MacNicol and Nicolson amongst the 'highest status' surnames in UK!
4 JUNE 2006: Research at University College London has revealed 'MacNicol' and 'Nicolson' to be amongst the 'highest status' names in the UK. Of course, you didn't need to be told that you're a class act....!
The research, which has processed socio-economic census data to rank 26,000 surnames in the UK has found that in terms of 'high-status' the people with the surname Nicolson outranked 98% of other surnames. And as for MacNicol - the research found that 0% of other surnames had a higher status!
You can read more about the research in this Sunday Times article here.
You can check the status of various surnames and find lot of other exciting data at the UCL site here.
MACNICOL DATA
| International Comparisons | Rate | As % of GB rate in 1998 |
| Great Britain Frequency (1998) | 274 | 100 |
| Great Britain Frequency (1881) | 54 | |
| Great Britain Rate (1998) | 6 | |
| Great Britain Rate (1881) | 2 | |
| Northern Ireland | 5.67 | 83.2 |
| Republic of Ireland | 0.00 | 0.0 |
| Australia | 0.00 | 0.0 |
| New Zealand | 7.88 | 115.7 |
| United States | 0.98 | 14.4 |
| Canada | 8.19 | 120.3 |
| Geographical Spread | Statistics |
| Great Britain top area (1881) | Paisley |
| Great Britain top area (1998) | Kirkwall |
| Great Britain top area index * | 9709 |
| Great Britain top postal town | Isle Of Islay |
| Number of UK gazetteer entries | None |
| County of gazetteer entry | Not applicable |
| Republic of Ireland top county | |
| Republic of Ireland top county index * | |
| Australia top state | |
| Australia top state index * | |
| Australia top standard statistical division | |
| New Zealand top province | Taranaki |
| New Zealand top province index * | 1172 |
| United States top state | Michigan |
| United States top state index * | 617 |
| Number of gazetteer entries in Africa or Asian | none |
| African or Asian country with most gazetteer entries | |
| Number of gazetteer entries in African or Asian country named above |
| Social Demographics | Statistics |
| Category of surname | Celtic; Scottish; Starting with Mc Or Mac |
| Mosaic type with highest index # | Pastoral Symphony |
| Index of top Mosaic type * | 681 |
| % of people with a more rural name | 1 |
| % of people with a more high-status name | 0 |
| Cultural, Ethnic, Linguistic categories of surname | British, Scottish |
NICOLSON DATA
| International Comparisons | Rate | As % of GB rate in 1998 |
| Great Britain Frequency (1998) | 3024 | 100 |
| Great Britain Frequency (1881) | 3478 | |
| Great Britain Rate (1998) | 64 | |
| Great Britain Rate (1881) | 129 | |
| Northern Ireland | 15.11 | 20.1 |
| Republic of Ireland | 0.00 | 0.0 |
| Australia | 66.34 | 88.3 |
| New Zealand | 162.84 | 216.7 |
| United States | 5.19 | 6.9 |
| Canada | 45.50 | 60.6 |
| Geographical Spread | Statistics |
| Great Britain top area (1881) | Lerwick |
| Great Britain top area (1998) | Lerwick |
| Great Britain top area index * | 17999 |
| Great Britain top postal town | Shetland |
| Number of UK gazetteer entries | None |
| County of gazetteer entry | Not applicable |
| Republic of Ireland top county | |
| Republic of Ireland top county index * | |
| Australia top state | Northern Territory |
| Australia top state index * | 409 |
| Australia top standard statistical division | West Mallee, Victoria |
| New Zealand top province | Otago |
| New Zealand top province index * | 298 |
| United States top state | Montana |
| United States top state index * | 431 |
| Number of gazetteer entries in Africa or Asian | none |
| African or Asian country with most gazetteer entries | |
| Number of gazetteer entries in African or Asian country named above |
| Social Demographics | Statistics |
| Category of surname | Celtic; Scottish; Ending in -Son After Male Personal Name |
| Mosaic type with highest index # | Tourist Attendants |
| Index of top Mosaic type * | 416 |
| % of people with a more rural name | 12 |
| % of people with a more high-status name | 2 |
| Cultural, Ethnic, Linguistic categories of surname | Scottish |