Census records can give you a fascinating glimpse into your ancestors' lives
Curious about your UK ancestors and their lives? Census records are a treasure trove of information, offering snapshots of your family’s past every 10 years. Learn how to unlock details like their birthplaces, occupations, and living arrangements using this essential guide to the census returns covering the UK.
Census records are invaluable for tracing your UK ancestors through Victorian times and onwards. The census returns of 1841-1921 for England, Wales and Scotland are available online and can give you a unique insight into your ancestors’ lives every 10 years.
UK census records - quick links
- Get your free census comparison chart
- What can the UK censuses tell you?
- What years was the UK census taken?
- When was each census taken and what information was included?
- Where can I find the UK census online?
- How to research your family tree using the UK census
- How to use the census for family history in 3 easy steps
- What if you can’t find your ancestor on the census?
- Why was my ancestor recorded in the census twice?
Get your free Census comparison chart
To help you see what information is included in each census, and how the amount of useful details taken increases over the decades, we've created a special 'Census Comparison Chart' which is free to download when you sign up to receive the Family Tree newsletter.
Click here to sign up and claim your free census research toolkit (opens in new window).
What can the censuses taken in the UK tell you?
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 census taken in the UK?
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!
When was each census taken and what information was included?
Here are the dates that the censuses were taken. Click each year to see what information was recorded. You can also see these details in our free census kit, including your census comparison chart (opens in new window).
6 June 1841
Although older censuses exist for England, Scotland and Wales, the 1841 census was the first one to list the name of every individual, resulting in a population count of 18,553,124 for England & Wales, and 2,620,184 for Scotland.
On the night of the census, 6 June 1841, each household in England and Wales was given a census form to complete, with the information listed in the section below. Sadly these forms no longer exist but we do have the census enumerator's books which contain the information copied from each census form and it is this information that forms the 1841 census records available to us today.
Some records from the 1841 Scotland censuses are missing and you can see these listed on the National Records of Scotland website.
What information does the UK 1841 census contain?
- First name
- Surname
- Age (rounded down to nearest 5 years if over 15 for Eng, Wales & Channel Islands)
- Sex (England, Wales, Channel Islands)
- Occupation
- Whether born in county where enumerated
- Whether born in Scotland, Ireland or 'foreign parts' (England, Wales & Channel islands), or born in Scotland, England, Ireland or 'foreign parts' (Scotland)
No full 1841 census survives for Ireland but you can search the existing records at National Archives Ireland.
30 March 1851
The 1851 census was taken on 30 March 1851 and was the first UK-wide census to wide town or parish of birth rather than simply the country of origin. This census is also extremely useful to family historians since it records marital status and relationship to head of household - questions that were not asked on the previous 1841 census.
The population for England & Wales at this census was recorded as 17,922,768, Scotland: 2,888,742. This census also recorded information about churches and their congregations.
What information does the UK 1851 census contain?
- First name
- Surname
- Age
- Sex
- Relationship to head of household
- Rank/profession/occupation
- Marital status
- Whether born in county where enumerated, plus county and parish for England & Wales
- Whether born in Scotland, Ireland or 'foreign parts' (England, Wales & Channel islands), or born in Scotland, England, Ireland or 'foreign parts' (Scotland)
- Whether blind, deaf or dumb (Scotland only)
No full 1851 census survives for Ireland but you can search the existing records at National Archives Ireland.
7 April 1861
The 1861 census was taken on 7 April 1861 and in most respects, repeated the questions that had been asked in the 1851 census, with the addition, for Scotland, of questions on how many children aged 5-15 were being educated at home, and the number of rooms in the house with one or more windows.
What information does the UK 1861 census contain?
- First name
- Surname
- Age
- Sex
- Relationship to head of household
- Rank/profession/occupation
- Marital status
- Whether born in county where enumerated, plus county and parish for England & Wales
- Whether born in Scotland, Ireland or 'foreign parts' (England, Wales & Channel islands), or born in Scotland, England, Ireland or 'foreign parts' (Scotland)
- Whether blind, deaf or dumb (Scotland only)
- How many children aged 5-15 are being educated at home (Scotland only)
- How many rooms with 1 or more windows (Scotland only)
The population for England & Wales at this census was recorded as 20,066,224, Scotland: 3,062,294.
No full 1861 census survives for Ireland but you can search the existing records at National Archives Ireland.
2 April 1871
The 1871 census was taken on 2 April 1871 and in most respects, repeated the questions that had been asked in the 1861 census, with the addition for England and Wales that asked whether a person was: blind/deaf & dumb/ imbeclie/idiot, lunatic. For Scotland, 'unemployed' was added to the occupation question, schooling question amended to age 5-13, and new disability categories added: imbecile, idiot, lunatic.
