2000
#3,057
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 10,874
First available Census row
Per 100,000 4.03
Uncommon Last name
Parent
An occupational surname for a parent or guardian, or one who bears or rears children.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 12,486 Americans carry the last name Parent. That puts it at #3,232 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 3.64 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 27,451 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Parent 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
12K
1 in 27,451
Census rank
#3,232
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
3.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
11K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 10,888 bearers of the surname Parent in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 3.64 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 3232nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Parent, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.4%) and Two or More Races (3.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Parent
The surname PARENT is of French origin and dates back to the late medieval period in France. It is derived from the Old French word "parent" meaning "relative" or "kin." The name likely originated as a descriptive surname for someone who was closely related to a prominent family or had many relatives in a particular region.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the PARENT surname can be found in the Calendars of Inquisitions Post Mortem from the reign of King Edward III in England, where a John Parent is mentioned in the year 1388. This suggests that the name had already spread from France to England by the 14th century.
In France, the PARENT name appears in various historical records and manuscripts from the 15th century onwards. For example, a Guillaume Parent is recorded in the parish records of Saint-Germain-en-Laye near Paris in 1467. The name is also found in the tax rolls and census records of various regions in France during this period.
The PARENT surname is closely associated with the village of Parentis-en-Born in the Landes region of southwestern France. This place name is derived from the Latin word "parentes," meaning "parents" or "ancestors," and likely influenced the development of the surname in that area.
Notable historical figures with the PARENT surname include:
1. Pierre Parent (c. 1510-1563), a French Catholic theologian and writer from Paris.
2. Jacques Parent (1619-1690), a French Jesuit missionary who worked among the Huron and Iroquois tribes in Canada.
3. Antoine Parent (1666-1716), a French sculptor and architect active in Paris during the late Baroque period.
4. Marie-Aveline Parent (1735-1816), a French diarist and memoirist from Normandy, whose writings provide valuable insights into daily life during the French Revolution.
5. Joseph Parent (1827-1903), a French-Canadian politician and journalist who served as a member of the Canadian House of Commons.
The PARENT name has also been associated with various places and locations throughout history, such as the communes of Parent in the Puy-de-Dôme and Cantal departments of central France, and the hamlet of Parent in the Ardennes region of northeastern France.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Parent
Among Census respondents with the surname Parent, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.4%) and Two or More Races (3.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Parent 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 Parent surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White88.9% · 9,684
- Hispanic or Latino3.4% · 371
- Two or more races3.3% · 356
- Black or African American2.5% · 271
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.2% · 131
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 75
Timeline
Historical Census data for Parent
Parent 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
#3,225
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 11,193
+319 bearers (+2.9%)
Per 100,000 3.79
Rank movement Down 168 places
2020
#3,232
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 10,888
-305 bearers (-2.7%)
Per 100,000 3.64
Rank movement Down 7 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #3,057 | 10,874 | 4.03 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #3,225 | 11,193 | 3.79 | +319 bearers (+2.9%) | Down 168 places |
| 2020 | #3,232 | 10,888 | 3.64 | -305 bearers (-2.7%) | Down 7 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 Parent 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 | #3,225 | #3,232 | -0.2% |
| Count | 11,193 | 10,888 | -2.7% |
| Per 100K | 3.79 | 3.64 | -3.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Parent bearers went from 11,193 to 10,888 (-2.7% change). The surname moved down 7 positions in the national ranking, going from #3,225 to #3,232.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Parent
FAQ
Parent surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Parent?
Name Census estimates that about 12,486 living Americans carry the surname Parent. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 27,451 residents.
How common is Parent?
Parent ranks #3,232 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 3.64 per 100,000 residents, which is about 4 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 10,888 people with the surname Parent. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (12,486), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 3.64 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 3.64 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 4 of them to have the surname Parent.
Has Parent become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Parent went from 11,193 recorded bearers to 10,888. That is a decrease of 305 (-2.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #3,225 to #3,232.
What does the Census say about the background of Parent?
Among Census respondents with the surname Parent, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.4%) and Two or More Races (3.3%). 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 Parent in the 2020 Census, accounting for 88.9% (9,684 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Parent appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (88.9%), Hispanic (3.4%), Two or More Races (3.3%). 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 Parent (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 Parent mean?
An occupational surname for a parent or guardian, or one who bears or rears children. 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 Parent (3.64 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 share the surname Parent?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.