Registration districts were originally created for the registration of births, marriages and deaths, rather than specifically for the census. In many cases, registration districts were broadly equivalent to parishes, but not necessarily so.
| Surname | Total | Frequency | Index |
| STEWART | 66 | 4.5361 | 28.99 |
| ROBERTSON | 61 | 4.1924 | 25.02 |
| ANDERSON | 33 | 2.2680 | 11.48 |
| YOUNG | 27 | 1.8557 | 8.64 |
| TAYLOR | 26 | 1.7869 | 2.79 |
| MILLER | 25 | 1.7182 | 9.60 |
| SMITH | 21 | 1.4433 | 1.02 |
| CAMPBELL | 21 | 1.4433 | 8.53 |
| RUTHERFORD | 19 | 1.3058 | 53.51 |
| KENNEDY | 18 | 1.2371 | 20.52 |
| GRAHAM | 18 | 1.2371 | 10.78 |
| SCOTT | 16 | 1.0997 | 4.35 |
| GARDINER | 16 | 1.0997 | 38.26 |
| DUNCAN | 15 | 1.0309 | 15.07 |
| DRUMMOND | 15 | 1.0309 | 51.87 |
| MURRAY | 14 | 0.9622 | 7.76 |
| PATTERSON | 14 | 0.9622 | 27.60 |
| HAGGART | 13 | 0.8935 | 369.32 |
| PATTON | 13 | 0.8935 | 251.45 |
| CLARK | 13 | 0.8935 | 2.97 |
| CHRISTIE | 12 | 0.8247 | 25.43 |
| CRICHTON | 12 | 0.8247 | 96.70 |
| HENDERSON | 12 | 0.8247 | 7.59 |
| RICHARDSON | 12 | 0.8247 | 4.84 |
| NIVEN | 12 | 0.8247 | 118.46 |
| RODGER | 11 | 0.7560 | 53.79 |
| CROSS | 11 | 0.7560 | 10.99 |
| WATSON | 11 | 0.7560 | 3.26 |
| ALLAN | 10 | 0.6873 | 10.95 |
| CAMERON | 10 | 0.6873 | 8.84 |
| FRASER | 10 | 0.6873 | 7.72 |
| DUFF | 10 | 0.6873 | 38.63 |
| LOGIE | 10 | 0.6873 | 236.41 |
| MARTIN | 9 | 0.6186 | 2.51 |
| PATON | 9 | 0.6186 | 27.65 |
| SHEPHERD | 9 | 0.6186 | 8.44 |
| STODDART | 8 | 0.5498 | 65.84 |
| BRADLEY | 8 | 0.5498 | 6.85 |
| PATRICK | 8 | 0.5498 | 27.60 |
| COUTTS | 8 | 0.5498 | 54.50 |
| LAMOND | 8 | 0.5498 | 160.97 |
| DOWNIE | 8 | 0.5498 | 46.87 |
| SIM | 8 | 0.5498 | 48.96 |
| MASON | 8 | 0.5498 | 4.09 |
| NEILSON | 8 | 0.5498 | 39.01 |
| ROBB | 8 | 0.5498 | 31.80 |
| DICKSON | 8 | 0.5498 | 14.85 |
| FENWICK | 7 | 0.4811 | 36.73 |
| FORTUNE | 7 | 0.4811 | 92.11 |
| ROY | 7 | 0.4811 | 52.95 |
| Surname | Index | Total | Frequency |
| PIRNIE | 1.46 | 1,455 | 1086.9565 |
| COVEY | 1.46 | 1,455 | 440.2516 |
| HAGGART | 1.46 | 1,455 | 369.3182 |
| PERSON | 1.46 | 1,455 | 363.6364 |
| PATTON | 1.46 | 1,455 | 251.4507 |
| LOGIE | 1.46 | 1,455 | 236.4066 |
| DALL | 1.46 | 1,455 | 223.8806 |
| DUNCANSON | 1.46 | 1,455 | 213.5231 |
| LAMOND | 1.46 | 1,455 | 160.9658 |
| METHVEN | 1.46 | 1,455 | 150.6024 |
| OLIPHANT | 1.46 | 1,455 | 123.6749 |
| NIVEN | 1.46 | 1,455 | 118.4600 |
| BRANNON | 1.46 | 1,455 | 98.7654 |
| CRICHTON | 1.46 | 1,455 | 96.6962 |
| FORESTER | 1.46 | 1,455 | 95.4654 |
| FORTUNE | 1.46 | 1,455 | 92.1053 |
| GARVIE | 1.46 | 1,455 | 78.1250 |
| HEGGIE | 1.46 | 1,455 | 74.6269 |
