2000
#1,301
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 24,854
First available Census row
Per 100,000 9.21
Uncommon Last name
Padgett
An English occupational surname for a servant or page, derived from the Middle English "page" combined with the diminutive suffix "-et."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 27,095 Americans carry the last name Padgett. That puts it at #1,471 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 7.91 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 12,650 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Padgett 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 Padgett with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
27K
1 in 12,650
Census rank
#1,471
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
7.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
24K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 23,628 bearers of the surname Padgett in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 7.91 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 1471st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Padgett, the largest self-reported group is White at 85.5%. The next largest groups are Black (6.4%) and Two or More Races (4.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Padgett
The surname Padgett is of English origin, arising in the medieval period. It is believed to have derived from a place name, a common source of surnames at the time. The most likely origin is the town of Padgate in Warrington, Cheshire, located in northwest England. This place name itself stems from the Old English words "pad" meaning toad and "gatu" meaning road or path, suggesting it was once a place where toads crossed a particular path or route.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name is found in the Pipe Rolls of Staffordshire from 1195, which mentions a Richard de Padgat. The Hundred Rolls of 1273 also contain references to individuals with the surname Padgett or similar spellings like Padgat and Padyate. This suggests the name was already well-established in parts of northern England by the 13th century.
While the Padgett name does not appear in the famous Domesday Book of 1086, it is thought to have originated around that time or shortly after, as many surnames began emerging from place names during the 11th and 12th centuries in England.
Over the centuries, various spellings of the name have existed, including Padgat, Padgate, Padyate, and Padgitt, reflecting regional dialectal variations and evolving spelling conventions. Some early notable individuals with this surname include John Padgett, born around 1470 in Yorkshire, and Thomas Padgett, a merchant from Lancashire who lived in the late 16th century.
In the 17th century, John Padgett (1610-1677) was a prominent English politician and Member of Parliament for Wigan. Another John Padgett (1677-1741) was a renowned English mathematician and astronomer, known for his work on calculating the orbits of comets.
Moving into the 18th century, William Padgett (1715-1781) was an influential English businessman and landowner from Yorkshire. And in the 19th century, Joseph Padgett (1821-1892) was a respected English architect who designed several notable buildings in London.
These examples illustrate the long and varied history of the Padgett surname, spanning multiple centuries and encompassing individuals from various professions and backgrounds, all tied together by the shared ancestral origins of this distinctly English name.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Padgett
Among Census respondents with the surname Padgett, the largest self-reported group is White at 85.5%. The next largest groups are Black (6.4%) and Two or More Races (4.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Padgett 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 Padgett surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White85.5% · 20,194
- Black or African American6.4% · 1,515
- Two or more races4.1% · 979
- Hispanic or Latino2.9% · 681
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 134
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 125
Timeline
Historical Census data for Padgett
Padgett 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
#1,397
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 25,413
+559 bearers (+2.2%)
Per 100,000 8.62
Rank movement Down 96 places
2020
#1,471
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 23,628
-1,785 bearers (-7.0%)
Per 100,000 7.91
Rank movement Down 74 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #1,301 | 24,854 | 9.21 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #1,397 | 25,413 | 8.62 | +559 bearers (+2.2%) | Down 96 places |
| 2020 | #1,471 | 23,628 | 7.91 | -1,785 bearers (-7.0%) | Down 74 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 Padgett 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 | #1,397 | #1,471 | -5.3% |
| Count | 25,413 | 23,628 | -7.0% |
| Per 100K | 8.62 | 7.91 | -8.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Padgett bearers went from 25,413 to 23,628 (-7.0% change). The surname moved down 74 positions in the national ranking, going from #1,397 to #1,471.
FAQ
Padgett surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Padgett?
Name Census estimates that about 27,095 living Americans carry the surname Padgett. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 12,650 residents.
How common is Padgett?
Padgett ranks #1,471 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 7.91 per 100,000 residents, which is about 8 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 23,628 people with the surname Padgett. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (27,095), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 7.91 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 7.91 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 8 of them to have the surname Padgett.
Has Padgett become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Padgett went from 25,413 recorded bearers to 23,628. That is a decrease of 1,785 (-7.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #1,397 to #1,471.
What does the Census say about the background of Padgett?
Among Census respondents with the surname Padgett, the largest self-reported group is White at 85.5%. The next largest groups are Black (6.4%) and Two or More Races (4.1%). 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 Padgett in the 2020 Census, accounting for 85.5% (20,194 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Padgett appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (85.5%), Black (6.4%), Two or More Races (4.1%). 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 Padgett (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 Padgett mean?
An English occupational surname for a servant or page, derived from the Middle English "page" combined with the diminutive suffix "-et." 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 Padgett (7.91 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 common is the surname Padgett?
See how many people have the last name Padgett on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.