The surnames of Cumbria betray the long and fascinating history of the county.

From the Kingdom of Rheged, to the Border Reivers, and from the Vikings to the Romans, the often bloody story of Cumbria is borne out in the names of its places, and its people.

Many Scottish surnames unsurprisingly make the list, given the proximity of our northern neighbours, as do the standard English names derived from occupations, such as Smith or Cook.

Forebears, a directory of resources for family history research, has published a complete list of the most common, and uncommon, surnames in Cumbria.

Here's the top 100 most common surnames in Cumbria, and how many people share each surname in Cumbria:

  • 1 Wilson 5,083
  • 2 Smith 4,920
  • 3 Graham 3,739
  • 4 Bell 3,698
  • 5 Thompson 3,605
  • 6 Brown 3,315
  • 7 Robinson 3,270
  • 8 Jackson 3,006
  • 9 Taylor 3,001
  • 10 Hodgson 2,758
  • 11 Dixon 2,701
  • 12 Armstrong 2,505
  • 13 Jones 2,381
  • 14 Walker 2,372
  • 15 Atkinson 2,240
  • 16 Harrison 2,141
  • 17 Scott 2,088
  • 18 Watson 2,053
  • 19 Richardson 2,013
  • 20 Nicholson 1,777
  • 21 Johnston 1,754
  • 22 Johnson 1,702
  • 23 Moore 1,569
  • 24 Clark 1,544
  • 25 Irving 1,513
  • 26 Hall 1,496
  • 27 Williams 1,484
  • 28 Little 1,481
  • 29 Martin 1,459
  • 30 Wright 1,445
  • 31 Wood 1,433
  • 32 Davidson 1,423
  • 33 Wilkinson 1,402
  • 34 Simpson 1,396
  • 35 Fisher 1,277
  • 36 Burns 1,225
  • 37 Miller 1,202
  • 38 Pearson 1,199
  • 39 Hill 1,169
  • 40 White 1,159
  • 41 Stephenson 1,127
  • 41 Turner 1,127
  • 43 Mason 1,125
  • 44 Murray 1,123
  • 45 Davies 1,104
  • 46 Gibson 1,092
  • 46 Roberts 1,092
  • 48 Hughes 1,025
  • 49 Shaw 1,015
  • 50 Mitchell 1,004
  • 51 Green 992
  • 52 Evans 977
  • 53 Carruthers 968
  • 54 Park 966
  • 55 Clarke 963
  • 56 Pattinson 961
  • 57 Parker 958
  • 58 Foster 943
  • 59 Tyson 926
  • 60 Hunter 919
  • 61 Nelson 910
  • 62 Henderson 906
  • 63 Young 902
  • 64 Benson 873
  • 65 Dawson 859
  • 66 Cooper 840
  • 67 Kelly 836
  • 68 Campbell 835
  • 69 Barnes 834
  • 70 Anderson 823
  • 71 Stewart 811
  • 72 Williamson 807
  • 73 Holmes 791
  • 74 Ward 781
  • 75 Murphy 776
  • 76 Holliday 773
  • 77 Carr 770
  • 78 Metcalfe 763
  • 79 Ferguson 739
  • 80 Todd 730
  • 81 Elliott 727
  • 82 Shepherd 725
  • 83 Morgan 720
  • 84 Hartley 697
  • 85 Harris 693
  • 85 Marshall 693
  • 87 Robson 688
  • 88 Allen 680
  • 89 Hetherington 673
  • 90 Bainbridge 663
  • 91 Bennett 662
  • 92 James 661
  • 93 Morris 660
  • 94 Barker 659
  • 95 Edmondson 658
  • 96 Edwards 649
  • 96 Wallace 649
  • 98 Dickinson 647
  • 99 Lawson 643
  • 100 Lee 636