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

Pettaway, 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 Pettaway surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Pettaway in America

Pettaway is the 10204th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Pettaway surname appeared 3,157 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 Pettaway.

We can also compare 2010 data for Pettaway 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 Pettaway

The surname Pettaway is believed to have originated in England, with roots dating back to the 16th century. It is thought to be a locational name derived from a place called Petworth, a town in the county of West Sussex. The name may have evolved from the Old English words "pet" and "worth," which together mean "a paddock or enclosure."

One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Pettaway can be found in the Hearth Tax Rolls of 1666, where a John Pettaway is listed as a resident of Petworth, West Sussex. This suggests that the name was already established in the area by the mid-17th century.

In the 18th century, the Pettaway surname appears in various parish records and church registers across southern England, particularly in the counties of Sussex, Hampshire, and Dorset. The spelling variations at the time included Pettaway, Pettway, Petwaye, and Petwaye.

Historically, the Pettaway name has been associated with several notable individuals. One such figure was Sir John Pettaway (1645-1720), a prominent landowner and Member of Parliament for Midhurst, a borough in West Sussex. Another was William Pettaway (1701-1768), a merchant and ship owner from Southampton who played a role in the colonial trade with the Americas.

In the 19th century, the Pettaway surname spread beyond England's borders as some members of the family migrated to other parts of the British Empire. One notable example is Thomas Pettaway (1815-1892), a British-born businessman and farmer who settled in South Africa and became a prominent figure in the early development of the Eastern Cape colony.

Another notable bearer of the Pettaway name was Elizabeth Pettaway (1843-1919), an English author and poet who published several volumes of verse and contributed to various literary journals of her time.

While the surname Pettaway is not among the most common in English-speaking countries today, it has a rich history spanning several centuries and has been carried by individuals from various walks of life, from landowners and politicians to merchants, authors, and colonial settlers.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Pettaway

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

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

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

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