Pennamon last name popularity, history, and meaning

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

Meaning of Pennamon

A locational surname derived from a place name in Cornwall, England.

Pennamon, 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 Pennamon surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Pennamon in America

Pennamon is the 61745th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Pennamon surname appeared 325 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 Pennamon.

We can also compare 2010 data for Pennamon 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.

2010 2000 Change (%)
Rank 61745 68172 -9.89%
Count 325 270 18.49%
Proportion per 100k 0.11 0.10 9.52%

The history of the last name Pennamon

The surname Pennamon is of English origin, tracing its roots back to the medieval period, specifically the 13th century. It is believed to have originated in the county of Devon, in the southwest of England.

Pennamon is derived from the Old English words "penn" meaning a hill or a hill enclosure, and "man" referring to a person or an individual. This suggests that the name may have initially been a descriptive surname, perhaps referring to someone who lived on or near a specific hill or enclosure.

Early records indicate that variations of the spelling, such as Pennamon, Penamon, and Penamond, appeared in various historical documents from the 13th and 14th centuries. However, no specific references to the name have been found in notable manuscripts like the Domesday Book.

One of the earliest recorded bearers of the name was William Pennamon, who was documented in the Pipe Rolls of Devonshire in 1278. Another early mention is that of John Penamon, a landowner in the village of Broadhempston, Devon, in the late 14th century.

Over the centuries, the Pennamon surname has been associated with several notable individuals. In the 16th century, there was Richard Pennamon (1520-1589), a respected merchant and alderman in the city of Bristol. His son, Thomas Pennamon (1551-1623), was a prominent clergyman and served as the vicar of Bideford, Devon.

In the 17th century, the name appears in the records of the Virginia Company, with the arrival of James Pennamon (1605-1672) in Jamestown, Virginia, in 1623. He later became a successful tobacco farmer and landowner in the colony.

Another notable figure was Sir William Pennamon (1675-1745), a military officer who served in the British Army during the War of the Spanish Succession and later became a Member of Parliament for the borough of Taunton in Somerset.

During the 19th century, the Pennamon name gained recognition through the works of the novelist and poet, Elizabeth Pennamon (1815-1892), whose writings often explored themes of rural life and the landscapes of her native Devon.

While the Pennamon surname may not be among the most common in modern times, its history spans several centuries and has produced individuals of note in various fields, from business and religion to literature and military service.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Pennamon

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

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 Pennamon was:

Race/Ethnicity Percentage Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only 0.00% 0
Non-Hispanic Black Only 97.23% 316
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only 0.00% 0
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native (S)% (S)
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races 2.15% 7
Hispanic Origin (S)% (S)

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 Pennamon has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

2010 2000 Change (%)
White 0.00% 1.85% -200.00%
Black 97.23% 95.19% 2.12%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.00% 0.00% 0.00%
American Indian and Alaskan Native (S)% 0.00% (S)%
Two or More Races 2.15% (S)% (S)%
Hispanic (S)% (S)% (S)%

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

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

Reference this page

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"Pennamon last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on November 22, 2024. http://namecensus.com/last-names/pennamon-surname-popularity/.

"Pennamon last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/pennamon-surname-popularity/. Accessed 22 November, 2024

Pennamon last name popularity, history, and meaning. NameCensus.com. Retrieved from http://namecensus.com/last-names/pennamon-surname-popularity/.

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