Spaniards in the United Kingdom

Spanish Britons
*Británicos españoles*
Total population

Notable Spanish Britons: Queen Mary I of England · Michael Portillo · Patricia Medina Natalia Tena · Roland Orzabal · Edward II · Ruth Lorenzo · Rafael Merry del Val · Helena Bonham Carter
Spanish born Around 54,000 (2001) Britons with Spanish surnames Over 200,000 (2001) Total number of Spanish Britons Unknown estimated at over 0.2% of British population
Regions with significant populations
See Below
Languages
British English · Spanish
Religion
Predominantly Roman Catholic
Related ethnic groups
Spanish · Hispanics · British Latin American · Italian · Portuguese · French Briton · Greek Briton · Italian British

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Spaniards in the United Kingdom constitute one of the country's oldest ethnic groups, it is also likely to be one of the UK's largest Hispanic groups, with only the Colombian British community rivaling it.^[1] Tens of thousands of Spanish-born people live in the UK, and many more British people have ancestry originating in the South-West European nation.

1 History
- 1.1 Settlement
2 Demographics
3 Relations
- 3.1 Spain - UK Relations
- 3.2 Location Twinnings
4 Famous Spanish Britons
5 See also
6 External links
7 References

History

Settlement

In 1501, Catherine of Aragon came to London aged 15. After the early death of her first husband, she became Henry VIII’s first wife. Their daughter, Mary Tudor attempted to re-introduce Catholicism as the state religion during her own reign and married Philip II of Spain. Both women at that time brought the influence of Spanish culture to the royal court.^[2]

Spanish people first arrived in great numbers in 1945^{[citation needed]}after the Spanish Civil War of 1936-39, when political exiles began to settle mainly in Westminster, Kensal Town, Kensington, Chelsea, Ladbroke Grove and Camden. A republican government-in-exile sat in London until 1945, and a social and cultural centre was established at the Spanish House in Bayswater. Many came seeking work, skills and education after the economic crisis in Spain. Many more economic migrants arrived in the post-war years and from the 1980s onwards, many middle-class students began to come to London^{[citation needed]}. This may also include settlers from British territory of Gibraltar, as those people are British citizens and free to migrate to UK. Britons with Spanish ancestry from Philippines, Morocco, and Equatorial Guinea may be included here.

Demographics

Population

The 2001 Census recorded 54,105 Spanish-born people were in United Kingdom, which is an increase of 15,500 from the 1991 census.

Although there are no real Spanish districts as such, It is estimated that around 25,000 Spanish people live in North Kensington, focused around the Spanish School in Portobello Road and around Victoria.^[3] Other areas with Latin communities are Camden Town, Finsbury Park, Harrow and Wimbledon, with its people being well integrated into London society^{[citation needed]}.

Distribution

Please note that the list below only has information on Spanish born people residing in the UK. The numbers are likely to be much higher in 2008^{[citation needed]}, as well as those of Spanish descent.

Whole of the United Kingdom
- 2001 54,105 (0.09% of total UK population)

East Midlands 1,824
East of England 4,439
London 22,479 - Currently up to 100,000 Londoner's are likely to be of full or partial Spanish descent
North East England 738
North West England 3,465
Scotland 2,555
South East England 9,786
South West England 3,352
Wales 1,155
West Midlands 5,184
Yorkshire and the Humber 6,128

Significant Communities

The information below is based on British places with high concentrations of Spanish born people.^[4]

East Midlands - Leicester
East of England - Cambridge, Chelmsford, Colchester, Norwich, Nottingham, Watford
London - Camden, Chelsea, Hyde Park, Kensal Town, Kensington, South Kensington, Westminster
North West England - Chester, Lancaster, Manchester, Southport
Scotland - Edinburgh, St Andrews
South East England - Brighton, Canterbury, Eastbourne, Folkestone, Guildford, Hastings, Oxford, Portsmouth, Reading, Slough, Southampton
South West England - Bath, Bournemouth, Bristol, Exeter, Swindon
Wales - Swansea
West Midlands - Birmingham, Tamworth
Yorkshire and the Humber - Sheffield, Leeds

Economics

71.22% of recent Spanish immigrants to the UK of working age are employed (compared to 73.49% for British born people regardless of race or ethnic background). 15.05% of recent immigrants are low earners, which is pay less than £149.20 a week (compared to 21.08% for British-born people), and 2.15% are high earners, which is more than £750 per week (compared to 6.98% for British-born people). The percentages for settled immigrants are slightly different, 71.48% are employed, with 23.44% being low earners and 7.81% high earners.^[5]

Hispanic Surnames

Below is a list of some of the most common Hispanic surnames in the UK.^[6] They are surprisingly high considering that the database does not include illegal immigrants and some people who have recently immigrated to or been born in to the UK, as well as those of partial Hispanic ancestry (i.e. those of non-Spanish origin on their fathers side would mean they are likely not to bear their mothers Spanish surname).

López ^[7] - 33,832 British people bear this surname, likely making it the country's most popular Hispanic surname
- In Cardiff 3,234 people bear the surname (the city's 39th most common surname)
- In Buckinghamshire 3,280 people bear the surname (the county's 44th most common)
- In Greater London 8,104 people bear the surname (the city's 52nd most common)

Fernández ^[8] - 31,117 British people bear this surname
- In Clackmannanshire 1,789 people bear the surname (the county's 9th most common)
- In York 3,369 people bear the surname (the city's 11th most common)
- In Greater London 6,569 people bear the surname (the city's 69th most common)

García ^[9] - 31,015 British people bear this surname
- In Aberdeenshire 3,227 people bear the surname (the county's 16th most common)
- In Jersey 1,683 people bear the surname (the island's 22nd most common)
- In Greater London 9,681 people bear the surname (the city's 31st most common)

Sánchez ^[10] - 15,717 British people bear this surname
- In Neath Port Talbot 1,782 people bear the surname (the county's 28th most common)
- In Argyll and Bute 1,766 people bear the surname (the county's 37th most common)
- In Greater London 4,962 people bear the surname (the city's 124th most common)

Rodriguez ^[11] - 15,519 British people bear this surname
- In Stockton-on-Tees 1,741 people bear the surname (the town's 17th most common)
- In Greater London 9,757 people bear the surname (the city's 23rd most common)
- In County Down 1,795 people bear the surname (the county's 49th most common)

González ^[12] - 10,912 British people bear this surname
- In Scottish Borders 3,375 people bear the surname (the county's 5th most common)
- In York 1,823 people bear the surname (the city's 25th most common)
- In Bedfordshire 1,759 people bear the surname (the county's 84th most common)

Martínez ^[13] - 9,755 British people bear this surname
- In County Down 3,295 people bear the surname (the county's 16th most common)
- In Fife 1,749 people bear the surname (the county's 120th most common)
- In Aberdeen 1,705 people bear the surname (the city's 172nd most common)

Pérez ^[14] - 13,046 British people bear this surname
- In Newport 1,760 people bear the surname (the city's 39th most common)
- In Edinburgh 1,744 people bear the surname (the city's 42nd most common)
- In Greater London 3,428 people bear the surname (the city's 201st most common)