Census Records In Scotland

A census is an official count or survey of a population of people which lists where people are residing on a specific date. The questions asked in each census return has varied with each decade. The returns for 1801-1831 give little information. From 1841^[1] the returns can provide us with specific information about each household. In Scotland the only missing decennial year census is 1941 when returns were not requested due to World War II. The Scottish census returns for 1931 survive, unlike those for England and Wales which were destroyed by fire, as the Scottish returns were housed separately. These will be the next census returns to be released to the public, estimated for 2031.

Research your ancestors on MyHeritage

Pre-1841 census returns

The early census returns of 1801, 1811, 1821 and 1831 largely contain statistical data rather than information about named individuals. These can be of interest to discover how many people were living in your ancestor's parish but little else is supplied. In rare cases names are given but few have survived.

There are other earlier examples where local officials have taken a population census of their own account, rather than those which were ordered by the government from 1801 onwards. These can be found via a search of local county archives.

Scottish Census records 1841-1921

Census returns were gathered every decade between 1841-1921 in Scotland. The dates they were taken are below:

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 (postponed from 24 April 1921)

The information contained within each census return varies depending on the year. You can discover the below details from Scottish census returns:

Name and surname of each person in a household (sometimes with middle names or middle initials)
Their parish of residence (with a specific address given in later returns)
Each person's relationship to the head of the household (except for the 1841 return)
Each resident's marital status and sex
Their age (most are rounded down to the nearest 5 in the 1841 census)
Their occupation (children in school may be described as scholars. Employers are named in 1921)
Their place of birth (county only in 1841 but specific parishes from 1851 onwards)
Any disabilities they had, such as blindness
Rooms with one or more windows (from 1861, only featured in Scottish census returns)
Whether each person spoke Gaelic, English or both (from 1891 onwards)
How many children a married couple had (1911 only)
Whether one or both of a child's parents had died

Locating Scottish census records

Scottish enumeration books are held by the Registrar General for Scotland in Edinburgh. You can view transcripts of the Scottish census for 1841-1901 at MyHeritage in their Scotland - Census & Voter Lists record set. Images are only available from Scotland's People with a registered account via their Census page.

Hints for using Scottish census returns

When searching for ancestor's in the Scottish census it is worth remembering the following points:

Not all returns have survived. In particular a number of parishes have been lost for the 1841 census. If you cannot find your ancestor in these returns it may be because they featured in a lost return.
In other cases, some people were missed. In particular members of travelling communities were often missed. Other individuals were missed due to a misunderstanding of who should record them on the return. For example, a visitor may not have been recorded if the householder with whom they were staying mistakenly believed they would be noted as living at their usual home residence. In other cases, you may find some people recorded twice due to the same confusion.
The details supplied in a census may not be correct. Ages may be out by several years and people may not have known their birthplace. Use the information as a guide to help you progress your research but bear in mind you may need to be flexible.
When searching for an ancestor you may need to try searching for different ways of writing their name. Joseph Jacob McDonald may be recorded under his full name or Joseph McDonald, Jacob McDonald, J J McDonald, Jos McDonald or a different spelling variation entirely.

Explore more about Census records in Scotland

Scotland - Census & Voter Lists record collection at MyHeritage
Censuses Around the World: What You Need to Know About Census Collections and Genealogy webinar at Legacy Family Tree Webinars
Census Data – Discover census collections on the MyHeritage Knowledge Base
Census Returns at Scotland's People

References

↑ Census records. National Library of Scotland

[1] Census records. National Library of Scotland

[1]