Names - Where you from, where you been, where you going?

[Colr]

Posted this before but its been updated:-

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Article in today's Times

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Ross - mostly from Ross-shire in 1881 (funnily enough), still mostly there but spreading south of the border. Emmigrated mostly toOtago in NZ, Canada and District of Columbia, USA.


Can't get a link to explain the social group. Somehting to do with Mosaic classifications.

[Lix]

Originally Posted by Colr
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Posted this before but its been updated:-

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Article in today's Times

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Ross - mostly from Ross-shire in 1881 (funnily enough), still mostly there but spreading south of the border. Emmigrated mostly toOtago in NZ, Canada and District of Columbia, USA.


Can't get a link to explain the social group. Somehting to do with Mosaic classifications.

You a Ross then?

My Granny's maiden name ... funnily enough she lived her whole life in Ross-shire ... still have relatives up there with the surname.
My great aunt Katie has done quite a lot of delving into the Ross family tree and there are some good stories, but basically the family haven't moved much!!

My actual surname is Stewart and I know I'm descended from ones in Angus and again my uncle delved back and we didn't move much from a very small radius and were pig farmers...
My great gran's maiden name on the Stewart side was Doig and they were largely from a similar area in Angus and again nothing that exciting ... but a guy in California has done a big Doig family tree on the internet and I'm on it!

Funny how some people's family trees etc are really interesting whereas I just seem to be descended from scots who didn't go anywhere or do anything remarkable for centuries....
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[Colr]

We're mostly Scots as well. I don't know much about my dad's side but my mother's family (Gilchrist+Gunn/Ferguson/Gillies - all Scots names) goes back generations in Leith (although some lived in Yorkshire for a while - which is interesting as I was born there).

The mosaic thing is explained here:-

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It seems a bit of a nonsense though as in any hierachical society there are not going to be many if any names which are predominantly at the top of the scale (except Mountbatten, maybe).

[Keepitgreen]

Colr, very interesting
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I did both ma granny's surname and ma grandfather's (whose I use today) and I wasn't too surprised with the geographical side of things.

However I noticed the 'Mosaic' group that my surname most commonly appears in was called 'Sharing a Staircase'. Intrigued by this, I faffed about trying to get the scale and the explanations for the group, downloaded the file (we're all in 63 socio-economic groups apparently) and found the very long, very detailed description. Here it is in it's full form, I have highlighted some of the juicier parts, I know it's long-winded but honestly, I dunno whether to laugh or cry;

Group F: Welfare Borderline
Type F40: Sharing a Staircase
Sociology and Environment

Summary

Sharing a Staircase contains households with young children, renting very small flats in mid rise walk up flats on large council schemes. These neighbourhoods are mostly in Scotland.

Demography

Sharing a Staircase neighbourhoods are mostly found in the West of Scotland and have among the worst social and housing conditions in the UK.

These neighbourhoods are characterised by very cramped flats, typically contained in blocks of four storeys, which were often built to very low standards. With young singles accommodated in flats in tower blocks and old people in purpose built accommodation, these flats now accommodate a population of mostly young parents and children. Few of the parents have the skills to take advantage of career opportunities in well paying industries.

Sharing a Staircase is characterised by very high levels of dependency on the state for welfare benefits and on the local authority for the provision of transport and social services as well as housing. There are large numbers of children living in households where no one goes out to work.

Seventy per cent of the accommodation is still rented from the council but whereas three in five households have children present, three quarters of the flats have only four rooms or fewer. One in five of the economically active population does not have a job and one in six is permanently sick. Of the children who live in these neighbourhoods two thirds live in households which do not have a car and one in five in households where no one is economically employed.

Those who are in work tend mostly to be engaged in low paid, elementary occupations, few of which offer any opportunities for career progression. In such environments, it is therefore understandable that consumer aspirations are very basic and that most household expenditure goes on the purchase of basic necessities. Sharing a Staircase is almost exclusively white and surnames point to the Irish ancestry of many of the local population.

