2000
#13,473
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,071
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.77
Rare Last name
Pattillo
A patronymic surname derived from the personal name Pat or Pate, meaning "son of Patrick."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,306 Americans carry the last name Pattillo. That puts it at #14,316 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.67 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 148,636 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Pattillo 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
2.3K
1 in 148,636
Census rank
#14,316
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.0K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,011 bearers of the surname Pattillo in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.67 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 14316th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Pattillo, the largest self-reported group is White at 78.0%. The next largest groups are Black (12.5%) and Two or More Races (4.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Pattillo
The surname Pattillo has its origins in Spain and is a habitational name derived from the place name Patiño, which is located in the Galicia region of northwestern Spain. This place name is believed to have originated from the Latin word "palatium," meaning "palace" or "mansion."
The earliest known record of the Pattillo surname can be traced back to the 13th century in the Galicia region of Spain. The name appeared in various medieval records and documents, often with slightly different spellings such as Patino, Patinio, and Patiño.
In the 16th century, the name began to spread beyond the Galicia region as people migrated to other parts of Spain and its colonies. Some notable individuals with the Pattillo surname from this time period include Juan Patiño (1570-1638), a Spanish military officer and governor of the Philippines, and Diego Patiño (1599-1672), a Spanish nobleman and diplomat.
As the Spanish Empire expanded, the Pattillo surname made its way to the Americas and other parts of the world. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name in the Americas was in Mexico, where Andrés Patiño (1620-1693) was a prominent landowner and rancher.
In the 18th century, the Pattillo surname appeared in various records and documents in the British Isles, suggesting that some individuals with this name had migrated from Spain to Britain or its colonies. One notable figure from this period was Henry Pattillo (1726-1801), a Scottish-American Presbyterian minister and educator who played a significant role in the establishment of educational institutions in North Carolina.
Another prominent individual with the Pattillo surname was José Patiño (1666-1736), a Spanish statesman and prime minister of Spain during the reign of King Philip V. He was instrumental in reforming the Spanish navy and economy.
As the centuries passed, the Pattillo surname continued to spread across various parts of the world, with individuals bearing this name making significant contributions in various fields such as politics, military, arts, and academia.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Pattillo
Among Census respondents with the surname Pattillo, the largest self-reported group is White at 78.0%. The next largest groups are Black (12.5%) and Two or More Races (4.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Pattillo 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 Pattillo surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White78.0% · 1,569
- Black or African American12.5% · 252
- Two or more races4.3% · 87
- Hispanic or Latino4.0% · 81
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 16
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 6
Timeline
Historical Census data for Pattillo
Pattillo 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
#13,214
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,313
+242 bearers (+11.7%)
Per 100,000 0.78
Rank movement Up 259 places
2020
#14,316
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,011
-302 bearers (-13.1%)
Per 100,000 0.67
Rank movement Down 1,102 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #13,473 | 2,071 | 0.77 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #13,214 | 2,313 | 0.78 | +242 bearers (+11.7%) | Up 259 places |
| 2020 | #14,316 | 2,011 | 0.67 | -302 bearers (-13.1%) | Down 1,102 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 Pattillo 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 | #13,214 | #14,316 | -8.3% |
| Count | 2,313 | 2,011 | -13.1% |
| Per 100K | 0.78 | 0.67 | -13.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Pattillo bearers went from 2,313 to 2,011 (-13.1% change). The surname moved down 1,102 positions in the national ranking, going from #13,214 to #14,316.
FAQ
Pattillo surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Pattillo?
Name Census estimates that about 2,306 living Americans carry the surname Pattillo. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 148,636 residents.
How common is Pattillo?
Pattillo ranks #14,316 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.67 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 2,011 people with the surname Pattillo. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,306), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.67 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.67 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 Pattillo.
Has Pattillo become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Pattillo went from 2,313 recorded bearers to 2,011. That is a decrease of 302 (-13.1%). In the national ranking it fell from #13,214 to #14,316.
What does the Census say about the background of Pattillo?
Among Census respondents with the surname Pattillo, the largest self-reported group is White at 78.0%. The next largest groups are Black (12.5%) and Two or More Races (4.3%). 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 Pattillo in the 2020 Census, accounting for 78.0% (1,569 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Pattillo appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (78.0%), Black (12.5%), Two or More Races (4.3%). 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 Pattillo (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 Pattillo mean?
A patronymic surname derived from the personal name Pat or Pate, meaning "son of Patrick." 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 Pattillo (0.67 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 Pattillo?
If you just want to know how many people are called Pattillo, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.