The 1871 census contains the following information:
- First name
- Surname
- Age
- Sex
- Relationship to head of household
- Rank/profession/occupation (with 'unemployed' added, Scotland only)
- Marital status
- Whether born in county where enumerated, plus county and parish for England & Wales
- Whether born in Scotland, Ireland or 'foreign parts' (England, Wales & Channel islands), or born in Scotland, England, Ireland or 'foreign parts' (Scotland)
- Whether blind, deaf or dumb (Scotland only)
- How many children aged 5-13 are being educated at home (Scotland only)
- How many rooms with 1 or more windows (Scotland only)
-
Whether blind/deaf & dumb/ imbeclie/idiot, lunatic (England and Wales) imbecile, idiot, lunatic (Scotland)
The population for England & Wales at this census was recorded as 22,712,266, Scotland: 3,360,018.
No full 1871 census survives for Ireland but you can search the existing records at National Archives Ireland.
3 April 1881
The 1881 census was taken on 3 April 1881 and in most respects, repeated the questions that had been asked in the 1871 census, with the 1871 schooling question removed for Scotland and replaced with a questions about whether a person was a Gaelic speaker and whether the dwelling had a door opening onto a common stair.
The 1881 census contains the following information:
- First name
- Surname
- Age
- Sex
- Relationship to head of household
- Rank/profession/occupation (with 'unemployed' added, Scotland only)
- Marital status
- Whether born in county where enumerated, plus county and parish for England & Wales
- Whether born in Scotland, Ireland or 'foreign parts' (England, Wales & Channel islands), or born in Scotland, England, Ireland or 'foreign parts' (Scotland)
- Whether blind, deaf or dumb (Scotland only)
- Whether Gaelic speaker (Scotland only)
- Whether living in a dwelling with a door that opened onto a common stairway
- How many rooms with 1 or more windows (Scotland only)
-
Whether blind/deaf & dumb/ imbeclie/idiot, lunatic (England and Wales) imbecile, idiot, lunatic (Scotland)
The population for England & Wales at this census was recorded as 25,974,439, Scotland: 3,735,573.
5 April 1891
The 1891 census was taken on 5 April 1891 and in most respects, repeated the questions that had been asked in the 1881 census, with a question on whether employer/employed/neither; language spoken (Wales only); whether English, Gaelic or both spoken (Scotland only);
The 1891 census contains the following information:
- First name
- Surname
- Age
- Sex
- Relationship to head of household
- Rank/profession/occupation (with 'unemployed' added, Scotland only)
- Employer/employed/neither
- Language spoken (Wales only)
- Whether English, Gaelic or both spoken (Scotland only)
- Marital status
- Whether born in county where enumerated, plus county and parish for England & Wales
- Whether born in Scotland, Ireland or 'foreign parts' (England, Wales & Channel islands), or born in Scotland, England, Ireland or 'foreign parts' (Scotland)
- Whether blind, deaf or dumb (Scotland only)
- Whether Gaelic speaker (Scotland only)
- Whether living in a dwelling with a door that opened onto a common stairway
- How many rooms with 1 or more windows (Scotland only)
-
Whether blind/deaf & dumb/ imbeclie/idiot, lunatic (England and Wales) imbecile, idiot, lunatic (Scotland)
The population for England & Wales at this census was recorded as 29,002,525, Scotland: 4,025,647.
No full 1891 census survives for Ireland but you can search the existing records at National Archives Ireland.
31 March 1901
The 1901 census was taken on 31 March 1901 and in most respects, repeated the questions that had been asked in the 1891 census, with the question on 'employer/employed/ neither' replaced with 'employer/worker/own account, if working at home' (England and Wales), language spoken (Isle of Man only). For Scotland, the word 'idiot' was removed from the disability category and the Gaelic question was for age 3+ only. Also in Scotland, overseas inhabitants were asked whether they were ‘foreign subject’.
This is also the first date for which an Irish census survives - also taken on 31 March 1901. Find out more at the National Archives Ireland.
