Find out how popular the last name Pain is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Pain.

Pain, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Pain surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Pain in America

Pain is the 35812th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Pain surname appeared 627 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Pain.

We can also compare 2010 data for Pain to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Pain

The surname PAIN has its origins in medieval France, tracing back to the 11th and 12th centuries. It is derived from the Old French word "peine," which means "suffering" or "hardship." The name was likely used as a descriptive surname for someone who endured great hardship or physical pain in their life.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the PAIN surname can be found in the Domesday Book, a comprehensive record of landholders and their properties compiled in 1086 by order of William the Conqueror. The Domesday Book mentions a landowner named William Pain in the county of Gloucestershire, England.

The PAIN surname has a strong presence in the historical records of Normandy, France, where it is believed to have originated. In the 13th century, a notable individual named Raoul Pain was a knight and vassal of the Count of Anjou. Another early bearer of the name was Jacques Pain, a French merchant and trader who lived in the 14th century.

During the Middle Ages, the PAIN surname also spread to other parts of Europe, including England and Germany. In England, one of the earliest recorded instances was Robert Pain, born in 1215 in Wiltshire. He was a member of the gentry and held land in the village of Poulton.

Another notable figure was Sir Thomas Pain, a 15th-century English soldier and landowner who fought in the Wars of the Roses. He was born in 1435 in Somerset and served under King Edward IV.

In the 16th century, the PAIN surname gained prominence in France with Jean Pain, a prominent French humanist scholar and writer born in 1532 in Anjou. He authored several influential works on philosophy and literature.

Over the centuries, the PAIN surname has also been associated with various place names and locations, such as Painsbill in Gloucestershire, England, and Painswick, a village in the same county. These place names likely derived from individuals with the PAIN surname who were landowners or prominent figures in those areas.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Pain

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Pain.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Pain was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Pain has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Pain was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Pain, please contact us.

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