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Have you ever wondered where your surname sits among the most common in Derbyshire?
We have compiled a list of the 30 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.
Walker is Derbyshire’s fifth most common surnamed, held by 4,875 people across the county. Walker is an occupational name for a fuller from the Middle English ‘walker’ and Old English ‘wealcere’ - ‘one who trampled cloth in a bath of lye or kneaded it in order to strengthen it’. This was the regular term for the occupation during the Middle Ages in western and northern England. Pictured here are Richard Stephen and Julie Walker, East Midlands in Bloom judges. Photo: Brian Eyre
There are 4,587 Wright’s across Derbyshire, making it the county’s sixth most popular surname. Wright is an occupational name for a craftsman or maker of machinery, mostly in wood of any kind. Pictured here are Nikki Perrins, Selena Richardson, Simon Davidson and Alicia Wright, from R.P.Davidson Cheese Factor, Chesterfield. Photo: Brian Eyre
Johnson is the seventh most common surname across the county, held by 4,583 Derbyshire residents. The history of this surname is similar to that of Jones - and it is also the second most frequent surname in the US. Pictured here at Bolsover Beer Festival Fun Day are Pete Johnson, Josh Ludlam, Keith Sayer, Andy Poulton and Jeff Machin. Photo: jason chadwick
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