2000
#9,029
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,328
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.23
Rare Last name
Pascoe
A Cornish locational surname derived from a place of the same name, meaning "Easter wood."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,664 Americans carry the last name Pascoe. That puts it at #9,697 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.07 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 93,546 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Pascoe 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 Pascoe with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
3.7K
1 in 93,546
Census rank
#9,697
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.2K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,195 bearers of the surname Pascoe in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.07 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 9697th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Pascoe, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.9%) and Black (4.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Pascoe
The surname Pascoe has its origins in Cornwall, England, dating back to the 16th century. It is derived from the Cornish word "pascow," meaning "Easter," or the personal name "Pasco," a variant of the Latin name "Paschasius."
The earliest recorded instances of the Pascoe surname can be found in parish records from Cornwall, with some references dating back to the late 1500s. One of the earliest known bearers of the name was John Pascoe, born in St. Austell, Cornwall, in 1588.
The name Pascoe has been associated with several notable individuals throughout history. In the 17th century, William Pascoe (1623-1679) was a prominent English clergyman and author, known for his work "The Spiritual Voyage" published in 1670.
During the 18th century, Sir Thomas Pascoe (1737-1812) was a British naval officer who served as a commander in the Royal Navy. He was involved in several important naval battles during the American Revolutionary War and the Napoleonic Wars.
In the 19th century, Edward Pascoe (1814-1904) was a noted English architect and surveyor, known for his work on several churches and public buildings in Cornwall and Devon.
Another notable figure was William Pascoe Gwyn (1832-1910), a Welsh-born Australian politician and businessman. He served as a member of the Victorian Legislative Assembly and was involved in the mining industry in Victoria, Australia.
In more recent times, John Pascoe (1925-2017) was a British actor and writer, known for his roles in various television series and films, including "The Elephant Man" and "The Dirty Dozen."
While the Pascoe surname has its roots in Cornwall, it has since spread to other parts of England, as well as to countries like Australia, Canada, and the United States, due to immigration and migration patterns over the centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Pascoe
Among Census respondents with the surname Pascoe, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.9%) and Black (4.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Pascoe 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 Pascoe surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White86.4% · 2,759
- Hispanic or Latino4.9% · 156
- Black or African American4.8% · 152
- Two or more races2.7% · 86
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.1% · 34
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 8
Timeline
Historical Census data for Pascoe
Pascoe 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
#9,722
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,336
+8 bearers (+0.2%)
Per 100,000 1.13
Rank movement Down 693 places
2020
#9,697
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,195
-141 bearers (-4.2%)
Per 100,000 1.07
Rank movement Up 25 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #9,029 | 3,328 | 1.23 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #9,722 | 3,336 | 1.13 | +8 bearers (+0.2%) | Down 693 places |
| 2020 | #9,697 | 3,195 | 1.07 | -141 bearers (-4.2%) | Up 25 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 Pascoe 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 | #9,722 | #9,697 | 0.3% |
| Count | 3,336 | 3,195 | -4.2% |
| Per 100K | 1.13 | 1.07 | -5.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Pascoe bearers went from 3,336 to 3,195 (-4.2% change). The surname moved up 25 positions in the national ranking, going from #9,722 to #9,697.
FAQ
Pascoe surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Pascoe?
Name Census estimates that about 3,664 living Americans carry the surname Pascoe. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 93,546 residents.
How common is Pascoe?
Pascoe ranks #9,697 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.07 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 3,195 people with the surname Pascoe. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,664), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.07 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.07 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 Pascoe.
Has Pascoe become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Pascoe went from 3,336 recorded bearers to 3,195. That is a decrease of 141 (-4.2%). In the national ranking it rose from #9,722 to #9,697.
What does the Census say about the background of Pascoe?
Among Census respondents with the surname Pascoe, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.9%) and Black (4.8%). 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 Pascoe in the 2020 Census, accounting for 86.4% (2,759 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Pascoe appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (86.4%), Hispanic (4.9%), Black (4.8%). 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 Pascoe (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 Pascoe mean?
A Cornish locational surname derived from a place of the same name, meaning "Easter wood." 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 Pascoe (1.07 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 are called Pascoe?
Want to know how many people have the last name Pascoe? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.