Find out how popular the last name Penders is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Penders.

Penders, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Penders surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Penders in America

Penders is the 52970th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Penders surname appeared 391 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Penders.

We can also compare 2010 data for Penders to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Penders

The surname Penders is believed to have originated in the Netherlands, where it emerged in the 16th century. It is thought to be derived from the Dutch word "pender," which means a person who hangs or suspends things. This could refer to an occupation such as a rope-maker or a manufacturer of hanging objects.

The earliest recorded instances of the Penders name can be found in Dutch records from the late 1500s. The name appears to have been concentrated in the provinces of North Brabant and Limburg, where variations such as "Pender" and "Penders" were used interchangeably.

In the 17th century, a notable figure with the name Penders was Jan Penders, a Dutch painter born in 1631 in Middelburg. He was known for his still-life works and portraits of wealthy patrons. Another early bearer of the name was Hendrik Penders, a merchant and alderman in the city of Breda, who lived from 1610 to 1678.

As the Dutch established colonies in various parts of the world, the Penders name spread to other regions. In the late 18th century, a Pieter Penders was recorded as a settler in the Dutch Cape Colony in South Africa. He was born in 1755 in Amsterdam and became a successful farmer in the Cape region.

In the 19th century, the Penders name can be found in records from the Netherlands, Belgium, and parts of Germany near the Dutch border. One notable individual was Josephus Penders, a Belgian priest and theologian who lived from 1834 to 1899. He was known for his writings on Catholic doctrine and philosophy.

Another significant figure was Pieter Penders, a Dutch architect who designed several notable buildings in the Netherlands during the late 19th century. He was born in 1845 in Eindhoven and is best known for his work on the St. Joseph's Church in Tilburg, which was completed in 1892.

While the Penders name has its roots in the Netherlands, it has since spread to other parts of the world, particularly through emigration and the establishment of Dutch communities abroad.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Penders

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Penders.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Penders was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Penders has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Penders was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Penders, please contact us.

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