2010
#143,149
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 116
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Pendred
A locational surname referring to someone from the town of Pendre or Penbrey.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 125 Americans carry the last name Pendred. That puts it at #150,205 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,742,035 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Pendred 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 Pendred with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
125
1 in 2,742,035
Census rank
#150,205
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
109
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 109 bearers of the surname Pendred in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 150205th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Pendred, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.6%) and Black (0.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Pendred
The surname Pendred is believed to have originated in England, likely in the medieval period. It is thought to be a locational name, derived from a place name or toponymic reference, although its exact origins are uncertain.
One theory suggests that the name is derived from the Old English words "pyndan," meaning to pen or enclose, and "red," meaning a clearing or open space. This could indicate that Pendred originally referred to an enclosed clearing or a settlement within a forested area.
Another possible origin is from a combination of the Old English words "penn," meaning a hill or enclosure, and "red," meaning a reed or reedy place. This would suggest that the name originally described a person who lived near a reedy hill or enclosure.
While there are no definitive historical records linking the name to a specific place or individual, some early examples of the surname can be found in various records from the 13th century onwards.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name is in the Hundred Rolls of Oxfordshire from 1279, which mentions a Thomas de Pendred. Additionally, the Subsidy Rolls of Worcestershire from 1327 include a reference to a Richard Pendred.
In the 14th century, there are records of a John Pendred in the Feet of Fines for Essex in 1371, and a Robert Pendred in the Poll Tax returns for Yorkshire in 1379.
A notable bearer of the name was Sir Richard Pendred, a Member of Parliament for Oxfordshire in the late 16th century, who was born around 1550 and died in 1614.
Another individual of historical significance was John Pendred, a prominent English mathematician and astronomer from the 17th century, born in 1620 and known for his contributions to the field of celestial mechanics.
In the 18th century, there was a William Pendred, a renowned architect from Gloucestershire, who designed several notable buildings, including St. Mary's Church in Cheltenham, born in 1725 and died in 1798.
Moving into the 19th century, Sir Edward Pendred was a notable British naval officer and explorer, born in 1810. He is known for his expeditions to the Arctic regions and his contributions to the mapping of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago.
Finally, in the early 20th century, Alice Pendred was a prominent suffragette and activist for women's rights, born in 1875 in London. She played a significant role in the campaign for women's suffrage in the United Kingdom.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Pendred
Among Census respondents with the surname Pendred, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.6%) and Black (0.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Pendred 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 Pendred surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.6% · 102
- Two or more races4.6% · 5
- Black or African American0.9% · 1
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Pendred
Pendred appears in 2 published Census surname files: 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2020
#150,205
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 109
-7 bearers (-6.0%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 7,056 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #143,149 | 116 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #150,205 | 109 | 0.04 | -7 bearers (-6.0%) | Down 7,056 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 Pendred 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 | #143,149 | #150,205 | -4.9% |
| Count | 116 | 109 | -6.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -8.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Pendred bearers went from 116 to 109 (-6.0% change). The surname moved down 7,056 positions in the national ranking, going from #143,149 to #150,205.
FAQ
Pendred surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Pendred?
Name Census estimates that about 125 living Americans carry the surname Pendred. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,742,035 residents.
How common is Pendred?
Pendred ranks #150,205 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 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 109 people with the surname Pendred. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (125), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 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 Pendred.
Has Pendred become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Pendred went from 116 recorded bearers to 109. That is a decrease of 7 (-6.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #143,149 to #150,205.
What does the Census say about the background of Pendred?
Among Census respondents with the surname Pendred, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.6%) and Black (0.9%). 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 Pendred in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.6% (102 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Pendred appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.6%), Two or More Races (4.6%), Black (0.9%). 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 Pendred (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 Pendred mean?
A locational surname referring to someone from the town of Pendre or Penbrey. 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 Pendred (0.04 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 share the surname Pendred?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.