2000
#10,821
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,704
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.00
Rare Last name
Penrose
From the Cornish words "pen" meaning "head" and "ros" meaning "heath" or "moor," referring to one who lived near these features.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,968 Americans carry the last name Penrose. That puts it at #11,608 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.87 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 115,483 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Penrose 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 Penrose with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
3.0K
1 in 115,483
Census rank
#11,608
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.6K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,588 bearers of the surname Penrose in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.87 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 11608th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Penrose, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.7%. The next largest groups are Black (4.0%) and Two or More Races (3.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Penrose
Among Census respondents with the surname Penrose, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.7%. The next largest groups are Black (4.0%) and Two or More Races (3.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Penrose 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 Penrose surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White86.7% · 2,245
- Black or African American4.0% · 103
- Two or more races3.9% · 101
- Hispanic or Latino3.7% · 96
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.5% · 40
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 3
Timeline
Historical Census data for Penrose
Penrose appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#11,269
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,806
+102 bearers (+3.8%)
Per 100,000 0.95
Rank movement Down 448 places
2020
#11,608
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,588
-218 bearers (-7.8%)
Per 100,000 0.87
Rank movement Down 339 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #10,821 | 2,704 | 1.00 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #11,269 | 2,806 | 0.95 | +102 bearers (+3.8%) | Down 448 places |
| 2020 | #11,608 | 2,588 | 0.87 | -218 bearers (-7.8%) | Down 339 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 Penrose 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 | #11,269 | #11,608 | -3.0% |
| Count | 2,806 | 2,588 | -7.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.95 | 0.87 | -8.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Penrose bearers went from 2,806 to 2,588 (-7.8% change). The surname moved down 339 positions in the national ranking, going from #11,269 to #11,608.
FAQ
Penrose surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Penrose?
Name Census estimates that about 2,968 living Americans carry the surname Penrose. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 115,483 residents.
How common is Penrose?
Penrose ranks #11,608 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.87 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 2,588 people with the surname Penrose. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,968), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.87 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.87 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Penrose.
Has Penrose become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Penrose went from 2,806 recorded bearers to 2,588. That is a decrease of 218 (-7.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #11,269 to #11,608.
What does the Census say about the background of Penrose?
Among Census respondents with the surname Penrose, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.7%. The next largest groups are Black (4.0%) and Two or More Races (3.9%). 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 Penrose in the 2020 Census, accounting for 86.7% (2,245 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Penrose appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (86.7%), Black (4.0%), Two or More Races (3.9%). 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 Penrose (2000, 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 Penrose mean?
From the Cornish words "pen" meaning "head" and "ros" meaning "heath" or "moor," referring to one who lived near these features. 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 Penrose (0.87 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 have the surname Penrose?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.