The 1901 census contains the following information:
- First name
- Surname
- Age
- Sex
- Relationship to head of household
- Rank/profession/occupation (with 'unemployed' added, Scotland only)
- Employer/employed/neither
- Language spoken (Wales, Isle of Man)
- Whether English, Gaelic or both spoken (Scotland only, age 3+ for Gaelic)
- Marital status
- Whether born in county where enumerated, plus county and parish for England & Wales
- Whether born in Scotland, Ireland or 'foreign parts' (England, Wales & Channel islands), or born in Scotland, England, Ireland or 'foreign subject' (Scotland)
- Whether blind, deaf or dumb (Scotland only)
- Whether Gaelic speaker (Scotland only)
- Whether living in a dwelling with a door that opened onto a common stairway
- How many rooms with 1 or more windows (Scotland only)
-
Whether blind/deaf & dumb/ imbeclie/idiot, lunatic (England and Wales) imbecile, lunatic (Scotland)
The population for England & Wales at this census was recorded as 32,527,813, Scotland: 4,472,103.
2 April 1911
The 1911 census was taken on 2 April 1911 and in most respects, repeated the questions that had been asked in the 1901 census, with new questions for women on number of years married, the number of children of the marriage and the number of children living or dead (England, Wales and Scotland).
Also included was more detailed information on origins, with questions on UK parish and county of birth, nationality if born overseas and resident or visitor if born outside England or Wales (England and Wales only).
The Irish census was also taken on 2 April 1911. Find out more at the National Archives Ireland.
The 1911 census contains the following information:
- First name
- Surname
- Age
- Sex
- Relationship to head of household
- Rank/profession/occupation (with 'unemployed' added, Scotland only)
- Industry or service employed within (Scotland)
- Employer/employed/neither
- Language spoken (Wales, Isle of Man)
- Whether English, Gaelic or both spoken (Scotland only, age 3+ for Gaelic)
- Marital status
- Number of years married (women)
- Number of children of that marriage and whether living or dead (women)
- Number of children still living (Scotland)
- County and parish of birth
- If resident in England and Wales, whether visitor or resident
- Nationality if born overseas (England and Wales)
- Whether born in Scotland, Ireland or 'foreign parts' (England, Wales & Channel islands), or born in Scotland, England, Ireland or 'foreign subject' (Scotland)
- Whether blind, deaf or dumb (Scotland only)
- Whether Gaelic speaker (Scotland only)
- Whether living in a dwelling with a door that opened onto a common stairway
- How many rooms with 1 or more windows (Scotland only)
-
Whether blind/deaf & dumb/ imbeclie/idiot, lunatic (England and Wales) imbecile, lunatic (Scotland)
The population for England & Wales at this census was recorded as 36,070,000, Scotland: 4,761,000.
19 June 1921
New information on the 1921 Census not available on previous censuses includes:
- Place of employment
- Industry in which employed
- Materials worked with
- Name of employer
- Marital status for those 15 or older (with ‘divorce’ as a status for the first time on the census)
- Details of whether or not parents still alive for those under 15
- Whether the person spoken an additional language (for returns in Isle of Man and Wales)
- How many children aged 0-15 years old (with their ages at last birthday) for married men, widows and widowers
Note that the 1921 Census was not taken in Ireland, due to the War of Independence that was being waged at the time.
Read our in-depth guide to the 1921 census
Note too that earlier censuses were taken, but it is those from 1841 that have particular appeal for family historians as the censuses record the names of everyone in the household, and from 1841 details about how they are related to one another too.
Where can I find the UK census online?
Strictly speaking there is no such thing as a UK census, but there are census records for the various countries of Britain and Ireland.
Census records for England and Wales are available on the pay-per-view/commercial websites: TheGenealogist, MyHeritage, findmypast.co.uk, and Ancestry
Ancestry and Findmypast are the only two websites with access to the 1921 census records for England and Wales. All four of the websites mentioned above cover 1841-1911.
Census records for Scotland are available on pay-per-view website, ScotlandsPeople.gov.uk - 1841-1921.
For Ireland, you can find the 1911 and 1901 census records for Ireland, available free, at https://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/ - this website also provides access to the surviving census records for Ireland from earlier census years (but the majority of the earlier material hasn't survived).
Note too the free transcription site https://www.freecen.org.uk/ - it is a work in progress website, but is definitely worth searching.
For Ireland - the 1921 census was never taken, but people with Irish ancestors can look forward to the release of the 1926 census records for the Republic of Ireland on 18 April 2026. What's more the records will be free!
A census for Northern Ireland was taken in 1926 but the records appear to be lost.
The next census that those with Scottish ancestors can look forward to is the 1931, while for people researching ancestors in England and Wales, the next census to look forward to is the 1951.
How to research your family tree using the UK census
When tracing your ancestors it’s best practice to work backwards... This means that it can be advisable to start with the most recent census available for your country of interest, and then work back in time.
