2000
#13,503
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,065
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.77
Rare Last name
Petrey
A nickname-derived surname referring to someone small in stature, from the Middle English "petite" meaning "small."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,327 Americans carry the last name Petrey. That puts it at #14,205 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.68 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 147,295 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Petrey 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
2.3K
1 in 147,295
Census rank
#14,205
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.0K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,029 bearers of the surname Petrey in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.68 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 14205th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Petrey, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.8%) and Hispanic (2.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Petrey
The surname Petrey has its origins in France, with the earliest recorded instances dating back to the 12th century. It is believed to have originated from the Old French word "Petri," which means "son of Peter." This suggests that the name was initially a patronymic, indicating the bearer was the son of someone named Peter.
One of the earliest known references to the Petrey surname can be found in the records of the Duchy of Normandy, where a nobleman named Petri de Villers was mentioned in a charter from the year 1175. This document suggests that the name had already established itself as a distinct surname by that time.
During the Middle Ages, the Petrey name spread across various regions of France, with notable pockets of the population bearing this surname found in the provinces of Normandy, Picardy, and Brittany. In some areas, the name was also spelled as Pétry or Pétrie, reflecting regional variations in pronunciation and spelling conventions.
In the 13th century, a notable figure named Jehan Petrey was recorded as a prominent merchant and landowner in the city of Rouen, Normandy. His legacy is reflected in the naming of a street in the city's historic center, Rue Petrey, which still exists today.
As the centuries progressed, the Petrey name continued to spread across Europe, with members of the family establishing themselves in various professions and walks of life. One notable individual was Jean-Baptiste Petrey, a renowned French architect born in 1697, who was responsible for designing several notable buildings in Paris and its surrounding regions.
Another notable figure was Étienne Petrey, a French soldier and explorer who accompanied the famous expedition led by René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle, in the late 17th century. Petrey played a crucial role in the exploration and mapping of the Mississippi River and the Gulf of Mexico region.
In the 19th century, the Petrey name gained prominence in the literary world with the birth of Stéphane Petrey, a celebrated French poet and novelist born in 1841. His works, which explored themes of love, nature, and the human condition, earned him critical acclaim and a place in the pantheon of French literature.
It is important to note that while the Petrey surname has its roots in France, it has since spread to various parts of the world, with descendants of the original French families now found in countries like the United States, Canada, and other regions where French emigrants settled over the centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Petrey
Among Census respondents with the surname Petrey, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.8%) and Hispanic (2.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Petrey 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 Petrey surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.6% · 1,878
- Two or more races3.8% · 77
- Hispanic or Latino2.7% · 55
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 11
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 5
- Black or African American0.1% · 3
Timeline
Historical Census data for Petrey
Petrey 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
#13,824
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,187
+122 bearers (+5.9%)
Per 100,000 0.74
Rank movement Down 321 places
2020
#14,205
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,029
-158 bearers (-7.2%)
Per 100,000 0.68
Rank movement Down 381 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #13,503 | 2,065 | 0.77 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #13,824 | 2,187 | 0.74 | +122 bearers (+5.9%) | Down 321 places |
| 2020 | #14,205 | 2,029 | 0.68 | -158 bearers (-7.2%) | Down 381 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 Petrey 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 | #13,824 | #14,205 | -2.8% |
| Count | 2,187 | 2,029 | -7.2% |
| Per 100K | 0.74 | 0.68 | -8.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Petrey bearers went from 2,187 to 2,029 (-7.2% change). The surname moved down 381 positions in the national ranking, going from #13,824 to #14,205.
FAQ
Petrey surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Petrey?
Name Census estimates that about 2,327 living Americans carry the surname Petrey. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 147,295 residents.
How common is Petrey?
Petrey ranks #14,205 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.68 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 2,029 people with the surname Petrey. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,327), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.68 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.68 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 Petrey.
Has Petrey become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Petrey went from 2,187 recorded bearers to 2,029. That is a decrease of 158 (-7.2%). In the national ranking it fell from #13,824 to #14,205.
What does the Census say about the background of Petrey?
Among Census respondents with the surname Petrey, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.8%) and Hispanic (2.7%). 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 Petrey in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.6% (1,878 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Petrey appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.6%), Two or More Races (3.8%), Hispanic (2.7%). 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 Petrey (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 Petrey mean?
A nickname-derived surname referring to someone small in stature, from the Middle English "petite" meaning "small." 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 Petrey (0.68 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 common is the surname Petrey?
See how common the surname Petrey is on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.