Pender
Of Old English origin, a name denoting someone from the enclosed lands.
Name Census estimates that about 0 living Americans carry the first name Pender. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Pender today is around 0 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Pender births was 1916 (6 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Pender. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Pender. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
0
~ - Americans
Peak year
1916
6 babies that year
Average age
-
1916 SSA rank
#3,796
Tracked since 1916
Popularity
Pender: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Pender by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Pender during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1910s | 6 | 0 | 6 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Pender
The given name Pender has its origins in the Old English language, tracing back to the early Middle Ages. It is derived from the Old English word "pender," which referred to a person who was a keeper or warden of a pound for livestock. The name likely emerged in England during the 7th to 11th centuries.
One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Pender can be found in the Domesday Book, a comprehensive survey of land and property commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086. The Domesday Book mentions several individuals with the surname Pender, indicating that the name was already in use at that time.
In the 12th century, a notable figure named Pender de Wyke is mentioned in the Pipe Rolls of Henry II, which were financial records of the English Crown. Pender de Wyke was a landowner and tenant-in-chief, suggesting that the name was associated with individuals of social standing during that period.
During the 13th century, the name Pender appeared in various medieval charters and records. One notable figure was Pender of Spalding, a monk and chronicler who lived in the early 13th century and wrote about the history of the Benedictine monastery in Spalding, Lincolnshire.
In the 14th century, a prominent individual named Pender le Saunier was mentioned in the Calendar of Patent Rolls of Edward III. Le Saunier was a salt merchant and tradesman, indicating that the name Pender was also associated with occupations and trades during that time.
Another noteworthy figure bearing the name Pender was Sir Pender Hastings, a military commander who fought alongside King Edward IV during the Wars of the Roses in the 15th century. Sir Pender Hastings was born around 1430 and died in 1487, leaving behind a legacy as a skilled warrior and loyal supporter of the House of York.
Throughout the centuries, the name Pender has remained relatively uncommon, but several other individuals with this given name have made their mark in various fields, such as Pender Cudlip, an English playwright and poet of the 16th century, and Pender Cresswell, a British explorer and naturalist who traveled to Australia in the early 19th century.
People
Pender + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Pender as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with P
Other first names starting with P with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Pender: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Pender?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 0 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Pender going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about - US residents.
Is Pender a common name?
We classify Pender as "Very Rare". It ranks above 2.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 6 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Pender most popular?
The single biggest year for Pender was 1916, when 6 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Pender is about 0 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Pender in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Pender a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Pender in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Pender still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Pender in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Pender can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people share the name Pender?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.