2000
#18,087
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,421
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.53
Rare Last name
Pangilinan
A Filipino surname referring to someone from Pangil, Laguna, or having roots in that region.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,609 Americans carry the last name Pangilinan. That puts it at #12,915 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.76 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 131,374 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Pangilinan 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
2.6K
1 in 131,374
Census rank
#12,915
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.3K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,275 bearers of the surname Pangilinan in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.76 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 12915th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Pangilinan, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 89.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.9%) and Hispanic (2.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Pangilinan
The surname Pangilinan originated in the Philippines and is derived from the Tagalog language. It likely emerged during the 16th century when the Spanish colonizers began recording surnames for census and tax purposes.
The name Pangilinan is believed to have roots in the Tagalog word "pungilinan," which means "place of origin" or "hometown." This suggests that the surname may have been initially given to individuals based on their place of birth or residence.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Pangilinan can be found in the "Catalogo Alfabetico de Apellidos" (Alphabetical Catalog of Surnames), a document compiled by Spanish authorities in the Philippines during the 17th century.
A notable individual with the surname Pangilinan was Domingo Pangilinan, a prominent Filipino writer and journalist born in 1874. He was known for his works that advocated for Philippine independence and criticized the Spanish colonial rule.
Another notable figure was Felixberto Pangilinan, a Filipino military officer who served in the Philippine Revolutionary Army during the Philippine Revolution against Spain in the late 19th century.
In the 20th century, Francisco Pangilinan, born in 1913, was a respected politician and lawyer who served as a senator in the Philippine Congress from 1957 to 1963.
Another individual of note was Norberto Pangilinan, a Filipino businessman and philanthropist born in 1922. He founded the Pangilinan Group of Companies, a conglomerate with interests in various industries, including real estate and hospitality.
Additionally, Lourdes Pangilinan, born in 1945, was a prominent Filipino writer and academic known for her contributions to literature and education in the Philippines.
While the surname Pangilinan has its roots in the Philippines, it has since spread to other parts of the world due to migration and diaspora communities. However, the historical records and notable individuals mentioned here highlight the surname's strong ties to its Filipino origins.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Pangilinan
Among Census respondents with the surname Pangilinan, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 89.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.9%) and Hispanic (2.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Pangilinan 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 Pangilinan surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander89.5% · 2,036
- Two or more races4.9% · 112
- Hispanic or Latino2.7% · 62
- White2.5% · 58
- Black or African American0.3% · 7
Timeline
Historical Census data for Pangilinan
Pangilinan 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
#15,005
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,968
+547 bearers (+38.5%)
Per 100,000 0.67
Rank movement Up 3,082 places
2020
#12,915
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,275
+307 bearers (+15.6%)
Per 100,000 0.76
Rank movement Up 2,090 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #18,087 | 1,421 | 0.53 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #15,005 | 1,968 | 0.67 | +547 bearers (+38.5%) | Up 3,082 places |
| 2020 | #12,915 | 2,275 | 0.76 | +307 bearers (+15.6%) | Up 2,090 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 Pangilinan 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 | #15,005 | #12,915 | 13.9% |
| Count | 1,968 | 2,275 | 15.6% |
| Per 100K | 0.67 | 0.76 | 13.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Pangilinan bearers went from 1,968 to 2,275 (+15.6% change). The surname moved up 2,090 positions in the national ranking, going from #15,005 to #12,915.
FAQ
Pangilinan surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Pangilinan?
Name Census estimates that about 2,609 living Americans carry the surname Pangilinan. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 131,374 residents.
How common is Pangilinan?
Pangilinan ranks #12,915 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.76 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 2,275 people with the surname Pangilinan. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,609), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.76 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.76 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 Pangilinan.
Has Pangilinan become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Pangilinan went from 1,968 recorded bearers to 2,275. That is an increase of 307 (+15.6%). In the national ranking it rose from #15,005 to #12,915.
What does the Census say about the background of Pangilinan?
Among Census respondents with the surname Pangilinan, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 89.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.9%) and Hispanic (2.7%). 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?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest self-reported group for the surname Pangilinan in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.5% (2,036 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Pangilinan appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Asian/Pacific Islander (89.5%), Two or More Races (4.9%), Hispanic (2.7%). 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 Pangilinan (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 Pangilinan mean?
A Filipino surname referring to someone from Pangil, Laguna, or having roots in that region. 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 Pangilinan (0.76 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 last name Pangilinan?
If you just want to know how common the surname Pangilinan is, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.