Latin for ‘vacant goods’, bona vacantia is the term given to ownerless property, which by law in the UK passes to the Crown. If a person dies intestate (without a will in their name), their possessions will pass to their next of kin – such as their children or married partner.
However, if the deceased has no known kin, their possessions pass to the Crown, which administers their estate until a relative makes a claim on their estate. The UK government publishes a list of estates, which is updated frequently to include the latest unclaimed estates.
The wills and probate solicitors at Beecham Peacock have trawled through the latest list of unclaimed estates to find out which surnames have the best chance of being entitled to property (albeit within a tight evidence-led evaluation process). This alternative way of looking at the issues has been passed on to Digital Journal for review.
The most popular surnames with unclaimed estates
The UK government hosts a list of unclaimed estates, which is updated daily with details of new estates. The list covers unclaimed estates with dates of death ranging all the way back to June 1974.
The document contains information about aliases that the person might’ve had in order to try and reconcile their estate with relatives. Some of the entries feature a little extra information on why the estate has remained unclaimed – such as missing death certificates, and people who died while domiciled in another country.
As of June 2023, there were 6,370 estates remaining unclaimed as bona vacantia. If your last name is the same as one of the names listed below, you perhaps have a chance of being entitled to some or all of their estate. However, by being common names there are many people who share the same surname.
The list is:
| Surname | Number of unclaimed estates |
| Smith | 111 |
| Jones | 71 |
| Williams | 47 |
| Brown | 46 |
| Taylor | 41 |
| Wilson | 35 |
| Thomas | 33 |
| Johnson | 31 |
| Davies | 30 |
| Ryan | 26 |
The regions with the most unclaimed estates
The dataset also includes information on which region of the country the unclaimed estate is. While the estate may not include property, the estate will be based in that area.
The list is:
| Location | Number of unclaimed estates |
| Birmingham, West Midlands | 152 |
| Leeds, West Yorkshire | 107 |
| Bradford, West Yorkshire | 69 |
| Camden, London (NW1) | 66 |
| Lewisham, London (SE13) | 62 |
| Leicester, Leicestershire | 60 |
| Nottingham, Nottinghamshire | 59 |
| Croydon, Surrey | 57 |
| Southampton, Hampshire | 54 |
| Hammersmith, London (W6) | 53 |
Anna Harbinson, Solicitor at Beecham Peacock, explains: “The number of unclaimed estates in the UK grows bigger every day – and often, many of the deceased’s records are missing, indicating a lack of available information. If you have any information about a distant family member who has passed away, you could help connect the rest of your family to their estate.”
