Statistical Abstract of the Napoleonic Wars: British Army Officers

Research: Abstract of the Napoleonic Era

Statistical Abstract of the Napoleonic Wars: Most Common First Names among British Officers during the Peninsular War

The following data is compiled from the Challis Index, which contains information on 9617 British officers who served in the Peninsular War. The following list is for all officers who served with British units, but excludes those who served with the King's German Legion, the Brunswick Light Infantry, and the Brunswick Hussars, which are included in the Challis Index. The total number of officers for the study below is 8861. Of these officers, 6503 or 73% of all officers had one of these first names. Of the top five names, 46% of all officers had these names.

First Name	Number of Officers with Name	Percentage of Officer with Name
John	1305	14.7%
William	1024	11.6%
James	605	6.83%
Thomas	598	6.75%
George	524	5.91%
Charles	424	4.69%
Robert	395	4.46%
Henry	376	4.24%
Edward	290	3.72%
Richard	241	2.71%
Alexander	195	2.2%
Francis	149	1.68%
Samuel	148	1.67%
Joseph	128	1.44%
Frederick	101	1.13%

Source:

Challis, Lionel. "The Challis Index". London: Royal United Services Institute, no date. Was most likely compiled during the 1930s and 1940s.

Placed on the Napoleon Series: August 2008

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