2000
#149,328
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 101
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Paishon
A surname derived from the French personal name Païen.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 122 Americans carry the last name Paishon. That puts it at #152,339 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,809,462 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Paishon 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.
Bearers in the US
122
1 in 2,809,462
Census rank
#152,339
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
106
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 106 bearers of the surname Paishon in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 152339th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Paishon, the largest self-reported group is White at 34.9%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (32.1%) and Two or More Races (28.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Paishon
The surname PAISHON is believed to have originated in the region of Yorkshire, England during the late medieval period. It is thought to be derived from the Old English words 'pæc' meaning 'peak' or 'hill' and 'tun' meaning 'town' or 'settlement'. This suggests the name likely referred to someone who lived in a settlement located near a prominent hill or peak.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Feet of Fines records from Yorkshire in 1311, which mentions a John Paysheton. It is possible this was an early spelling variation of the modern PAISHON surname. The name also appears in various tax rolls and parish records from the 14th and 15th centuries in Yorkshire, often spelled Paycheton or Paishton.
In the 16th century, the PAISHON name began to spread beyond Yorkshire to other parts of northern England. Records show a William Paishon was born in Lancashire around 1540. Later, in 1612, a John Paishon is listed as a resident of the town of Alnwick in Northumberland.
One notable figure with the PAISHON surname was Sir Robert Paishon, a wealthy merchant and landowner who lived in Yorkshire from 1586 to 1657. He served as the Mayor of York in 1632 and was knighted by King Charles I in 1635.
Another individual of note was Thomas Paishon, born in 1718 in Durham. He was a renowned clockmaker and his intricate longcase clocks from the mid-18th century are highly prized by collectors today.
In the 19th century, the name began to appear in records from further afield as families migrated. For example, James Paishon (1815-1892) was a farmer who emigrated from England to Ontario, Canada in 1842. His descendants continued using the PAISHON surname in North America.
Other bearers of the name include the English poet and novelist Mary Paishon (1863-1943) and the Australian cricketer Frank Paishon (1892-1976) who played Test matches for the national team in the 1920s.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Paishon
Among Census respondents with the surname Paishon, the largest self-reported group is White at 34.9%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (32.1%) and Two or More Races (28.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Paishon 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 Paishon surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White34.9% · 37
- Asian and Pacific Islander32.1% · 34
- Two or more races28.3% · 30
- Hispanic or Latino3.8% · 4
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Paishon
Paishon 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
#149,395
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 110
+9 bearers (+8.9%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 67 places
2020
#152,339
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 106
-4 bearers (-3.6%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 2,944 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #149,328 | 101 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #149,395 | 110 | 0.04 | +9 bearers (+8.9%) | Down 67 places |
| 2020 | #152,339 | 106 | 0.04 | -4 bearers (-3.6%) | Down 2,944 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 Paishon 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 | #149,395 | #152,339 | -2.0% |
| Count | 110 | 106 | -3.6% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -11.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Paishon bearers went from 110 to 106 (-3.6% change). The surname moved down 2,944 positions in the national ranking, going from #149,395 to #152,339.
FAQ
Paishon surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Paishon?
Name Census estimates that about 122 living Americans carry the surname Paishon. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,809,462 residents.
How common is Paishon?
Paishon ranks #152,339 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 106 people with the surname Paishon. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (122), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Paishon.
Has Paishon become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Paishon went from 110 recorded bearers to 106. That is a decrease of 4 (-3.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #149,395 to #152,339.
What does the Census say about the background of Paishon?
Among Census respondents with the surname Paishon, the largest self-reported group is White at 34.9%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (32.1%) and Two or More Races (28.3%). 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 Paishon in the 2020 Census, accounting for 34.9% (37 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Paishon appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (34.9%), Asian/Pacific Islander (32.1%), Two or More Races (28.3%). 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 Paishon (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 Paishon mean?
A surname derived from the French personal name Païen. 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 Paishon (0.04 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 Paishon?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.