2000
#9,817
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,041
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.13
Rare Last name
Penton
Derived from a place name meaning "enclosure on a hill" in Old English.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,555 Americans carry the last name Penton. That puts it at #9,943 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 96,415 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Penton 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 Penton with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
3.6K
1 in 96,415
Census rank
#9,943
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.1K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,100 bearers of the surname Penton in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 9943rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Penton, the largest self-reported group is White at 72.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (15.8%) and Black (6.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Penton
The surname PENTON is of English origin and is believed to have derived from a place name in Hampshire, England. The earliest recorded spelling of the name dates back to the 12th century, where it appeared as "Pentone" in the Pipe Rolls of Hampshire in 1195.
PENTON is thought to be a locational name, referring to someone who originally hailed from the hamlet of Penton Mewsey, located near the town of Andover in Hampshire. The name is derived from the Old English words "pent" meaning "valley" and "tun" meaning "enclosure" or "settlement".
One of the earliest recorded bearers of the name was John de Penton, who was mentioned in the Pipe Rolls of Wiltshire in 1273. Another early record is found in the Subsidy Rolls of Sussex in 1327, which lists a William Penton.
The PENTON surname has a long history, and several notable individuals have borne this name throughout the centuries. Sir John Penton (1486-1558) was an English politician who served as Lord Mayor of London in 1537. Henry Penton (1675-1745) was an English lawyer and author, best known for his work "A Guide for the Instruction of Travellers".
In the 17th century, the PENTON family was well-established in the county of Somerset, England. One member of this family, Thomas Penton (1608-1667), was a distinguished English clergyman and theologian who served as the Rector of Compton Beauchamp in Berkshire.
Another notable bearer of the PENTON name was Sir Henry Penton (1797-1876), a British naval officer who served in the Royal Navy during the Napoleonic Wars and the War of 1812. He later became an Admiral of the Red and was appointed a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath in 1865.
Moving into the 19th century, John Penton (1830-1902) was a British architect who designed several notable buildings in London, including the Royal College of Music and the Royal Albert Hall. His contemporary, Joseph Penton (1834-1908), was an English cricketer who played first-class cricket for Middlesex County Cricket Club.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Penton
Among Census respondents with the surname Penton, the largest self-reported group is White at 72.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (15.8%) and Black (6.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Penton 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 Penton surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White72.1% · 2,236
- Hispanic or Latino15.8% · 489
- Black or African American6.9% · 214
- Two or more races4.1% · 127
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 20
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 14
Timeline
Historical Census data for Penton
Penton 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
#9,760
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,321
+280 bearers (+9.2%)
Per 100,000 1.13
Rank movement Up 57 places
2020
#9,943
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,100
-221 bearers (-6.7%)
Per 100,000 1.04
Rank movement Down 183 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #9,817 | 3,041 | 1.13 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #9,760 | 3,321 | 1.13 | +280 bearers (+9.2%) | Up 57 places |
| 2020 | #9,943 | 3,100 | 1.04 | -221 bearers (-6.7%) | Down 183 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 Penton 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 | #9,760 | #9,943 | -1.9% |
| Count | 3,321 | 3,100 | -6.7% |
| Per 100K | 1.13 | 1.04 | -8.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Penton bearers went from 3,321 to 3,100 (-6.7% change). The surname moved down 183 positions in the national ranking, going from #9,760 to #9,943.
FAQ
Penton surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Penton?
Name Census estimates that about 3,555 living Americans carry the surname Penton. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 96,415 residents.
How common is Penton?
Penton ranks #9,943 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.04 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 3,100 people with the surname Penton. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,555), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.04 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 Penton.
Has Penton become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Penton went from 3,321 recorded bearers to 3,100. That is a decrease of 221 (-6.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #9,760 to #9,943.
What does the Census say about the background of Penton?
Among Census respondents with the surname Penton, the largest self-reported group is White at 72.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (15.8%) and Black (6.9%). 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 Penton in the 2020 Census, accounting for 72.1% (2,236 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Penton appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (72.1%), Hispanic (15.8%), Black (6.9%). 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 Penton (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 Penton mean?
Derived from a place name meaning "enclosure on a hill" in Old English. 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 Penton (1.04 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 Penton?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.