2000
#121,058
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 132
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Rare Last name
Paw
A surname derived from the medieval personal name Paw, a variant of Paul, meaning "small" or "humble".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 7,730 Americans carry the last name Paw. That puts it at #5,045 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.26 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 44,341 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Paw 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 Paw with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
7.7K
1 in 44,341
Census rank
#5,045
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.3
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
6.7K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 6,741 bearers of the surname Paw in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.26 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 5045th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Paw, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 98.2%. The next largest groups are White (1.1%) and Two or More Races (0.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Paw
The surname PAW is of English origin, derived from the Old English word "paw," which means "paw" or "foot." It first appeared in the late 12th century, primarily in the counties of Lancashire and Yorkshire, where it was used as a descriptive name for someone with large or distinctive feet or hands.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Pipe Rolls of Lincolnshire from 1195, which mentions a William Paw. Another early reference is in the Assize Rolls of Yorkshire from 1260, where a Robert Paw is listed.
In medieval times, the name Paw was sometimes associated with occupations involving animals, such as falconers or huntsmen, whose hands and feet were heavily calloused from handling birds of prey or tracking game.
The surname Paw is also found in various place names across England, such as Pawlett in Somerset, which was recorded as Pauelet in the Domesday Book of 1086. This suggests that the name may have originated as a locational surname for people living in or near places with similar names.
Notable historical figures with the surname Paw include Sir John Paw (c. 1350-1420), a knight and landowner from Lancashire who served as a Member of Parliament during the reign of Richard II. Another prominent figure was Robert Paw (1560-1635), an English clergyman and author who served as the Rector of Halton in Buckinghamshire.
In the 17th century, the Paw family established themselves in the American colonies, with Thomas Paw (1620-1690) being one of the earliest recorded settlers, arriving in Virginia in 1638. His descendants went on to become prominent landowners and politicians in the region.
Other significant individuals with the Paw surname include William Paw (1790-1860), a British naval officer who served during the Napoleonic Wars, and Sir Joseph Paw (1825-1902), a British industrialist and philanthropist who made significant contributions to the development of Birmingham.
Throughout its history, the surname Paw has maintained its distinct character, reflecting its origins as a descriptive and locational name rooted in the English countryside.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Paw
Among Census respondents with the surname Paw, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 98.2%. The next largest groups are White (1.1%) and Two or More Races (0.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Paw 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 Paw surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander98.2% · 6,618
- White1.1% · 75
- Two or more races0.3% · 20
- Hispanic or Latino0.2% · 14
- Black or African American0.2% · 13
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.0% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Paw
Paw 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
#13,642
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,220
+2,088 bearers (+1581.8%)
Per 100,000 0.75
Rank movement Up 107,416 places
2020
#5,045
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,741
+4,521 bearers (+203.6%)
Per 100,000 2.26
Rank movement Up 8,597 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #121,058 | 132 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #13,642 | 2,220 | 0.75 | +2,088 bearers (+1581.8%) | Up 107,416 places |
| 2020 | #5,045 | 6,741 | 2.26 | +4,521 bearers (+203.6%) | Up 8,597 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 Paw 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 | #13,642 | #5,045 | 63.0% |
| Count | 2,220 | 6,741 | 203.6% |
| Per 100K | 0.75 | 2.26 | 200.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Paw bearers went from 2,220 to 6,741 (+203.6% change). The surname moved up 8,597 positions in the national ranking, going from #13,642 to #5,045.
FAQ
Paw surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Paw?
Name Census estimates that about 7,730 living Americans carry the surname Paw. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 44,341 residents.
How common is Paw?
Paw ranks #5,045 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.26 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 6,741 people with the surname Paw. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (7,730), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.26 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.26 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Paw.
Has Paw become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Paw went from 2,220 recorded bearers to 6,741. That is an increase of 4,521 (+203.6%). In the national ranking it rose from #13,642 to #5,045.
What does the Census say about the background of Paw?
Among Census respondents with the surname Paw, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 98.2%. The next largest groups are White (1.1%) and Two or More Races (0.3%). 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?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest self-reported group for the surname Paw in the 2020 Census, accounting for 98.2% (6,618 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Paw appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Asian/Pacific Islander (98.2%), White (1.1%), Two or More Races (0.3%). 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 Paw (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 Paw mean?
A surname derived from the medieval personal name Paw, a variant of Paul, meaning "small" or "humble". 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 Paw (2.26 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 Paw?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.