2000
#8,084
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,777
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.40
Rare Last name
Patch
An occupational surname referring to a fool or jester, derived from the Italian word "pazzo" meaning "fool."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,931 Americans carry the last name Patch. That puts it at #9,148 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.15 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 87,193 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Patch 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 Patch with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
3.9K
1 in 87,193
Census rank
#9,148
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.4K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,428 bearers of the surname Patch in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.15 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 9148th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Patch, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.0%) and Two or More Races (3.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Patch
The surname PATCH is of English origin and dates back to the 12th century. It is derived from the Old English word "pacce" or "patche", which referred to a small piece of land or a patch of land. This name was likely given as a descriptive surname to someone who lived on or owned a small plot of land.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name PATCH can be found in the Pipe Rolls of Gloucestershire from the year 1191, where a person named William Patche is mentioned. The Pipe Rolls were a record of financial transactions made by the English Crown, and the inclusion of this name suggests that it was in use during that time period.
In the 13th century, the name PATCH appeared in various records, such as the Hundred Rolls of Oxfordshire from 1273, which mentions a Richard Patche. The Hundred Rolls were a series of inquests conducted in England during the reign of King Edward I, and they provide valuable information about the names and occupations of people living at that time.
One notable individual with the surname PATCH was John Patch, who lived in the 14th century and was a wealthy merchant and landowner in the city of London. He is mentioned in several historical records, including the City of London Letter Books from the years 1368 to 1375.
Another individual worth mentioning is Sir Henry Patch (1518-1592), who was a prominent figure during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. He served as a Member of Parliament and was knighted for his services to the Crown.
In the 17th century, the name PATCH was also found in various places, such as the parish records of Warwickshire, where a George Patch was born in 1642. Additionally, the surname is associated with the village of Patching in West Sussex, which may have derived its name from the same Old English word as the surname.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals with the surname PATCH, including:
1. William Patch (1622-1698), an English Puritan minister and author who emigrated to America and became the first minister of the West Church in Boston.
2. Samuel Patch (1795-1829), an American daredevil and mill worker who gained fame for his death-defying leaps over the Niagara Falls and the Genesee River.
3. Edith Patch (1876-1954), an American entomologist and academic who made significant contributions to the study of insects and their ecology.
4. Howard Rollin Patch (1887-1969), an American astronomer and mathematician who worked at the Harvard College Observatory and made important contributions to the study of variable stars.
5. Harry Aubrey Patch (1887-2009), an English supercentenarian who was, for a time, the last surviving veteran of the First World War trenches.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Patch
Among Census respondents with the surname Patch, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.0%) and Two or More Races (3.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Patch 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 Patch surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White89.4% · 3,064
- Hispanic or Latino4.0% · 138
- Two or more races3.0% · 103
- Black or African American1.4% · 48
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.2% · 42
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 33
Timeline
Historical Census data for Patch
Patch 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
#8,669
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,790
+13 bearers (+0.3%)
Per 100,000 1.28
Rank movement Down 585 places
2020
#9,148
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,428
-362 bearers (-9.6%)
Per 100,000 1.15
Rank movement Down 479 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #8,084 | 3,777 | 1.40 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #8,669 | 3,790 | 1.28 | +13 bearers (+0.3%) | Down 585 places |
| 2020 | #9,148 | 3,428 | 1.15 | -362 bearers (-9.6%) | Down 479 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 Patch 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 | #8,669 | #9,148 | -5.5% |
| Count | 3,790 | 3,428 | -9.6% |
| Per 100K | 1.28 | 1.15 | -10.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Patch bearers went from 3,790 to 3,428 (-9.6% change). The surname moved down 479 positions in the national ranking, going from #8,669 to #9,148.
FAQ
Patch surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Patch?
Name Census estimates that about 3,931 living Americans carry the surname Patch. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 87,193 residents.
How common is Patch?
Patch ranks #9,148 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.15 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 3,428 people with the surname Patch. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,931), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.15 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.15 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 Patch.
Has Patch become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Patch went from 3,790 recorded bearers to 3,428. That is a decrease of 362 (-9.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #8,669 to #9,148.
What does the Census say about the background of Patch?
Among Census respondents with the surname Patch, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.0%) and Two or More Races (3.0%). 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 Patch in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.4% (3,064 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Patch appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (89.4%), Hispanic (4.0%), Two or More Races (3.0%). 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 Patch (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 Patch mean?
An occupational surname referring to a fool or jester, derived from the Italian word "pazzo" meaning "fool." 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 Patch (1.15 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 Patch?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.