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

Penfield, 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 Penfield surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Penfield in America

Penfield is the 21068th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Penfield surname appeared 1,247 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 Penfield.

We can also compare 2010 data for Penfield 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 Penfield

The surname PENFIELD is of English origin, deriving from a place name referring to an enclosed field or pen where livestock were kept. It is believed to have originated in the 12th or 13th century in the northern counties of England, such as Yorkshire and Lancashire.

The name PENFIELD is thought to be derived from the Old English words "penn" meaning an enclosed area, and "feld" meaning a field or open land. The earliest recorded spelling of the name was "de Penefelde" in the Pipe Rolls of Yorkshire in 1176.

One of the earliest known references to the name PENFIELD can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as "Penefeld" in the county of Essex. This suggests that the name may have originated from a specific location called Penfield in that area.

In the 13th century, records show a William de Penfeld who held lands in Lancashire, indicating the name's presence in that region during that time period. Another early example is John de Penfeld, who was mentioned in the Assize Rolls of Staffordshire in 1272.

Notable individuals with the surname PENFIELD include Samuel Penfield (1856-1922), an American politician and lawyer who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives. Wilder Penfield (1891-1976) was a pioneering Canadian neurosurgeon and researcher who made significant contributions to the understanding of the human brain.

Other historical figures with this name include Edward Penfield (1866-1925), an American illustrator and lithographer known for his art nouveau style, and Robert Penfield (1850-1918), an American businessman and philanthropist who founded the Penfield School of Merchandising in London.

In the literary world, Thomas Penfield (1675-1735) was an English author and playwright who wrote several popular plays in the early 18th century, while James Penfield (1819-1892) was an American author and educator who wrote several books on literature and language arts.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Penfield

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

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 Penfield 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 Penfield 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 Penfield was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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