Surname Extinction...interesting

These are surnames in the UK that are becoming extinct…
From: http://blogs.ancestry.com/cm/2014/11/05/10-rare-english-surnames-about-to-go-extinct/

Chips
Hatman
Temples
Raynott
Woodbead
Nithercott
Rummage
Southwark
Harred
Jarsdel

Hundreds of other English surnames are “endangered” — so rare that fewer than 50 people in [name_f]England[/name_f] and [name_m]Wales[/name_m] have them — and many more may be extinct within a couple more generations. These include

Pober
[name_u]Mirren[/name_u]
Febland
Nighy
Grader
Bonneville
Gruger
[name_f]Carla[/name_f]
Fernard
Portendorfer

Actress [name_f]Helen[/name_f] [name_u]Mirren[/name_u], whose name is on that list, was born with the last name Mironoff, which her Russian father Anglicized to [name_u]Mirren[/name_u]. Actors [name_m]Hugh[/name_m] Bonneville and [name_m]Bill[/name_m] Nighy also have endangered surnames.

Names that are dying out the fastest these days, as compared to the 1901 UK census, include the surname [name_m]William[/name_m], which in 1901 was the 374th-most common surname. In that year, one in every 1,000 people had the surname [name_m]William[/name_m]; now, not 1 in 50,000 people in the UK does, a 97 percent decreased in prevalence. Other names dying out in the UK include:

[name_m]Cohen[/name_m] (-42%)
Ashworth (-39%)
[name_m]Sutcliffe[/name_m] (-36%)
Clegg (-34%)
Butterworth (-34%)
Crowther (-34%)
Kershaw (-34%)
[name_u]Brook[/name_u] (-34%)
Greenwood (-32%)
Haigh (-31%)
[name_m]Pratt[/name_m] (-31%)
Nuttal (-30%)
Ingham (-30%)
[name_m]Ogden[/name_m] (-30%)

More people researching their roots today has led to an interest in preserving rare surnames, and as a result, more people are using hyphenated surnames in [name_f]England[/name_f]. In 1901, “double-barreled names” were used only by the upper class, and just 1 in 50,000 people had one. Today, 1 in 50 people has a hyphenated surname, and almost half of them say it’s to preserve a family surname.

[name_m]How[/name_m] interesting. Thanks for posting!

Would be interesting to know the reasons for certain names dying out

[name_m]Pratt[/name_m] has a negative meaning in the uk, so I can see why people would opt not to have it if given the oppurtunity

I can see Clegg dying out further well, after public opinions seems to have turned somewhat on [name_u]Nick[/name_u] Clegg

This is interesting. I assume my last name is dying out (only a handful of people in the US have it, not sure worldwide) and it will likely be discontinued as myself and my one sibling has her mom’s maiden surname, I have chosen not to give it to my children, and my brother has frequently said he’d like to take either his future wife’s maiden name or our mother’s maiden name when he married and has children.

I do wonder how a LN as popular as [name_m]William[/name_m] can die out. It’s not all the common still in western societies to use a mother’s surname for children.

That’s strange. I’m not a fan of giving hyphenated names, because then they can’t pass their names to their kids without them getting 3 or maybe 4 last names. My last name isn’t very common, I’ve never met anyone that wasn’t related to me with it.

I love hyphenated surnames. I have one and love it. A friend has one and loves it. Mine was by choice and marriage, and her’s was by birth.

Thank you for this interesting thread.

I’m actually surprised my own surname isn’t on that list. Its similar to Crowther but even less heard of. In fact, in the UK, there’s only twelve of us and they’re all my close relatives. My brother, my cousin and my uncle are the only males left to pass down the surname, so here’s to hoping they have boys in the future!

I’m sad to see one of my family names on the list (grandmother’s maiden name). I think her younger brother will be the last in our branch to carry it–and he has 2 daughters, already married.