2000
#3,537
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 9,220
First available Census row
Per 100,000 3.42
Uncommon Last name
Parkinson
An English occupational surname referring to the son of a Parkin, derived from the diminutive of Peter.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 10,882 Americans carry the last name Parkinson. That puts it at #3,650 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 3.17 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 31,497 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Parkinson 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 Parkinson with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
11K
1 in 31,497
Census rank
#3,650
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
3.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
9.5K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 9,490 bearers of the surname Parkinson in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 3.17 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 3650th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Parkinson, the largest self-reported group is White at 83.5%. The next largest groups are Black (8.4%) and Two or More Races (3.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Parkinson
The surname Parkinson is of English origin, deriving from the medieval occupation of "parken keeper" or park keeper. It emerged in the late 12th century, referring to those employed to maintain and oversee royal parks and forests. The earliest recorded spelling is found as "Parkinsone" in the Pipe Rolls of Norfolk in 1199.
The name is believed to have originated in the northern counties of England, particularly Lancashire and Yorkshire, where many medieval parks and hunting grounds were located. It is likely derived from the Old English words "pearroc" meaning "park" and "hien" meaning "keeper" or "servant."
One of the earliest references to the name Parkinson appears in the Domesday Book of 1086, where a landowner named Parkinsone is listed as holding lands in Yorkshire. This demonstrates the name's longevity and suggests its bearers may have been of some social standing.
In the 13th century, a John Parkinson is recorded as serving as a park keeper in the royal forests of Lancashire in 1275. This provides further evidence of the name's association with the occupation of park keeping during the Middle Ages.
A notable bearer of the name was John Parkinson (1567-1650), an English botanist and herbalist who published the influential "Paradisi in Sole Paradisus Terrestris" (1629), a foundational work on the classification of plants and their medicinal uses.
Another prominent individual was Sir Thomas Parkinson (1745-1835), a British naval officer who served with distinction during the American Revolutionary War and the Napoleonic Wars, rising to the rank of Admiral of the Red.
Sarah Parkinson (1824-1914) was a notable English philanthropist and social reformer, known for her efforts to improve the living conditions of the working class in Manchester and her support for women's education.
In the field of science, James Parkinson (1755-1824) was an English surgeon and paleontologist who made significant contributions to the study of fossils and published the influential "Essay on the Shaking Palsy" (1817), which provided the first comprehensive description of the neurological disorder that would later bear his name.
Finally, Walter Parkinson (1892-1967) was a British artist and illustrator renowned for his striking linocut prints, many of which depicted scenes of industrial life and urban landscapes in the early 20th century.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Parkinson
Among Census respondents with the surname Parkinson, the largest self-reported group is White at 83.5%. The next largest groups are Black (8.4%) and Two or More Races (3.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Parkinson 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 Parkinson surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White83.5% · 7,927
- Black or African American8.4% · 794
- Two or more races3.5% · 328
- Hispanic or Latino3.3% · 315
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 84
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 42
Timeline
Historical Census data for Parkinson
Parkinson 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
#3,637
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 9,767
+547 bearers (+5.9%)
Per 100,000 3.31
Rank movement Down 100 places
2020
#3,650
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 9,490
-277 bearers (-2.8%)
Per 100,000 3.17
Rank movement Down 13 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #3,537 | 9,220 | 3.42 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #3,637 | 9,767 | 3.31 | +547 bearers (+5.9%) | Down 100 places |
| 2020 | #3,650 | 9,490 | 3.17 | -277 bearers (-2.8%) | Down 13 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 Parkinson 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 | #3,637 | #3,650 | -0.4% |
| Count | 9,767 | 9,490 | -2.8% |
| Per 100K | 3.31 | 3.17 | -4.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Parkinson bearers went from 9,767 to 9,490 (-2.8% change). The surname moved down 13 positions in the national ranking, going from #3,637 to #3,650.
FAQ
Parkinson surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Parkinson?
Name Census estimates that about 10,882 living Americans carry the surname Parkinson. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 31,497 residents.
How common is Parkinson?
Parkinson ranks #3,650 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 3.17 per 100,000 residents, which is about 3 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 9,490 people with the surname Parkinson. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (10,882), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 3.17 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 3.17 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 3 of them to have the surname Parkinson.
Has Parkinson become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Parkinson went from 9,767 recorded bearers to 9,490. That is a decrease of 277 (-2.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #3,637 to #3,650.
What does the Census say about the background of Parkinson?
Among Census respondents with the surname Parkinson, the largest self-reported group is White at 83.5%. The next largest groups are Black (8.4%) and Two or More Races (3.5%). 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 Parkinson in the 2020 Census, accounting for 83.5% (7,927 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Parkinson appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (83.5%), Black (8.4%), Two or More Races (3.5%). 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 Parkinson (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 Parkinson mean?
An English occupational surname referring to the son of a Parkin, derived from the diminutive of Peter. 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 Parkinson (3.17 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 Parkinson?
For a quick modern take, check how many Americans have the surname Parkinson on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.