2000
#7,554
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,061
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.51
Rare Last name
Paden
Derived from a place name meaning "Pada's valley" in Old English, referring to an early settler or inhabitant.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 4,371 Americans carry the last name Paden. That puts it at #8,315 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.28 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 78,416 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Paden surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Paden with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
4.4K
1 in 78,416
Census rank
#8,315
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.3
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.8K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,812 bearers of the surname Paden in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.28 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 8315th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Paden, the largest self-reported group is White at 69.9%. The next largest groups are Black (18.3%) and Two or More Races (4.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Paden
The surname Paden originated in the ancient Scottish kingdom of Dalriada, now the area of Argyll and Bute. It is a habitation name derived from the Gaelic word "paidean," meaning hummock or small green knoll. This suggests that the name arose from a place where the original bearer lived near such a feature.
The earliest recorded spelling of the name is found in the year 1546, when Donald Padyane is mentioned in the "Records of Argyll." Another early record shows John Padene in the "Register of the Great Seal of Scotland" in 1599. These early spellings indicate the name's Scottish origins.
In the late 16th century, the name is recorded in the "Exchequer Rolls of Scotland," which were administrative and financial records of the Scottish royal household. This suggests that members of the Paden family held a position of some importance during this period.
A notable early bearer of the name was Sir John Paden, a Scottish soldier and landowner who lived in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. He fought in the Scottish Wars of Independence and was granted lands in Ayrshire for his service.
Another significant figure was Robert Paden, a Scottish merchant and trader who lived in the late 17th century. He was involved in the lucrative trade between Scotland and the Netherlands, and his business dealings helped to establish the Paden name in Dutch records of the time.
In the 18th century, the Paden family spread to Ireland, where variations of the name such as Padden and Paddyn became common. One notable Irish bearer of the name was Michael Paden, a prominent landowner and politician in County Donegal who lived from 1732 to 1812.
As the name spread beyond Scotland, it also found its way to the British colonies in North America. One of the earliest recorded Padens in America was John Paden, a Scottish immigrant who settled in Virginia in the late 17th century.
Over the centuries, the Paden surname has been carried by many individuals of note, including writers, artists, and military figures. Despite its Scottish origins, it has become a surname found throughout the English-speaking world.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Paden
Among Census respondents with the surname Paden, the largest self-reported group is White at 69.9%. The next largest groups are Black (18.3%) and Two or More Races (4.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Paden bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Paden surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White69.9% · 2,664
- Black or African American18.3% · 696
- Two or more races4.9% · 187
- Hispanic or Latino3.9% · 150
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.7% · 66
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.3% · 49
Timeline
Historical Census data for Paden
Paden appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#7,842
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,223
+162 bearers (+4.0%)
Per 100,000 1.43
Rank movement Down 288 places
2020
#8,315
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,812
-411 bearers (-9.7%)
Per 100,000 1.28
Rank movement Down 473 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #7,554 | 4,061 | 1.51 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #7,842 | 4,223 | 1.43 | +162 bearers (+4.0%) | Down 288 places |
| 2020 | #8,315 | 3,812 | 1.28 | -411 bearers (-9.7%) | Down 473 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Paden surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #7,842 | #8,315 | -6.0% |
| Count | 4,223 | 3,812 | -9.7% |
| Per 100K | 1.43 | 1.28 | -10.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Paden bearers went from 4,223 to 3,812 (-9.7% change). The surname moved down 473 positions in the national ranking, going from #7,842 to #8,315.
FAQ
Paden surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Paden?
Name Census estimates that about 4,371 living Americans carry the surname Paden. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 78,416 residents.
How common is Paden?
Paden ranks #8,315 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.28 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 3,812 people with the surname Paden. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (4,371), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.28 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.28 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Paden.
Has Paden become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Paden went from 4,223 recorded bearers to 3,812. That is a decrease of 411 (-9.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #7,842 to #8,315.
What does the Census say about the background of Paden?
Among Census respondents with the surname Paden, the largest self-reported group is White at 69.9%. The next largest groups are Black (18.3%) and Two or More Races (4.9%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Paden in the 2020 Census, accounting for 69.9% (2,664 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Paden appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (69.9%), Black (18.3%), Two or More Races (4.9%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Paden (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Paden mean?
Derived from a place name meaning "Pada's valley" in Old English, referring to an early settler or inhabitant. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Paden (1.28 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people have the surname Paden?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.