Park Last Name Popularity, Meaning and Origin

In this article we'll look at the origin and meaning of the surname Park and how popular it is in the United States. We'll also look at the race and ethnic origin of people in the United States who are named Park.

Park, like all of the 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 Park surname is from the 2010 census data.

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What is the Origin and Meaning of the Last Name Park?

The surname Park has three possible origins, the first of which is occupational. In the Middle Ages, rich landowners would create large enclosed areas on their land to keep wild game penned in. They would hunt these grounds and would have employees tend to these enclosures. These large hunting enclosures were called parks and it is possible those who worked in them used the word as part of their name.

A second possible origin of the name could be a derivation of the medieval nickname Park which was given to people called Peter.

Thirdly, in Korea, the surname Park is very common and is thought to derive from the word Bak which translates as "gourd." This name likely came to popularity because of the founding monarch of the Korean kingdom of Silla. Hyeokgeose Bak/Park was born around 69 BC and died in 4 AD. He is considered the progenitor of all Bak clans in Korea.

Hyeokgeose is said to have traveled to the realm of Silla with his wife in 41BC. As they travelled they helped people improve their harvests for which people viewed them as two holy ones. His rule was to last 60 years and it is believed that the foundations he laid helped to unify much of the Korean peninsula by 668.

One of the earliest recorded mentions of a surname similar to Park in England was in 1202, when a Rober de Parco witnessed a charter by Earl David. This was in Cumberland, England but further south in England in 1273 John del Pare is found in the Suffolk Hundredorum Rolls.

Where Does Park Rank in the Most Common U.S. Names?

According to the data, Park is ranked #289 in terms of the most common surnames in America.

The Park surname appeared 106,696 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 36.17 would have the surname Park.

We can also compare 2010 data for Park 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.

2010 2000 Change (%)
Rank 289 343 -17.09%
Count 106,696 81,890 26.31%
Proportion per 100k 36.17 30.36 17.47%

Race and Ethnic Origin of People with the Last Name Park

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

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: "White only", "Black only", "American Indian and Alaskan Native only", "Asian and Pacific Islander only", "Two or More Races", and "Hispanic".

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

  • 23.34%, or 24,903 total occurrences, were "Non-Hispanic White Only".
  • 0.79%, or 843 total occurrences, were "Non-Hispanic Black Only".
  • 72.98%, or 77,867 total occurrences, were "Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only".
  • 0.16%, or 171 total occurrences, were "Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native".
  • 1.74%, or 1,857 total occurrences, were "Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races".
  • 1.00%, or 1,067 total occurrences, were "Hispanic Origin".

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 Park has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

2010 2000 Change (%)
White 23.34% 30.06% -25.17%
Black 0.79% 0.82% -3.73%
Asian and Pacific Islander 72.98% 66.30% 9.59%
American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.16% 0.20% -22.22%
Two or More Races 1.74% 1.77% -1.71%
Hispanic 1.00% 0.85% 16.22%

Data Source(s)

All of the data on this page is sourced from the Decennial Census survey, from the United States Census Bureau.

Link To or Reference This Page

We spent a lot of time downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!

  • "Park Last Name Popularity, Meaning and Origin". NameCensus.com. Accessed on March 28, 2024. https://namecensus.com/last-names/park-surname-popularity/.

  • "Park Last Name Popularity, Meaning and Origin". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/park-surname-popularity/. Accessed 28 March, 2024

  • Park Last Name Popularity, Meaning and Origin. NameCensus.com. Retrieved from https://namecensus.com/last-names/park-surname-popularity/.