| STODDART | 1.46 | 1,455 | 65.8436 |
| PANTON | 1.46 | 1,455 | 61.0998 |
| KEIR | 1.46 | 1,455 | 55.0206 |
| COUTTS | 1.46 | 1,455 | 54.4959 |
| FERGUSSON | 1.46 | 1,455 | 54.2741 |
| RODGER | 1.46 | 1,455 | 53.7897 |
| RUTHERFORD | 1.46 | 1,455 | 53.5061 |
| ROY | 1.46 | 1,455 | 52.9501 |
| BISSET | 1.46 | 1,455 | 52.6316 |
| GOW | 1.46 | 1,455 | 52.1739 |
| DRUMMOND | 1.46 | 1,455 | 51.8672 |
| SIM | 1.46 | 1,455 | 48.9596 |
| DOWNIE | 1.46 | 1,455 | 46.8658 |
| MACPHERSON | 1.46 | 1,455 | 42.4628 |
| NEILSON | 1.46 | 1,455 | 39.0054 |
| DUFF | 1.46 | 1,455 | 38.6250 |
| GARDINER | 1.46 | 1,455 | 38.2592 |
| NICOLL | 1.46 | 1,455 | 37.8215 |
| FENWICK | 1.46 | 1,455 | 36.7261 |
| ROBB | 1.46 | 1,455 | 31.7965 |
| DEWAR | 1.46 | 1,455 | 31.6122 |
| HOW | 1.46 | 1,455 | 31.5789 |
| STEWART | 1.46 | 1,455 | 28.9919 |
| RATTRAY | 1.46 | 1,455 | 28.1294 |
| DOCHERTY | 1.46 | 1,455 | 27.7264 |
| PATON | 1.46 | 1,455 | 27.6498 |
| PATTERSON | 1.46 | 1,455 | 27.5971 |
| PATRICK | 1.46 | 1,455 | 27.5957 |
| GILLESPIE | 1.46 | 1,455 | 26.0078 |
| KEITH | 1.46 | 1,455 | 25.6410 |
| CHRISTIE | 1.46 | 1,455 | 25.4345 |
| ROBERTSON | 1.46 | 1,455 | 25.0195 |
The Total column shows the total number of people in that county or town with this surname. For example, there were 1,455 people called PIRNIE in Redgorton at the time of the 1881 census.
The Frequency column shows the percentage of people in this county or town with this surname. For example, a frequency of 1086.9565 in Redgorton means that 1086.9565% of the people in Redgorton on census day were called PIRNIE.
The Index column shows the relative probability of finding someone called PIRNIE in this county or town, compared with the probability of finding them anywhere in Britain as a whole. An index of 1 means that if you pick someone at random from this county or town, you have exactly the same probability of picking someone called PIRNIE as if you picked at random from the whole of the UK. Where the index is higher than 1, then you are more likely to find someone called PIRNIE here than if you picked from the UK as a whole, and where it's lower then you are less likely. The actual figure shows the level of probability - for example, a figure of 2 would indicate that you are twice as likely to find someone called PIRNIE here than in the UK as a whole, and 10 would make it ten times as likely. The value of 1.46 in Redgorton means that you are 1.46 times as likely to find someone with the surname of PIRNIE in Redgorton than you would be in the whole of the UK.
(including typos, unknowns and the ones we don't have any data for!)