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

Penrose, 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 Penrose surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Penrose in America

Penrose is the 11269th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Penrose surname appeared 2,806 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Penrose.

We can also compare 2010 data for Penrose 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 Penrose

The surname Penrose is believed to have originated in Cornwall, England during the medieval period. It is derived from the Cornish words 'pen' meaning head or top, and 'ros' meaning a promontory or rocky hill, indicating that the name likely referred to someone who lived near a prominent headland or cliff.

One of the earliest known references to the name Penrose can be found in the Assize Rolls of Cornwall from the year 1284, where a William de Penrose is mentioned. This suggests that the name had already become an established surname by the late 13th century.

In the 14th century, records show a John de Penrose who held lands in the parish of St. Enoder, near the town of Newquay in Cornwall. This John de Penrose is believed to have been a descendant of the earlier William de Penrose mentioned in the Assize Rolls.

Throughout the 15th and 16th centuries, the Penrose family continued to hold land and influence in Cornwall, with various branches of the family scattered across the county. One notable figure from this time was Sir Ralph Penrose (c.1490-1552), who served as Sheriff of Cornwall and was involved in the Prayer Book Rebellion of 1549.

In the 17th century, the Penrose family gained prominence in the nearby counties of Devon and Somerset. Thomas Penrose (1610-1681), a merchant and landowner from Tiverton, Devon, was a member of the famous Penrose family of Penrose Manor in the parish of Woolfardisworthy.

Moving into the 18th and 19th centuries, the Penrose name continued to be represented in various fields. John Penrose (1768-1859) was a British politician who served as MP for Helston, Cornwall, while Francis Penrose (1817-1908) was an eminent English artist and antiquarian known for his illustrations of medieval architecture.

Other notable individuals with the surname Penrose include the British physicist and mathematician Roger Penrose (born 1931), famous for his work in general relativity and cosmology, and the American businessman and billionaire J.W. Penrose (1860-1930), who co-founded the Penrose Companies and made his fortune in the mining industry.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Penrose

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

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

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

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