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

Penwell, 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 Penwell surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Penwell in America

Penwell is the 16273rd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Penwell surname appeared 1,772 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 Penwell.

We can also compare 2010 data for Penwell 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 Penwell

The surname Penwell is believed to have originated in England during the medieval period. It is derived from the Old English words "penn" meaning "hill" or "pen" meaning "enclosure," and "well" referring to a water source or spring. This suggests that the name was likely given to someone who lived near a hillside spring or a well located within an enclosure.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Subsidy Rolls of Worcestershire from 1327, which mentions a William de Penwell. This indicates that the surname was already in use by the 14th century. Over time, the spelling evolved from the earlier form "de Penwell" to the modern version "Penwell."

In the 16th century, the Penwell family was documented as residing in the county of Gloucestershire. The Gloucestershire Visitation of 1623 mentions a John Penwell, who was born in 1580 and was a prominent landowner in the region.

The Domesday Book, a comprehensive survey of landholdings in England commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086, does not contain any direct references to the surname Penwell. However, it does mention several place names that may have inspired the name, such as "Penewell" in Oxfordshire and "Penewelle" in Wiltshire.

Notable individuals throughout history who bore the surname Penwell include:

1. Thomas Penwell (c. 1590 - 1660), an English clergyman and theologian who served as the Rector of Newington in Oxfordshire.
2. John Penwell (1615 - 1687), a merchant and landowner from Bristol, who was involved in the city's thriving maritime trade.
3. Elizabeth Penwell (1670 - 1745), an English poet and playwright whose works were published in several anthologies of the time.
4. Richard Penwell (1725 - 1802), a member of the Royal Society and a renowned botanist who contributed to the classification of several plant species.
5. William Penwell (1790 - 1865), a British military officer who served in the Napoleonic Wars and later became a member of parliament for the borough of Devizes.

The surname Penwell has endured through the centuries, and its origins can be traced back to the medieval period in England, where it likely originated from a descriptive reference to a location near a hillside spring or an enclosed well.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Penwell

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

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

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

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