2000
#124,109
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 128
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Penske
A variant spelling of the German surname Pensky, a locational name from a place named with a Slavic element meaning "stump" or "log".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 126 Americans carry the last name Penske. That puts it at #149,446 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,720,273 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Penske 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.
Bearers in the US
126
1 in 2,720,273
Census rank
#149,446
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
110
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 110 bearers of the surname Penske in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 149446th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Penske, the largest self-reported group is White at 97.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (1.8%) and Two or More Races (0.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Penske
The surname Penske originated in Germany and can be traced back to the early 16th century. Its roots likely stem from the German word "Penski" or "Penske," which was a locational name referring to someone from the village of Pensk or Pensk-Feld.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Penske appears in the baptismal records of St. Michael's Church in the town of Zweibrücken, Germany, where a child named Johann Penske was baptized in 1562. This suggests that the name was already well-established in the region by that time.
Throughout the 16th and 17th centuries, the Penske name can be found in various historical records and documents from the Palatinate region of Germany, particularly in the areas around the towns of Zweibrücken, Kaiserslautern, and Landau.
The first notable bearer of the surname Penske was Hans Penske, a farmer and landowner who lived in the village of Obermoschel in the late 16th century. His son, Johann Penske, was a respected member of the local community and served as a village elder.
Another prominent figure with the Penske surname was Friedrich Penske, a Lutheran minister who lived in the town of Neustadt an der Weinstraße in the early 18th century. He was known for his influential sermons and his work in promoting education in the region.
In the 19th century, the Penske family began to migrate to other parts of Europe and the Americas. One of the most famous bearers of the name was the American businessman and entrepreneur Roger Penske, who was born in 1937 and founded the highly successful Penske Corporation and Penske Racing.
Other notable individuals with the Penske surname include the German writer and poet Max Penske (1869-1924), the Austrian composer and conductor Walter Penske (1895-1967), and the American artist and sculptor Richard Penske (1920-1998).
While the Penske name has its origins in Germany, it has since spread to various parts of the world, with Penske families now residing in countries such as the United States, Canada, Australia, and the United Kingdom.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Penske
Among Census respondents with the surname Penske, the largest self-reported group is White at 97.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (1.8%) and Two or More Races (0.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Penske 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 Penske surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White97.3% · 107
- Hispanic or Latino1.8% · 2
- Two or more races0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Penske
Penske 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
#123,796
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 139
+11 bearers (+8.6%)
Per 100,000 0.05
Rank movement Up 313 places
2020
#149,446
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 110
-29 bearers (-20.9%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 25,650 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #124,109 | 128 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #123,796 | 139 | 0.05 | +11 bearers (+8.6%) | Up 313 places |
| 2020 | #149,446 | 110 | 0.04 | -29 bearers (-20.9%) | Down 25,650 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 Penske 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 | #123,796 | #149,446 | -20.7% |
| Count | 139 | 110 | -20.9% |
| Per 100K | 0.05 | 0.04 | -26.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Penske bearers went from 139 to 110 (-20.9% change). The surname moved down 25,650 positions in the national ranking, going from #123,796 to #149,446.
FAQ
Penske surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Penske?
Name Census estimates that about 126 living Americans carry the surname Penske. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,720,273 residents.
How common is Penske?
Penske ranks #149,446 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 110 people with the surname Penske. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (126), 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 Penske.
Has Penske become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Penske went from 139 recorded bearers to 110. That is a decrease of 29 (-20.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #123,796 to #149,446.
What does the Census say about the background of Penske?
Among Census respondents with the surname Penske, the largest self-reported group is White at 97.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (1.8%) and Two or More Races (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 Penske in the 2020 Census, accounting for 97.3% (107 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Penske appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (97.3%), Hispanic (1.8%), Two or More Races (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 Penske (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 Penske mean?
A variant spelling of the German surname Pensky, a locational name from a place named with a Slavic element meaning "stump" or "log". 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 Penske (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 Penske?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.