How to find your UK ancestors on the census

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What can the UK censuses tell you?

Census records for the UK can give you an indication of where family members were born before the introduction of civil registration of births, marriages and deaths (BMDs: 1837 in England and Wales, 1855 in Scotland and 1864 in Ireland), so are useful in that respect too.

Census records are snapshots of your ancestors’ lives. They reveal:

• Family members and relationships
• Ages and estimated birth years
• Birthplaces
• Households, and who was living in the same house
• Occupations, giving a glimpse into their daily lives.

Census records can give you an indication of where family members were born before the introduction of civil registration of births, marriages and deaths (BMDs: 1837 in England and Wales, 1855 in Scotland and 1864 in Ireland), so are useful in that respect too. Use the census to corroborate facts on BMD certificates and vice-versa – you can work out when children were born, or a parent died or remarried, and much more.

Be wary though and use ‘wild cards’ in your searches – many of our ancestors couldn’t read or write, so enumerators may have guessed at how to spell names, or couples may have lied about being married to cover up illegitimacy or another family scandal.

What years was the UK census taken?

The censuses were taken every 10 years, and surviving censuses for England, Wales and Scotland date from 1841 to 1921. For Ireland, sadly the story is not as simple as many of the earlier censuses have not survived – only the 1901 and 1911 Censuses survive in entirety for Ireland – but at least these surviving two censuses are free to use!

Here are the dates that the censuses were taken:

• 6 June 1841
• 30 March 1851
• 7 April 1861
• 2 April 1871
• 3 April 1881
• 5 April 1891
• 31 March 1901
• 2 April 1911
• 19 June 1921 (read more about the 1921 Census)

Where can I find the UK census online?

Census records for for England and Wales are available on the pay-per-view/commercial websites: findmypast.co.uk, Ancestry...

How to research your family tree using the UK census

When tracing your ancestors it’s best practice to work backwards...

How to use the census for family history in 3 easy steps

1. Have a go on all the census websites...
2. Less is more...
3. Trawl through census pages...

Originally published January 2021. Reviewed January 2025.