2000
#115,489
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 140
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Patricks
From the Irish Ó Priómhdhachaidh meaning "descendant of a high-ranking one".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 119 Americans carry the last name Patricks. That puts it at #153,590 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,880,289 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Patricks 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
119
1 in 2,880,289
Census rank
#153,590
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
104
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 104 bearers of the surname Patricks in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 153590th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Patricks, the largest self-reported group is White at 77.9%. The next largest groups are Black (8.7%) and Hispanic (8.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Patricks
The surname PATRICKS has its origins in the British Isles, specifically Ireland and Scotland. It is a variant of the more common surname Patrick, which is derived from the Latin name Patricius, meaning "nobleman" or "patrician." The name was brought to the British Isles by the Roman conquerors in the 5th century AD.
The earliest recorded use of the surname PATRICKS can be traced back to the 12th century in Ireland. In 1182, a document from the Abbey of Cluain refers to a man named Ricardus Patricii, which translates to Richard Patricks. This suggests that the surname had already become established in Ireland by that time.
In Scotland, the surname PATRICKS is believed to have originated from the Gaelic form of the name, Pàdraig. One of the earliest recorded examples is from the Ragman Rolls of 1296, which lists a Fergus Patricson from Aberdeenshire.
Throughout the Middle Ages, the surname PATRICKS was found in various parts of Ireland and Scotland, often associated with places like Dumfriesshire, Ayrshire, and Lanarkshire in Scotland, and counties like Donegal, Mayo, and Galway in Ireland.
One notable historical figure with the surname PATRICKS was John Patricks (c. 1510-1590), a Scottish Protestant reformer and minister who played a significant role in the Scottish Reformation. Another was Sir Robert Patricks (1564-1636), a Scottish landowner and politician who served as a member of the Parliament of Scotland.
In Ireland, a prominent figure was Barnaby Patricks (c. 1570-1622), an Irish Roman Catholic priest and scholar who was executed during the Elizabethan era for his involvement in the Irish Rebellion of 1594-1603. Additionally, Hugh Patricks (c. 1620-1685) was an Irish soldier who fought for the royalist cause during the English Civil War.
Another notable bearer of the surname was James Patricks (1733-1805), a Scottish-born American soldier who served in the American Revolutionary War and later became a prominent landowner and businessman in Virginia.
While the surname PATRICKS has variations in spelling, such as Patric, Patrik, and Padraic, it has maintained a strong presence throughout the centuries, particularly in Ireland and Scotland, where it continues to be associated with its rich historical roots.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Patricks
Among Census respondents with the surname Patricks, the largest self-reported group is White at 77.9%. The next largest groups are Black (8.7%) and Hispanic (8.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Patricks 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 Patricks surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White77.9% · 81
- Black or African American8.7% · 9
- Hispanic or Latino8.7% · 9
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.8% · 4
- Two or more races1.0% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Patricks
Patricks 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
#139,228
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 120
-20 bearers (-14.3%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 23,739 places
2020
#153,590
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 104
-16 bearers (-13.3%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Down 14,362 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #115,489 | 140 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #139,228 | 120 | 0.04 | -20 bearers (-14.3%) | Down 23,739 places |
| 2020 | #153,590 | 104 | 0.03 | -16 bearers (-13.3%) | Down 14,362 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 Patricks 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 | #139,228 | #153,590 | -10.3% |
| Count | 120 | 104 | -13.3% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.03 | -13.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Patricks bearers went from 120 to 104 (-13.3% change). The surname moved down 14,362 positions in the national ranking, going from #139,228 to #153,590.
FAQ
Patricks surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Patricks?
Name Census estimates that about 119 living Americans carry the surname Patricks. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,880,289 residents.
How common is Patricks?
Patricks ranks #153,590 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 104 people with the surname Patricks. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (119), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.03 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.03 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Patricks.
Has Patricks become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Patricks went from 120 recorded bearers to 104. That is a decrease of 16 (-13.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #139,228 to #153,590.
What does the Census say about the background of Patricks?
Among Census respondents with the surname Patricks, the largest self-reported group is White at 77.9%. The next largest groups are Black (8.7%) and Hispanic (8.7%). 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 Patricks in the 2020 Census, accounting for 77.9% (81 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Patricks appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (77.9%), Black (8.7%), Hispanic (8.7%). 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 Patricks (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 Patricks mean?
From the Irish Ó Priómhdhachaidh meaning "descendant of a high-ranking one". 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 Patricks (0.03 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 Patricks?
You can see how common the surname Patricks is on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.