Environment

Neighbourhoods of Sharing a Staircase are often characterised by the use of prefabricated materials which are assembled on site in order to minimise costs. These blocks were constructed in response to central government arrangements which provided greater incentives for local authorities to achieve numerical rather than quality objectives in their housing programmes.

Today the problems with these flats are not just their cramped conditions, and their social problems, but also their poor facilities. Kitchens and bathrooms, as well as common areas, require refurbishment and this investment is unlikely to be undertaken by the tenants themselves, few of whom have shown any desire to take advantage of right to buy legislation.

Similarly, the common areas surrounding many of these schemes contribute little amenity value to the tenants as well as being expensive to maintain.

As in areas of high rise council buildings, security is a serious concern to local residents and improvements in the protection of buildings against access by unauthorised entrants is often a high priority in refurbishment schemes. Security issues also contribute to the low levels of car ownership since without access to garages many residents can not be confident that their vehicles will not be wantonly damaged or their windows smashed in the hope of stealing valuables. However most of these schemes are very well serviced by public transport and low levels of car traffic allow buses to reach the city centre in fewer minutes than car owners could reach the centres of more congested southern cities from suburbs at an equivalent distance. On account of their higher residential densities most of these neighbourhoods are within easy walking distances of local shops on major arterial routes, most of which focus on the supply of daily necessities.

Economy

Neighbourhoods of this sort, like those in Tower Block Living, often have very low levels of engagement with their local economies. A key feature of such areas is the small number of people who are self-employed.

Consumer Values

Sharing a Staircase consists of people for whom the servicing of day to day necessities is a far more important concern that the lifestyle connotations of individual consumer brands. The key ‘brands’ that provide a sense of identify and social inclusion in these neighbourhoods are Celtic and Rangers
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and other brands with a particularly Scottish identity will also sell well in these neighbourhoods. Voters turn out only in small numbers at election time but do so on the basis of the alignment of candidates with uniquely Scottish perspectives on social issues.

Consumption Patterns

Sharing a Staircase provides a poor market for sophisticated lifestyle products and for any goods relating to home improvement, gardening and motoring. However households in these markets do spend more heavily on mainstream brands of packaged goods, particularly those with meat products, than they do on fruit and vegetables. Tobacco and alcohol consumes a significant proportion of the domestic budget.

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Change

Neighbourhoods of this sort continue to reflect the economic difficulties associated with the decline in shipbuilding, steel and coal. However as this becomes an ever more distant memory it is difficult to believe that these neighbourhoods will not begin a gradual convergence with areas of council owned property in provincial English cities.

Culture and Consumer Psychology

These people live in small flats, usually part of purpose built low-rise blocks. These areas are very common in Scottish cities where the people are primarily Scottish, with little presence of ethnic groups. The people and the areas provide disturbing examples of pronounced inequality with respect to wealth and life chances. These areas are also amongst the worst in the UK in terms of living conditions and the prevailing social and environmental problems, including wounding, theft, drug abuse, noise, vandalism and rubbish. These are very unattractive areas.

The people here are characterised by a very high proportion of children, and very few older people. Family units can be large, and the fairly modest accommodation can result in serious overcrowding. There are few conventional ‘nuclear families’ and the proportion of lone parents is almost the highest in the country. A stable family background is unusual.

If these people are in work, they are likely to have routine jobs, often in hotels and catering, in sales and customer service, or in some other low-paid employment in the service sector, where the threat of redundancy is very real. As with many other types that have similar historical origins, the structures and norms provided by fairly regular work in manufacturing are long gone. Many people are preoccupied with looking after children. The unemployment rate in these areas is almost the highest in the country, and together with a poor health record and other factors, many are totally dependent on state benefits. The likelihood of being able to escape the cycle of deprivation is very restricted given the resigned acceptance of circumstances and the resulting absence of formal qualifications.

