2000
#3,373
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 9,696
First available Census row
Per 100,000 3.59
Uncommon Last name
Partridge
An English occupational surname for a hunter or seller of partridges, a type of game bird.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 10,847 Americans carry the last name Partridge. That puts it at #3,658 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 3.16 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 31,599 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Partridge 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 Partridge with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
11K
1 in 31,599
Census rank
#3,658
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
3.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
9.5K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 9,459 bearers of the surname Partridge in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 3.16 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 3658th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Partridge, the largest self-reported group is White at 85.3%. The next largest groups are Black (6.0%) and Two or More Races (3.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Partridge
The surname Partridge is an English locational name derived from places called Partridge, which were so named from the Old English words 'pertric' or 'perdix', meaning partridge, the bird. The name likely originated as a distinguishing name for someone who lived near a spot where partridges were found in abundance.
The earliest known record of the name dates back to the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as 'Pertric'. It was initially concentrated in the counties of Worcestershire, Shropshire, and Herefordshire, suggesting these were the areas where the name first emerged.
In the 13th century, William Partrich was listed in the Pipe Rolls of Worcestershire in 1275. Around the same time, Robert de Pertrich was recorded in the Hundred Rolls of Oxfordshire in 1273.
One of the earliest known bearers of the name was John Partrich, who was born in Shropshire in 1412. He was a renowned archer and served under King Henry V during the Hundred Years' War.
Another notable figure was Sir Miles Partridge (1508-1572), a prominent English lawyer and Member of Parliament during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. He served as a judge on the Court of King's Bench.
In the 17th century, John Partridge (1644-1715) was a renowned English astrologer and almanac maker. He was satirized by Jonathan Swift in his work "Predictions for the Year 1708".
The name Partridge has also been associated with several places, such as Partridge Green in West Sussex, which was recorded as 'Pertriggegrene' in the 14th century.
Other notable bearers of the surname include Ralph Partridge (1888-1960), an English novelist and co-founder of the literary magazine 'Hogarth Press', and Frances Partridge (1900-2004), an English writer and diarist.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Partridge
Among Census respondents with the surname Partridge, the largest self-reported group is White at 85.3%. The next largest groups are Black (6.0%) and Two or More Races (3.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Partridge 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 Partridge surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White85.3% · 8,071
- Black or African American6.0% · 568
- Two or more races3.8% · 364
- Hispanic or Latino3.4% · 319
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 81
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 56
Timeline
Historical Census data for Partridge
Partridge 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
#3,589
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 9,909
+213 bearers (+2.2%)
Per 100,000 3.36
Rank movement Down 216 places
2020
#3,658
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 9,459
-450 bearers (-4.5%)
Per 100,000 3.16
Rank movement Down 69 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #3,373 | 9,696 | 3.59 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #3,589 | 9,909 | 3.36 | +213 bearers (+2.2%) | Down 216 places |
| 2020 | #3,658 | 9,459 | 3.16 | -450 bearers (-4.5%) | Down 69 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 Partridge 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 | #3,589 | #3,658 | -1.9% |
| Count | 9,909 | 9,459 | -4.5% |
| Per 100K | 3.36 | 3.16 | -5.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Partridge bearers went from 9,909 to 9,459 (-4.5% change). The surname moved down 69 positions in the national ranking, going from #3,589 to #3,658.
FAQ
Partridge surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Partridge?
Name Census estimates that about 10,847 living Americans carry the surname Partridge. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 31,599 residents.
How common is Partridge?
Partridge ranks #3,658 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 3.16 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 9,459 people with the surname Partridge. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (10,847), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 3.16 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 3.16 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 Partridge.
Has Partridge become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Partridge went from 9,909 recorded bearers to 9,459. That is a decrease of 450 (-4.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #3,589 to #3,658.
What does the Census say about the background of Partridge?
Among Census respondents with the surname Partridge, the largest self-reported group is White at 85.3%. The next largest groups are Black (6.0%) and Two or More Races (3.8%). 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 Partridge in the 2020 Census, accounting for 85.3% (8,071 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Partridge appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (85.3%), Black (6.0%), Two or More Races (3.8%). 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 Partridge (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 Partridge mean?
An English occupational surname for a hunter or seller of partridges, a type of game bird. 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 Partridge (3.16 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 surname Partridge?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.