2000
#5,615
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,667
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.10
Rare Last name
Parkhurst
From an English place name derived from Old English elements meaning "an enclosed park near a wooded hill."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 6,285 Americans carry the last name Parkhurst. That puts it at #6,028 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.83 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 54,535 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Parkhurst 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Parkhurst with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
6.3K
1 in 54,535
Census rank
#6,028
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
5.5K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 5,481 bearers of the surname Parkhurst in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.83 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 6028th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Parkhurst, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.5%) and Hispanic (3.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Parkhurst
The surname Parkhurst is of English origin and dates back to the medieval period. It is a locational name derived from the Old English words "pearroc" meaning park or enclosure, and "hyrst" meaning a wooded hill or hillock. The name likely referred to someone who lived near or owned a wooded enclosure or park on a hill.
In the Domesday Book of 1086, the earliest known record of the name appears as "Parhurste" in Hampshire, England. This early spelling variation highlights the locational nature of the name, referring to a specific place called Parkhurst.
One of the earliest recorded bearers of the name was Roger de Parkhurst, mentioned in the Pipe Rolls of Gloucestershire in 1230. Another early reference is found in the Hundred Rolls of Oxfordshire in 1279, where a William de Parkhurst is listed.
During the 13th and 14th centuries, the name was also associated with several places in England, such as Parkhurst in the Isle of Wight, Parkhurst in Dorset, and Parkhurst Forest in Hampshire. These place names likely contributed to the widespread use of the surname in different regions.
Notable individuals with the surname Parkhurst include:
1. John Parkhurst (c. 1511-1578), an English bishop and scholar who served as the Bishop of Norwich.
2. Nathaniel Parkhurst (1713-1797), an English clergyman and author who wrote several religious works.
3. Henry Parkhurst (1778-1856), an English naval officer who served during the Napoleonic Wars and rose to the rank of Admiral.
4. John Adelbert Parkhurst (1861-1925), an American inventor and businessman best known for developing the first practical electric oven.
5. Helen Parkhurst (1887-1973), an American educator and pioneer of the Dalton Plan, an influential educational philosophy emphasizing student independence and self-directed learning.
The surname Parkhurst continues to be found in various regions of England, as well as in other English-speaking countries where descendants of early bearers have migrated over the centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Parkhurst
Among Census respondents with the surname Parkhurst, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.5%) and Hispanic (3.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Parkhurst 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 Parkhurst surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.6% · 4,968
- Two or more races3.5% · 194
- Hispanic or Latino3.3% · 180
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.3% · 71
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 40
- Black or African American0.5% · 28
Timeline
Historical Census data for Parkhurst
Parkhurst 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
#6,024
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,708
+41 bearers (+0.7%)
Per 100,000 1.94
Rank movement Down 409 places
2020
#6,028
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,481
-227 bearers (-4.0%)
Per 100,000 1.83
Rank movement Down 4 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #5,615 | 5,667 | 2.10 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #6,024 | 5,708 | 1.94 | +41 bearers (+0.7%) | Down 409 places |
| 2020 | #6,028 | 5,481 | 1.83 | -227 bearers (-4.0%) | Down 4 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 Parkhurst 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 | #6,024 | #6,028 | -0.1% |
| Count | 5,708 | 5,481 | -4.0% |
| Per 100K | 1.94 | 1.83 | -5.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Parkhurst bearers went from 5,708 to 5,481 (-4.0% change). The surname moved down 4 positions in the national ranking, going from #6,024 to #6,028.
FAQ
Parkhurst surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Parkhurst?
Name Census estimates that about 6,285 living Americans carry the surname Parkhurst. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 54,535 residents.
How common is Parkhurst?
Parkhurst ranks #6,028 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.83 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 5,481 people with the surname Parkhurst. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (6,285), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.83 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.83 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Parkhurst.
Has Parkhurst become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Parkhurst went from 5,708 recorded bearers to 5,481. That is a decrease of 227 (-4.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #6,024 to #6,028.
What does the Census say about the background of Parkhurst?
Among Census respondents with the surname Parkhurst, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.5%) and Hispanic (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 Parkhurst in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.6% (4,968 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Parkhurst appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (90.6%), Two or More Races (3.5%), Hispanic (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 Parkhurst (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 Parkhurst mean?
From an English place name derived from Old English elements meaning "an enclosed park near a wooded hill." 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 Parkhurst (1.83 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 Americans have the surname Parkhurst?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.