The very limited opportunities, or the very limited desire to establish a secure working life, mean that incomes are correspondingly low and this Type is almost the poorest in the UK. Not surprisingly, savings and investments are extremely unusual and many of these people have substantial levels of debt. Some have a card-based account without a cheque book, but cash exchanges are more common, with great use being made of the Post Office. These people are perpetually worried about money.

For routine shopping, which is frequent, discount stores are normally used. Predictably, price is the major criterion for choosing both store and products. These people, like many in similar circumstances, find they have little interest or time for cooking, or for considering dietary requirements carefully. Convenience foods such as oven ready frozen meals are seen as perfectly adequate. In spite of large family sizes, or perhaps because they are so large, the archetypal sit-down family meal as a social event is very much the exception. They will often ’phone for food, and constant snacking occurs rather than regular meals. As for more expensive items, household budgets will limit what is possible, but there will always be an inclination to act impetuously and to acquire expensive items which are really beyond available funds. These people are exposed to, and may well be influenced strongly by marketing appeals. A desire to treat the children, ostentatious displays of apparent affluence, and a care about physical appearance, drive some of the more extravagant expenditure. Thus, computer games, designer clothes, high-tech consumer durables such as DVD players, and goods and services for personal grooming, can all absorb available and unavailable money. Many of these people make extensive use of interest free catalogue shopping, but use of the Internet for information and for shopping is highly unlikely. Car ownership is very low.

TV occupies a great deal of leisure time. Soaps and light entertainment are the preferred choices, and most would welcome further TV channels. Betting and bingo are popular and it is in these kinds of areas where sales of lottery tickets do particularly well, reflecting the hope of a quick release from a hard reality. They read the tabloids such as the Sun, the Sunday Sport and Scotland on Sunday. They also read magazines – for entertainment rather than for information. Many have a strong interest in astrology, probably indicating an acceptance of pre-ordained destiny. Many of these people are smokers, selecting the cheapest brands. If funds are available, they visit the pub, the cinema and the football match. If they drink, the intention will often be to get drunk. The large presence of younger people results in quite a widespread interest in pop and rock music. Holidays are very uncommon. These people have hardly any interest in life beyond their immediate reality. Religion matters little to the vast majority.

These people provide a graphic example of the disruption caused to social order by the economic transformations of the last two decades. There has been a serious and sometimes terminal weakening of the unifying norms, rights and obligations of working class life. The absence of stable employment and the self-identity that this can provide, has not been replaced by a sense of purpose, based on consumption or on experience, beyond the more fleeting pleasures. Family life and social bonds have been major casualties of change in these areas. These people are fatalistic but they often fantasise about a better life. In truth, their lives revolve around the ever-pressing need to make ends meet and then to search for impulsive and immediate self-gratification which provides an occasional escape from what is usually an unpleasant reality.

These people are usually members of large and often dysfunctional families. They are amongst the most economically and socially deprived people in the UK and there is little likelihood that this will change in the short term.



Sheesh, so there you have it. Always known my family name came from good stock.
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But seriously, this was credit reference agency Experian who compiled this pish. Does that mean when my surname gets credit-checked for the first time, they reference it against my 'socio-economic' group? My surname makes me a beggar? Mind you it didn't do me any harm, I've got 4 credit cards and a veritable Ben Nevis of debt
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Thoughts? (If ye've managed to read this far
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)

[CadgeMac]

Originally Posted by Colr
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Posted this before but its been updated:-

[Only Registered Users Can See Links. Click Here To Register]

Article in today's Times

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Ross - mostly from Ross-shire in 1881 (funnily enough), still mostly there but spreading south of the border. Emmigrated mostly toOtago in NZ, Canada and District of Columbia, USA.


Can't get a link to explain the social group. Somehting to do with Mosaic classifications.

Mums maiden name is Ross - although all if that side have been born and brought up in Edinburgh but i presume if you go further back you will reach ross-shire.
Im MacGruer and am a sept of the Fraser clan - Fraserburgh, Inverness-shire. Go back only two genertations to find family in Inverness.

[Colr]

We're all in Sharing a Staircase as well.
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