‘clerk’ and ‘clark’. The original sense was ‘man in a religious order cleric clergyman’. As all writing and secretarial work in medieval Christian Europe was normally done by members of the clergy, the term clerk came to mean ‘scholar secretary recorder or penman’ as well as ‘cleric’. As a surname it was particularly common for one who had taken only minor holy orders. Pictured here at the John Smedley Factory are Brian Clarke and Mike Geary. Photo: Brian Eyre
12. Wood
Wood is the 12th surname on this list, held by 3,812 Derbyshire residents. It is mainly a topographic name for someone who lived in or by a wood, coming from the Middle English wode. Pictured here are Rachel Stevenson, Vanessa Males, Dennis Jackson and Natalie Wood. Photo: Brian Eyre