2000
#5,917
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,358
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.99
Rare Last name
Pepe
An Italian occupational surname referring to a seller of peppers or a grower of peppers.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 5,735 Americans carry the last name Pepe. That puts it at #6,526 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.67 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 59,765 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Pepe 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 Pepe with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
5.7K
1 in 59,765
Census rank
#6,526
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
5.0K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 5,001 bearers of the surname Pepe in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.67 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 6526th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Pepe, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.5%) and Black (1.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Pepe
The surname PEPE is of Spanish origin, with its roots tracing back to the late medieval period in the Iberian Peninsula. The name likely derived from the personal name "Pepe," a diminutive form of the name "José," which itself originated from the Hebrew name "Joseph."
In its earliest forms, the surname PEPE was often spelled as "Pepes" or "Pepeš," reflecting the influence of the Castilian Spanish dialect in which it emerged. As the name spread across the Spanish-speaking world, various regional variations in spelling and pronunciation arose, including "Peppe" in some parts of Southern Italy.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the PEPE surname can be found in the Catalan region of Spain, where a certain "Pere Pepe" was documented in a land registry from the town of Girona, dated to the late 13th century. This suggests that the name had already gained prominence in parts of northeastern Spain by that time.
During the age of Spanish exploration and colonization in the 15th and 16th centuries, the PEPE surname likely traveled to the Americas and other Spanish territories, carried by settlers and adventurers from the Iberian homeland. Notable individuals bearing this name from this era include Juan Pepe de Escalante, a Spanish explorer who led expeditions to the Gulf of Mexico in the 1570s.
In the realm of literature, the PEPE surname made an appearance in the works of the celebrated Spanish playwright and poet, Lope de Vega (1562-1635), who included characters with this name in several of his plays and verse compositions.
Moving forward to the 18th century, the PEPE name can be traced to the life of José Pepe de Quintana (1712-1784), a Spanish military officer and colonial administrator who served as the Governor of Panama from 1771 to 1777.
In the 19th century, the PEPE surname gained further prominence with the birth of Gustavo Adolfo Pepe (1865-1923), a renowned Uruguayan painter and sculptor known for his contributions to the modernist art movement in South America.
As the 20th century dawned, the PEPE name continued to be associated with notable figures across various fields, such as Antonio Pepe (1897-1976), an Italian composer and conductor renowned for his operatic works, and Toni Pepe (1909-1991), an Italian footballer who played as a defender for several prestigious clubs in Italy and France.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Pepe
Among Census respondents with the surname Pepe, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.5%) and Black (1.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Pepe 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 Pepe surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.0% · 4,500
- Hispanic or Latino5.5% · 275
- Black or African American1.7% · 87
- Two or more races1.7% · 85
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 50
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 4
Timeline
Historical Census data for Pepe
Pepe 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
#6,313
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,405
+47 bearers (+0.9%)
Per 100,000 1.83
Rank movement Down 396 places
2020
#6,526
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,001
-404 bearers (-7.5%)
Per 100,000 1.67
Rank movement Down 213 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #5,917 | 5,358 | 1.99 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #6,313 | 5,405 | 1.83 | +47 bearers (+0.9%) | Down 396 places |
| 2020 | #6,526 | 5,001 | 1.67 | -404 bearers (-7.5%) | Down 213 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 Pepe 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 | #6,313 | #6,526 | -3.4% |
| Count | 5,405 | 5,001 | -7.5% |
| Per 100K | 1.83 | 1.67 | -8.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Pepe bearers went from 5,405 to 5,001 (-7.5% change). The surname moved down 213 positions in the national ranking, going from #6,313 to #6,526.
FAQ
Pepe surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Pepe?
Name Census estimates that about 5,735 living Americans carry the surname Pepe. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 59,765 residents.
How common is Pepe?
Pepe ranks #6,526 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.67 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 5,001 people with the surname Pepe. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (5,735), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.67 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.67 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Pepe.
Has Pepe become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Pepe went from 5,405 recorded bearers to 5,001. That is a decrease of 404 (-7.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #6,313 to #6,526.
What does the Census say about the background of Pepe?
Among Census respondents with the surname Pepe, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.5%) and Black (1.7%). 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 Pepe in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.0% (4,500 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Pepe appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (90.0%), Hispanic (5.5%), Black (1.7%). 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 Pepe (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 Pepe mean?
An Italian occupational surname referring to a seller of peppers or a grower of peppers. 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 Pepe (1.67 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 Americans have the surname Pepe?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.