How to use the census for family history in 3 easy steps
- Have a go on all the census websites... the transcriptions may vary across the websites, making it easier to find an ancestor on one website rather than another
- Less is more... experiment with your search terms, and remember that sometimes you may need to broaden your search or use fewer search terms in order to track someone down
- Trawl through census pages... in addition to locating your ancestor in the census, it can be very valuable to view the pages before and after your ancestors' entry. This can give you a flavour of the local area, and you may spot other family members living near by. If you can't immediately find someone in the census, you may decide to work through the census pages for their area, page by page, to see if you can identify them.
What if you can't find you ancestor on the census?
At some point in your research you will undoubtedly stumble upon an ancestor who for some reason mysteriously disappears from one census year, only to return again at the next census, writes Paul Chiddicks. So now we need to explore the various reasons why your ancestor could possibly be missing from the census.
Although we might find numerous census “gaps” on our family trees, in reality, for an individual to actually genuinely be missing from a census year is really quite rare, chances are they are there, but just “hiding”, so hopefully with a few tips and pointers here, we can help you solve the riddle and find that missing ancestor.
A transcription error?
The most obvious reason could be a transcription error. This could be by the census enumerator themselves or more recently, by the large sites that hold copies of the census returns.
At each transcription stage a mistake is possible, so be flexible in the names that you search, use wildcard searches and soundex searches, also use the more than one website to search, try ancestry, FMP, The Genealogist, or My Heritage. You will be surprised at the different results you can get from the one census record.
Be aware of the possible errors. As well as transcription errors, include here straight forward spelling mistakes, census enumerators often wrote what they thought they heard. So always, always check the original image, it might surprise you what it actually reads.
Remember also that it was a criminal offence to refuse to give information to a census enumerator that was punishable by a fine.
Was your ancestor elsewhere?
Your ancestor could of course be visiting with another family member or even lodging elsewhere, or did they work as a servant? Could they even be working away from home? Did their trade necessitate regular moves to find work?
Did they have an unusual occupation? If so, less is sometimes more, omit the name from your search and search only by occupation.
Consider asylums, workhouses, hospitals and even jails. These institutions would not always list individuals by their full name, more often than not, the individuals would be listed by initials, so consider these places in your hunt. I had one very elusive ancestor who was sadly in an asylum and very difficult to find.
Residential tenements and shared accommodation can also create problems and could account for missing families. Were they possibly living above a shop, could this have been missed by the enumerator during his rounds?
Other reasons why they may be missing from the census
- Could surnames and Christian names have been reversed, strange but possible, so try reversing the names. Also consider nicknames or abbreviated names, who would have thought that Polly is an abbreviation for Mary Ann.
- Could they be overseas? Enlisted with the Armed Forces or maybe even emigrating to pastures new? Check for military or naval records, as well as passenger lists. Could they be on a ship docked in a harbour somewhere? Follow up this possibility if your ancestor was a merchant seaman.
- A lost part of the census?
- Is your ancestor listed on a lost part of the census? No census is 100% complete. The 1861 census in particular has a number of missing census returns, but all of the census years have, unfortunately, some missing sections. So check to see if the area that you think your ancestor might have lived, is one of the missing census areas.
- Did they deliberately avoid the census to disguise some other misdoing? If there is a history of your ancestor avoiding other public records, then chances are he will not be found.
- Sometimes even the opposite problem can make a family history researcher’s life a misery! I have known some to be listed at up to three separate places, how do you sort that one out?
Why was my ancestor recorded in the census twice?
There are a number of reasons why your ancestor might actually appear on the same census in two different places:
- Living with extended family: a child or individual may have been claimed by both sets of relatives (e.g. grandparents and cousins), especially if they moved between households.
- Helping out in another household: your ancestor may have been staying temporarily with extended family to assist, especially common for girls in domestic roles.
- Split households: the individual may have genuinely been dividing their time between two homes, such as between a parent’s and a sibling’s or spouse’s household.
- Filled out the census in advance: institutions like military bases, ships, or workhouses sometimes completed forms based on who was expected to be there, regardless of who was present on census night.
- Family secrecy or social pressure: A person might be recorded in two households to mask sensitive situations, such as a hidden pregnancy or separation.
- Enumerator error: occasionally, an enumerator might list the same people more than once in error, especially when transcribing field notes.
- Mistaken identity within a small area: in close-knit communities, the same person might be known differently in different contexts, leading to dual listings.
- Clerical habits or misunderstandings: some heads of household might include absent members out of habit or misunderstanding of census instructions.
Reasons above based on an article originally written by Paul Chiddicks.