2000
#8,307
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,667
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.36
Rare Last name
Partain
A French occupational surname for a person who made or sold partans, a type of crab.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 4,048 Americans carry the last name Partain. That puts it at #8,900 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.18 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 84,673 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Partain 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
4.0K
1 in 84,673
Census rank
#8,900
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.5K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,530 bearers of the surname Partain in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.18 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 8900th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Partain, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.6%) and Hispanic (3.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Partain
The surname Partain has its origins in France and can be traced back to the 12th century. The name is derived from the Old French word "partenir," which means "to belong to" or "to be a part of." It is believed that the name was originally a descriptive surname, given to someone who belonged to a particular group, family, or community.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name can be found in the Cartulaire de l'Église de Beauvais, a medieval cartulary from the 12th century. The name appears as "Partain" in this document, which suggests that the spelling was relatively consistent even in those early times.
During the medieval period, the Partain family was concentrated in the northern regions of France, particularly in the areas around Picardy and Normandy. Several villages and towns in these regions contained variations of the name, such as Partenaie, Partenay, and Parthenay.
In the 14th century, a notable figure bearing the Partain surname was Jacques Partain, a French soldier who fought in the Hundred Years' War against the English. He was born around 1320 and was recorded as participating in several significant battles, including the Battle of Crécy in 1346.
Another prominent individual was Robert Partain, a merchant and landowner who lived in the late 15th century. He was a prominent figure in the city of Rouen and is mentioned in several historical documents, including the city's tax records.
In the 16th century, the name appeared in the records of the French Protestant Church, indicating that some members of the Partain family had embraced the Protestant faith during the Reformation. One such individual was Jean Partain, a Huguenot minister who was born in 1543 and served in several parishes in Normandy.
During the 17th century, the Partain name spread beyond France as some members of the family emigrated to other parts of Europe and the Americas. Notable figures from this period include Pierre Partain, a French explorer who traveled to the New World in the 1630s and is believed to have settled in what is now Quebec, Canada.
In the late 18th century, a notable figure was François Partain, a French Revolutionary who participated in the storming of the Bastille in 1789. He was born in 1765 and later served in the French Revolutionary Army.
Despite its French origins, the Partain surname has also been found in other parts of the world, likely due to migration and intermarriage. However, the earliest and most significant historical references to the name can be traced back to northern France and the regions of Picardy and Normandy.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Partain
Among Census respondents with the surname Partain, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.6%) and Hispanic (3.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Partain 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 Partain surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White89.1% · 3,145
- Two or more races4.6% · 164
- Hispanic or Latino3.9% · 136
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.2% · 43
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 24
- Black or African American0.5% · 18
Timeline
Historical Census data for Partain
Partain 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
#8,772
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,737
+70 bearers (+1.9%)
Per 100,000 1.27
Rank movement Down 465 places
2020
#8,900
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,530
-207 bearers (-5.5%)
Per 100,000 1.18
Rank movement Down 128 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #8,307 | 3,667 | 1.36 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #8,772 | 3,737 | 1.27 | +70 bearers (+1.9%) | Down 465 places |
| 2020 | #8,900 | 3,530 | 1.18 | -207 bearers (-5.5%) | Down 128 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 Partain 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 | #8,772 | #8,900 | -1.5% |
| Count | 3,737 | 3,530 | -5.5% |
| Per 100K | 1.27 | 1.18 | -7.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Partain bearers went from 3,737 to 3,530 (-5.5% change). The surname moved down 128 positions in the national ranking, going from #8,772 to #8,900.
FAQ
Partain surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Partain?
Name Census estimates that about 4,048 living Americans carry the surname Partain. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 84,673 residents.
How common is Partain?
Partain ranks #8,900 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.18 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 3,530 people with the surname Partain. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (4,048), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.18 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.18 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 Partain.
Has Partain become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Partain went from 3,737 recorded bearers to 3,530. That is a decrease of 207 (-5.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #8,772 to #8,900.
What does the Census say about the background of Partain?
Among Census respondents with the surname Partain, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.6%) and Hispanic (3.9%). 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 Partain in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.1% (3,145 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Partain appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (89.1%), Two or More Races (4.6%), Hispanic (3.9%). 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 Partain (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 Partain mean?
A French occupational surname for a person who made or sold partans, a type of crab. 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 Partain (1.18 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 common is the surname Partain?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people have the last name Partain at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.